As Lock returned to the council room, Lucifer was showing everyone the memory of his battle with the Overlord of the Crystal Empire. No one dared tear their eyes away as they watched a battle some say would be between titans, It was so intense that the roof of the throne room was blown off and the blizzard was raging as the two combatants stared each other down.

The Overlord was a possessed Caribou wearing dark, spiked armor that had cracks and tears in it with blood pooling out as he seethed at Lock who had his fare share of wounds with Surtr and Ymir drawn, the red blade being engulfed in Hellfire and the blue blade covered in shards of ice.

“I WILL RIP THE FLESH OFF YOUR BONES!!!” The Overlord bellowed as he charged at Lock with orbs of dark magic.

“Not if I kill you first...” Lock replied in a cold voice as the ice on Ymir began to harden into a crude edge.

He then got into a position with his swords out in front of him as flames and ice from his swords covered both halves of his body and wings. Lock then spread his wings out and up as he flapped them as hard as he could while also spinning like a top and his words held straight out. The crowd continued to watch as Lock became a tornado of fire and ice as he hurled towards his opponent at great speed.

“ICE FIRE DRAGON ASCENSION!!!!”

Lock’s attack rammed into the Overlord as they flew high into the air with his foe screaming in pain as he tore straight through him. Lock then stopped spinning in mid air as he hovered in the clouds as the body of the Overlord fell. The crowd gazed at the memory of Lock with his feathered wings, one being covered in ice and the other in Hellfire, as Lock looked back as if he was starring at everyone panting heavily.

“The Devil always collects what he’s owed,” His past self said as the memory faded.

"So this is the kind of power uncle has." Said Apple Jewel staring in bewilderment while Wulfric focused on the display of swordsmanship his friend possessed.

"Hmm a bit flashy but not bad."

“I see you all are enjoying my fight against Lust,” Lock said gaining everyone’s attention.

“Ah, Dimitri, the little ones insisted I showed them a little of your past successes and I figured I would show them your recent victory.” Lucifer said with a smirk.

“It was a tough one, that’s for damn sure.” Lock chuckled. Suddenly a cyan blue blue blur rammed him onto the ground as he looked up to see Rainbow Dash smiling widely with stars in her eyes.

“I take it you enjoyed the memory?” Lock chuckled.

"That was awesome!!" Rainbow squealed while smooshing her face.

"Now Rainbow take it easy. You got precious cargo now." Applejack lectured as she hovered down.

“As touching as this all is, I’m afraid time is almost at an end for your visit old king,” Lucifer said making the old king sigh.

“I suppose so, come little ones and give your Grandstag one last hug,” the old king said. Not wasting any time, the children quickly walked over to the old king as they embraced him in a group hug.

“Wulfirc, you’ve made me the proudest stag a father could ever be. Continue to lead our people with all you’ve learned and I look forward to the day when you join me and your ancestors at Odin’s great table of King’s in Valhalla,” The old king said with a proud smile as he placed a hand on his sons shoulder.

"Goodbye father..." Wulfric said with one last tear in his eye.

“Beorn, remember what I told you about your berserker state and keep training your mind and body. You must control that power if you ever hope to succeed your father.” the old king said as he tussled Beorn’s head.

"Grandpa!" The young buck whined with a smile as his fur was ruffled.

“Old one, it is time,” Lucifer said as he summoned the door.

The old king nodded and broke the group hug. He then turns and walks to the door as it opens and the horns of the valkyries could be heard and it sent chills down everyone’s spine. The old king stopped and looked over his shoulder to see his family all have tears in his eyes as he gives them one last smile.

“May Odin continue to smile upon you all,” was the last he said before walking through as the door shut and disappeared.

Lock walked up beside his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder as he was wiping his eyes.

“You gonna be ok, man?” Lock asked.

"....yes. i'll be fine." Wulfric said with a smile as the last tear fell from his face.

“I hope there to be no more tension between the two of us, young Wulfirc,” Lucifer said.

“I may be the ruler of Hell by I like to see myself as a voice of reason from time to time. Your father certainly seemed to think so after I discussed with him about your current predicament.”

"Don't think this changes anything, I still don't trust you." Wulfric replied bluntly as they left the room.

"Now to make preparations. The whole city's gonna be in an uproar over the big announcement."

“That goes double for me,” Lock said referring to his status as godfather.

“And what of you Chrysalis?” he asked turning to the Changeling Queen who gave him lidded eyes immediately.

