As the new year dawned, the Mane Six began to return.

Pinkie was the first to arrive, returning while Eric was training with Rainbow and Twilight.

However, as Eric and his students turned to her, they noticed, not the fluffy pink mane of Pinkie, but the straight dark, almost red hair of Pinkamena.

“Hey,” she greeted sourly.

“Umm... Pinkamena?” Rainbow asked, flying towards the mare. “Did you enjoy your Hearth’s…?”

Pinkamena silenced her with a swift punch to the face, not even bothering to look at the Rainbow Pegasus.

Rainbow yelped as she held her snout. “She broke mah Snooze!” Rainbow whined.

“Don’t be a baby,” Eric said, motioning Dash to approach him. “Come here Dash; let me see.”

Rainbow pulled her hands away. Twilight hissed at the sight of her broken snout. “Can you even breathe like that?”

“No!” Rainbow shouted as Eric put his hands on the sides of her nose.

“On the count of three,” Eric said. “Ready?”

Rainbow nodded her head.

“Alright.” Eric’s fingers tensed. “One.” He jolted her snout back into place with a loud CRACK!

Rainbow yelped, jolting back and holding her nose. “You Plot Hole!” she boomed. “What happened to ‘two’ and ‘three?’”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Eric asked with a smug grin.

Rainbow rubbed her nose with a grimace. “It still hurts.”

“Technically speaking, Rainbow,” Twilight said hesitantly. “Had he waited it would have hurt more since you were expecting the pain. Since he caught you off guard your pain was lessened.”

“I hate your logic Twi.” Rainbow grumbled, following Eric back to the training floor. Twilight, however, looked at where Pinkamena had wandered off to.

“Eric, I’m going to talk to Pinkie, see what’s wrong.” Twilight said.

Eric and Rainbow exchanged a look before nodding. “Yeah that might be a good idea, Twi.” Eric said.

Nodding in thanks, the Unicorn chased after the violent mare.

“Any ideas on what’s wrong with Pinkie?” Rainbow asked the Shadow Man.

“No clue.” Eric said before he noticed Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy entering the training grounds.

“Hey ya’ll,” Applejack greeted. “What’d we miss?”

---

A few hours passed and Twilight walked out onto the grounds with a downtrodden look on her face.

“Well?” Eric asked. “Something happen to her family?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow asked. “Why’s she acting like somepony killed Gummy?”

“Blueblood did more than ponynap Marble.” Twilight said, her voice slightly shaken. “He used his magic and wiped her parents' memories of their own daughter.”

Eric straightened. “Can you restore their memories?”

Twilight hummed. “I… think so…

“Then do it,” he said. “Get out to the Pie Family Farm and give them their memories back.”

Twilight smiled. “Thank you.” She turned. “I’m going to get Pinkie.”

As Twilight left, Eric returned to training. But before he could assume his combat stance, a guard ran up.

“Sir Von Shadow!” the guard saluted. “Dusk Starsword is here.” The guard moved aside to display the unicorn. “I’ve brought him as you’ve requested.”

“Thank you,” Eric said.

“He was also accompanied by a minotaur,” the guard added. “Who is currently speaking with Her Highness.”

Eric nodded and dismissed the guard before turning to Dusk with a pouch of bits. “I take it you have my information, Dusk?”

“I have, and you might find this quite interesting,” Dusk said, smirking as he handed over the book. “Almost all the women were purchased by a member of Royalty.”

“Equestrian Royalty?”

“No, Royalty of the Minotaur Nation,” Dusk clarified. “They were sent to the Minotaur Capital, Minos.”

---

“Princess Celestia,” a guard declared, entering the throne room. “You have a visitor.”

Celestia looked up as the doors opened. In walked a gray Minotaur with glittering, polished armor. His helmet concealed his entire head. Massive boots shook the floor when he walked, and giant gauntlets were clenched in fists. A giant sword hung from his back, crossed with a staff. Added onto it, the Minotaur had a staff on his back as well.

The Minotaur walked to the center of the room and knelt before the Princess of the Sun. “Princess Celestia Solaris, Diarch of Equestria. It is an honor to meet you.”

Celestia smiled warmly, and inclined her head. “Iron Horn. Crown Prince of the Minotaur Kingdom?” She rose. “It feels like only yesterday that we last saw each other.” Her eyes glittered. “You’ve grown from the calf I remember; for a moment, I almost mistook you for your father”

Iron Horn chuckled. "If that was the case, I would’ve changed my looks.” A wave of melancholy washed over him. “Unfortunately, I haven’t seen my father for the last ten years.”

