The group of six looked over the small fishing village from the the tree line. The golden stallion was still there, yet none of the crew were anywhere to be seen. Nathaniel didn't like the creepy feeling he was getting from the place, like the entire settlement was just waiting to eat them all whole. He could still see the inhabitants however, the griffins going around doing their daily business. The man even saw the village elder, the battle scared creature sitting on his porch.

"Something's off.." Osiris said and Rose nodded, eyeing the village with a glare.

"There are more guards, heavily armed. They look to be from the Griffin navy, not their land troops" The sanguine stated and looked around for more clues.

"The crew is not on the ship, yet I think I see a few griffins on it. So where are they?" Nathan finally asked, the three guardians pulling back.

"The increased military presence on Equestrian soil is not agreeable with the terms set for the fishing village.." Rose muttered as Silver and Peace looked at the three.

"Nor is it agreeable for them to forcefully seize a ship belonging to a member of our kingdom" Osiris muttered, letting his saddle bags fall to the ground.

"If they have taken the ship we cannot get back to Luna, she'll die!" Nathan said with a hushed voice and the bat pony nodded slowly.

"We need to get into the village, find the crew and get back to Luna. We're still making good progress but the days are running out kid" The earth pony told the human who nodded.

They all kept observing the village until Blaze hugged the ground and moved towards the settlement. The man tried to get the wolf to come back but it did nothing, the hound moving through the tall grass towards the nearest house. Nathaniel watched his companion eye the building, Osiris calling after Blaze with swears to get back. Finally the hound returned, walking around them in a circle before looking at the closest house, whining and motioning towards it.

The other five looked towards the building and slowly started to move towards it. They kept to the tall grass as they got out of the jungle and once again walked on Equestrian ground. It was nerve wracking for the much taller man to crouch down in the grass, seeing the griffin soldiers not much further away. The village was still very active, even if the children that had been playing in the street was now nowhere to be seen.

Once they finally reached the porch of the building was the diplomat the first to get inside. Peace Treaty just hurried up and opened the door, not even bothering looking at the windows. Once she had seen the griffin soldiers so near her had the mare just wanted to get away. Rose and Silver hurried after her into the building as the man approached it slowly. Blaze and Osiris did they same, never taking their eyes of the village.

Nathaniel was the last to enter the small house, allowing Osiris and Blaze to get inside and then the human decided to enter the building. The house was quiet and dirty, like the entire place had been abandoned for years. The group saw no evidence of anyone in the village using the house for anything, meaning they were most likely safe there for the time being.

Blaze had started to claw on a floor door in the main hall as they group of six entered. The hound gave Nathaniel a pleading look and the human walked over with Osiris. The man and stallion forced the heavy wooden thing open and looked down into the darkness. The stench of rot hit them and they both staggered away from the floor door. To the human's horror was the body of the ship captain down in the hole. The stallion had been beaten beyond recognition and then been stabbed so many times he looked like a deflated blow up toy.

Osiris slammed the hatch shut just as Rose saw the body and growled, looking towards the window. The teen grabbed the bat pony by her hind leg as she tried to rush towards the door. She yelled that she was gonna murder all of the 'damn chickens' when the former diplomat pulled Osiris away from the hall into the bedroom and hissed for them to hide. The succubus followed the scout and diplomat into the bedroom, ushering Nate to hide as well. Nathaniel just covered Rose's snout with his hand and pulled her into the kitchen as the door facing the village burst open. Blaze manged to hide behind the door as three griffin guards rushed in, eyeing the run down building.

The house they were all in was quite small. There was a hallway leading straight through the building with a bedroom to the right of the front door and a kitchen to the left of it. The hallway lead to the back door the group had used to to enter that was attached to a porch, a porch facing the jungle. The colour of the house was mostly grey, the walls old and seeming damaged by water. The wooden floor creaked as the guards made their way slowly through the building, looking towards the floor door.

"Ya don't think he's still alive, right?" One the griffin guards with grey feathers said and opened the hatch in the ground, only to reel back at the smell.

"Nah he's dead alright!" The second white feathered guard said with a laugh and spat on the stallion's body.

"Fucker refused to give up information on his beloved princess, here's his reward for that loyalty" The third black griffon said and slammed he floor door shut again.

"That means one of those brats must have been in here! I told you to kill those pony kids instead of throwing them into the barracks!" The griffon with white feathers said, his eyes looked to be filled with so much madness.

"What's done is done. If we find one of those brats we kill them, if they are still in the barracks we sell them to the Yaks or the Minotaurs" The black griffin said to his two companions.

Nathan watched their entire conversation from the opening into the kitchen, Rose crouched under him to get a good look on the situation as well. The mare saw Osiris opening the bedroom door slowly and Blaze shutting the front door. The three griffin guards didn't notice it thankfully, the old doors not creaking. Osiris made a stabbing motion and pointed to the sword on the human's hip. Nate nodded and slowly pulled the sword out of the sheet, seeing Rose reading her knives.

