Twenty-three days later – Ponyville, Zen’s Compound; 8:30am

It was a bright and beautiful morning at Ponyville, ponies milled about and busied themselves with their usual schedules. However today was no ordinary day, as today was the Grand Galloping Gala which would take place tonight. Those who were invited ranged from, nobles, famous celebrities like the Wonderbolts, as well as ambassadors from other nations came to this annual event. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were also invited to come as the girls – and Spike – got themselves ready to go.

There was however one individual who was invited but wasn’t planning to go, just like the dozens of years he was invited to come to, but never attends. This individual was the Royal Assassin and present Royal Adviser, Zen; Zen was currently checking on something in the Archives Room. He was looking through some recorded history at a particular event that occurred a few centuries on this exact date.

Said event was dubbed, “The Luna Bay Massacre” – it was said to be the most brutal part of Equestrian history, much more brutal than the Reign of Chaos or Sombra’s conquering of the Crystal Empire – for the number of dead that day were so great, a memorial was made at the desolate town. The only surviving members who witnessed the massacre, had their descendants live in the town in memory of them.

Zen was reading this written piece of history, and while what was written was correct, there was still a smidgen that was missing that the historians of that time couldn’t know. As Zen closed the Archive’s data-net, a notification came that the girls with Spike were at the door, each of them had the clothes they were planning to bring to the Gala on their backs with Spike carrying in a case. “Open the door for them Jiule,” said Zen.

Zen stayed in the Archive Room before exiting the room and coming down the steps before finding the group already seated in the living room. Once they spotted Zen, it was Twilight who was first to speak – and Zen knew what she wanted to talk about.

“Uncle Zenny, today’s the Gala, Rarity has your suit all ready, we have a carriage ready to take us in the evening. Let Rarity do some final checks on you and see if the suit fits you, then we can all go toge-”

“I’m not going Twilight...” said Zen.

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock, but the one most shocked was Twilight; quickly, Twilight shook from her shock and looked at Zen with disbelief. “Why not, this is the Grand Galloping Gala we’re talking about here? Why won’t you go, I’m sure Celestia has sent you invitation tickets to it?”

“She has...”

“Then why can’t you go?! I know Celestia has told me you never attended one after the war with Minos ended as she was unable to plan any galas during the war, as her focus was on defending the nation and making sure everyone in those days were reassured by her. She won’t tell me why you won’t go, as she doesn’t know much either about why.”

Zen stayed silent, for awhile; instead of sitting on one of the couches or armchairs, he sat on the top part of one of couches that was close to the transparent wall that showed outside. He stared aimlessly outside but spoke with an almost cold and distant tone as if he wasn’t even before them and somewhere else… somewhere in another time.

“There’s a reason why I’m never at any of the galas throughout my centuries in this world; it happened on this exact day on the year 506AN. While it was a sunny day out, chilly winds from north were brought through Canterlot so not a lot of individuals were out that day. After the war ended and a treaty had been made, Minos and Equestria were on good ends… albeit they were a bit weak at first but gradually grown to become better. During this time, you could say peace was blooming around the nation, and many festivities were being, one of these festivities of course being the Grand Galloping Gala. In honesty I would of gone to it… but a scout up north came to Canterlot with grave news… it was that very day… my eyes became open to the horror I would witness...”

May 6, 506AD – Canterlot Castle, Throne Room; 9:00am

Celestia was shaking in her spot on her throne, those that were present in the room were all the high-ranking officers – this included all of the five generals, one of them being Deluxe Jacket – and Zen so all the aides and guards were ordered to leave the room. After reading the scroll given to her by a near exhausted messenger pony who came all the way from the look-post near Luna Bay, she tossed the scroll to the side and slammed her hoof on the throne’s armrest, causing a spiderweb of cracks to travel all the way to the throne’s bottom.

“If what this report is true… then something is slaughtering my ponies in Luna Bay! We must retaliate and strike down this foe with all our might, no matter how many of the Royal Guard we must bring!” shouted Celestia. Her mane and tail almost turned to flames, flickering to a fiery look for a small while before switching back to her normal colors.

“Please your highness, after the peace treaty and today being the gala, if we were to suddenly send out such a large force so suddenly, it may bring the wrong message to other nations,” said one of the generals.

“Are you saying we should ignore this call for help!”

