I raise my head from my pillow as a hoof gently shakes my back. Luna stands there with an uncomfortable look on her face. I flip over and sit up straight. A small wave is all I can manage. She purses her lips in an awkward attempt to smile while digging at the ground with her hoof.

“Um...Raiden I’m sorry to wake you but...I’ve been thinking on...something.” My hands sit folded in my lap. Every negative thought battles to get to the front of my mind. Fighting my paranoia that every conversation was the end of everything, was getting rather taxing. Being a pessimist kept me alive for so many years, that it was almost part of me now. Luna’s mouth fumbles as she tries to find the right words.

“As...a mare and princess, there’s certain things in my future I need. The main thing being...children. I have no doubts you would be a decent father, but...I don’t even know if we can genetically even have children. Then there’s your...anger issues. I’m not saying you’d be abusive, but...I also don’t want to worry about it. I mean...I love you, I really do, which is why...well you...do have a pony equivalent right?” My mouth trembles as my eyes bulge. This had to be some kind of test, right? Did she want to hear me fight for her? Was this my secret second chance to do what I should have done last night? I carefully swing my legs over the side, so she doesn’t think I’m charging her. I stay seated and nod a few times, trying to pretend I wasn’t about to start screaming in heartbreak.

“I...I get that. Your concerns are perfectly valid. I’d...I love you. I love you more than I love myself by far. I would...appreciate a chance to prove…” My mouth rattles mindlessly as tears slowly roll down my cheeks. Her face flashes to concern and she lays a comforting hoof on my knee.

“Raiden! Raiden! No no, it’s alright! Look trust me you’ll find somepony! You’re a wonderful man! I just...I mean it would be weird having kids that weren’t genetically the same species as their dad. I mean I’m sure there’s some kind of magical solution...somewhere but...it just feels wrong though. Also, as an alicorn...I’ll outlive you. That would...be a pain too great to bare. My sister has told me the perils of having a non-alicorn lover I’m sorry I just need something more than...you can be. I’ve really enjoyed what we’ve had, but...honestly it was more loneliness for me. Don’t get me wrong, you’re a fantastic man and anypony would be lucky to have you! I just...need more. I...I’m sorry. Also, I’d like us to stay civil, but other than that, I’d appreciate you keeping a respectful distance.” I hold up my hands while trying to construct a sentence. What exactly do you even say at this point though?

“It...was it because of last night? Would it have helped if I had said something?” Luna purses her lips again and glances at the ground angrily.

“Well it certainly didn’t help! Look just...please respect my wishes and all the burdens I have to deal with. Don’t make yourself one of them.” She pats my knee twice and quickly walks out. The moment she closes the door behind her, I slide off the bed and fall to the ground while holding my arms. The cold, stone floor felt eerily familiar.

Emeris does his best to style my hair, while I sulk in a wooden chair just outside the main wedding area. His pity creeps through his phony smile.

“Look just...try not to think about her at the wedding alright?” A woman walks up to me, with brown hair and freckles. Her blue eyes compliment her smile as she keeps her hands clasped. She’s wearing a cobalt blue dress. I give her an acknowledging nod. She returns it with a small wave and takes one last step up to me.

“Um, pardon me Captain Raiden, but will you please escort me to my seat?” It was customary that if you didn’t have a date to a special event, you can ask a commanding officer to fill in temporarily to a small capacity and it’s considered extremely rude to refuse. I stick out my elbow so she can take it as we make our way to the chairs. I turn towards her and cock an eyebrow.

“I apologize but...I don’t recognize you.” She looks at me and smiles with a hint of offense to it.

“I’m...lieutenant Asio. I serve under Captain Lucretia? I don’t think we’ve spoken recently to be honest, but we’ve talked on many occasions...” I nod, pretending to suddenly remember her. While it was true we were almost always in full armor, I was rather certain I’d be able to recognize every human here. An uncomfortable feeling makes my eyes look off to my left and I see Luna giving me a death glare while desperately trying to avoid watching me to begin with. The flowers around her have wilted and fallen over.

When we arrive at an empty seat, she thanks me and sits down. I quickly make my way back to Emeris, once again catching Luna’s dreadful glare. Emeris and I continue to wait at the entrance to the ceremony in case anyone else needs us. The sun was out and the flowers lining the walkway to the reception bloomed vibrantly with a helping hand from Celestia.