They didn't get much more time to plan as Blaze shut the door entirely and the grey feathered griffin swirled around to see why the sunlight suddenly vanished from the hallway. The guard was met by the sight of a wolf jumping at him and with a scream cut short was he slammed into the ground as Blaze bit into his jugular, killing him. The other two guards drew their weapon but the black feathered griffin was dead before he even had fully drawn his sword, a knife hitting him square i the forehead and sending him onto the floor. The white feathered griffon rushed towards them with an angry yell and raised his sword above his head.

The human blocked his attempt at killing them with a simple deflection of the griffon's blade into the old wall. The guard's weapon sank all the way inside into the rotted wood and before he could scream for help was his head severed from his neck. Osiris had moved so fast the human had barely seen him ran past, the golden coated stallion's dagger having brutally executed the enemy soldier.

"Jesus fucking christ.." The teen said at the sight of all the blood, staggering backwards from the bodies.

"Be glad you didn't kill them kid, you need some innocence left in you" The stallion said and cleaned his dagger on one of the griffins wings.

"They deserved far worst.. But we're out of time, we need to find what's left of the crew and get home" Rose said and pulled one of her throwing knives out of black griffon's neck.

"I-Is it over?" Peace's voice said timidly as she looked out of the bedroom, she saw the bodies and cringed.

"It's over" Osiris reassured her and then looked at Silver Page walking out of the room with the diplomat.

"Who's gonna steer the ship if the captain's dead?" The succubus said with slight panic and Rose sighed.

"Someone else in the crew will be forced to. One of them has to know how to do it" The sanguine said and looked towards the front door.

"We need to move quickly and efficiently. I'll get into the barracks and free the children, they should know where the crew are being held" The golden stallion said and Nathan started thinking.

"Why round up the ponies? Aren't they apart of the village?" Peace Treaty asked and Osiris growled.

"Because a lot of griffins hate ponies. I've heard many call us filth when walking down the streets of different griffin settlements, and It seems their king share that sentiment" The scout muttered and looked out the window.

"I thought you were allied with the griffins? Why would they turn on you for simple hatred? I mean, they'll lose an ally and most likely anger your other allies, like the dragons" Nate said and the sanguine sighed.

"They wouldn't care, even with the dragons it would still be a hard fight against the griffins with the Changeling kingdom gone and Dark Kingdom on their side. The smaller nations won't care to intervene so long as Guto doesn't come for them" Rose said and gave Osiris a nod, the stallion hurrying out the back.

"Nathan, I'm gonna need you to use your special weapon. Osiris is gonna need a distraction, so we're gonna go out there and beat down the griffins. The distraction will hopefully be enough for Osiris to get the crew weapons and lead them to retake the ship" The mare stated and looked behind her, the succubus and diplomat looking worried.

"Run when you see a chance, don't stop and help the crew in any way you can" The bat pony told the two who nodded and hide in the old bedroom.

"I hope this works.." The man said and opened the door, Blaze rushing outside with a growl and pouncing on the nearest guard.

"So do I.." Rose muttered and with a battle-cry ran out of the house, sending a knife flying into the back on a griffin soldier.

The human took a deep breath and let his right hand grasp Valkyrie before rushing outside. His eyes looked upon the at least thirty soldiers walking around the village and with a yell of determination he brought down the war-hammer next to a group of griffins coming running. They were sent flying from the magical force expelled from the weapon and Nathaniel grinned. He really liked this thing.

Osiris POV

I crept back into the jungle and moved with the trees until I saw the barracks. As suspected was it filled with guards, the griffins laughing and drinking. It wasn't until the sounds of battle started to fill the village that the soldiers finally moved, running towards the old house at the end of the settlement. I used this opportunity to move back into the village and I hurried past fishing huts until I got into the barracks.

The children were locked in a jail cell, their eyes going big as they finally saw me. To my confusion were it not only ponies there, but Hippogriffs as well. The colts and fillies all looked ready to scream in joy as they saw I bore Equestrian colours but I shushed them and opened the cell door with my a dagger. The lock had been rusty, not even remotely good enough to keep criminals inside.

"Where are your parents? Have you seen the ponies from the ship somewhere?" I asked them all.

"They took them to the warehouse mister! They said they would interrogate them!" One of the foals told me and I cursed.

"You kids will go hide in the jungle, but stick close to the village. Once it's safe you run for the ship" I told them all and they nodded.

The children sneaked off into the woods and I looked at the warehouse used to store fish. I let my dagger slip out of its sheet and I got closer to the building. Most guards were heading for Rose and the kid, which gave me an easy time hiding from the rest of the villagers. Once I finally reached the large grey building off wood I saw two guards at the doors. The griffins stood stiffly and looked around with cation as I made my way to the long wall facing the settlement. If I looked around the corner I could see the soldiers.

