Roose sat huddled in the corner, amongst the ruins of the beautiful tapestry he had torn to shreds, and closed his eyes. He was forced to relive his memory of his night of graduation by the growling being before him.

Lights. So many lights. Lights flashing as cameras went off, lights flashing as he accepted his diploma from the President of his University.

Lights flashing as he hung back, and nodded to the President, waiting for his opportunity.

Lights flashing as his girlfriend walked up to accept her diploma. She shot a look of confusion to him, as if to ask him what he was playing at.

Before she was allowed to walk off, Peter grasped her hand.

"Jane," he whispered to her, going to a knee on stage, on national television, "will you marry me?"

She held a hand up to her mouth, and smiled as Peter pulled a black box out of his graduation robes, and opened it to present a beautiful diamond ring.

"Yes," she replied, and Peter's heart nearly exploded. They hugged, and kissed, and walked off stage, hand in hand.

Later that night, they lay out on a hill in their campus, their hands locked together, their engagement rings sparkling almost as brightly as the stars, which burned only half as passionately as their hearts.

"I love you, Jane," Peter whispered.

"I love you, too, Peter," Jane responded.

They kissed, and another flash of light light up the sky as Peter's sister appeared from the bushes.

"Gotcha, lovebirds!" She shouted.

"Amanda!" Peter whined, smiling despite himself as his sister waved the camera around.

"I'm putting these up on facebook!" She taunted as she ran away, into the night.

"For a twenty eight year old, she's..."

"Childish?" Peter suggested, finishing Jane's sentence.

"Yes," Jane replied. "Childish."

They laughed, for no reason whatsoever. Then they kissed, for no reason whatsoever.

Roose smiled to himself, the memory comforting him in the dark hallway. He could practically feel his wife's arm wrapping around him, just like it did every day that she had been alive...

His mind was cut off from his happy thoughts, and brought to the next memory, closer to the beast's goal.

"Happy engagement, lovebirds!" Peter and Jane's friends shouted out as they popped up from behind the chairs in the apartment that the couple now shared.

"Hello," Peter stated in a matter-of-fact manner. "Nice to see you all so early!"

The group of people shared a small amount of laughter. And then, it was right to the party.

Peter woke up, totally naked, with Jane in his bed, and a condom stuck on his thumb. Jane woke up at the same time, and, seeing the condom on his thumb, stammered out the obvious question.

"Did we have unprotected sex?" She asked with a small giggle.

"I...I think so," Peter responded, pulling the protection off of his thumb with a small snap. "Well, I guess we'll be parents, huh?"

Jane smiled, and wrapped an arm around him, their bare bodies were drawn closer together by their embrace. "I'd have no problem with that..."

Peter smiled, and kissed her, gently, before wrapping his arms around her and snuggling with her.

Roose sobbed in his small corner, his small shuddering gasps of air doing nothing to ease the pain in his heart as he thought of what his younger self felt for this pony.

"That love was for Jane..." He moaned. "That love was for Jane, you bastard!" Before he could do anything about it, he was launched into another painfully beautiful memory.

The ring slipped down over Jane's finger. It seemed to be a perfect fit. It was almost as if it belonged there.

The ring also slipped down over Peter's finger, and he stared into Jane's eyes with nothing but love as the priest rattled on.

"I do," Jane suddenly said, drawing Peter from her eyes. He started to listen, and nodded.

"I do," he said in return.

"Then you may kiss the bride," was all he heard.

His lips met hers, and everything went black. They stood there, frozen in time, as their surroundings reformed around them.

They were now standing above a glass panel that overlooked a coral reef, lit up by the small lights on the wooden deck as they kissed, the water playing patterns of beauty across their faces.

When they parted, Jane smiled, and Peter fell in love all over again. Every small bit of her face was accentuated by the moons' gentle caress of light, and she was absolutely beautiful.

"Best honeymoon ever," Jane whispered, her hand resting on the bump that had been the only thing separating them on their wedding day. "I hope our baby enjoys it, too..."

Peter smiled, and reached down to rub the large bulge of pregnancy. "I'm sure she's loving it."

They rocked each other back and forth, both of them too scared to actually dance, lest they hurt the fetus in Jane's womb. As the night carried on, they grew drunk with love. The bottle of wine remained untouched in its small ice tub.

Roose was rocking back and forth in his small corner.

"No more, please," he moaned, as the horrible..."Skygger" grunted, the caravan wheel around its neck bringing forth memories and Agony. "Please, leave me alone! And leave him alone! That love was for Jane, but he found a new person to give it to! Please, he deserves to have a better life than I did!"

Roose heard Discord sigh from the center of the hallway.