“What are you gonna do during your stay here? Still gonna try to convince Wulfirc to let Crysta and Beorn wed?”

"But of course. It's for the sake of our kingdoms." She admitted with a smirk behind her fan.

“Well good luck with that,” Lock said as he left the room with Apple Jewel following him part of the way.

“Where are you going Uncle Lock?”

“Don’t worry about me, kiddo, I’m gonna head to the training yard to get my daily workout out of the way,” Lock said waving his hand.

“Gotta get these new pair of wings of mine in shape you know.”

As Lock exited the room, Applejack and Rainbow followed after Wulfirc with their children close behind, leaving just the group of Changelings and Lucifer in the room as the devil walked up beside Chrysalis with his hands behind his back.

“Your motives are just and are of good intent,” Lucifer said.

“Yet you did not tell them the full story, why is that?”

"My reasons are my own demon." The queen responded before taking her leave.

Lucifer chuckled as he looked out the window and across the horizon.

“You delude yourself with your foolish quest of revenge. Now that my Hand is here I shall take great joy in tasking him to collect your soul as well, King of the Windigos,” Lucifer said to himself before vanishing in a burst of flames.

“Ugh, damn things…This is gonna take some getting used to.”

Lock was on his way to the training yard while also trying to furl his second pair of webbed wings properly under his feathered ones. As he neared the training yard, he spotted Imperius sparring with the other squires and smiled walking over to greet them.

“Hey Imperius!” He said gaining the prince’s attention.

"Oh good morning sir."

The two met under the balcony overlooking the courtyard where the prince finally noticed his new appearance.

"Did you run into Discord?"

“Heh, no I didn’t. You could say someone I work for did this to me, the eyes included,” Lock said pointing at his amber eyes.

Seriously need to ask about Discord later, He thought you himself.

“So Imperius I heard you’ve been doing some training with Beorn under the watch of your old man, that true?” He asks and Imperius nods proudly.

“Well I actually came to the training grounds for a little workout, wanna join me and show me what you’ve learned?”

"Sure!" The prince sounded excited in his response and couldn't wait to see Lock in action.

After finding an open spot, Imperius noticed Top Notch fetching water from the nearby well and having a rather difficult time doing it.

"Fetch water they said!" He grumbled to himself.

"No need for magic, they said! Of all the ridiculous-DOH!!"

SPLOOSH

"OH hang it all!!"

The young colt found himself nearly dragged into the well by the bucket while the other cadets laughed, even Imperius couldn't help but let out a snicker.

"Hang it all!!"

Top Notch's misfortune would continue as the bucket was finally brought before splashing him in the face making him cough and sputter and he felt something tug on his leg.

"Oh now what?!? Now what?!?" The squire looked down to see the chain to the bucket wrapped slightly around his ankle.

"L-LEAVE OFF! LEAVE OFF!! You...you fiendish CHAIN YOU!!"

Having won the battle with the well, the young unicorn stormed off towards the stables with some of the cadets still snickering at his now soaked form.

“Poor kid,” Lock chuckled as he walked over to Top Notch with Imperius following close behind. As they approached, Top Notch noticed his prince and his eyes widen before he straightened himself up and saluted.

"Good morning sire!"

"Easy notch, i'm not in command yet."

"Right."

As top notch wringed out his clothes, Imperius noticed he had a scrub brush with him and what looked to be a bottle of pet shampoo.

"Your turn to give the pups a bath?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

“Pups?” Lock wondered.

"Oh yeah. Since the founding of the alliance, the ranger corps gets a litter of pups each year from up north."

"Sadly, I have the honor of bathing two of the most rowdiest pups in the litter."

"Wait. You don't mean?"

"Sköll and Håti; the pride of the kings dire wolves."

“The wolves that chase the sun and moon, fitting names,” Lock stated.

“So where are the rambunctious little fur balls?”

At that moment a loud crash was heard followed by the sound of puppy barking.

"PUPS ON THE LOOSE!!" Shouted the stable hand as two large pups began running around the courtyard.

"Not again..." the prince sighed as he watched the two pups run around with the guards and cadets trying to catch them.

Lock was quick to act as he spread both pairs of wings, startling both Imperius and Top Notch before he gave a sharp flap and dove for the pups, scooping them up instantly. Lock skidded across the ground with the pups in his arms as they looked up at him with adorable looking eyes and panting happily.

“Now who said that you two can cause trouble, huh?” Lock teases as he scratched them both behind their ears.