The large, main stage was made up of ceramic tiles that littered the ground and laid perfectly flat. In front of it, were rows of white chairs that currently contained mostly human guests. Several bleachers surrounded the stage for extra seating. They were white, gold and elegant with numerous cushions on them. Far to the left, we had a generous buffet that Cy complained didn’t have any steak on it. To the right, the groomsmen and bridesmaids prepared for their dances inside large tents, as well as using the area for temporary storage.

Ponies begin to arrive and eagerly trot up to speak with Celestia and Luna. The moment Luna sees me watching, she borderline runs up to Big Mac who is currently out of his armor and talks with him. She slaps on a large smile and laughs generously at something he said, while occasionally glancing at me with a malicious grin on her face. I narrow my eyes and my mouth hangs open slightly as she escorts him to his seat. She even puts her foreleg over his shoulders while giving another hearty laugh, even touching her other hoof to her chest. He stares at her confused since he clearly hadn’t said anything.

I glance at Emeris who watches Luna with a cocked eyebrow. He turns to me.

“I...didn’t she break up with you? Is she jealous ‘cause she thinks you’ve moved on already or…” My patented shrug is all I can manage as a reply. Emeris casually looks around before leaning closer to me.

“Maybe you should go and talk with her. I know it will be extremely awkward, but you still gotta try.”

My fists clench instinctively.

“It’s better this way. Less distractions. Besides, she wants another pony and not just any pony...another alicorn. Even if she’s willing to settle for a non-alicorn, she’s actually holding out hope for meeting my pony equivalent. How the hell do you respond to that?!”

Emeris hangs his head and nods while keeping his arms crossed.

“Let me ask you this: if I said you were going to die tomorrow, would you regret not doing something?” I take several deep breaths. He clearly wasn’t understanding the problem; there wasn’t anything to do.

“Emeris...what am I supposed to say?! How do I even remotely talk my way out of her issues with me?! Plus, you know my policy against love during war. It could get me killed!”

Emeris places his hands on his hips, while drumming his thumbs against his stomach.

“But isn’t you dying without telling her how you felt exactly the point?”

All I can do is just stare at him. He points towards Luna and glares at me, then gives me a small nod.

“Look, I’m not a scientist, so I can’t help you with genetics, but what I can tell you is women don’t ask you to go away and be civil about it, then try to make you jealous while simultaneously fuming when you get close to other females. Something doesn’t add up. Go. Talk. To. Her.”

I bite my lip and give a massive shrug.

“Well what am I supposed to say?!”

Emeris clamps a hand on my left shoulder.

“Tell her how you feel. That’s it.”

Luna is now sitting on her haunches with her back to me. The guests are suddenly a maze, as I stumble my way over to her while trying to think of what to say. She glances over her shoulder for a split second, long enough to know I’m coming, but goes back to staring ahead with her sister. My stomach tries to stop me by digging thousands of daggers into itself.

I stand awkwardly at the end of the red carpet that leads up to the princesses. Ponies stare at me with confusion, while wandering into the bleachers. Was this really all my fault and I was just terrible with women? Was I being creepy by annoying her during a wedding? Would she think I was nothing more than some sad, pathetic stalker who couldn’t take a hint? Celestia shifts around uncomfortably, clearly she knows I’m here as well. I can just barely see her mouth moving from the side when she turns to Luna. They had to be talking, but about what?

Without even realizing it, my feet had brought me right behind Luna. She looks over her shoulder at me, glares, then starts walks behind the chairs towards the wedding party area. I say her name a few times as I follow, forcing as much compassion into my words as I can. She doesn’t acknowledge me in the slightest. Her tail twists itself into a spiral of anger, occasionally snapping itself to the side. It was as if her hair had a mind of its own.

She winds through a few tents, then stops at the very edge of the wedding party area. I look down as her tail slowly reaches around and gently wraps the very tip around my ankle. It springs back to her after a second and she whirls around with tears in her eyes.

“So now what?! Is me being here too awkward for you now?! Am I making you uncomfortable?! Well deal with it! You don’t get to tell me to get lost then turn around and make a bunch of petty demands for your feelings! I can’t just shut mine off like you can!” A few ponies and humans can’t help but glance over from the distant seats at us.

“I don’t care if it’s too dangerous to be in love, or if you prefer a human female! You can’t just turn your back on everything! I’m not some acquaintance you can just toss away and forget about! After...after everything we’ve been through together, you have the audacity to just...leave me like that?!” My brain shuts down and I’m completely lost for words. I can feel my mouth just hanging open cluelessly. Luna shuts her eyes and shakes her head vigorously.