With quick hooves I jumped out from hiding and dashed my way towards the two. They say me and tried to cut me down with their swords, but I quickly dove under their slashes, slamming my side into them. I let my dagger be slipped to my left hoof as I shoved it into the shoulder of one of the soldiers, his friend trying to come to his aid. I simply ducked under the swing and let the enemy's sword burrow itself into the other griffon's head. The soldier was to horrified to do anything before I slit his throat, sending him to the ground clawing at the dirt.

Killing never truly felt good, to enjoy it would be to become a monster. But I found solace in that lives would be saved thanks to the lives lost. I had taken an oath to protect the princess and Equestria, an oath I would not break. My blood covered hooves kicked the door open and I noticed just how many ponies had been rounded up, at least forty of them. I hurried around and freed as many as I could, the ones freed helping my efforts with rusty fishing knives laying around.

When I had freed the ponies and hippogriffs they all looked at me in anticipation, a few of them having recognized the medallion I wore around my neck. The blue crescent moon resting on my armor covered chest shone in the light given to us all by a couple of lanterns, the medallion bringing hope to our people, like it was meant to do.

"I am Osiris of the Lunar Guardians! I and my fellow protectors of the Moon have come to reclaim our ship and save the princess of the night! I ask you to take up weapons and join us on the Golden Stallion!" I yelled and a few chimed in with excited sounds, happy to get back at the ones that stabbed them in the back.

"I am not forcing you to fight against these invaders, but they threaten both your village and our nation! So I ask you not to fight for the crown, but for the soil your children will be left with!" I told them all and I saw many different tools being shared around.

I could see pitchforks and knives among the hippogriffs, ponies and griffins they had captured. The griffins here seemed to be the mates of some of the ponies in the village, quickly explaining why their brothers had turned on them. They all seemed eager for payback, many asking me for their children. After a few words telling them all that their kids were safe could we finally move.

I lead them through the open door and down the roads of the village, the few guards still around ran as they saw the mass of ponies running towards them. Some from the Golden Stallion's crew screamed the name of their captain as they charged into one of the griffin soldiers. I just kept running towards the ship, seeing the green glow of Nathaniel's magic do the same a few houses away. We could try and capture the village, but with the griffin navy so close by would it most likely mean death for anypony having rebelled against the soldiers here.

A griffon tried to grab me as I ran, the damn overgrown chicken trying to slit my throat with a knife. The pressure of his talon around my head was suddenly relived however, a grey blur having jumped the soldier and with a growl torn out his throat. Blaze looked at me with blood around his mouth and barked, wagging his tail.

"Good dog" I said with a grin and kept running.

After I cut down another soldier in my mad sprint I could clearly hear some of the ponies cry out in joy as the foals came running down the road from the jungle. By now the griffin soldiers were being lead by the war veteran we had meet at our first stop in the village, the old griffon's orders to 'Kill them all!' could be heard all over the settlement. They weren't even subtle about their wish to kill the ponies anymore.

Our group of villagers and crew members either killed or sent any soldiers in our way running. They had all focused so much on the human and bat-pony they didn't even think about the prisoners in the warehouse. The largest group of soldiers were clearly following Nathaniel and Rose, but after more scared griffins ran their way I soon realized that wouldn't last.

"Run for the ship!" I yelled and ducked under Valkyrie as it flew over my head.

The war-hammer had been thrown and it hit a griffon soldier in the side, sending him flying into one of the small fishing huts. The griffon wasn't killed by the hit, but the magical weapon had made sure he wouldn't be getting up. I saw how the kid ran down the last few meters to the docks and summoned Valkyrie back to his hand. Rose wasn't far behind the man, her body covered in blood. I saw how our Royal Envoy and Diplomat were running after her, soldiers finally reaching the docks.

The griffins both on the ship and on land stopped as they saw the sight of over forty armed ponies, hippogriffs and griffins glare at them. The soldiers had taken heavy losses and as the kid slammed his war-hammer into the ground they all ran or flew away. I knew they were most likely running for the nearest ship to get backup, meaning we all had to hurry.

I ushered everyone on the docks towards the ship with the help of Rose, the human finally being allowed to rest and falling to his knees. He was supposed to rest these last couple of days, instead he was once again out of mana and bleeding. It took us a lot of time to get all our new allies onto the ship, but when we were finally on the Golden Stallion I relaxed the crew skillfully got the merchant ship out to open waters.

A part of me was sadden over the captains body being left behind, something the crew seemed to share. But we had no time to bury the dead or plan an attack against those that had betrayed us, we just needed to get back as soon as possible, time was running out for Luna. If we didn't hurry she would die, and Celestia would never know of the Dark Kingdom's deceit.