Celestia sighed. “Yes. I apologize.” She descended her throne. “But, why come here?”

Iron Horn cleared his throat. “Well, for starters, you still owe me sixteen bits,” he said with a grin.

Celestia laughed, but her eyes patiently requested the truth. Iron Horn’s grin faded, and a sense of urgency entered his voice.

“And… I need to fight every warrior on this island. Bring them to me,” he ordered.

Celestia’s smile faded. “May I ask why you seek warriors to fight?”

“I have been banished from my home land,” he explained. “In order to return, I must beat ten thousand warriors in combat. I’m up to around two thousand now.” He gazed at Celestia with steel-like determination. “Please, Celestia. I need to see my family, I need to see my father, and I need to see my Kingdom. My people, my home. It’s been ten years since I’ve set out on this journey, and I will get home.”

Celestia gently touched his shoulder. “Your will is admirable,” she praised, before lowering her arm. “But I’m afraid our Warriors might be too much for you.”

“Is that so?” Iron Horn’s body shook with mirth. He slammed his fist into his palm with a loud metal clap. “Well, let me decide that. Bring them on, get me in an arena and we’ll do a Gauntlet. Starting from weakest to strongest, back to back. I’m really in a hurry; it took ten years to get to two thousand. I want to get to at least six thousand in five years.”

Celestia shut her eyes with a sigh, but she could tell Iron Horn’s will was set. “Very well,” she decided, leaving the throne room. “Follow me.”

Eagerly, Iron Horn followed after her, knocking on the wall as he went. “Pretty sturdy walls you have here.”

“They would be,” Celestia noted, before noticing a series of fist shaped craters along the wall leading to the Training Grounds. “Not sturdy enough when you have a pony who was raised on a rock farm.”

“Hm,” Iron Horn mused, observing the fist shaped craters. “Quite a strong one. Female? I assume it to be so, given most of your guards are female.”

“Some of them,” Celestia corrected. “Most are stallions.” The grounds came into view as she added, “Luna has the most mares in her guard.”

“And of a different species,” Iron Horn remembered. “Bat-Pony, I believe.” Celestia nodded, causing Iron Horn to hum in thought. “Yes… Our guard from what I recall has only male warriors and some females here and there. I think my father told me that we males are too rough to care for children, we’re only good for combat. Females are nicer and caring to their calves. However, since my mother died, my father did his best to care for me. And he did, in his own way: raising me to be a warrior, which eventually led me to being banished…” Iron Horn said with a sigh, he then shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts.

Before Celestia could respond, Eric appeared from the shadows.

“Celestia, we have the locations.” Eric held up a book. “The slaves sold at the Black Market were sent to a lot of different locations. However a good third of them were sent to the Island of Minos.”

“M-Minos?” Iron Horn asked in surprise. “My father-” Iron Horn then stopped mid-sentence, noticing Eric giving him an odd look. He gave a salute and offered his hand. “My name is Iron Horn, a wandering warrior. Are you Eric Von Shadow? The one I’ve read on the newspaper about defending Canterlot from Pirates?”

“Among other things.” Eric answered, taking Iron Horn’s hand. “Eric Von Shadow, Reaper of the Crystal Empire, Shade of Umbra, Kinslayer and Captain of the Crystal Royal Guard.”

Iron Horn nodded. “It’s an honor,” he said, before urgency entered his voice. “Please. Bring your mightiest soldiers, and let me fight them.” Privately, he thought, If my kingdom has sentenced innocent beings to a lifetime of slavery, I must return home and stop this madness.

Eric cocked an eyebrow, almost reading his thoughts, before glancing back as his comrades joined them. “You want the mightiest soldiers? You’re looking at them.” He motioned to his group. “Iron Horn. Meet Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity Belle, and Fluttershy.”

“The Elements of Harmony!” Iron Horn exclaimed before saluting Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and the fastest in all of Equestria.” He grinned jokingly. “You must not be great in bed.”

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted, flames licking her form. Eric set a hand on Dash’s shoulder, calming her down as the minotaur turned to Applejack.

“Applejack,” he greeted, giving her a firm handshake. “Element of Honesty, and a proud member of the Apple Family. Quite a sturdy character if I do say so myself.”

“Mighty kind of ya,” Applejack said, before the minotaur moved onto Rarity, kissing her hand.

“Miss Rarity Belle, Element of Generosity, and one of the finest conjurers of clothes in all of Equestria. A dashing lady if I say so myself.”

Rarity smiled. “Well aren’t you sweet.”