“I thought we had something! I know neither of us are perfect but...I put everything I had into us from the start!” She folds her lips in on themselves then shrieks “I trusted you!”. Celestia watches us from back at the entrance to the wedding, along with everyone else. She keeps her hoof to her chest, with an expression of grief. Luna shakes in front of me, her eyes had become fountains. I saw nothing but rage, pain, misery and confusion on her face. I know what’s going on, but I can’t seem to speak. I say the only thing that comes to mind.

“I love you…”

Luna opens her mouth as her eyes expand as far as they’ll go. Her head recoils back a bit and only the rage from her face disappears. Our attention is pulled to the floor as sergeant Brutus steps into the middle and stops with his hands behind his back. He wears a red dress coat with golden buttons and black slacks. His brown hair is slicked back with gel. He holds up both hands and the crowd goes quiet. Luna lets out a frustrated sigh and trots off. Brutus nods to the crowd and holds his hands together.

“It is time now, for each couple to perform their Hata Taga, the wedding dance. As Cy is the foreigner, he will go first.” Brutus bows and steps off the stage. Near the back, Cy and four of his groomsmen stand in an arrow formation, with Cy in the front. He wears a mask that looks similar to a dragon. It’s a black facemask with two horns a foot long, sticking up from the temples and slowly curving upwards. The mask comes forward, forming a brief snout, with teeth etched into it. Some kind of shiny coating on it, reflects the light from the nearby torches. He wears similar gloves that cover his entire hands and go half way up his forearms. His feet have the same design, but the boots are a bit thicker in material that go halfway up his shins.

All his groomsmen are dressed the same way, only varying in skin tone. They all stand with their legs spread shoulder-width apart as i they were preparing to be tackled. Cy and his company reach behind them without moving their bodies and pull out long staves. The ends of them have bulky, black cylinders that are a foot long and a few inches wide. The scene becomes dark as the sun seems to gradually sink behind the mountains. The moment the stage is drenched in night, they begin.

The party take slow steps forward, letting their staves tap the floor once when they step with the left foot, and twice times when they step with the right foot. They stop in the middle of the floor, only illuminated by the four torches at each corner of the stage. The party twirl their staves so each end passes by their side, alternating after each rotation. Cy’s staff lightly brushes his kilt on each pass, making his chains jingle. It was so perfectly synchronized, it had to be intentional.

Drums start filling the air. The main chorus sound is a deep, heavy drum that only has two quick beats, followed by a pause, then three slow hits. Accompanying it, is a lighter sounding drum that has one quick hit when the main drum pauses, then four rapid beats to accompany the big drum's three slow hits. The sound repeats over, with a deep war horn being blown gently every other chorus. The higher pitched drum has a strange vibration noise for each hit.

Taraskan drums had always been different from the norm. Instead of a basic sound, each drum sounded as if you were in a large, empty room as someone knocked on the door from the outside. The overall beat resembles someone taking a war tune, made it faster and added extra instruments.

Cy and his party take large steps to the sides, making their legs stretch as far as they’ll go, while still staying upright and sturdy. His party copies every move he makes as they pause for dramatic effect.

Cy lifts his staff over his head, then slams one end to the ground as if striking an opponent. It sparks and ignites, erupting in flame. He twirls it over his head a few times as fast as he can, then bringing the other end down, which erupts into green flame. No doubt he had gotten his hands on some of this gunpowder the ponies use for fireworks.

He continues walking forward, still keeping his legs spread apart. Each step is powerful and rigid. His shoulders and chest stay perfectly straight as he keeps his head tilted downwards. The mask glares at you, with the narrowed eyes of a lizard carved into it. As he moves forward, he slams the staff into the floor, scattering violent sparks across the stage. It’s a miracle his outfit doesn’t catch on fire. He’s momentarily concealed in the shower of flame with each strike. He alternates ends, sending up green fire from the other end.

He twirls the staff around his neck, giving it enough momentum to keep moving, while his body remains almost motionless, except for pivoting his upper body so the staff can keep rotating on its own. He throws the staff into the air and makes it spin. While keeping his head looking forward, he catches the staff right in the middle. He twirls on each side, alternating every two rotations. Not only has his party kept in perfect sync, they even have the exact colors matched up as well.