Lord Protector Silver Wing's POV

I looked over the ocean with a glare, Spectral's pale purple eyes watching me from the helm. I knew he wasn't happy about leaving Broken Orchid behind in the first place, but now with the prospect of not returning at all to Equestrian had he not even spoken to me. It was annoying me to no end with Minted Surprise running around with panic attacks every few minutes and Violet Shield being forced to babysit him. The situation wasn't pleasant for any of us, but we needed to get to the dragons and warn them. If we didn't have the support of any other nation during the invasion would we all fall, death assured by our few numbers.

"Head for the Dragon Lord's home, we need him to back us during the coming war" I said to Spectral, the unicorn nodding and steering the ship towards the black mountains in the distance.

For the coming hours would we all on the ship mostly have a look out for any enemy ships, but after some time we realized the griffins had no ships guarding the area. It was both a comfort and a downer to know that we were safe for the time being but that our home was not. I walked down below deck to look over some of the stuff down there, hoping to keep my mind of the invasion heading to our country when I once again saw some of Starswirl's blueprints.

The old things hadn't really caught my attention to much the first time I saw them. Most of them were just ideas the old unicorn had no idea on how to bring to life, but some looked interesting. One of those interesting ideas a very strange looking device with an oval shape filled with some sort of powder. It showed how by pushing a button on the thing and then throwing it would it explode.

The concept seemed better than most other ideas of his and I looked through his other military inventions before I heard Spectral's voice calling for me. I climbed the stairs to see the land being much closer, the speed increase the scout's ship had was incredible. Yet I soon saw that Spectral had called me up on deck for more than just clarifying that land was close. There was dragons waiting on us by the rocky shore, most of them looking young.

It took us a few minutes until we were finally close enough to disembark our ship, Violet following me as I jumped down to meet with the dragons. A teenage drake met us as we walked closer, looking hopeful at first only to look at the ground as he saw how few we were. Now when we stood on the shore could I see just how many young dragons waited on us, at least a couple of hundred. I could only see around ten fully grown dragons, and even then were they still young for the ancient race.

"Where is your leader? We need to speak with the Dragon Lord immediately" I told the teenage dragon with green scales.

"He's not here, not anymore" The dragon told me and I growled.

"Then tell me where he has gone! We need your nations help, the griffin army is marching for war!" I said loudly and the dragons looked away.

"We know, they have already started by sending troops to our borders. Lord Shadow Claw took our strongest to face them, but we have heard no word of victory yet" The young dragon told me and Violet.

"What's your name?" The mare to my right asked him, authority strong in her tone and stance.

"Charcoal Ma'am" He responded and she nodded.

The name was faintly familiar, something I had read in one of the reports maybe? My thoughts was cut short as the other drakes looked up at the sky. Black smoke filled it, the normal blue sky now holding an ominous red tint to it. I thought about asking if one of their volcanoes had erupted when Charcoal growled.

"Those are griffin fires!" He called out to the other dragons and soon they all unfolded their wings, heading up towards the smoke cloud to get a better look of the battle.

I unfolded my wings and flew after them, seeing great green fires in the distance. The border was far away, but I could still see the clash between griffin forces and dragons. But what didn't make sense was the Dragon Lord's flight patterns. He could be seen from so far away letting torrents of fire run over the clouds, lighting up silhouettes within them. I couldn't really process what I was seeing, yet it didn't matter.

The Lord of Dragons dove from high up in the sky and let even more flames hit whatever they were fighting. Yet he was the only dragon still standing, all the others seemed to have fled or died. We could all see the bodies on the ground, killed somehow by the griffins. It was then we heard the sound, a faint metallic horn booming over the rocky terrain before a flash of green light filled our vision. All I heard was the roar of the Dragon Lord before a great 'thud' echoed over the land.

From miles away I saw the body of the Dragon Lord, the ruler of the dragons dead on the ground. I felt my stomach sink and all my sense of showing authority was gone. I just looked at the display of power in horror. Whatever had done that must have been the thing that tried to sink our ship, yet this time it succeed with its goal. Even from here could I see the hole in his chest and the smoke rising from it, a quick death.

"He's dead.. By the gods he's dead! What are we gonna do!?" A dragon youngster said and panic spread among the remaining dragons.

I saw how some tried to flee while others screamed about the eggs. The largest dragons seemed to be flying for their hordes while Charcoal kept starring at the dead dragon to the north, the metallic horn echoed out over the victory and the griffin soldiers cries could be heard from the capital of the dragons.

"We need to get to the Zebras! If we do not unite as one then this war will be lost!" I yelled to them all, some listening while others kept running.

I got an idea as I remembered the report of what the human had found in their holy cave, a weapon marked by the same rune he bore on his hand. The Lord Of Dragons had told him they dragons would come if he asked, and this was a damn good time to ask.

"The Bearer of your mark, Nathaniel Sol, will fight against this threat! He will ask for your aid with the griffins to avenge your Lord! Will you help him or hide like cowardly lizards!?" I yelled out to them all, many stopping dead in their tracks and looking around at each other.

