Nikol was not one for words when it came to making important decisions under drastic circumstances. He believed that as a tactician, the actions that he would choose spoke much louder than that. The first action that he took was to cast Barwatera to protect his allies from the raging waves of Leviathan’s wrath, before following that up with giving Rain a simple order. Summon the pegasus vision that Rain had demonstrated before and have her go up in the air to start channeling storm clouds above the esper.

At first, the knight was puzzled by what the tactician said. Though, there was no time in order to ask why. If they didn’t do this, then there was no way that they could actually beat the esper in its current state while under the Veritas’ control. Not to mention that the longer that they had to keep Leviathan occupied, the more the esper’s power began to increase significantly. The Veritas controlling Leviathan did not mind at all though. In fact, it sounded like she was enjoying the whole affair as the Veritas of the Waters laughed madly with the power at her disposal. “Yes! YES!! Show those fools no mercy!!”

“Okay, so what exactly are we doing? Just letting ourselves get beaten while what? Nimbus tries making it rain!! We gotta do something!” Carbuncle growled, frustration in its words as Rain used his Crimson Saber to hold himself in place. He wanted to tell Carbuncle that there wasn’t really any alternative options for them to actually beat Leviathan at the moment. But he couldn’t. If he were distracted right now, he would not be able to notice any of Leviathan’s incoming attacks. The knight and his allies had to at least make it look like they were putting up a fight to provide Nimble with as much time as possible.

The darkened grey clouds that were swirling together in the air were a good sign. But that in itself was just a start. They were up against an esper, and Nikol knew that they were going to need more than that if they were going to try and break Leviathan from the Veritas’ control. The abyssinian had a spell in mind to weaken the esper’s elemental protections, but he wanted to be sure that they had enough power to hit Leviathan with after he casted it.

Shining, Luna and Fidget were all doing their own parts to try and assist with the situation. The white mage used her magic to heal the injuries sustained from the leviathan’s attacks while Fidget fired off a Sunbeam from the crossbow on her wrist to try and blind the esper as she looked back at Rain. “Rrgh… H-how much longer-. Fina’s gonna run out of mana at this rate!”

The crimson knight grit his teeth, only to look up at the sky and see that Nimbus wasn’t yet ready. The pegasus had put a single finger up, which in his mind, could only mean that she needed one more minute before she was ready. “Just hold out as much as you can!” He told Fidget, grabbing an ether flask out of the satchel he had on his waist and tossing it to the griffon. “Give her this. It should help restore some of her mana.”

The Veritas of the Waters though could not help but chuckle at seeing Rain and his comrades struggle. She felt quite proud of herself. Using the power from the sacred vessel of Paladia to have Leviathan’s rage under her command. “Why do these mere worms still continue to resist? Have they not realized yet that there is no point in trying to struggle against Leviathan’s wrath?” She thought to herself. Yet, part of her told her that she should still be cautious. After all, one of the ones who stood before her was a Warden of the Waters. It is unlike them to go into a battle without some kind of plan.

As the Leviathan readied its next attack though, that was when Rain readied his blade. Dodging the waves as he struck the body with his blade. His intent was not to harm it, but instead to weaken it. For his attack was not a normal one. It was ‘Undermine’. A technique that allowed for him to hit an opponent, and in doing so, weaken their attack, defense, magic and spirit.

It was a move that was accompanied by another one. A spell that the tactician was waiting to unleash. “Imperil!”

Imperil was another green magic spell that Nikol had at his disposal. But it wasn’t one that was meant to help his allies. Instead, it was a spell intended to weaken the elemental protections of whatever foe was afflicted by it. In this case, the one that was afflicted was the esper they were fighting.

“Fools! What makes you think that you have a chance to stop Leviathan now-?!” The Veritas asked. But just as she was finishing her sentence, a loud rumble began to echo throughout the sky. Startling her, but as she looked back at the crimson knight on the ground, all he was doing was… smiling? “What is this fool so joyful about?”

For Rain though, the thunder was very much a positive sign. It was a sign that the preparations on Nimbus’ end were complete. And from the looks of it, the pegasus seemed eager to unleash the power that she had been storing up. “Nimbus, NOW!!”

“What-!?”