The beat of the drums doubles as Cy continues to twirl to his sides, but he straightens up his legs and turns in place. He stops moving and spins his staff so fast, the black wood itself becomes almost invisible, as the orange and green fire forces your attention to it. They create circles of dazzling color, while somehow managing to stay lit. Cy and his party slowly spread out across the stage, eventually facing each other in a large circle.

The drums are joined by a tambourine that gives two high notes then two lower notes. Each person throws their staff high into the air. It twirls and slowly moves to the right. When they fall back down, the next person over catches it. They repeat it five times, until each person ends up with their original staff. The crowd goes wild, as the ponies stomp or clap their hooves together, as the Taraskans applaud with cries of praise.

Each party member suddenly holds their staff like a spear and throws it at the person across from them, temporarily forming a star made up of orange and green. In perfect synchronization, as soon as one person catches their staff, it’s immediately thrown again without hesitation, with each staff barely not grazing the others around it while in the air. The music picks up again as they continue to rapidly throw and receive over and over. They begin circling the opposite way they’re throwing. The stage is filled with the low sound of the fire rumbling through the air on the way to its target.

Suddenly, they twirl their staffs in front of them, turn around, slam it into the ground and the whole thing stays upright as it gets completely consumed with green flame. They push their fists together calmly and bow. The audience is illuminated by the green fire and goes nuts. Even the ponies get on their hind legs to cheer and bang their hooves together. Cy and his party get together for a victorious team hug and jump up and down excitedly. I glance over at Luna who has a small smile on her face as she taps her hooves together.

Stormchaser walks awkwardly onto the stage as Cy and his group exit. When the cheering stops, she clears her throat. Her voice was naturally hoarse, but she still speaks loudly and articulately.

“Welp, I kinda wish I had gone first now, because there’s no way in Tartarus I can compete with that.” The audience laughs, and a few give some cheers. Stormchaser slowly trots back and forth across the stage.

“I mean...we were mostly just going to...fly around with nice fabric and stuff...wasn’t really planning on utilizing freaking fire.” She adds on humorously as the audience chuckles along.

“I gotta be honest, when Cy first told me of Taraskan weddings, I thought he was joking. Also apparently they have a completely different definition of dancing. So if you all don’t mind, I’d like to skip ahead to the Gen Dez. For those of you unfamiliar with Taraskan customs, the Gen Dez is a fun wedding game where the couple use safe weapons to fend off the rest of the wedding party. I actually had no idea that Taraskans knew what “safe” even was to be honest.”

As the audience roars, a strange thought occurs to me. I look back towards the human section out of curiosity. This Lieutenant Asio I had escorted was nowhere to be seen. I raise an eyebrow, knowing something was up. Was I being paranoid? There was no denying the tension in the air. Was this another ploy by Zaran? Was he just making me think there was a ploy when in reality there wasn’t?

Stormchaser goes on with describing the Gen Dez and my eyes wander to Luna, who has her head bowed with her ears back. Celestia hugs her between her wings, trying to cheer her up. A hand gently pats my shoulder. Emeris stands at my side with his arms crossed.

“Remember...if you died tomorrow…” I nod nervously, massaging my hands over and over.

“I know I know, just...give me some time.” Emeris walks back to his seat in front of the human audience. Cy stands in the stage, back to wearing his all black attire of a shirt, gray waistcoat and black kilt. He has a wooden sword, wrapped in a combination of hay and fabric. Stormchaser has a shield clutched in her mouth. The bride’s party is a mix of both mares and colts, where Cy’s is purely human males. They all carry various weapons with cake on the end. The pair stand ready with large grins on their faces.

The party playfully circles them, either making slight jabs or slow swings. Cy and Stormchaser laugh as she flies around, using her shield to intercept blows that Cy can’t parry or cakeloaded arrows. My foot taps so hard, my chair starts shaking. Once again, I can’t help but glance at Luna. She’s over by a table set up to the left of her seat with a few snacks on it. She pretends to take her time selecting something to eat as the party continues.

Emeris’ words eat at me. What if you died tomorrow? Can I honestly just...not care? Am I really capable of just shrugging off the fear and doing whatever it takes to win her over? I’ve faced down armies, certain death, magical creatures who could crush me. I’ve even literally died several times over. Screw it, I’ll fight for her the way I fight for my soldiers. Zaran can mess with me all he wants, I’ll never stop putting myself on the line for her.

As soon as the game is over, I start walking onto the stage. Cy laughs while trying to wipe cake off Stormchaser’s eyes, despite his own hair being coated in frosting. He looks up at me with a huge smile on his face and a light in his eyes I had never seen before. He sticks out his hand and we shake. Instead of letting go, I pull him close so I can talk in his ear.