Charcoal seemed the most interested when I mentioned the human's name, the dragon tearing his eyes away from the battlefield. All the dragons remaining looked at me, all of them young. The largest renaming dragon was smaller than our ship, but if their scales could stand against griffin steel then I would be satisfied.

"I know Nate! If he asks for us to fight then it is our duty to do so! Faust blessed him to guard the realm and we will not stand by doing nothing! We will kill those griffins and rip their king to shreds!" The green scaled dragon shouted and soon more and more dragons joined in.

We had our dragons. Now we needed to pay a visit to our Zebra friends in the south.

Nathaniel's POV

The ship moved slowly across the water, the human looking out over the ocean with a sad demeanor. The Griffins had stabbed Equestria in the back, and the pony nation were most likely not the only one to be put through this fate. He sighed and closed his hand around Valkyrie's handle, the war-hammer humming quietly at his touch. The man hadn't killed a single griffon on their way out of the village. He'd still injured them, but each time he tried to bring himself to do it had Nathan just kept running.

Rose and Osiris had told him it was a good thing, that him not killing them all was something positive. But Nate felt like he hadn't done enough by simply throwing them to the side. The act of killing an animal or monster was easy, you just had to put them down as quickly as possible. Killing a sentient being? It became a roadblock for him, something he couldn't do. He'd just been eighteen for a couple of weeks dammit, he couldn't be expected to kill someone just like that.

But at the same time he should have. The human had seen one of the griffins he'd knocked down stab a hippogriff in his side with a sword. The hippogriff had survived thanks to a healing spell he'd used but still, if Nathan had killed that griffon then the civilian hadn't been hurt. He chuckled a bit as he caught himself referring to the common people as civilians. Had the teen really been with the military for so long he thought of them that way?

His thoughts turned to what the griffins would do to the ponies of Equestria when they invaded. Would they enslave them all? Eradicate them? Just have them as new citizens? The way they had rounded up the ponies, their griffin mates and the hippogriffs pointed more towards the first or second option.

It was he thought about these things the man realized he hadn't seen a lot of Equestria, the land Nathan was meant to guard. It was strange how even if he had spent months in the Everfree had he seen more of the world during the weeks he travelled with Luna and his friends. Nathaniel couldn't even remember them stopping at some town or village in Equestria that wasn't connected to the Sisters Castle.

Why was he fighting so hard for these ponies when he barely knew anything about them? Deep down Nathan knew why, because they didn't deserve to be slaughtered or enslaved. It didn't matter if he liked Luna or not, she didn't deserve to die to a disease literally sucking the life out of her. It didn't matter if he had the mark on his hand or not, Valkyrie needed to be used by someone that could protect others. If he needed to then Nathaniel would fight back the world simply because he didn't want some innocent people to suffer because of some decision made by a pigeon wearing a crown.

"Everypony hide! Watchtower!" Someone yelled and the griffins on deck hurried to make it look like they commandeered the ship.

The human climbed below deck to be met by Blaze growling at the hippogriffs, Osiris trying to keep the wolf from eating them to dinner. It was slightly amusing but the man quickly pulled the wolf away and waited. It felt like it took forever until a voice called out to the ship, demanding to get on board and inspect their wares. The green eyed man heard how the platform was lowered into the ground around the watchtower and how a few figures moved onto the ship.

"What are you carrying?" A muffled voice said from above him.

"Meat" One of the friendly griffins responded with a respectful tone.

"We will need to inspect this meat" The soldier having boarded their ship told the griffon above them and Nathaniel panicked.

The young man quickly looked through the book given to him by the old wizard before he left for the Dark Kingdom. Nathan flipped through the small spell book in a panic, looking for any kind of spell that could help them. He finally came to a chapter about illusion magic, reading through the spells until he finally saw a good one.

The mirror thieves uses to hide their shame. Occultatum Jende is the spell used to hide one single individual for a long stretch of time or many over a very short stretch of time. Focus your mana around whatever you want to hide, and hold that focus. See the mana as a sort of mirror, mimicking how the world would look if what you want to hide isn't there. Let yourself be convinced that there is nothing there, that no smell, sound or sight exists off your desired object. Let the lie become truth with magic, and live to fight another day.

The spell's concept seemed easy enough to understand. He had to focus his mana like a blanket over them all and then "believe the lie". Meaning he had to truly make them invisible to the soldiers wanting to check below deck. Yet the spell hadn't mentioned how he would make something appear in the ponies stead, like so many boxes of meat the soldier wouldn't be able to venture down into the ship.

Nathaniel flipped through the chapter until he found another spell he could use, one that would allow him to do just that. Yet it entailed that he would be able to keep two spells going at the same time with the limited mana he had left after fighting through hordes of soldiers. The man just took a deep breath and read through the description of the spell.

The trickster's favorite weapon. The Occultatum Korvaus allows the caster to make other people see things that aren't there or replace seemingly harmless objects with snarling snakes. Let your mana take the form of what you want to create, think of it like forming clay. Let it become reality through the eyes of others while you reap the benefits of your scheme.