“TRY THIS ONE FOR SIZE, YOU OVERGROWN EEL!!!” Nimbus’ warcry was followed by a charged up fist punching the storm clouds that have she had gathered, triggering a barrage of lightning that rained down on both the waterlord and the esper before they had the chance to do anything. The strike coughed up smoke and dirt from the shoreline as Rain and the others were forced to shield their eyes from the electrical onslaught that was just unleashed.

Mere moments after the attack connected, Luka came out from behind a nearby tree as Fidget and Luna joined up with the knights and the tactician. “D-did we do it?” The white mage asked hesitantly. Rain himself wanted to say yes… but part of him felt unsure if that was enough. The goal was not to try and defeat the Leviathan, but weaken it enough so that it would snap out of the Veritas’ control. But that task alone had brought all of them to the point of exhaustion.

As the smoke began to clear though, both the esper and Veritas were in the same spot where they got hit. Leviathan looked as if it had not attained any damage. The Veritas of the Waters though was a completely different story. The armor that she wore looked as if it had been burned to a crisp by the bolts of lightning that were rained down on her head. “Do you think that conjuring a cheap trick such as that can stop me-!?!!”

Now though, Luka was the one that stood firm. Approaching the esper with no help from that of her brother or anyone else as she placed both of her paws together. “We beg thy forbearance, O god of the waters,” The priestess prayed, her words sounding melancholic. “Hear our words! We beseech thee!”

“Pfft… How pathetic. Your prayers for mercy are useless, girl. The only words that this beast will listen to now is my own-” However, the Waterlord’s own boast was soon silenced by the glowing blue aura around Luka. The magic that surrounded her and rippled like the depths of the ocean. “What is the meaning of this!?! Cease this foolishness at once!!”

The Veritas lifted an arm into the air, conjuring a sphere of water with her magic as she threw it directly towards the priestess. But before it could make contact, Luna got up and placed herself in between them. “Protect!”

The barrier of magic formed from her fingertips around the two of them as Rain and the others were slowly getting back up. “N-nikol… W-what is Luka doing?” Shining Armor now asked as he looked towards the abyssinian for answers.

“Luka… She’s trying to have her prayers to reach the heart of the water god.”

“Ngh…” They heard Luna struggle to maintain the barrier as the Veritas put more power into the spell. But before Rain and the others could do anything to help, she immediately gestured for them to back off. So far over this journey, Rain had always been there for Luna when she needed to be saved. Now though, it was her turn to save someone for a change.

As the Veritas focused solely on Luna and Luka, they didn’t notice the Leviathan slowly beginning to move away from the shore and out towards the center of the lake. However, it was as Luka finished her prayer that a second water orb was conjured by the Veritas and thrown into the first. Both orbs shattered and the force was enough to send them flying back a few feet.

“How pitiful. Your devout prattle and prayers are nothing compared to the might of the sacred vessel in which I possess!” The Veritas of the Waters boasted. “Now, Leviathan! Finish them off for good-!”

FWOOSH!!

The Veritas of the Waters had little time to react in that moment. Indeed, the Leviathan attacked. But instead of attacking Rain and the others, the attacks were directed towards her instead. “What!? What is the meaning of this!!?! I said attack them, not me, you sea-brained imbecile!!”

It did not help her anymore as the esper glared directly at her. The darkened shade from the Leviathan’s scales beginning to disappear as it unleashed one more blast of water. This time hitting its intended target. “Oh for the love of-!!”

For Rain and the others though, this… was a huge sigh of relief as they got back up on their feet. “Luka,” Shining spoke now. “It seems as if your prayers really did reach Leviathan.”

However, as Rain turned to look at the priestess, he did not see an expression of happiness on her face, but one of sorrow as she shook her head. “Yes, but my work is not yet done. I must heal the wounds of the water god and purify these waters. Only then will our home be safe.”

“Luka… does this mean that we need to say goodbye already?”

The question from Luna, along with the subsequent nod of the priestess’ head soon lead to Rain noticing that something was off as he approached the priestess. “Goodbye? Why exactly would this be seen as goodbye? We just only met like a day ago.”

“I must fully advocate myself to the waters,” The priestess told him as she turned her head to face her brother. Her back facing towards the lake. “As the priestess of the waters, I have a duty to uphold. I will let myself sink to the bottom of this lake… and I shall remain there until the day my work is complete and our holy waters are pure once more.”