“Do you mind if...I give it a go with somepony else?” He pulls back, glances at Luna then nods. He pats my arm, picks up Stormchaser and starts telling her what’s going on. The wedding party shrugs and run back to the table to reload their weapons with cake. Cy stops at the edge of the stage and turns to address the audience.

“Hope you don’t mind, but my dear friend here would like to take his own turn with a partner of his choosing.” The audience claps excitedly. I bend down, pick up a piece of cake from the ground and hurl it at Luna. She jumps as it hits her square in the left flank and slowly slides off to the ground. A few bits of frosting speckle her mane. She slowly turns around with narrowed eyes and stares at me.

Luna takes one step forward, then her horn flares and she’s suddenly in front of me still with that ominous stare. The wooden sword Cy was using, glows purple and flies to Luna’s side. The shield gets the same glow and gets shoved into my stomach. I grasp it with both hands and look up at her nervously. She narrows her eyes just a bit more then turns to the side. Both wedding parties ready their weapons.

A man charges at me, sword raised above his head. I hold the shield up like a roof, but instead of blocking his attack, I dive into his knees. He topples over me and lands flat on his back. I quickly swing my shield down onto his sword, shattering it into three pieces. He gets up and runs back over to the weapon rack, with an uncomfortable look on his face. Maybe I was going a bit harder than I was supposed to, but holding back wasn’t usually my thing. Luna apparently has the same mentality I do, holding the sword in her mouth.

A mare runs at Luna, wielding a spear in her armor. She must be a member of Lancercore. Instead of waiting for an attack, Luna runs in, grinding her sword against the spear and adjusting whenever the mare moves it. The poor pony recoils in terror as Luna charges her. She drops the spear and tries to run, but Luna tosses up her sword straight into the air. Before it lands, Luna grabs the spear with her teeth and hurls it at the mare using nothing more than neck strength, nailing her in the flank.

Another of Cy’s party stands there with his sword, unsure if he should dare strike a princess. He quickly regrets it, as Luna runs at him. She uses her sword to block his hit, then throws a wing up into his face. His free hand reaches up to protect his eyes instinctively. While he’s momentarily blinded, Luna digs her left hoof into the floor which allows her to turn in place. She flaps a wing, giving her extra momentum as she slams her hindlegs into his feet, making him fall backwards. As he hits the ground, she smacks his shin with her sword. He drops his weapon and nurses the hit. Another groomsmen drags him from the stage.

While I watch the fighting with an intentionally exaggerated face of bewilderment, another of Cy’s party tries to sneak up on me. I hear him inhale before he tries to swing at my head from the side. I dash behind me, turn around and grab his hand mid-swingthat holds his weapon. I use his momentum to send him sailing across the floor, by slamming my body into him so he can't stop himself. He loses control of his weapon and it goes skidding across the stage, under the bleachers.

Before I can fully regain my footing, I have to roll to the side as a few cakearrows sail by my head. I intentionally put extra force into my roll so I land my feet in an area clear of pastry. A colt gets ready to launch a special cakelance at me, clearly having no desire to get up close and personal. There’s only a second for me to react, so I flip my sword around and deflect the lance away. I hear a few excited screams as it dives into the human audience. Cy stands off to the side, covering his face in embarrassment.

Luna snorts as a lady with a cakelance who wasn’t part of the wedding party, charges her. She thrusts the spear with all her might, but Luna’s wings give her a massive maneuverability bonus. She flaps them, letting her charge forward faster than any of our infantry could. Luna cranks her head to the side, grinding her wooden sword against the spear. Right as Luna goes to slide into the woman’s legs, the woman jumps over Luna, . As she lands on her feet, she pulls out a cakesword from her back and goes to swing at Luna with a triumphant smile. Luna’s face is overcome with anger and she kicks the lady with both her hindlegs moments before contact. She is sent tumbling into the bleachers.

Everyone stops and stares while gasping. Luna suddenly changes to shock as she watches the woman lay there motionless. One of the groomsmen slides on his knees across the stage to check on her. He’s only at her side for a moment as she gets to her feet. A small trickle of blood drips down from the corner of her mouth. She keeps her right arm around her stomach and glares at Luna. Luna’s mouth starts trembling. The woman suddenly gets a malicious grin on her face. “Oh you wanna play like that you little pony princess?!” She grabs a wooden sword from the rack and doesn’t bother to put cake on it as she rushes the stage.