"Until you vow vengeance on him once more, I'm afraid my friend Agony here will have to stay," he whispered venomously. "Now, break him."

Roose whimpered pitifully as his mind was thrust into his memories once more.

The operating room.

It was the most beautiful thing Peter had ever seen.

Not the operating room, but what was occurring behind the curtains that had been drawn over the door.

"Come on, honey, you can do this!" He shouted, pressing the already soaked sponge to her forehead. "Come on, just push!"

"I will kill you, Peter Roose!" She shouted, grabbing his shirt in agony and anger.

"You're doing great, honey," Peter whispered, stroking the side of her face with his hand. "You're almost there."

Jane swallowed, and nodded, screaming as she pushed harder and harder.

And then...

Crying.

"Congratulations," he heard. The words were muffled, almost as if he were in a dream. "The two of you are parents."

He smiled down at the crying baby that was now in Jane's arms.

"Hey there," Jane cooed to her. "Hiya!"

"Hey there, little buddy," Peter cooed as well. "It's great to finally see you!"

Peter and Jane smiled at each other, and then back at their newborn child.

"No, please!" Roose shouted, clawing at his face. "No, please, no more! I can't take it!"

"Do you swear to kill him and the Elements of Harmony?" Discord rumbled.

"He deserves another chance! Just let him have it!"

Discord sighed, and sat back down. "Show it to him."

Roose screamed as he was thrust into his most hated memories.

His daughter. Dead.

It was the last thing he wanted to hear.

And what made it worse was that there couldn't even be a burial.

The building that the bomb had hit had buried her body.

Peter held Jane's hand tight as both of them cried tears that no parent should ever have to cry. Peter held her tight, and tried to comfort her, but found that he needed comforting as well.

He looked up at the sky, and asked God where he was. Asked God what he was doing, asked God why he had let this happen.

The world went black, and rematerialized in one of the new Migration Centers-A means to leave New York City, and travel all the way to Atlanta, where the CDC eagerly awaited new patients.

Peter and Jane both wished they could have their little Emma with them.

And, as Peter and Jane boarded the train, a madman ran up, and grabbed Jane.

"If the poor can't go," he roared, even as Peter struggled to retrieve Jane from his grasp, "then she ain't going, either!"

Peter looked back at the train. The last train. If he stayed here, he would die.

"Let her go!" He shouted, tugging at Jane, and kicking the man in his arm. He refused to let go, and pulled out a knife. "She's goin' straight to hell!" He shouted, and Peter looked into Jane's eyes.

"Go, Peter," she said through tears, "please. Go."

"I'm sorry," Peter sobbed as he let Jane's hand go, and fell back onto the train. The door immediately slid shut in front of him, and the sound of the world was drowned out by his misery.

"NO!" He shouted, slamming his fist against the window as he saw the blade come back up, red and glistening. "LET ME OUT, I CAN SAVE HER!! LET ME BACK OUT, THIS WAS A STUPID MISTAKE, LET ME OUT!!!"

"No..." Roose moaned.

"LET...ME...OUT!" He cried again, slamming his palm against the glass. He sunk to his knees, and everybody made room for him, and simply averted their gaze as the city rolled by, and the train rattled on.

This time, he looked up, into the cold ceiling.

"Let me out," he begged his God.

Something snapped in that moment.

"Let me out," Roose chuckled to himself. "Oh, he let me out, alright. Let me out. Removed my childhood. Gave it to a copy of me. And let him out. Let my inner child out!"

He looked to the cold, black ceiling of utter darkness in rage. "Where's my peace!?

"Where in the fuck is my Jane!?

"Why does he have Rainbow Dash, when all I have is memories!?"

He roared in rage, and drew his Sword of Souls. With a massive swing, he lopped the Skygger's head off, and kicked it through the window.

"I will kill that fucking child!" He roared. "He stole my heaven! HE STOLE ALL I WOULD HAVE EVER HAD LEFT!!"

"Good, good!" Discord commented as he clapped. "All I don't like is the murder of my subjects. No worries, though. I can revive that one.

"Anyway, now that you want revenge, how about you focus on cracking open that Cistern, hmm? And when you've done all of this, and when you've killed the Elements of Harmony and your...Past self, I will give you your retribution."

Roose turned, and looked deep into Discord's eyes.

"Yes, my Lord," he grumbled, before turning on his heel, and walking away, a frown bending his features as he felt unending rage take over his body.

With each step he took, his goals became clear to him.

He would kill Peter Roose...

But not before he caused him some pain first, through the pony he loved.

And, in order to do so, he had to get rid of a certain...Stepping stone.

"Love," he mused aloud as he sheathed the Sword of Souls, "will die."