“Purify the waters?” Fidget now asked as she approached Luna’s right hand side now. “How long exactly would something like that take?”

“I cannot say,” Luka said at first. However, the next words that she spoke shocked everyone that was listening as if felt like a stab to the gut. “But I suppose that with this amount of sickness… it will take many years.”

“Y-years…?”

“Okay, just what the buck?!” Nimbus could be heard now as the abyssinian looked back to the griffon.

“Don’t be troubled now,” Luka insisted, looking to both Fidget and Nimbus first along with everyone else soon afterwards. “I’ve been prepared to do my duty now for a long time-”

“Nikol!” The griffon immediately snapped, turning her attention now towards the tactician as she asked him a new question. “Did you know about this?”

“Of course. Luka is the only one who can cleanse these defiled waters-”

“The hell do you mean by ‘of course’!?” Nimbus now raised her voice, which was followed by Fidget immediately walking over to Nikol as she stared down the warden of the waters, half tempted to smack him in the face. “I can’t believe you! Don’t you even care? You’re her brother for crying out loud!! Say something to her! Are you gonna use that damn excuse about saving one life over a thousand in order to basically sacrifice your own sister!?!”

“Fidget! Nimbus! Calm down!!” Luna now raised her voice, immediately causing the two of them to stop talking as the white mage looked at both of them. “I believe this is all painful to Nikol as well. At least try to understand him.”

For a moment, Fidget stopped. Trying to fully grasp what Luna was telling her. But it was as this was going on that Nimbus noticed something coming from Nikol. More specifically, his eyes. “Hey… are you… crying?”

“Crying?” He said, shortly before turning around defiantly and facing away from the group. “What a fanciful idea. We were all splashed by the Leviathan’s onslaught of water magic. Of course there would be moisture on my face.”

That was met by a brief silence as he looked away, using a sleeve to wipe the ‘moisture’ off of his face as Luna herself looked out onto the lake. Though, it was as she looked out now that something else came to her mind. “Luka… I remember you telling me something,” She spoke, catching the attention of the priestess. “You told me that you would give up all that you were… for one special person. Back then, I really couldn’t understand that fully.”

Now, she turned around, looking directly at the priestess. “But now, I think I understand it a bit better,” Her gaze now shifted to where Nikol was, his back still facing the rest of them. “Wanting to use your gifts and your power for the sake of someone important… Wanting to help that creature… and keep that creature safe. I know how it feels.”

“Fina…” Luka’s words were followed by her placing her paws together once more as her power began to flow again. But this time, that power seemed to move towards Luna now as she was surrounded in the same magical energy that Luka had around her. Something that was much to her surprise. “Thank you… this might not be much, but it should be enough to bring down the Ocean Shrine’s barrier.” As she said that, she soon drifted out to the lake. But it was then that Luna said something.

“Luka! There’s something that I want to let you know…” The white mage said, before looking back at Rain and the others. “My name… it’s not Fina. It’s Luna.”

That in itself was enough to surprise the priestess, as well as her brother. But it was Luka who just smiled as she looked back at her. “Thank you… Luna. Please don’t be sad… I will not die here. Once the waters are pure again, I will come back. That’s a promise.” Now she was by Leviathan’s side as she finished what she was telling them. “Once I reach the bottom, I will begin the cleansing. You should be able to see the purifying light even from here on the surface. When you see it… think of me, and know that I am alive. If I know that you are all thinking of me… if I know that you remember me… then I will not be alone.”

As they looked out from the edge and began to see the light from the lake, that was when Rain finally spoke. Breaking the silence that had drifted since Luka had submerged below. “If that’s the case… then you can count on us. We’ll never forget what you did for us today, Luka. I swear to you on my honor as a knight.”

The priestess had one last thing, shortly before she and the leviathan began to submerge into the murky waters below. “Thank you…”

“We need to talk.”

Out of all the words that Rain expected to hear from Nikol on their way back to Panthera, those four words weren’t quite what he anticipated after the four of them had set up camp for the night. If anything, the warden of the waters had been silent since they had left Lake Katt. Shining Armor was looking for wood so they can start a fire, all the while Luna and Fidget were sleeping on some blankets.

“What’s the matter?” Rain then asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked back at Nikol.