Luna’s face slowly morphs to a devious smile. She flies at the woman and when they’re almost a few feet from each other, Luna lets the sword fly from her mouth. The woman blocks it, but then gets exactly what she asked for. Luna jumps into the air right as her opponent blocks, then tucks in her hindlegs to make herself spin around. She gives the poor woman a nasty dropkick which sends her right back to where she was, except she doesn’t get up this time. Luna uses her wings to counteract her forward momentum and lands gracefully on the stage.

A groomsman grabs her from behind, around her neck. Luna leans her head forward, then rockets the back of her head into his nose. He recoils while holding his face. Luna leaps up, grabs his hand with her teeth and uses the momentum from her landing back down, to yank him off balance into a decent throw. He slides across the cake-covered floor and lands on top of the groaning woman who holds her stomach with both hands.

The last man from Cy’s party who hasn’t sat down yet from some kind of injury, holds his sword hesitantly towards me. There’s a large clump of frosting behind him and to the left. I start circling to his right and he moves opposite the way I do. As soon as the frosting is directly behind him, I make a small dash in his direction. He instinctively backs up, steps on the frosting and falls back with a cry. Before he’s even hit the ground, I’ve already slide over to him, dodging another few cakearrows. I grab his leg so I don’t travel any further, then drive my elbow into his stomach. I pull my fist back to hit him in the eye when his hands fly up to protect his face.

“I yield! Seriously Raiden! It's just a party!” he cries out. I look up at the arches as another volley of cakearrows come sailing towards me. Luna slides in front, holding a shield with her mouth and blocking the arrows. I grab a spear from behind me and we both charge forward. They send arrow after arrow, screaming with playful terror. I plant a foot on Luna’s back to give myself some air. The spear leaves my hand and nails the arrow rack perfectly, knocking it down from the archer’s perch.

Luna and I go back to back, expecting more attackers, but no one else is on the stage. Celestia’s mouth hangs open as she looks around at our injured soldiers, who are still chuckling with amusement, despite numerous injuries. The floor is now a mix of cake, frosting and a bit of blood here and there. Emeris walk up, slowly clapping his hands sarcastically.

“Um...okay...you two...win I guess?” As I walk back to my post, I glance over at Luna who’s already looking at me. She blushes as a grateful smile crosses her face. She hangs her head and chuckles to herself as she walks back to her sister.

I quickly change into clean attire in a small tent as Emeris stands with his arms crossed.

“Not gonna lie Raiden, that was...I’m proud of you...sorta. You coulda gone easier on the groomsmen but...I don’t know how else to say it.” I look over at him with a face full of shock. A small, grateful nod is all I can manage as I dry my hair with a towel. Emeris hands me my cleaned coat and I rush out to the floor, right as the slow dance begins. Luna is already by the stage waiting for me. She trots up with a beaming smile.

“Care to dance?” My mouth is a gaping abyss. No one had ever asked me to dance before. I swallow and stumble for words. Luna gently takes my hand with her mouth and tugs me to the floor. Emeris’ gleeful laugh trails behind us. Numerous people dance even with some of the Equestrians. Four people had a very special job called Spinners. They spread themselves out evenly across the floor, and dance by themselves while keeping an elegant white cloth in the air majestically.

Luna pulls me out to the middle of the floor, then gets on her hind legs with her front hooves on my chest. I gently grasp her ankles as we make small two-steps in a circle with everyone else.

“Raiden...thank you.” She whispers just loud enough for me to hear. I nod and smile.

“Do you think...we can give this another chance?” Her eyes reflect contentedness.

“I’m afraid not, it’s almost time unfortunately.” I cock an eyebrow at her. She stops in place and looks at me with some kind of creepy smile. Off in the distance, Luna stares at me with bulging eyes as her sister tries to clean the cake from her hair. As I look down at the Luna right in front of me, her eyes glow orange.

“I must say, this has been rather entertaining. But as long as I’m here, you’ll always be the King of the Dead!” Before I can say a word, I’m send flying back by a nasty blast of magic. I roll several times and stop upon colliding with the bleachers. My chest burns as the magical blast had torn through my clothes and scalded my skin. A sheet gets gently tossed on Zaran by the same woman from earlier. A flash of orange underneath and his hooves are gone. The sheet glides to the ground.

I try to get out the words to have her apprehended, but she walks back into the bewildered audience and disappears from sight.