With the two spells the man felt ready to save them from a full out assult on their ship. Nathaniel sat down in a meditative state on the floor, crossing his legs like he normally did. He let his mana simultaneously cover them all like a blanket while Nate let it form into the shape of boxes everywhere. The teen could feel the black tar like liquid run from his nose, indicating he was dangerously low on mana. It didn't matter however, the young man wouldn't let all these people die.

"Occultatum Jende" Nathan said and allowed them all to seemingly just vanish into thin air, while he was actually more or less placing a bubble around them that stopped anyone from seeing, hearing or smelling them.

The ponies around him freaked out at first as his mana covered them like spider web, but a few well placed hisses from Rose got them all quiet and they stopped moving around. With half the problem solved started the man to gather strength for the next spell as light started to spill in slowly from the hatch leading up the main deck. Nathaniel felt panic grip his heart and he preformed the last spell.

"Occultatum Korvaus" The black haired teen hissed out and closed his eyes as boxes took their place for the eyes of the beholder.

Just when the spell came into effect the hatch was opened by a distressed looking griffon and griffon soldier eyeing him suspiciously. They would just see boxes upon boxes of meat, some having an open lid to show the juicy flesh of deer. The griffon from the fishing village looked confused while the soldier nodded.

"All seem to be in order, continue on your way" The griffon said and the "crew" on deck all gave their thanks as the ship soon started moving again.

The same second the hatch had been closed fell the illusion apart like broken glass, hitting the ponies and hippogriffs with translucent shards that didn't hurt them. Nathaniel just puked his gut out onto the floor, the black tar like liquid pouring from both his eyes and nose. It hurt unlike anything else, the strain on his mana after the Sombra incident not being goofor him. For a few seconds he just yelled incoherent things until Rose managed to calm him down, singing a lullaby in a language Nathan didn't know. But it soothed the pain and made him ignore the liquefied dead mana pouring out of his body. He found the melody beautiful, it made him so calm he didn't even realize he fell asleep.

Luna's POV

I heard the voice again, her sinister laughter making me shiver. My body wasn't really responding to my attempts to move it anymore. I felt so frail, like a gust of wind would break my bones. I tried to block it out, tried to force her to go away. But she was a part of my mind, not allowing me freedom.

"I have a deal for you princess" The Nightmare said, her darker voice echoing over my mind.

"You have nothing you can give me monster!" I barked at the voice before feeling my head throb with my pain, making me whimper.

"Oh but I do~ I have a cure for you~" She said, her voice sweet as honey.

My heart jumped at the prospect of a cure for what was destroying me. It made me both overjoyed and afraid, because a cure from a nightmare might just be another disease. But could I deny it if I could get better with it? I didn't want to leave Nathaniel in a world he didn't belong, I didn't want to leave Celestia as the only one left in our family, I didn't want to leave our people now when they needed me and most of all I didn't want to die.

"What can you give me?.." I whimpered out and I could almost see her grin, even if she didn't have a face.

"Your rightful place" The Nightmare responded, a cryptic message but one I would take nonetheless.

"What is your deal then monster.." I said to my mind, sounding defeated.

"Good~ You can still be taught~" She cackled and I flinched.

"I will heal your body, for a price that is my own. Take it or leave it, but I think you know what happens if you leave it~ The healers were too optimistic about how long you can last" The voice said as I felt more pain go through my head.

"Nathaniel will return with the cure, I do not need you" I growled into the darkness and those twisted eyes mirrored my own.

"I do not doubt the human's resolve, you've made it this far thanks to him, but you're running out of time. I can feel the darkness burrowing itself into your mind, trying to finally destroy you~ It is beautiful to watch~" The Nightmare's voice said and those eyes glared at me.

"May you banished to Tartarus" I said with a whimper rather than a confident growl.

"My my, what would your brother think of such language? His sweet little sister cursing at those who want to help her" She chuckled and I screamed in anger, or at least I tried to, my lips refusing to open.

"My brother is dead! Leave him out of this!" I yelled at the eyes that giggled. ¨

"But he's not really dead, is he. You just tell yourself that to keep away the guilt from what you did to him!" Her voice said loudly and I cursed at her in every language I knew until I had to calm myself.

The throbbing in my head was getting worse, the pain flaring up like nothing before. I whimpered and she chuckled again, a caressing wing "touching" my dream like self. She seemed to be very pleased with herself, having me where she wanted me. I just tried to get away from her intrusive reading off my mind,

"You either accept my deak or die princess, I hope you chose wisely.." She growled and the presence was suddenly gone.

I almost immediately felt the corruption smoother me, the dark, cold and inky feeling making me cough. It felt like I was drowning, and that all my memories and thoughts were being taken away. I finally cried out for help, my mind starting to crack as the magical disease tried to kill me once and for all. I begged for the Nightmare's help as the black tendrils of the illness traveled up my head. I thought she hadn't heard me before suddenly I felt free, like a burden had been lifted off my shoulders.