“The matter is that when I am working with a partner, whether they are from Abyssinia or outside of it, I don’t tolerate dishonesty well,” The tactician told the knight directly, motioning a paw towards Luna as she curled up on the blanket and was sleeping soundly. “Who is she really?”

“That… is kind of difficult to explain,” The knight told him, before thinking of a question to ask Nikol. “How familiar are you with the stories of Equestria?”

“Only the one with the two sisters. One that raised the sun and the other that raised the moon. Though, most of us believe that is just a kitten’s story.” He responded.

As Nikol looked back at him, he could see that there was a small smirk on Rain’s face. Just before he began to explain it to her. “Hate to break it to you… but that kitten’s story actually happened. You see, when the attack on Canterlot by the Sworn Six of Paladia happened, we found Luna amongst everything. According to Princess Celestia herself, she’s her sister… but upon waking up, she did not have any memories.”

“Really? Then how am I supposed to believe that she really is an alicorn? I haven’t even seen a pair of wings on her,” Of course, just as he said that, Luna herself turned over. Her back facing towards the two of them and her cloak rising up a bit. Revealing the pair of wings on her back. “Okay, point taken… But that still doesn’t explain a few things. For one, if she were Celestia’s sister, why would she come with you knowing that she would be throwing herself in harm's way? And two, why did she call herself Fina the first time we met her?”

“Alright, to answer your first question, she felt that she needed to come with us because she felt directly tied to the whole situation with the Veritas. Plus, I felt that if she came along on this journey of ours, there could be something that could help her regain those missing memories of hers.” Rain now explained to her, while also mentioning the encounters that they had before. From Hollow Shades and Starlight’s home to the Griffish Isles and Granitebeak, he told Nikol of the number of times that Luna had been there for them and how it was because of her that they have gotten this far.

Though, Nikol’s response… was not quite the most ideal. “That still doesn’t explain the name.”

“To be honest, she kind of came up with it after we decided to come up with a name to address her by so we did not attract much attention to ourselves,” Rain then added. “She said that since she looked like that of a filly and her name was Luna, that we should call her Fina. I know it sounds dumb, but it’s been working for us so far.”

“Fair enough.” Nikol responded. But just as he turned around and slowly began to walk away, that was when Rain had a question for him.

“How do you think El is going to take this?”

The question had the tactician stop where he was, before turning back around to see the knight again as he came up with a response. “My brother knows just as much as anycat the duties that come with the title of Warden of the Waters as well as its burdens.”

“Just because he knows them does not mean that he would be prepared for it when it happens,” Rain told him, recalling how El first reacted to the knight and his friends upon meeting him for the first time. “One of the most important lessons that I learned from my teacher in the royal guard is that you can never be truly prepared for everything, no matter how hard you try. We were trained and taught how to keep our kind safe, but it never prepared us for when the Sworn Six attacked Canterlot. So… taking into account what I just said, and what you know about your brother, how do you think he will react to this?”

The tactician was silent. He did not retort so quickly like with his earlier responses, but instead, he took some time. The knight watched as he turned around, placing his left paw under his chin and scratching it first before retracting it. Finally thinking of an answer to say as he turned back around.

“If I have to be honest with you… not well. Even if he knows his duties, the one flaw that I notice with him is that he throws such obligations to the wind whenever somecat close to him is involved.”

“Like with Arsha back in Panthera?”

The tactician only nodded for a brief second, before continuing to speak. “Indeed. I just hope that he finds a way to try and control his emotions. Otherwise, it will not end well for him since I would not always be there to back him up.”

“With everything that we have gone through… and everything that still ahead of us, I hope the same thing.” The knight told him as he took a seat on the ground, noticing Shining Armor returning with some sticks and a couple logs of wood as he prepared a fire spell to start the campfire. Letting the flames warm them and dry off their soaked clothing from the battle the had earlier that day so they can rest.

Of course, for Nikol… he couldn’t find it in himself to rest. Not after the conversation that he just had… and thinking about the conversation that he knew he couldn’t avoid once returning to the capital.

The trip back to Panthera was not exactly a comfortable one for Rain and his comrades by the time they finally returned to the capital city of Abyssinia. Even though Luka had begun cleansing the waters and they were able to stop the Veritas from controlling Leviathan, it still did not mean that the city was safe at all. Especially if the monster, or the Veritas of the Waters, came back to finish what they started.