“No, rather we find another solution to fix this problem without bringing such large attention to us, and then-”

Celestia rose from her throne suddenly and trotted off, possibly to cool off – the stallion who suggested his ideas nearly peed himself but was also glad her anger wouldn’t be directed at him. The only one to follow her was Zen, the other generals deciding to go back to their previous business.

For awhile Zen followed where Celestia went, nearly losing track of her until she found her sitting by a small meadow in the Royal Gardens. She sat there with her mane let down and her royal crown and other things removed and put to the side. Zen didn’t step into her view but could see the tear lines from her reflection on the meadow; she was crying, out of frustration or anger at being unable to do anything. “Am I to just stay here… and let my ponies to being slaughtered… I may be this land’s ruler but even I am unable to even lay a hoof into saving the lives of others without the repercussions to come...” Celestia gazed up at the statuesque Zen, the way he stood and gave an empty gaze toward the meadow’s clear and calm waters. She could never figure out how he thinks or what sort of action he made… he was a recluse.

For a long time the two stayed silent, one staring at the other while the other gazed emptily at the distance. Without so much as a response, Zen turned and faced the heavens, until he spoke and it brought a small smile to Celestia.

“Go to the Gala and reassure your citizens there’s nothing to fear… I’ll see to this and wipe out these cretins, that they’ll regret ruining that beautiful smile of yours – none shall make you cry when I am here,” said Zen. With that, Zen walked away from the sunny skies and soft grass… into the brutal freezing winds, the icy cold grounds, and empty frozen wastes; Zen was prepared for anything… what he wasn’t prepared for was the one thing he didn’t want to be prepared for.

Western Equestria, Near the outskirts of Vanhoover; 3:00pm

After taking the train to Vanhoover, Zen traveled north on a dirt path that would lead to the settlement called Luna Bay. The settlement was ancient, as it existed around a thousand years and was the first few settlements that were made during Equestria’s founding as this settlement was made before the three pony tribes founded Equestria. Due to it being so solitary, not much activity happens here, but it has its uses for the rock and minerals inside the northern mountains, one of the few fishing settlements that sell their stock to pegasi and other nations that eat fish.

Zen’s objective was to meet up with the ponies at the lookout-outpost near Luna Bay and hear any further reports about the creatures attacking the settlement, after that, Zen would head straight to the settlement and see what he can do and end the attacks – peacefully or not.

Due to Zen’s senses being somewhat dull, the cold didn’t bother him, rather Zen seemed to like the cold pleasantly… reminding him of something, but at the same time he can’t picture a moment in his life that he’d ever liked the cold. Cold… Why do I familiarize myself with this feeling?

His self questioning would have to end as he was approaching the snowy grounds of the north, atop a hill in the distance was the lookout-outpost; it stood tall with sturdy wooden legs that held up the small but comfy looking wooden building. The tower was surrounded by wooden spikes and barriers, the surrounding trees having been cut down to create what was now present on the hill. At a first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary… his sensors however we an entirely different story.

Lord Zen, there are zero lifeforms around the hill, but I’m sensing something else up there but… its not alive; I suggest caution to be your utmost right now.

Zen continued to trudge forward but kept a steady hand to reach for his katana… or use his other weaponry when necessary. Once he finally reached the foot of the hill, Zen now noticed that something had occurred here – the ground around the hill and the barriers were destroyed as trails of disturbed snow were seen, but what really caught his attention was several trails of blood.

Something happened, and recently considering the blood hasn’t froze over yet. “Jiule, anything on the motion-scanners?”

Sadly nothing so far, but just to be safe I’ll tell you if I can spot anything out of the ordinary.

Zen moved on, carefully following the trails of blood until they led him up to tower, climbing up the wooden steps as they creaked from not being familiar with his weight. Once reaching the top, the door to the tower was swaying open, with claw marks around the door-frame; entering inside carefully, the shutters were closed but Zen could tell one of the windows were smashed open with the glass scattered on the ground.

That’s when it hit him full force, the smell of fresh blood – leaning on the wall near the door and splayed on the ground in the middle of the room was the eviscerated and torn corpses of two Royal Guards. The body in the middle of the room had the belly cut open, the organs spilled out and looked as if they were slightly eaten, the face was in a look of absolute horror and pain, which meant the recipient was alive whilst being devoured. The body by the door had its jaw missing, leaving the tongue dangling out and the upper jaw showing, the eyes blank and dead, several cuts were criss-crossed around the body.