Sköll was the more energetic of the pair as he squirmed to escape locks grip but ceased the moment he heard large footsteps approaching.

"Ohh dear." Imperius said as he and Top Notch stepped back for a large female wolf with a snowy white coat and scars on her face and as she passed through, many of the soldiers bowed their heads in respect while others backed away in awe of the majestic beast.

Lock, feeling in a rather playful yet foolish mood, put Håti down as the wolf approached them before also getting down on one knee, as the wolf stood before him and her pups stood by her side. Lock then glanced at Imperius and winked as he transformed into his wolf form, shocking the others.

Thanks to Lucifer’s help, Lock’s wolf form seemed to grow in size as well. When he looked up at the white wolf from his bow, he slowly stood up and met her at eye level, even his body was more toned. The white wolf stared into Lock’s amber eyes as he stared into hers before she sniffed him curiously.

“Greetings, Lady White Wolf,” Lock barked in wolf speech with a curt nod.

“It is an honor to make your acquaintance.”

"My name is Arya" The matriarch growled back.

"Forgive my children, they are still pups after all."

Arya nuzzled her little ones with affection before allowing them to run back to the stables.

"Ten years old and they still cause trouble."

“Children tend to always cause trouble, regardless of age,” Dimitri growled playfully.

“My name is Dimitri, you seem to adorn many scars, Lady Arya. A pity for a wolf as beautiful as yourself.”

"I take pride in them." she boasted.

"They are a symbol of devotion to my master."

“Your devotion is very admirable,” Dimitri replied with flattery.

“Wulfric is lucky to have someone like you by his side. Meanwhile I fight demons and power crazed tyrants as the Hand of the Devil with no one besides my apprentices. It sometimes gets lonely but a duty must be done for the sake of others.”

"I'm sure it does. Now if you'll excuse me, I must make sure my children take their baths."

Arya returned to the stables with the soldiers still showing her the proper respect she deserved.

"You just...talked to her." Imperius said in shock as he transformed back.

“That I did,” Lock replied casually while dusting himself off.

“She’s quite the proud one, that’s for sure. I can sense the amount of strength she has.”

Lock looked at Imperius and Top Notch who were still slack jawed making him quirk a brow.

“What?”

"You do realize she is the matriarch of the pack right?" Top Notch asked before making a statement.

"She could've killed you!!"

“Huh, well she didn’t seem like it to me,” Lock shrugged.

“We just talked about her pups and I gave her a compliment or two and she seemed alright with me, no biggie.”

Both just stared bewildered before a drill instructor grabbed Top Notch by the collar and dragged him back to the stables.

"Move it rookie! Those fleas aren't gonna clean themselves off!!"

“You know, if I ever get the chance, remind me to ask Arya to join her the next time she goes to her pack next time I see her,” Lock said rubbing his chin.

“I’ve kinda always wanted to know what it felt like to run with wolves.”

"You are a strange one." The prince stated after facepalming himself.

“I know,” Lock said with a grin before walking over to a bench and remove his upper clothing. Once done and left bare chested, the whole area seemed to stop as they gazed at the tribal brands on his arms and chest.

For the stallions and bucks they gazed in awe of them and the many battle scars he adorned along his back and chest and some winced at how deep the large one was that went from one corner of his back to the other on his hip. As Lock stretched his body, the mares and does went slack jawed and some drooled at his bulging muscles every time he spread his arms, more so they swooned and shuddered when he spread both pairs of his wings. Another thing about Lucifer’s repair of his soul is that his body seemed to have a lot more girth of muscle to it along with his height. Lock then noticed how Imperius was starring slack jawed once again at his body which made him smirk.

“This, Imperius, this is what the progress of hard work and devotion to sharpen your skill. But that’s not all, each scar is a story, this one especially,” Lock said pointing to the one on his back.

“It’s the one scar that almost cost me my very life but that’s a story for another time. If you devote yourself to your training long enough you’re guaranteed to make quite the name for yourself as your father has. Maybe you’ll have a scar or two yourself and tell how you got them to those who follow you one day.”

"Actually...my father doesn't like talking about the war that much." Imperius said as his expression dimmed a bit.

"The great war really took a lot out of him."

Lock paused for a moment and lost his smirk, he then rubbed the back of his head feeling abased about bringing an obvious sensitive subject up.

“Hey, listen kid, I may not seem it but since you mentioned that I can understand how your old man feels,” he said gaining Imperius’s attention. Little did they know, a pair of royal mares were passing by and stopped when they heard Lock.