The hardest part in coming back though was explaining all of this to El. He, like many others, was almost expecting for Luka to be by their side upon their return. However, when they had to break the news of what happened and tell him of what Luka was now doing… he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Part of the soldier blamed himself for not being there with them in order to stop the one behind all of this, but it wasn’t until later that he began to realize that this was something that he didn’t have any control over.

The overall mood did not change as the sun began to set over the horizon as Rain and his companions were escorted to the rooms that they were to stay in for the night, courtesy of Nikol. Of course, his sole reason for it was because if they were to be prepared for whatever came next, both the body and the mind needed to rest. Something he referred to as a ‘necessity’ for the wellness of any soldier on the frontlines.

However, for Rain, after everything that they had just gone through, he tried to fall asleep… but was having trouble staying asleep. Every few moments he would find himself either waking up or tossing and turning in his bed. Something was making it hard for him in order to get the rest that he needed, and after a while, it just became downright irritating.

At one point though, he had enough. Instead of just trying to force himself to fall asleep, he thought that he should at least do something about it. Getting up from his bed, he proceeded to step outside. In his mind, taking a walk might help with clearing his head a little so that he could be able to sleep. Or at least, that was how it was supposed to be in theory.

Though, as he walked through the city streets, there was one thing that he happened to catch a glimpse of that was tucked away in a back alley. At first, he thought that he was seeing things. But upon closer inspection, he began to realize that wasn’t the case here. In the alley was a crystal. Not just any crystal, but the same one that had taken both him and Shining to the Farplane. Why such a thing was here, he did not know. What the knight did know though was that last time around, he did not have that much time in order to look around the Farplane as much as he wanted too.

Right now, that wasn’t the case. “I guess it can’t hurt to look around some.” He told himself, just as he placed his hand on the Crystal and it’s light began to shimmer brightly.

The Farplane

In the vast cosmic vortex that is the farplane, the moogles that live here were the only known creatures that call it home. But even to them, there are those who wander the depths of the farplane. Trying to make sense of this alternate reality and see if they can try to find their way back to where they once were.

A couple of them in particular were wandering around, wanting a break from that of their companions as they tried to find a place to rest. Both of them were pegasi, though, one was dressed in the regalia of a soldier while the other wore the clothes of a traveler that just traversed the Saddle Arabian desert. “Ugh, dear Celestia… If I hear Rockhoof claim that we can find a way out of Limbo here by digging our way out, I will take that shovel of his and hit myself over the head with it.”

“Come on, Flash. You’re just over exaggerating.”

“Am I? Because if I recall correctly, he’s been suggesting that everyday for as long as we can remember being in this place, Somnambula.” The stallion named Flash Magnus replied back to his companion. Ever since the day that he, Somnambula and the other ponies that were known as the ‘Pillars of Equestria’ sealed themselves away to seal away the evil that was ‘The Pony of Shadows’, they had been finding themselves wandering this endless void.

Starswirl the Bearded, one of the most famous mages in Equestria, believed that this place was Limbo. The dimension between realities that was nothing but an endless space. However, when they saw the creatures that were known as Moogles, they began to realize that where they were could in fact be someplace entirely different. And therefore, they could hopefully find a way out. It was something that they’ve been trying to figure out for years… perhaps even longer than that, but with no luck in sight.

However, in all of the time that they have been here, the one thing that they had never seen in the years since coming here was another creature that could be from outside. That was… until today. It happened while Flash was trying to do his best in order to ‘listen’ to what Somnambula was trying to tell her. But at the corner of his eye, he noticed something that was dressed in red garbs and a blond mane walking through the farplane. Sword strapped to their back as he ventured on towards the home of the Moogles. “Somnambula… did you see that?”

“See what?”

“Just now, there was a guy in red walking through there,” He replied, pointing a hand towards the castle of King Mog. At first, it did not look like there was anypony there and Somnambula was thinking that Flash might’ve been full of himself. But not a minute too soon did she see him as well. Of course, they did not look like a pony at all. In fact, this person looked to be much different. “Just who the hay is that guy?”

“He doesn’t look like anypony we would be familiar with,” Somnambula now responded, trying to get a closer look at the strange figure. Noticing something on their clothes as she turned to Flash. “Hey, did you notice that insignia on its clothes?”

“The what?”