At a closer examination, the one with the jaw missing was a male while the one with the belly open was a female – the mare was a unicorn but her horn was snapped while the stallion was a pegasi, his wings were still workable and not broken. “If I had to guess, the first to die was the stallion as his lack of reaction means he was dead instantly, but the mare was alive long enough to have seen what happened… and feel every inch of pain from whatever attacked them,” said Zen, examining the area. “I’d assume whatever came in here used the window but the blood trail was on the steps… which means it used the steps… But something doesn’t fit.”

Zen, I examined the wounds on these two, from your explanation you correct the order of who died, but as for entry of the killer was definitely the door, which means something was thrown at the window outside.

Zen carefully looked some more and found the object that was thrown… and it wasn’t pleasant. Surrounded around the glass was the bloodied skull of a pony, and after some scans the skull was from somepony who was dead for a few days and the small piece of flesh on the skull indicates whatever killed this pony had finished eating him… which means these two guards should have looked more eaten or at the very least been dragged off to this creature’s den.

I need to get to the settlement, stat. Zen checked his mini-map, placing an objective point at the town which was only a kilometer north-west of where the lookout-outpost was. Instantly without hesitation, Zen headed straight toward the settlement but he wanted to be ready so sadly he used what agility he had without enhancements.

A few hours later – Near Luna Bay; 5:30pm

Zen was closing into Luna Bay and thirty minutes ago, he saw nothing that showed signs of attack to the settlement, but the fact there were no lights on at this hour meant something was off – the towers that were used to light of the settlement with large amounts of wood which are then lit to create bonfires weren’t lit or showed signs of being lit recently.

Arriving at the settlement… what he saw was… horrendous for those who couldn’t handle that amount of brutality – bodies were strewn about, they were cut open, dismembered, and had pieces missing but the one detail they all share was that they looked to have been devoured by something… but considering the number of bodies there was more than one attacker.

I am getting several heat signatures and movement at the center of town; the ones at the center of town don’t have any form of heat signatures from them… almost as if they aren’t alive. The heat signatures are coming from a building at the center of town, and appear to be surrounded by the ones with no heat signatures.

“Mark those as the enemy, its possible the ones inside are the remaining citizens… I promised Celestia to not worry, and that I’ll handle those responsible… I’ll make sure they’re going feel every inch of suffering they inflicted.”

Of course – there are at least seven of them that are circling the building, with only twelve survivors inside the building.

Zen approached the center of town, his katana was out and he was ready for anything he faced; the road he was walking on was littered with shattered glass, blood, organs, the bodies of ponies, and displaced dirt and snow. None seemed to matter to him, the bodies did disturb him, he did feel faint in the head… something like this… the more he thought about it, the more wrong he is. At some points he would think he had nothing to live for, had no purpose, but if he could just do the right thing… then it would be enough for him.

Sir… Targets are approaching you at a breakneck pace… but something isn’t right.

Zen noticed too, and once he saw the enemy face-to-face, it made clearer what felt strange about these attacks. Luna Bay was an isolated area, but the reason it was so peaceful was due to the lack of wild-life as the only creatures that lived there were residing deep within the mountains… so what could of caused such damage, devour ponies, and this much brutality…

...However, there was one possibility and surrounds the discovery of a ruin that was found near the settlement just north of here by miners. The ruin’s origin was still unknown… but one of the miners felt a powerful evil here… as if a creature of Tartarus resided within here.

What was before him was an abomination, it looked like an equine but was morphed, the body was all wrong, pieces of it were peeling off, the limbs were elongated and twisted versions of their original self. The teeth were sharp like blades, the eyes were piercing and murderous, but most of all, the stench of blood was drenched all over them… the stench of a fresh kill.

WARNING! WARNING! High levels of Nightmare Aura is detected, all targets should be treated as level three, we are ill-equipped to handle them, requesting temporary retreat!

“Jiule, what are these things!?”

They are possessed ponies, but not anymore, they’ve been controlled by forces of Nightmare for too long, they’re creatures under the Cult of Gluttony – aka, Windigos.

Unlike Windigos in this world, these ones are from another realm called the Nightmare Realm where denizens of nightmarish creatures reside to invade and conquer other worlds. I don’t know how creatures of Gluttony managed to come here but it is possible they have been in this world under a form of stasis and were awoken when the miners discovered those ruins.

“Are they anything like demons?”

Far from it, they’re level is a level higher for demons, so treat them as Chaos User or a dangerous species. We cannot allow any to survive, if it’s influence were to spread we’d have an epidemic in our hands. They are not the ponies they once were, we have to wipe them out, quickly!