“You do?” Imperius asked.

“Yup, your father may have a case of PTSD,” Lock said walking over to Imperius.

“PTSD? What’s that?” The prince asked as Lock crossed his arms.

“Post traumatic stress disorder, it’s a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event either experiencing it or witnessing it, much like war. Tell me, have you ever heard from your father mention him not getting enough sleep? Or do you recall him, for example, excusing himself to be alone from time?” Lock asks as he looked at Imperius.

"Well he does sit alone in the garden sometimes." The prince admitted.

“As I thought,” Lock sighed.

“If you’re wondering how I know, just look at my eyes, they may be a different color, but do you notice anything that differs from the other?”

At first both eyes appeared the same until a fly landed on Locks right eye without him blinking.

"You...lost one of your eyes?"

“I did,” Lock said as he put a hand over the right side of his face. His flames flickered a bit until he put his hand down making him gasp, along with the two hidden Princesses who could see from the corner of the door.

A huge scar went across his eye that looked like it should have split his skull in two, the fake eye was still there but looked as lifeless as his other eye.

“Back in my world; the human world, I was a military man. I fought for my country and served with a platoon of men I considered brothers, then one day a mission went bad and they all tragically lost their lives but I survived, barely. But my eye isn’t the only thing about me. I had shrapnel in my brain, there was at least a dozen screws in my arms and legs and one of my organs had to be surgically removed because of how ruptured it was, when I recovered physically and was discharged I was mentally unstable for many years and I admittedly had to be put on watch because there was a time I thought of claiming my own life. My boss healed my more serious injuries making me whole again but the scars, both physically and mentally, have literally and figuratively imprinted themselves on me and will remain for the rest of my life, just like this scar and my fake eye. You see Imperius, I’ve been seeing the past in one eye and the present in the other. So I thought I could only see patches of reality, never the whole picture.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Imperius wonders, unable to look away from Lock’s fake eye.

“For years I felt like I was a dream I’d never wake up from, before I knew it the dream was all over. Your father is going through the same thing since he’s still got both his eyes. For 10 years he’s been reliving the horrors of war, and it seems he can’t really let go which is why he sometimes distances himself so he won’t let you see him when he’s seeing the past again.”

It was then, that Luna and Celestia realize what there husband was going through for he had served on both sides of the war and had witnessed and done many horrible things.

"Sister?"

"I know Luna...let us go see our husband."

“But enough gloom for now,” Lock said as he stood up and used his flames to hide his scar.

“I wanna see what the Lord Regent taught you, so grab a practice sword and show me what you got,” he said with his smirk returning.

"Actually I prefer this." The prince replied as he grabbed a quarter staff and began twirling it around to show off his skill.

“Very well, if you’re gonna use that,” Lock said as he picked up two practice swords.

“Then I hope you won’t mind if I use two instead of one.”

Both squared off in the center of the courtyard with all the recruits watching, expecting another epic duel like Prince Beorn. Lock twirled his swords, while keeping his wings furled for a fair fight before lunging at Imperius with his swords crossed on each side.

"Oh one more thing." The prince smirked as he pushed against his opponent.

"Father didn't train me....mother did!!"

The prince pushed Lock back with a strong enough shove to get some distance before using his staff to pole vault forward to deliver a double heeled kick and a sweeping strike towards the torso.

Lock grunted after he felt Imperius’s feet slam into his chest and skidded back but then smirked as he took a stance once more. When Imperius went for another pole vault Lock met his attack with a jump of his own and spun in mid air before spreading his legs out wide and dodging the attack.

"A little advice kid. Never use the same move twice!" Dimitri lectured before landing a kick in his side making him tumble across the ground and landing after a perfect sommersault. Imperius shook his head before holding his staff forward and looked at his opponent who began to take a strange stance as he held his swords in front of him in what appeared to be a thrusting stance.

“TWO SWORD STYLE, RHINO REVOLVE!” Lock shouted as he spin-slashes around himself in an instant.

The young prince was able to parry the attack and took to the air in hopes of gaining an advantage yet as quickly as he took to the skies, he spotted Lock baring down on him at breakneck speed and forcing him into a one sided dogfight.

“Nice move kid but you'll need a few more notches on your belt to take me in the air!!” Lock said as he lunged at Imperius through the air with a barrage of attacks that riddled the young princes body when by accident, he hit a soft spot on the princes back that made his wings go stiff.