"You made a good choice, princess~" She said as I soon found myself in a dreamless sleep, the corruption purged from my veins but something else inhabiting my head.

Nathaniel's POV

The young man didn't like the feeling of having used to much magic. It had been like his very being had been stabbed, the pain had been that powerful after he went beyond his limit. The Healer had told him to not use his magic for a while but Nate didn't have a choice, the teen needed to fight back those who wanted him and his friends dead.

Nathaniel groaned and opened his eyes, Rose looking at him in worry. The mare placed a glass to his lips, Nathan drinking it happily. The cool liquid seemed to clear his head a bit and got rid of the metallic taste in his mouth. The water seemed to hold some sort of sweet taste to it, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Are you all right kid?" Osiris voice said from his right and the man turned his head to face the stallion.

"I'm fine.." Nathaniel lied and tried to sit up, his body feeling to stiff to move.

"No you're not dammit! Lay down and rest, your mana and body can't take much more!" The sanguine growled and forced him down on the wooden floor.

"But I need to get the antidote to Luna" The human coughed and the bat-pony sighed.

"We're almost there, so you should rest. Your part is done Nathaniel, you're done" Rose assured him.

Nathan sighed and put his head on a pillow they had brought for him, allowing his body to relax. The mare seemed to be happy at his acceptance of her request, walking up the stairs to the main deck. Nate smiled as well as he felt Blaze's snout burrow itself in his arm, the wolf laying down next to him.

"Tell us if you need anything to eat, we'll be chatting with the harbor master as we arrive" The scout told him before leaving Nathaniel as well.

Silence fell upon the lower deck of the ship and the human enjoyed the ambiance of it, the smell of salt water adding to his relaxed state. They were so close to succeeding with their goal, so close to helping Luna he could almost taste it. The man smiled at the thought of helping the princess when suddenly Blaze looked up from the floor. The hound's ears flicked and he gave a light growl before laying his head back down. Something was wrong, but was it important? It might just have been a seal or something.

The human allowed himself to ignore it, he couldn't do anything about even it if he wanted to. Nathaniel only had the option to rest and gather his strength after many weeks of running, and he did so. Sleep took Nate once again fairly quickly, the wolf next to him never allowing its eyes to leave the direction of the Sisters Castle. Blaze growled once again but calmed down as Nathan brushed his hand across the hound's furry head, the two friends resting after a very long time. Nathaniel couldn't be happier.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

They had only been away for a few days but the snow in the Everfree had melted away almost completely. The dirt road they walked on had been turned to mud that caked around their feet and hooves as they walked. The human had the wolf cloak wrapped around his shoulders, the spring wind still making him shudder. The trees swayed with the wind and some flowers could be seen growing near the road.

Nate allowed the sun warm him as they walked, being told it was getting late. Yet the sun was not going down nor was the moon rising to take its place in the sky. He found it to be weird but enjoyed what warmth he could get, the bat-pony next to him eyeing the sky suspiciously.

"Something feels off.." She murmured to Osiris who nodded, the stallion walking behind them.

It had been hard to pick up on what Rose had said with the wind, yet he'd still heard it. Nathan just thanked his lucky stars the ponies they saved had decided to stay with the crew and the port town, the Harbor Master having offered them all shelter after being given an oral report of what had happened. The mare's eyes had widened as she heard of the griffins wrong doings and she'd given the remaining crew and refugees warm food.

It had been a bit frightening hearing about what the griffins were trying to do, seemingly planning a war, but the man had to focus on Luna first. The princess of the night was their priority, they could switch focus to the damn chickens after Luna had been healed. His thoughts were interrupted as they saw the castle, Osiris grinning at the sight.

"We made it back" The scout said and the guards at the gates held it open for them.

Blaze ran into the castle and the guardians followed right after the wolf. Silver Page and Peace Treaty had stayed behind in the port town to rest and help the refugees. The succubus had asked them to tell Crystal Sword about what had happened and that she would come back in the morning. The group had agreed and then hurried off to the castle, which they now had entered.

Nathaniel was ready to rush towards Luna's room when suddenly a guard told them a fact that made him froze. It sounded so strange, so unbelievably stupid the pony couldn't had uttered those words. But he had heard it and the others had also heard it. Osiris looked confused about it while Rose looked even more suspicious, adding to the tension in the air.

"Princess Luna has beaten the disease!" The guard had said, that fact seemingly tearing a hole in Nathan's head.

"What?" He asked and Rose grabbed the guard by the collar.

"Say that one more time, try to joke about it one more time" She growled and Nate stood ready to step in.

"She's in the throne room! Look at her for yourselves!" The guard said and those were all the words Nathan needed to run for the kingdom's seat of power.