At that moment, one of the Windigos charged with a loud screech, its malnourished body surprisingly quick as it charged right for Zen, it’s open jaw ready to chomp onto him. Zen acted quickly, bringing out his weapon and slashing the creature in half, but only managing to get a limb or two cut off as the rest skidded and slammed into the a building.

The rest came forward with vigor, saliva dribbling from their maws, but Zen still saw it coming – bringing out his wrist blasters, he set them to Phoenix rounds and fired the extremely heated bullets into their flammable flesh as they quickly caught on fire and screeched in pain. They still continued attack, one after another they came in droves.

There are more than I assumed, fifteen no, twenty maybe more. We need to cull them all before they start moving further south and even further on.

Then I have no choice but to let loose I suppose. “Bring suffering to my enemies, come; Pleasure!” At those words, Zen’s armor transformed and soon wielded the dual-rapiers, and was in his Demon form armor. Instead of his heavy duty armor, Zen was in a slimmer more agile form, making him move with quick movements and a weapon that was made to deal precise strikes into vital spots.

“Become consumed the flames of my wrath, Precision Shot Multi!” Zen thrust both weapons and continued thrusting into a multi-firing of shots, each one penetrating the soft flesh of the Windogos, devastating them in mere seconds. It would however take much more before Zen would take down them all, soon the seconds became minutes then hours… it would be a full-moon that night… and the horrors would still continue to come.

Several hours later – Luna Bay; 11:00pm

After experimentation with fighting the creatures, Zen figured out that tearing them to pieces didn’t work so the only way to truly defeat the Windigos was burning them to ashes or wiping them until nothing remained. This took several hours of hunting them down and waiting until every piece was burnt to nothing; Zen was exhausted or what energy he had was in some dangerous levels that he could barely stay conscious.

This wouldn’t be enough to bring him down, so with enough energy Zen managed to reach the building in the center and from its placing in the settlement it was most definitely the town hall. Entering inside, the building was void of anyone, but the scanners indicated something beneath the building; taking careful look around, he found a hidden stairwell that headed to a door.

Opening the door revealed the remaining survivors, but of course they didn’t expect to see a tall armored – and frighteningly looking – being like Zen… so it was obvious what was going to happen next.

“MONSTER!” Something was sent flying at Zen at quick speeds, but as it clattered against his chest, he looked down to find a shattered arrow. Looking up he saw the twelve surviving ponies – eight stallions, four mares, two of the stallions were Royal Guard – the one who fired the bow was one of the Royal Guard until the other guard lowered the bow.

“Lower that weapon you idiot, that’s the Royal Assassin!” shouted the older Royal Guard. The stallion approached Zen and bowed toward him. “I’m sorry, Private Trigger can be… well, quick to shoot; I am Sergeant Frost, myself and the five other Royal Guard that were stationed at this town are ready to assit to the best of our ability, sir!”

“At ease, the problem has been handled, but I’m sad to say I bring bad news; those other Royal Guards you mentioned… the two at the tower are deceased. The one who sent to Canterlot is alive and kicking, but the fact those two were found in the tower without your knowledge...”

“I… see… I’ll sent letters to their families, but are those creatures-”

“ARE THEY DEAD, DID YOU KILL THEM ALL!” shouted one of the stallions. The stallion wore a pretty fancy outfit, and at first did not look that remarkable.

“I am unsure, I have to see a body count before-” Before Zen could finish, something came to his mini-map, it was a small ping, but then several pings appeared, and to follow it was a swarm of red dots. “EVERYONE, UP THE STAIRS, NOW!”

Instantly all twelve moved up the steps and outside; the bodies of the burning Wendigos were seen, but what caught Zen’s attention was directed toward the north of the settlement toward the mountains. Checking his map, he saw a horde of Wendigos heading right for them in the hundreds, but as to where the bodies could be used was a complete mystery.

This settlement is too small for the graves here to be that numerous, even if this place is a thousand years old. “Sergeant, how large is this place graveyard? What is the size of it exactly?”

“Not that large, but this site is known to hold many bodies deep in the frozen wastes, many from ancient times when our ancestors traveled to look for a new home. The site that the miners also dug up was discovered to be a tomb of some kind, holding a numerous bodies too, the numbers could be in the hundreds for all we know.”

Realization came to Zen, the Wendigos would be coming in the hundreds, possibly thousands and Zen couldn’t handle them all by himself or with the help of two Royal Guards. Zen heard fighting behind him, but listened carefully to the conversation between a pony wearing a mining helmet and the posh-looking pony.