Imperius cried out in pain as his wings went limp and fell to the ground. The prince clenched his eyes bracing for impact but then felt something grab his shirt from behind. He slowly opened his eyes and saw he was hovering a few inches from the ground and when he looked behind him he saw Lock carrying him in mid air.

“Pressure points, quite handy if you ask me,” Lock said as he let him down gently.

Imperius got up and looked at his wings and tried to move them but they just hung there and felt numb.

“Don’t worry about your wings, kid,” Lock said making him turn to him as he landed.

“You’ll feel them soon in an hour or so, now let’s continue, shall we?” Lock said as he took his stance.

Imperius nodded and twirled his staff and both combatants charged at each other. Imperius twisted and turned trying to land a blow on Lock but missed almost every attack.

“Your mother taught you well, kid,” Lock said as he blocked an overhead strike.

“But have you ever experienced real pain?” Lock said as he swiped Imperius’s staff to the side and raised his fist making the princes eyes widen.

The moment the fist was about to make impact, the prince caught Lock off guard with a judo flip that caused him to lose one of his swords which Imperius kicked to the side.

"As a matter of fact, I have." He said with a grin as lock shook his head from feeling dizzy.

“Not bad,” Lock smirked as he picked up his sword.

“But let’s see how you like this.”

Lock then changes his stance again as he holds his two swords horizontally above his shoulder.

“TWO SWORD STYLE, PHOENIX WING SLASH!”

Lock attacked with a circular swing that sent two air compressed projectiles spiraling towards Imperius who braced for impact as his wings were still numb from the previous attack.

"THAT'S CHEATING!!!" He cried out before he was knocked off his feet and disarmed.

“On the contrary,” Lock said straightening himself out and twirling his swords.

“That was not magic or any kind of power, it was a sword skill and it was totally legal.” he said as he placed his swords down and helped the prince to stand.

As the prince got up, his whole body felt sore from hitting the ground while a few joints in his spine and wings began to pop.

"Ow..."

“Heh, that took a lot out of you didn’t it?” Lock snorted.

“Here, allow me,” he said as he engulfed his hands in Hellfire that circled Imperius and began healing his injuries. The bruises and pressured joints all faded away and came loose making him sigh contently as he was healed.

“There we are, good as new.”

"Thanks. My body is still stiff from that bandit attack."

The two proceeded to put the training gear away and repair any damages done to the courtyard. While most would be impressed by such a humble display from royalty, the nobles who had come to the castle that day found itmdisgusting.

"Unthinkable! A prince doing manual labor?" A baron scoffed turning his nose up.

“Jeez, these nobles sure got those sticks up their butts pretty far huh?“ Lock snorts as he places the practice weapons on the rack and puts his upper clothing back on.

"It's not that bad, most times they try to introduce me to their daughters. Which is why i'm terrified of girls." The prince replied while dusting himself off.

Lock then gained a confidant smirk and spotted a mare amongst the recruits recruit who had light brown fur, dark pink mane and tail both styled in a braid, and her eyes were a normal green.

“Excuse me!” Lock called out to the recruit and she looked towards him.

“Can you please come here for a moment?” The recruit tilted her head and complied as she walked towards them. Once she was standing before them she was admittedly quite the looker.

“Hello there, young mare, what’s your name?”

"Oh. My name's Gumdrop but my friends call me 'Gummy'." The mare said with a cheerful smile.

“Nice to meet you, Gummy,” He said with a smile.

“You obviously know Prince Imperius, yes?” She nods while smiling cheerfully at the prince making him blush.

“Well how’s about you spend the day with him? With his permission of course.”

"Now hold on a minute!" The prince protested before she grabbed his arm.

"Sure! That sounds fun!"

“Come on Imperius, look at her,” Lock whispered.

“She’s cute, she's around your age, she’s got a kind smile, and most importantly she’s not a noble. Just your average mare here training like everyone else, like you! You say you’re terrified of girls but can you honestly say she looks as intimidating as you think?”

Before the colt could object any further, Gumdrop began dragging him out of the court with a surprising amount of strength that astounded some of the drill sergeants.

"But I got training!" Imperius shouted as he was dragged away.

“Just remember, Imperius!” Lock called out.

“She’s just like you and me so relax! And Gummy, make sure you treat him like any other colt!”

"I will!" She shouted waving goodbye.

After an afternoon of exercise, Dimitri headed to the castle gardens for a quick nap when he spotted Marshall sitting alone with a frazzled mane and a fatigued expression as he brought out a small flask from his vest to take a swig.

"Bucking memories...."

End.