Iron Horn turned to Fluttershy, giving her a thumbs up despite her moving behind Eric in fear. “And here we have the sweet Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, and the Caretaker of the animals of Ponyville. A small thing to do but a big feat to pull off all the same, what you do is amazing and keep on doing what’s best for the nature around you.”

Fluttershy just squeaked in terror, her last encounter with a minotaur fresh on her mind. Iron Horn looked behind her, his grin fading.

“...Where are the others?” Iron Horn asked.

“Indeed,” Celestia noted, turning to Eric. “Where are Twilight and Pinkie Pie?”

“Twilight returned to the Pie family’s farm to restore the damage your nephew caused,” Eric said.

Celestia groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose “What else did he do?”

“He used magic to erase Marble from her family’s mind.”

“Of course, he did” Celestia sighed before glancing at the book “So how soon can you set sail to retrieve the slaves?”

“This afternoon,” Eric answered. “Maybe even tonight.”

“I…” Iron Horn started to raise a finger, before he paused. “No, not yet, he decided.I have to fulfill my promise.He shook his head, “Er, never mind. Bring me all of your mightiest warriors so we can hold a Gauntlet.”

Eric glanced at him. “Why?”

“Well I can’t tell you,” Iron Horn admitted. “But I promise, I can IF you defeat me.”

Eric sighed. “Look If you want to fight, knock yourself out.” The Shadow Man left to prepare. “Dash, AJ, figure out who wants to go first.”

“Not want,” Iron Horn corrected, crossing his arms. “Need.” He looked down. “However, it’s been a long journey. I need to rest, perhaps we can engage in battle tomorrow?”

“There is no tomorrow,” Eric replied. “We leave as soon as possible. You are more than welcome to fight whoever chooses to stay behind, but freeing the slaves is our top priority.”

For a moment, Iron Horn was silent. “Can I tell you something Von Shadow…?” Iron Horn said softly.

“Is it about your banishment?” Eric said.

Iron Horn blinked in shock. “How do you know that?” He went for his staff, an axe blade popping out with the click of a button. “Have you been following me?”

“I don’t need to,” Eric replied, pulling out a folded paper. “You’re not the only one who reads the papers.”

Banished Minotaur Prince Spotted in the Equestrian Nation was printed on the paper in big bold letters. Below the headline was a photo of the Minotaur wielding his shield and blade, standing over an armored knight. Iron Horn was looking up to the skies like what a hero would do.

“That was over ten fucking ye- How did you even get that?” Iron Horn exclaimed. “I thought my name was wiped from the face of the damn planet!”

“It might have,” Eric snarked. “If you started wearing a mask instead of a helmet.”

Iron Horn snorted like an angry bull before snatching the paper and tearing it up. “Damn newspaper guy-thing!”

“I’ve also heard the rumors,” Eric said to the Prince. “In order for you to return you must win ten thousand duels. Am I wrong?”

Iron Horn sighed. “No, you would be correct.” He looked up. “But I must ask; did my father, Cloven Horn, die in my absence?”

Eric grimaced. “I couldn’t tell you that.”

Iron Horn sighed, before bowing. “Then let me join you. I’ve overheard what has happened to my Kingdom and I can NOT let this stand! The slaves… My father would never allow this. He’s too prideful to stoop that low. It’s been ten years… I haven’t seen my family, or my friends! I have a ship called the Iron Maiden that is in the docks sitting there right now.” He looked up. “Let me join you! PLEASE!”

“You are welcome to join,” Celestia said to the Prince. “However, my guard along with a handful of guards from the Empire will have to accompany you.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia!” Iron Horn said, jumping to his feet and hugging the Princess unexpectedly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I will NOT betray your trust or you in any way shape or form!”

“When can you get a ship prepared?” Eric asked the princess

“On short notice? Two hours.”

Eric turned to the minotaur. “Can you be ready in two hours?”

“I can be ready in ten minutes!” Iron Horn declared. “I am a master of Quick Claw technique.” He noticed Rainbow Dash’s confused expression. “In other words, I’m fast as fuck!”

“Then met us at the docks in two hours,” Eric said, leaving the grounds through the shadows

---

Eric made his way towards the docks with Sombra and Starry Sky behind him. Applejack and Rainbow were already at the docks waiting for the others. Eric glanced around, noticing a lack of white or yellow.

“No Rarity or Fluttershy?” Eric asked.

“They decided to stay behind,” Rainbow said, crossing her arms. “Fluttershy said she wanted to work on her Haki Control.”

“And Rarity?”

“Same reason” Applejack said, moving one leg over the other while flicking her Stetson. “She wanted to get better control over her Devil Fruit.”