“This is all your fault, you're the one who hired my boys to dig up that forsaken tomb! Just so you could get some loot! We were warned by the locals that there was a cursed place up in the mountains, but its because of your greed that we disturbed the spirits of the dead, and now we’re all going to die!”

“Stop this fighting now, we need to stay calm if we’re going to make it through this now!” shouted Snow.

The various ponies began to argue but two young mares and a mare who was the mother of two foals – a filly and colt – tried their best to stay calm. Zen knew chances of survival were low as they can be, that their survival chance wasn’t even close to above one percent. So, Zen did the only think he could do… he planned, he starting thinking.

This is a fishing settlement, and considering there twelve of them if there’s just the possibility of finding one that fit them all… They also need supplies to make it to the closest city, which is Vanhoover and call for reinforcements. One of them must be a local and know how to properly handle one… but first, I need to get their attention.

“Listen up!” shouted Zen, catching everypony’s attention. “In order for all of you to survive, I need you to get on a boat, head to Vanhoover and call for reinforcements; gather supplies for all twelve you to make the trip! Go, NOW!”

“Yes, sir! Private Trigger, get some of the stallions to gather whatever you can grab, I’ll lead the civilians to a working boat. Do any of you know how to drive a boat?”

“I do, I’m a fisherpony and sometimes go out to fish, we can use my boat its big enough for twelve ponies.”

Snow nodded and soon led the others to the boat while Trigger had a few of the stallions gather supplies. With the two groups now working, Zen directed his attention toward the incoming horde of monsters that were coming for them.

“Jiule… what are the chances of survival for them now?”

It went from twenty percent, but at this rate it be mostly three percent… unless…

“I were to act as a distraction then maybe, the chances may be greater.”

...by fifty percent, yes…

“...That’s all I need to know.”

Zen took one step forward then another, then another, and soon it became a full run before he started to charge forward toward the oncoming horde. By the time Zen stood meters away from the horde of monsters, he had activated his Overdrive Mode; his armor hummed with power, but soon that power would diminish and his very suit would pay the price. The monsters gazed hungrily toward Zen then at the town for flesh, and with an inhuman roar they all charged like wave of teeth and claws.

Zen wielded his katana as he was unable to use any of his transformations and use the weapons that came with him, the previous battle tiring him out, but he was the only one that could slow them down… and he would do that willingly.

“I face death, so others can live,” said Zen, wielding his katana with both hands. Onward he charged, cutting up the bodies of the deformed creatures, their shrill screams, but all of it was blocked out, as blood stained his armor and weapon, the pure white snow became drenched in red, the very atmosphere smelled of death.

Zen used all his might to bring forth as much destruction as he could to them until he got the signal by Jiule. The citizens have evacuated safely… but they won’t be able to make it to Vanhoover to call reinforcements for you, it is best you leave and-

“If I leave… they’ll follow me… I need to hold them here long enough for them… to reach Vanhoover...” said Zen, exhausted from fighting.

...Are you going to die?

“,,,Maybe… I don’t know what’s death like for me in this suit...”

...Please… don’t leave me…

Zen kept silent but Jiule knew he wouldn’t leave her in such a sad fate as to leave her all alone. With the survivors gone, and him being the only one to hold back this tide of death, Zen stood tall and grounded.

...I know you can survive… but I can’t imagine the idea of you dying… I’m sorry.

What’s she talking about…

Activating protocol legion; giving user access to the Void Legion…

Void Legion? ...Jiule… what-what are you doing?!

Activating Zenith Armor’s full potential – Do you want to gain access to all of Zenith Armor’s capabilities?

If there was one thing Zen was afraid of it… it wasn’t something tangible, or something like the unknown… he was afraid what he was truly capable of doing. “...No… please no...”

...I’m so sorry… (Yes) Access granted; Zenith Armor is now accessible to user. Activating Void Legion, now.

Present time – Zen’s Compound; 11:00am

The girls and Spike were deeply interested into Zen’s story or rather retelling of historical events, was both amazing and horrifying. Zen didn’t hide anything from he, told everything he knew of those events from the Wendigos, to the brutal execution of those who lived there, and the horde of monsters that could of overrun Equestria all those years ago… but there were still questions for Twilight, and one of them had to do with how Zen managed to survive and defeat such an overwhelming force.

“How… did you managed to survive, and defeat all those monsters?” asked Twilight, trying her best not to swarm Zen with questions.