“The insignia on his chest, by his right shoulder,” She pointed to it, which now had the royal legion soldier look closer as where she was pointing at. “Does that look familiar to you? You were part of the Cloudsdale royal legion so-”

“Even though I am, that’s not one that I have seen before,” He retorted back. “Besides, his clothes and everything look more like somepony from Canterlot than Cloudsdale,” With that, Flash then looked back to the fellow pegasi as a different idea came to mind. “Maybe we should ask Starswirl-”

“Ask me what exactly?” Both pegasi immediately turned around to see the archmage himself, Starswirl the Bearded, standing right behind him. His robes extending over a majority of his body and his scepter in hand as he looked back at the two of them.

“H-how-?”

“Meadowbrook saw you two walking this way and got a bit concerned when you didn’t come back,” The archmage replied back, “Now, what is it that you want to-” Before he could finish, that’s when he saw the same strange figure that both Flash and Somnambula were looking at. But for him, his reaction was much different. Sure, a part of him felt shocked, but another part came off more as curiosity. “Now why would somepony like you be here?”

“Wait a minute, you know who they are?” The desert traveler was the first one to ask.

“Not personally, but I can tell what they are,” Starswirl explained. “That insignia on his clothes is one that is only given to those in the royal guard who had gained the rank of knighthood.”

“So he’s a knight from Canterlot?” Flash then followed suit.

“Well, if you want to put it that way, then yes. He’s a knight from Canterlot,” Before he could say anything else though, he noticed that the figure had his head turned to his shoulder, where it didn’t look like anything was there. But soon, what looked like a multi-tailed critter with an emerald fur coat and a ruby on their forehead soon emerged. “Hold on just a second, I need to cast a spell.”

“What kind of spell?”

“An enhanced listening spell. I just want to confirm something.” The mage assured his companions, before using his scepter to cast it. Just as the spell was beginning to take root though, that was when all three of them began to hear the figure speak.

As well as the critter on his shoulder. “So what exactly was the reason why you wanted to come here in the first place? Just to say hi to the moogles?”

“Carbuncle, the only other time that I was able to come to the farplane was before Canterlot got attacked by the Veritas. I didn’t exactly have the chance to find out anything more about it until now.”

The single statement from the knight alone made the blood of all three of the Pillars freeze. Mainly for two reasons. The first being that they heard that this place was not called Limbo, but something else in its entirety. The second being the news of Canterlot being attacked. When Starswirl was last there, everything was still perfectly fine and the capital was not in a state of panic. Leaving him with one question in mind.

How long have they been stuck here for?

“Sure, sure. Sorry, it’s just… I’ve been feeling a bit uneasy.”

“You think?”

“What? Can you blame me? Aside from the fact that the Veritas are destroying the crystals that keep the world stable, the fact that one of them was able to basically brainwash an esper like myself would be more than concerning to me! Especially since it was freaking Leviathan!!” The creature said before taking a few deep breaths and letting out a sigh. “I mean, for bahamut’s sake Rain, even Discord is taking an interest in you. And that is never a good sign.”

“Rain?” Somnambula then asked, looking back at Flash and Starswirl. “Is that his name?”

“Seems like it,” Flash replied. “Though, I’m more surprised that creature down there can talk. Just what is it?”

To Starswirl though, he knew what this Carbuncle was. It was an esper. One of the things that he spent his life trying to research and understand. And this one was somehow talking to the knight like it was a companion? How was that possible?

“Carbuncle, I understand your concern… Yet, I don’t think there’s anything you need to necessarily worry about in terms of being brainwashed. I mean… don’t you trust me?” Rain asked the esper, who personally seemed appalled by the sudden question.

“O-of course I do, what kind of a question is that?”

“Earlier when fighting Leviathan, you were questioning whether or not what Nimbus was doing would actually help us-.”

“Because I did not realize what she was doing until after she set off that lightning attack,” The esper quickly countered before the knight could finish that sentence. “Besides, I don’t know if its because she’s a vision or what, but I get the impression that she might find my presence as annoying.”

Now in that moment, two ponies were thinking two separate things. Starswirl himself was trying to understand what these ‘visions’ they were talking about were. While for Flash, his thought process was on something completely different. He heard the night mention a name. Nimbus. The name of somepony that he knew personally and somepony that he saw more as a rather close friend than just another soldier in the royal legion. So how was it… that this knight, who they only just saw now, know about her.