“Avast ye bilge rats!” The voice of Iron Horn boomed, causing the three to jump. “Up here!” The group looked up to find Iron Horn standing on top of a ship with no Jolly Roger but a symbol of the Minos Flag. His ship was coated in metal, the bottom of the ship was Sea Prism Stone. Iron Horn jumped from the Crow’s Nest and down next to Eric, making a crater when he landed.

“This is the Iron Maiden,” Iron Horn said with glee, patting his fair ship/lady. “And she’s pretty sturdy, been with me for ten years yet no sign of rust.”

Eric nodded in agreement. “She’s quite the beauty,” he noted, before hearing the sound of marching.

Turning, Eric was met with the sight of the Crystal Royal Guard, sixteen guards saluted their captain.

“Crystal Guard reporting for duty, sir,” the group said in unison.

“At ease,” Eric said, boarding the naval vessel. “Board the ship!”

The guards obeyed their captain. “Do you have everything Sir Eric?” a unicorn guard asked as he manned the wheel.

“Indeed,” Eric replied. “Raise the Anchor, and drop the sails.” Eric ordered before stepping to the front of the vessel. “To Minos!”

“Ahem,” Iron Horn snorted. “I’m the Captain here.” He turned to the guards. “Hoist the colors high and raise the anchor!”

"Isn't Eric the captain?" Starry asked.

Eric shook his head. “This isn’t my ship. Last time I checked, Iron Horn is captain of his own vessel.”

"I thought you were the captain because you were the one who got us together,” the samurai noted. “Guess not.”

“On this vessel,” a voice called from another ship. “I am Captain!”

A pegasus stallion appeared on the deck of the second ship, wearing an armored chest plate with a large white coat over his shoulders. His head was covered with a white beret. A longsword attached to his hip and a pair of pressed white pants on his lower body, and a pair of pure white boots adorn his feet.

“Name's White Knight,” the captain said in a voice that screamed authority. “Captain of the ‘White Dream.”

Iron Horn just stared at White Knight from the Iron Maiden, “I gotta fight that stallion…” He thought, looking at the guard.

Starry Sky stared at The White Knight and hummed. "He does look strong"

“Eric Von Shadow” The Shadow Man introduced before motioning to his friends. “This is Sombrahesta…”

“Ah, yes...” White Knight said with venom in his voice. “The Tyrant.”

“Watch your tongue,” Eric growled as his shadows began to waft from his body.

“Whatever,” White Knight said, crossing his arms before spotting two of the Elements. “It’s an honor to have the Elements of Loyalty and Honesty alongside my vessel.”

"Elements?" thought Starry as he looked at the mares with rainbow hair and the one with a Stetson hat.

Eric saw the confused look on the Samurai’s face before speaking in Sky’s native tongue. “Atode setsumei shimasu.”
[I’ll Explain Later]

Starry nodded, trusting Eric’s word before White Knight noticed the samurai.

“And who are you, Nip?” White Knight asked, flying off his ship and stepping in front of Starry.

"I am Starry Sky, Bucket Head," he replied with annoyance in his voice

Insulted, the Captain went to draw his blade only to have three separate blades at his throat: Obsidian Blood held by Eric Von Shadow, Sombra’s Broadsword and a katana held by Starry Sky.

“A piece of advice Captain White Knight...” Sombra Began

“...Never start a fight…” Eric said next.

"You can't finish," Starry finished.

Reluctantly, the captain moved his hand away from his sword which made all three of them retract their blades from his throat. Huffing, the captain returned to his ship in silence.

“Arrogant bastard,” Eric growled, sheathing his sword. “Calling you a Tyrant…” Eric looked to Sombra. “And then calling you a Nip” the Shadow man turned to the Samurai as he sheathed his katana .

“Hmph, what a rude thing to say to another.” Iron Horn said, crossing his arms. “Now I have to teach that ‘Knight’ a lesson.”

"What was he talking about you being a tyrant?” Starry asked Sombra.

“Under the influence of a dark entity I... Enslaved my people and murdered an entire race.” Sombra admitted with guilt and regret.

Starry hummed, narrowing his eyes. "Do you regret what happened?”

“Every minute of every day,” Sombra assured him. He glanced at Eric who began to walk to the head of the ship. “Especially since I ruined a potential family.”

Starry followed his gaze. “While I don't know the specifics or much about who you are as a person I can tell by just looking at you that you're a good person and if what you said was true then you aren't the one at fault.”

“Thanks” Sombra said, gripping his sword.

"You’re welcome" Starry said, patting Sombra’s shoulder.

Next Chapter: The Island of Minos Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 2 Minutes