“...My memory that day is limited sadly… Only Celestia knows what happens but not the cause… I’ll retell what she managed to tell me that day, but its not much and will only give more questions… but it started off the day after I left to check Luna Bay.”

May, 7 506AD – Canterlot Castle, Celestia’s Tower; 9:00am

Celestia had went to bad after the gala, but she felt a little saddened Zen did not appear, however it was obvious that he was busy, and possibly preoccupied at the moment… is what she like to think but she knew, something happened.

It has bothered her from sundown to sunrise ever since she haven’t heard any news from Zen nor about the status of Luna Bay… until now; the door of her room opened wide and the one or rather ones that came into her room was Emerald, Mess, Deluxe, and somepony she didn’t recognize. Once all four calmed down, the new pony spoke first introducing himself as Sergeant Snow who was stationed at Luna Bay.

He told her everything – Zen’s appearance, the large horde of monsters, everything – and as she listened the one part that made her heart pause, and made her voice hitch as tears start to flow from her eyes.

“...What you mean… he stayed behind… to make sure you had time to leave and get to Vanhoover… and call for reinforcements… Are you saying he’s… still there… fighting...” Shock wasn’t a proper word to use for Celestia, she was heart-broken; someone she cared for had risked his life, and now she’s being told… he could be dead. Without so much as a hesitation, Celestia passed by everypony and headed toward the armory. “General Deluxe, prepare the troops, we’re marching to Luna Bay!”

Soon half of the troops at Canterlot made their way to Luna Bay, as it took several hours but they managed to arrive by midday with a combination of every unicorn and Celestia using a mass-teleportation spell. Once they arrived, Celestia and everypony with her – five hundred strong; two hundred earth ponies, one hundred unicorns, and one hundred pegasi – were armed and ready.

Celestia was in her signature armor she used in times of war, but as they were nearing Luna Bay, they noticed the destruction that was left behind. Buildings were destroyed or only showed the skeletal frames, various objects were strewn about, the skies were filled with dust… but there was something strange, other than the complete silence, the only noise was the breathing and hoofsteps of the army behind her. Where are the bodies… I expected either bodies of these monsters or those who lived here…

“Do not let your guard down, I want several groups of fifty Royal Guard – thirty earth ponies, ten unicorns, and ten pegasi – but I want one hundred-fifty of you to watch the perimeter and report any signs of movement!” shouted General Deluxe. Soon several groups were made and spread out through the settlement that was once Luna Bay.

I’ll find you Zen, you have to be here, you just have to.

“Princess Celestia, Group D found something… but I think its best you come to see for yourself,” said General Deluxe.

Celestia followed General Deluxe and spotted Group D, but they seemed to have kept their distance around something, it was when Celestia approached they parted. Celestia eyes slowly widen, as what she was seeing raise so many alarms – surrounding the ground was the bodies of the monstrous forms of the creatures that were reported to have attacked Luna Bay, the creatures looked like malformed ponies… but what really got her attention was who was in the center of the thousands of bodies.

Zen stood silent and stood rigid, motionless as the frigid wind swept past him, but did nothing at the slightest. His katana was stabbed into the ground before him, while anything around him on a ten meter diameter was clear of both bodies and blood, as if a typhoon had surrounded him. The whole area that surrounded Zen and was littered in bodies was bare of any buildings as if they were ripped from the ground and flung away.

It looks as if some massive battle took place, but why this particular place… and what’s happened to Zen.

Celestia trudged through the bodies, heading straight for Zen but the more she got closer, she felt this presence… as if she was being watched from every direction. Shadows swirled, the darkness gave off a threatening feel to them, something… was watching but waiting at the same time. Almost like Sombra’s power…

“Zen… Zen… please if you can hear me, please wake up… Your scaring me, I don’t know what happened here but I’m here, so please… wake up...” Celestia approached Zen until she stood before the statuesque Zen, his body not moving or making any signs of him being conscious. As she stood before him now, she stared deep into Zen’s visor… and only saw her reflection – he was gone, all that was left was an empty shell.

The events that would occur next that the bodies of both the monsters and ponies would be piled and examined – the ponies were buried while the mutated abominations were checked to see if there was a way to reverse to their original state. The ruins to the north were found to be destroyed completed, as what remained was a massive crater, nopony knows what made that crater. Luna Bay was rebuilt and a memorial was made in memory of those who fallen that day, the surviving eight members of Luna Bay – not including the other four as they weren’t born in Luna Bay – and relatives and friends of any who lived in Luna Bay were present and paid their respects for the memorial.