“Right… And what about Luna?” All that did was have the esper that was on his shoulder stare blankly at him, shortly before he let out a sigh. “Okay, nevermind… We should probably get back before Luna and the others start getting worried.”

Now Starswirl’s mind was beginning to race as all three of them watched the knight proceed to the glowing crystal that was at the end of the path he was walking on, place a hand on the crystal and disappear a few moments later. Stunning all of them as they were trying to understand what they all just witnessed. All three of them were still trying to come up with possible answers to the questions that lingered in their minds. However, for the archmage, he was even more shocked by something else. Because when the knight had placed his hand on the crystal, he felt a surge of magic being released from him before disappearing.

Magic that was exactly like his.

Panthera

When the knight returned from the farplane, Rain and Carbuncle did not find themselves in the same back alley that they originally found the crystal. Instead, they had returned back to the room at the inn that the rest of Rain’s companions were resting at. It was a surprise, that was for sure. Though, he did not have the time to think on why the crystal brought them here.

Because mere moments after he returned, the door slammed open as Shining raced in. “Rain, get out here! We got an emergency!!”

He had no time to ask what exactly he was talking about and instead, he rushed outside to rendezvous with the rest of his companions and El as well. But what he found outside shocked him.

The entire lower section of Panthera, where many of the civilians and shopkeepers lived, was completely flooded. Homes were turned into nothing more than broken debris that floated along the water's surface while everything else sunk to the bottom. Many of the abyssinians immediately seeked higher ground along with a majority of the guards. However, there were others that were not so lucky.

“What… happened?” The crimson knight asked, stunned and bewildered by the carnage that he was seeing.

“Your guess is as good as ours,” Shining was the first to speak. “Fidget woke up to find this before immediately telling everypony else.”

“There’s just no beaking way that this could’ve been caused by some storm or natural phenomenon,” The griffon now added. “Do you think it’s likely that something broke with the water system? Like a pipe burst?”

“This is the aquapolis,” El deadpanned, shaking his head as he looked back at Fidget. “It doesn’t have any issues with plumbing. That notion is just absurd!”

As he said that, that was when Rain began scratching his chin. Just before coming upon a realization. “Yet that could only mean…”

“… That this was an attack,” Nikol finished the sentence. “Commenced when we least expect it. There’s no doubt about it.”

“You have any idea who might’ve done this, Nikol?” El then asked his brother, wanting to hear something that could at least help them track down who was responsible for this.

“Only one,” He began, turning to face his brother. “Being able to flood the aquapolis in itself is no small feat. And considering the fact that this wasn’t an accident with the irrigation system, it tells me two things,” The tactician explained as everypony else began to focus their attention towards him. “First, this was caused by magic considering how much of the city has been flooded in so little time. And second, the only potential way that this could have been accomplished is that if they had an artifact that amplified the casters power.”

The conclusion that Nikol provided was solid. More so when Fidget realized something as well. “Wait… didn’t that Veritas creep at the lake have some kind of artifact that allowed for it to possess Leviathan? The sacred… I don’t know the name, but you get what I mean right?”

Nikol nodded in response to that. “Yes, the sacred vessel-” Just as he said that, several of them turned around in the same direction. Sensing a massive presence of magical energy as the tactician looked back at Rain and the others. “Over there! Hurry!!”

Immediately, all of them began to race over towards where they felt the pulse of magic set off. Yet, they did not have to get very far to come face to face with the culprit. Water began to swirl on the path towards the aquapolis docks as the Veritas of the Waters made their presence known.

“So you were the one who did this!!” Rain grit his teeth, half-tempted to grab the grip of his blade.

The Veritas, who was once faced towards the flooded depths of the northern end of the city turned themselves around. The sounds of laughter echoing under their armor and a ring on their right hand beginning to glow. “Heh heh… don’t you think that for a name like the ‘aquapolis’ that this is a little more fitting?”

Of course, it did not take long for Nikol to notice one thing in particular about the Veritas this time around. “That ring… that’s the sacred vessel of Paladia. The same one that you used to injure and corrupt the Leviathan.”

At that point though, the crimson knight had a question to ask. Not to the enemy that stood in front of them, but to the comrade that stood next to him. “Nikol, could you fill us in on what you mean. We’ve heard you mention this vessel several times, but you haven’t really explained to us what it is.”

