*Alex's Apartment; Los Santos, San Andreas; October 14, 2018; 2:20 PM*

"Did you find anything in that pile of books?!" Alex urged.

"Not yet.. How the hell can Twilight expect us to be able to thumb through all of this?!" Yang implored miserably.

Twilight and her group went back to the castle's library in hopes of finding more on who or what this 'Arabus' spirit could be. Until then, Alex, Yang, and Liss were to thumb through what they did bring with and see if they could find anything useful...

Which was especially difficult because Twilight left enough books to fill the coffee table and spill onto the floor and on the couch.

"Honestly, Princess Twilight may as well have brought a whole shelf with her!" Liss indignantly agreed.

"Hold on a second... This book looks like the f**king Necronomicon... 'Predictions and Prophecies'... I'm not sure whether Arabus is either, but f**k it." Alex muttered.

"I guess it's worth a shot." Yang shrugged, tossing the pile of books she was looking through to the corner and sliding next to Alex.

"Ah, F**k, it's in alphabetical order!" Alex groaned.

"Really?! 'Arabus' starts with an 'A'! Just give it to me!" Yang ripped the book from Alex's hands.

"I'll look through another pile for more info, you look through there in case you see anything!" Alex rolled his eyes as he dove into another pile of books.

"Here we go! I found something!" Yang beamed proudly.

"How?!" Liss groaned.

"Well, what does it say?" Alex asked.

"I'll read it out loud for you guys.." Yang cleared her throat.

Arabus: The Shade Demon

Once upon a time, long before the magical land of Equestria, there lived a tribe of ancient alicorns called 'The Crimson Shade', they were great conquerors and hunters who thrived in the night.

The Great Trickster, Discord, saw these barbarians as a threat to his rule and a perfect stain on his imperfect world. He wanted them cast aside, but he knew he could not stand against the warriors. At least, not alone.

One day, he tasked the greatest magicians to create a living weapon that could counter The Shade. They toiled for weeks, perhaps even months to craft this perfect deterrent, with Discord even using his own magic. Their result was a pure monstrosity that called itself 'Arabus'.

Arabus took over the mind of one of the alchemists, willing the poor soul to slaughter his cohorts and absorb their spirits. Arabus eventually made his way to the Shade itself, successfully slaying all but one alicorn.

By then, Arabus had grown strong enough to leave his host to form his own body and continue his rampage throughout Ancient Equestria. Those who tried to resist we're quickly destroyed and forced to assimilate with the monster.

Even Discord had been outclassed by the monster, and it seemed there was no hope for the future of Equestria. That is, until the sole survivor of the Shade had created a solution.

The Alicorn had gathered the next greatest alchemists and tasked them to create a weapon that would sever the spirits from the monster to where Arabus could be contained. Their result was a magical weapon that could complete the task and seal away the monster. This weapon came to be known as the Containment Charge.

In a climactic battle, Arabus was defeated, but the souls he absorbed combined with the Shade's inherently dark essence and formed the beings that later became the Nightmare Forces.

To this very day, Arabus is sealed away deep within the Alicorn's weapon, hopefully never to be released.

Alex stared at the book in disbelief.

"Holy shit, someone's trying to release that thing." Alex blinked.

"I didn't know Ancient Equestria was so..." Liss gaped.

"F**ked up?" Yang asked.

"And then some." Liss bleakly nodded back.

"Okay, so who wants to explain to Twilight what 'Arabus' actually is?" Yang asked.

"I'll handle it. I've been the bearer of bad news for a while, now. Don't see any reason that should change." Alex nodded.

"Handle what?" Twilight asked as she stepped inside with Ruby and Cade.

"Alright. Do you want the good news or bad news first?" Alex inquired.

"Uh... Good news?" Ruby answered nervously,

"We found out what Arabus actually is." Yang began.

"That's great..! We might actually have a chance-" Cade began with a hint of hope in his voice.

"Bad news is that Arabus is a soul-sucking Ancient Equestrian demon created by Discord who killed ponies and absorbed their spirits." Alex added.

Twilight's eyes widened in shock.

"A demon?! Morning Star is trying to release a bucking demon?!" Twilight gasped.

"Let me see that for a second.." Kat asked for the book.

Alex tossed Kat the book, rather quickly as a matter of fact.

"You're really going to have to brace yourself on this one." Yang told her.

Kat flipped through the book before finding the desired page, he studied it carefully and efficiently before setting it down and clearing his throat.

"Arabus itself won't be at it's complete strength when it's first released. If we take it out as quickly as possible, we might have a chance of survival. Also, I studied a bunch of CIA dossiers, and one of them just so happened to be about this weapon. It has some form of failsafe that prevents Arabus from regaining complete power like he did before." Kat explained.

"I can't help but notice that this 'Containment Charge' is like the 'Prometheus Charge' in a sense." Alex admitted.

"There might be more to these artifacts. I'll have to ask Celestia about them." Twilight decided.

"In any case, we should probably get to the others with this, they need to know what we're up against." Ruby figured.

"Well, you're not wrong." Kat nodded in agreement.

"Right then. What about the massive cart of books?" Alex asked, pointing at a larger pile of books being carried in by undercover royal guardsmen, who seemed to be struggling with the sheer weight of the material.

"Right... Let's get these back to the library!" Twilight announced, resulting in groans from the guards' end.

"I'm still keeping the 'Predictions and Prophecies' book. I might need this, given the fact that I was directly involved in one before." Alex figured, flipping through pages at a mild pace.

*Location Unknown; October 15, 2018; 3:15 AM*

"Miss Star!!" One of the Fall Knight's grunts ran to Morning Star and Neo.

"Speak." Morning Star dismissively scoffed.

"T-There are detailed instructions revealing how we can release Arabus..!" The grunt stuttered.

"Hm?" Neo herself turned to face the grunt as well.

"There's only one small problem..." The grunt began.

"Spit it out." Morning Star glared.

"...It's written in Ancient Equestrian... There's no way we can translate-"

"There's no way for you to translate it. I, on the other hoof, know what I'm doing." Morning Star dismissively huffed, walking away from the grunt with Neo.

"Are you sure you want to release... It..?" Neo asked.

"Are you sure you don't? This is the only way Alpha left me to avenge our great society. Leaving this project now would not only be cowardly, but disrespectful of your fallen brothers and sisters." Morning Star accused.

"I understand.." Neo rolled her eyes.

"I'm glad you finally know your place. Now, hand me my journal.." Morning Star smiled wickedly.

*Meanwhile; Outside Vinewood, San Andreas*

An unknown figure pulled himself from the bushes, stretching his legs as he continued his trek down the winding road leading to the city.

The figure threw off his charred helmet, revealing a man in his mid 20's with several scars, most of which faded due to... Recent experiences.

"Do you honestly think that a minor light show such as that would be enough to take me down for good, Saigo?" Ultimus laughed sadistically at the thought of getting his desired vengeance.

"The Inquisition has failed me twice already. Alpha didn't live up to his promise and neither did Fall's. I walk alone now, do you understand?! I'm done being a mere pawn, I will destroy you, Saigo!! You and anyone else who dares stand in my way! Whether it be a Fall Knight, your pathetic friends, or your weakling family, there will be no mercy!!" The man roared in fury, as though his message would fall upon his enemy's ears.

"The tides will turn, Emphas. And when it does, there will be no escape, no solace, in the sheer hell that awaits you!" Ultimus panted, enraged at the mere though that Alex was still breathing. Ultimus wouldn't wait for Neopolitan or Morning Star to work out a plan. He had his own plans for his rival.

And no one would be able to stand in his way.