Many also heard the news that Royal Assassin Zen was responsible for defending and making sure all twelve survivors reached Vanhoover safely, sacrificing himself by staying behind; many have given thanks and gifts of his recovery. The current comatose Zen was under heavy care, as due to his unknown biological information and the suit impossible to open, making his current status unknown, the only information the doctors have that he’s still alive… it would be two days before he would wake up, and hear the news of the outcome of Luna Bay.

Two days later – Canterlot Castle, Medical Wing; 7:30am

Celestia was sitting adjacent of the medical bed Zen was resting on – he was laid on the bed with several pillows keeping his helmeted head up, while the rest of his boy was covered in medical equipment to track his status. The window was open and the sun directed its warmth light into the room – planned by Celestia of course – the princess gazing sadly at the comatose Zen… until his eyes opened, or what was considered his eyes.

“Zen!” shouted Celestia. “Nurse, call Doctor Aid, he’s awake! Zen are you alright, what happened at Luna Bay, how did you manage to beat all those monsters?”

Zen did not speak at first, but it took him to remove the medical equipment off his suit before he took a good look of his surroundings, turning his gaze to Celestia. “I… don’t remember… It was all dark and foggy for some points… but… I think I let loose… The survivors… are they alright?”

“They are, but what about you, are you fine?”

“Fine? ...Fine isn’t a good enough word to describe the feeling I felt that day… If its alright, I need to be alone right now, there’s some personal thoughts I need to think of, so please… Leave me alone...”

Celestia wanted to stay, she didn’t want the same thing that happened to Luna to happen to Zen, but she knew he was strong, and if he needed to be alone, she’ll respect that. Bowing down, she trotted out of the room; later a doctor entered, checked Zen, asked some questions and soon left too. Once Zen was alone in the room, he stared at his own clawed hand, tightening the grip before his eyes narrowed in thought.

Jiule… what did you do to me?

Present Time…

“After that, I moved on with my usual schedule; news spread that my recovery was successful, and I gained rep as a dark hero that fights the vilest of evils no matter what… Many don’t realize what I thought was something from another world, but to this day I have no idea what I was fighting, Jiule knows but… her information is limited at best. I go to that village to pay my respects… I need to leave, you should go and get ready too… have a good time at the gala, girls-”

Zen was stopped by a stubborn Twilight, her eyes staring deeply at Zen’s, the others watch as sweat dripped from their foreheads, watching the two gaze at one another. It was Twilight who gave up but asked one final question for Zen. “...What was it that changed you that day that you became so… distant?” asked Twilight.

Zen didn’t answer, but as he left, he turned to look at Twilight and gave a soul-crushing response. “I was shown the ‘Truth’ – I learned what I’m capable of doing… and it shakes me to my core, that I was made… built, for something terrible. There’s still many things I myself don’t know, but the closer I get… the more terrifying it gets… and the worse part...” Twilight awaited an answer, but all sound seemed to stop, she couldn’t even feel her own breathing.

“Is that I have to watch everything around me waste away to nothing.”

Twilight snapped out of her trance and found herself looking at the eyes of a worried Fluttershy; she was told that she was standing there for two minutes straight and that Zen left a long time ago. Without any more reason to be here, Twilight and the gang got on the carriage and made their way to Canterlot.

Sitting on his Viper, Zen placed a way-point to his destination, and drove off the distance, passing forests and plains, and to the cold north.

Luna Bay; 5:50pm

Zen had entered the settlement, which now grown to a small city, parking his vehicle beside a lamppost. Walking forward he now stood before a stone monolith with the names of those who died during the “Luna Bay Massacre”; from end to end names filled up the monument to an event that many who live here will never forget, the story passed down for generations to come.

On the fifth month, of the sixth day, on the eighth hour, the town hall bell is wrung for the number of those that fallen that day in memory of them. Many ponies stand outside with the monolith in prayer, while others stay home with a small shrine of their deceased ancestors, right now, Zen was the only one outside. Ever since the massacre, the town’s population grown from the previous one hundred to two thousand over the years; one of its biggest advantages was the rigid stone and unique herbs that can only be grown in cold temperatures, which are sold throughout. Many say while it was a tragedy, it made Luna Bay much more stronger the coming years, making it the prospering settlement it is now.