His friends weren't far behind but all that mattered to him in that moment was to see if Luna was ok. He ran past empty hallways and even got lost a few times before he finally found the large doors leading to the throne room. He swung them open to see Celestia and Luna, one looking ready to crack while the other looked ready to kill.

"This land will only have one ruler! I will take my rightful place, even if I have to kill you.." Luna said to the white alicorn, Celestia looking frozen in shock as cracks started to spread across the room until a part of the wall exploded.

Light flooded the room and Nathan looked on in fear as the moon suddenly rose behind Luna. The hole was placed perfectly between the two thrones, allowing the guardians running into the room a front row seat to the eclipse being created by Luna.

"Luna.. I cannot allow you to keep the moon up for the rest of eternity! Please don't do this!" Celestia pleaded only for a large blast of magic to send her flying, the spell had been cast so quickly Nathaniel hadn't even seen Luna move.

"Luna! What are you doing!?" Nathaniel yelled and ran further into the room, the now twisted eyes of the Lunar princess looking at him with glee.

"Taking my rightful place" She laughed, her voice changing and dark shadows moving over her body.

A ball of shadow picked Luna up into the air, the thing swirling around her in all different kinds of dark colors until it finally revealed a dark figure standing in the princess's place. Celestia got up with the help of Osiris and Rose, Nathaniel seeing her look of fear mirroring his own. The figure standing before them looked nothing like Luna, her black fur and sharp fangs making him back away. The monster mist like mane and tail covered the ceiling as her mad cackling filled the castle, The human's blood running cold.

"The night will last forever!" She laughed as more stone cracked around the room, pieces of the roof falling down on them all.

'We're too late..' Nathan thought as the sky grew darker and darker, the once warm spring day turning into a cold night.

Enjo Steelheart's POV

I looked down at the camp filled with griffins, their fires lighting up the dessert. My long tail laid in the sand of the dune, the snake like appendage twitching gently against the warm sand. I didn't know why there was a weird eclipse in the sky, but the sudden darkness had helped us move even closer the griffin troops. My tail gripped my dagger as I saw my fellow brothers in arms move down towards the light of their campfires, the soldiers down there seemingly cooking meat.

I felt my mouth water at thought of getting a nice warm meal, something else than the meat from a desert rat or spoiled rations. I saw how my commander moved down the dune from behind me, his face dripping with blood. Our leader had so many fangs in his dog like snout some of them permanently stuck to the outside of his mouth. Yet even with a hideous appearance consisting of a scared and burnt body would I follow my commander to the depths of Tartarus. The wolf like pony had gotten us this far, and he hadn't disappointed us yet.

"The scouts are dead" He slurred to me and I nodded, seeing that we were ready to strike.

"Hit them hard and hit them fast. You don't have to make sure they're dead, you just have to make sure they're not getting up" The wolf-pony said before suddenly howling, chaos erupting around us.

The camp was besieged by thirty mutants, all of them slamming into the heavy armored soldiers at first and tearing their throats out. Commander Fylk just ran down to join them and I followed him, not wanting to give the mountain pissers any time to relax. I ran into the war-zone that was the griffins forward camp and with ease I cut down one of their scouts. He'd tried to signal for help using an arrow on fire, the arrow was swiftly caught by my tail and shoved into his throat. I picked up my dropped dagger and continued through the camp, seeing their tents on fire.

The embers rose into the night sky as we cut down any defense they put up, the griffins finally starting to flee. We cheered as the last ones alive ran away over the dunes in fear, their camp now ours. They didn't think we would be bold enough to hit one of their main camps, they couldn't have been more wrong. I watched with glee as all papers with interesting information were brought to the commander, one of the few of us that could read.

"How many dead?" Fylk asked his second in command, a hippogriff with blue and black feathers.

"Seven of our warriors, thirty-three of their soldiers" He responded and I could see my commander sigh.

"Lay them to rest so the Sandwalker will see bravery, and I mean all of the dead. I do not want you mutilating the corpses of our enemies" He told the hippogriff who nodded and moved off with some of our boys to bury the dead.

"We won today, so lets honor the sacrifice of the dead and eat the invaders meat!" The wolf-pony finally called out and my fellow mutants happily fell upon the meal cooked by the griffins.

"What does the notes say?" I asked him and looked at the various documents.

"War, son. They speak of war" Commander Fylk said grimly and showed me a letter detailing the death of the dragons ruler.

"By the grace of the wind.." I said and looked at him in fear.

"It seems our fight just got bigger son" He told me and moved away to grab something to eat, leaving me to look at letters detailing the death of hundreds of ponies in the griffin kingdom.

"May the Sandwalker watch over you Equestria.. You will need it.." I said before waling away to get some meat.

Author's Notes:

Part one is done! I finally got to this point in the story and I'm moving us closer and closer to war times :D I think the world will be so happy to hear King Guto's plans for their future.

Anyway leave a like and comment if you liked this chapter, as it might take a while until the next one gets released. School has started and it's ready to dick me over again, so wish me luck!