“It’s an artifact that’s said to multiply the magical power of a user several times over their normal limit,” The abyssinian responded.

“So that is how this freak is able to do an awful thing like this!?” The griffon that was nearby snapped as she glared at the Veritas. “What a jerk!!”

In Luna’s mind though, she was thinking something much differently. “If the ring is what allowed you to cause this… Then we just need to do something about it!” Before any creature could be able to react, Luna took off. Charging at the Veritas in order to try and take the ring that was on the Veritas’ hand. However, as she got close, the white mage was repelled back by a barrier of water that was conjured almost instantly. The Veritas didn’t even have to move.

“Fina!”

“Foolish child,” The Veritas of the Waters snarked as the ring began to glow. “Did you really think that such a futile attempt would be enough in order to take this away from me? The sacred vessel’s own power protects me. I don’t even have to move in order for it to shield me from the likes of you!”

“Fina, are you okay?” Rain’s question though was met by a different response than he was expecting. Because shortly after getting knocked down, Luna immediately got back up seconds later.

“I’m fine… In fact, I think I remembered something. Somehow… I know about the sacred vessel.” She said, before bolting towards the Veritas again as she approached them and the barrier that circled around them.

“Honestly, what did I just say, I told you that the power of the vessel protects me-” In an instant, the Veritas’ words changed when they realized that they weren’t able to just easily knock Luna away. In fact, she was standing her ground and attempting to break through. “W-what?! Why you-! What do you think you’re doing!?!”

“The vessel! Let it go!!” She said, trying to push forward and break through. Yet, this forced the Veritas of the Waters to begin conjuring magic with a spare hand.

“Don’t you dare touch me with those impure hands, imbecile!!!” The strength of the barrier, combined with the Veritas’ magic sent Luna back farther than before. Yet… what happened in the seconds after that was much much different.

For one thing, as Luna got up from the ground, the magical aura that was around her began to surge. It was one that Rain and Shining had seen before, just as they had landed in Griffonstone. But this one was much more intense.

Then came the change. Luna’s mane began to grow forth and the color of her fur began to change. Darkening to a navy shade as she stood up. Her clothes immediately began to turn into something much different. A hood and dress of a mage that were as dark as the night sky were now on Luna’s body as she looked up. But the most noticeable trait was that her wings weren’t hidden anymore. In fact, they weren’t as small as before and stretched out farther down her back.

First, Luna looked to her left. Then to her right, and then looked towards Rain and the others, walking past them before finally saying something. Yet, her voice… was different. Deeper. Not the voice of a young and innocent girl, but of a battle hardened mage. “Well, this is quite unexpected… I never thought that I would come back to myself like this,” Once more, she looked around. Almost as if she was taking in the scenery. “Panthera also looks to be quite different… How many centuries have come and gone since I’ve last seen this place with my own eyes?”

Rain, along with everyone else, stared in silence. What could’ve possibly had Luna take on this transformation? Was it something that had to do with the sacred vessel? Each of them had several questions that they wanted to ask, though they could not say anything.

The one who was able to speak though was the Veritas of the Waters. But their overall tone was much different this time. Earlier, their voice came off as menacing and cruel. Now though… that same voice was filled with something different this time around. Something that, up to this point, none of the Sworn Six have ever shown in the face of those that they called their enemies.

Fear. “N-no… T-that’s not possible… Y-you can’t be…”

Yet, the only expression that was on Luna’s face now… was a widening grin. “It’s been a rather long time, Servant of Aldore,” Magic began to surge around Luna’s right hand as she began to grab hold of a weapon. Yet, this was not Reincarnation that she was wielding. Instead, she tightened her grip on a whip that resembled that of a bladed spine with the end of the whip showing the metal skull of a viper. “I’m rather lucky to find somepony like you here. So how about you just stop staring at me like that and attack, won’t you? Toying with you should be an acceptable warm up.”

Author's Notes:

I dreamt of a friend I will come to have. She will tell me: A side should always be taken. Even if it is the wrong side. I think I should like her.
-Mara Sov, Destiny 2 Forsaken (Final visit to the Queen’s Court)

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A choice has been made, but is it for the best? And what more can we expect in the days to come? Find out next time.
-Frost