And it was all thanks to Zen, so when news came Zen – the legendary hero who saved the survivors of Luna Bay – was alive those whole time, many descendants of the Luna Bay survivors gave their thanks, and the town built a statue in his memory.

If only they knew… of what really happened that day… Of what was awoken… and what came out.

May, 6, 506AD – Luna Bay; 11:15pm

Zen was surrounded, from one to thousand, he couldn’t win this battle, how could he; Zen had met other displaced already, but he couldn’t bring himself to bring what allies he made to such an overwhelming scenario… this was a battle nobody could win…

So why is it… that Jiule did something… What has she done?

It started off simple, a breeze in the wind… then he heard the drums, oh the drums; the shadows seemed to convulse, move like flames, and then… he saw it… he saw “them”. It was a strange creature, shapeless but it was in some sort of form, it stood or rather floated harmlessly with its pure white, beady eyes that were angled sideways but pupil-less.

The abominations seemed to back up at the appearance of this single creature, as if there was something terrifying about this singular entity. Soon to follow was more, and more… they kept on coming… and like the flood gates being open… it drowned the opposing force.

Music started to play, but it didn’t come from Zen… it came from the massive portal of utter nothingness as swarms of these shadowy creatures spewed forth like an angry hornets nest. It wasn’t just the sky that they came from, they came from the very ground, from the darkest shadows, even the outskirts of the village – the sea, the mountains, woods, everywhere – as if they were here the whole time… watching… waiting.

The monsters had no chance… they were the prey now; the shadowy creatures descended upon them without mercy, tearing through them with shadowy claws that sprung from their appendages, while others would simply spew black flames that disintegrated them to dust, but others wielded weapons like spears, axes, swords and shields. Dismembering, stabs, beheading, immolation, torn to pieces, trampled, gutted, stomped, the monsters were wiped out numerous ways by the shadow creatures – some teamed up together to lift buildings and crush the monsters, throwing them while their brethren weren’t affected and simply flew away or phasing through the debris with ease. Most swarmed the monsters, crushing or disintegrating them by simply them touching their shadowy bodies, and the monsters could do nothing, not even run as those that did ended up beat to a pulp by the shadows themselves.

Many believed the “Luna Bay Massacre” was called a massacre because the monsters killed so many lives… Zen saw for another reason; it was called a massacre, because a much more terrifying force annihilated the monsters. Once the deed was done, and every single abomination was dealt with, a field of bodies and blood was left behind, while the rest of the town was unaffected at the slightest; a small area around Zen was left empty, without a drop a blood to be seen near him.

Zen was speechless, no not speechless… he couldn’t move, he stood solitary as if a single movement would be his end. Soon every shadow creature surrounded Zen, but not in a threatening way; there were so many, that numbers couldn’t be given to count the sheer amount of them there was.

The music still continued to play, but slowly changed to a different song – as the song changed, each and every shadow creature bowed one after another all facing Zen – as a wave of pure energy swept through the desecrated town, before Zen gazed upwards and saw something through the pure darkness and absolute nothingness… he saw… ‘Truth’.

It was a realm of utter nothing, a place of shadow where the word eternity came to mind if you gazed at it… but gazing at was enough to wipe the most feeble of souls away from existence; Zen had saw this nothingness once… it was the place he woke from and came from before he came to Equestria.

“The Void...” said Zen.

Zen looked back down and saw one shadow creature – the name, Shadowling came to mind for some reason – approaching that wore a heavier set of armor that seemed to meld into it. One eye looked damaged, while the other seemed fine; it wielded a halberd and had a sword sheathed to its side, the gauntlets had spikes covering up to the forearm, making it deadly unarmed too.

It did not speak, it did not make a single noise, but as Zen gazed at it’s one working eye… he felt these words in his mind.

'We serve you loyally… Armor of the Maker...’

Zen couldn’t think, he couldn’t make any words, but just like that the legion of Shadowlings, gazed up and with one loud but musical whistle, they flew away. Some went into the gaping hole in the sky that was the Void, while others vanished into the shadows or flew off into the distance, disappearing. Soon Zen found himself alone, and only one thought or sentence came to him, and it was with this last remaining strength did he fall to unconsciousness.

“I’m… who’s armor?”

Author's Notes:

Next chapter: The girls - and Spike - finally arrive at the Grand Galloping Gala, but things don't go the way they want; after Zen's visit at Luna Bay, he decides to head to Canterlot, but heads their to ask Celestia for a favor.

Thoughts: Zen
Celestia
??? (no color)