War Heart got up off the counter. He walked over to the couch that Cura had been sleeping on and laid down. He felt drained from regenerating his body so extensively, and from the torture session he had earlier. He kept thinking about the voice he heard when the doctor was out of the room. It sounded familiar but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Are you going to be okay…?”, Cura asked him, sitting by his side.

“I’ll live…”

Cura smiled slightly, “That’s good…”, she whispered as she went back to the kitchen. She noticed Trixie sleeping on the floor. She looked at her quizzically, “The magician from last night?”, she asked herself. She walked over to her and nudged her shoulder, waking her up.

Trixie groggily sat up and leaned against the wall. She yawned and wiped the sleep out of her eyes. She looked at Cura and snapped to attention when she noticed War Heart was gone, “What happened? Is he okay?”, she asked with genuine concern.

Cura nodded, “Yes, he’s all fixed up. He’s asleep now.”, Cura put her hand on Trixie’s to calm her down.

“I guess you’re the Doctor they told me about…”

Cura nodded again, “Yes, and you are ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’?”

Trixie sighed, “Yes… Well I was at least. It’s just a stage name for me nowadays…”

“Some thing tells me there is more to that name than one would expect.”, Cura leaned against the side of the counter while sitting on the floor across from Trixie.

“Well… A long time ago I used to travel around and show my magic to others. I figured I was the best at magic in Equestria and figured I’d make a living off it. That is how it started anyway.”, Trixie explained her beginnings to Cura.

“Go on…”

“Eventually I found myself in Ponyville. I was challenged to tasks that some of the others believed they were best at. One challenged me to using rope. She swung it around on her tail and proceeded to show off to the crowd. I tied her up using the very same rope. Another challenged me, a Pegasi with a rainbow mane. She performed some aerial stunts and I embarrassed her in front of everyone. It kept going that way and I boasted my power, claiming I had defeated an Ursa Major.”, Trixie sighed, “That one really backfired… Two colts decided to go and lure an Ursa into town. I couldn’t stop it. Then that Twilight Sparkle ended up showing great prowess with her magic and returned it to its cave. She turned everyone against me by calling me out on my boasts… I ran out of town. I was angry at her for so long. I was ruined so I came to Las Pegasus. I signed up to work for the clubs as an entertainer. Soon I found out that Entertainer meant something… Different than what I was thinking… But I signed a contract so I was forced to stay. The managers had started to beat me in the last while… I lost all sense of self worth… I was a broken shell of my former self…” Trixie shook her head, “I feel like such an idiot for the way I acted before… belittling people in front of others. I wish I could have taken it all back.”

“I’ve met Twilight before. I was almost able to call her a friend at one point.”

“You know her? How is she lately? Probably a high position of power…”

“Quite the opposite. She… did something. She is now shunned for the act she committed.”

Trixie gasped in shock, “What did she do?”

“Well… to make a long story short: She had War Heart believe that they were a couple and that his family didn’t exist. They… had done things…”

Trixie was shocked at what she had heard, “That’s terrible.”

“I know… She took advantage of his confused state. I do remember her saying something about how she spent years trying to get him back. I remember coming back to Ponyville and I performed the surgery myself. He was missing for three years before he returned to Ponyville, broken and wingless.”

“You can make Pegasi grow their wings back?”

Cura shook her head, “I wasn’t able to give his wings back. I didn’t see him again until after he died…”

“… What?”

“I know, I know… I said he died and I meant it. He was killed by Discord. In later months, Twilight Sparkle brought him to me. I examined him and his body did strange things. It had no pulse and no warmth. Right now his body emits a strange magic that I have never encountered before. I wish I could ask him, but even he doesn’t know anything about his past. It has been rough on him to remember a lifetime in the little time he has been back.”

Trixie’s jaw hung open and her eyes wide, “This… is a lot to take. I never knew that he has been through so much…”

“You wouldn’t think he had feelings unless you see him actually express them for once. I’ve seen him at his best times… and his worst… I’ve seen him brutalise a dragon, and cry when he thought that he lost his friends. He is very strong, and it scared me at how furious he looked when fighting. Eventually I learned that he would never lay a hand on me, even in rage.”

“I guess he is a knight in shining armor.”

“You should meet his daughter though, she was… odd. I only met her after her War Heart died. She was so… emotionless when she spoke. I tried to give her psychological help which I assumed that it worked but I don’t know. She apparently had a real talent for magic, she was Twilight’s student until she disappeared the very day that Celestia was murdered by Discord.”

“I heard of that… I was surprised that the sun didn’t stop moving across the sky every day afterwards.”

“The thing that bugs me is that Arcana disappeared the same day. Eventually Canterlot was attacked-”

“By rebels?”

“No… the civil war is over. There is a new threat to face.”

Trixie was taken aback, confused that the war ended and nobody in Las Pegasus had heard of it.

Cura spoke again, “The castle was attacked by these creatures. They looked like people but they were dead. They moved and acted like animals. They attacked the populace which was sealed in. War Heart got me and Twilight outside the walls and we went to Ponyville. We found Arcana, War Heart’s Daughter, there. I wondered at the back of my mind, why she would leave the day Celestia was murdered.”

“Perhaps she did not want to be the next victim? Or perhaps she murdered the princess?”, Trixie made a mocking suggestion.

“She’s very young. Exceptionally talented but I doubt she could rival the princess in magic. Anyway, I met War Heart’s partner, Rainbow Dash, in Ponyville that day.”

“Oh…”

“Hm?”

“I guess I embarrassed his girlfriend in public then…”

“I’m sure she won’t hold a grudge… “

“If you say so…”

The two were interrupted by Riff who walked into the room, “You guys… I keep hearing someone talking…”

Trixie looked at Cura, wondering if Riff was serious.

Cura sighed, “Riff, it’s only me and Trixie talking.”

Riff shook his head, “Nah, I keep hearing some dude talking.”

Cura raised an eyebrow at him, “Uh… I don’t know what you’re hearing then…”

Trixie whispered to Cura, making sure Riff couldn’t hear her, “Is he slow?”

Riff looked at Trixie, “Yeah, I guess.”

Trixie looked at him with surprise in her expression, “How did you-?”

Cura interjected, “He can read your thoughts… I have yet to figure out how he does it but it seems pretty safe with him.”

Riff sat down next to them, “So what are you guys talkin’ about?”

Cura motioned over to the couch, “War Heart.”

Riff turned to the couch and then turned back to the girls, “Oh, he must have got hammered last night.”, Riff commented with a casual smile.

Cura cringed, knowing that the hole in War Heart’s knee was probably caused by a hammer and nail, “I guess you could say that…”

Riff nodded his head, “Awesome, sounds like he had fun. I heard you got pretty smashed yourself.”

“I was… very intoxicated last night.”

Riff turned to Trixie, “… I don’t remember who you are…”

“I’m Trixie. War Heart saved me from… Well that is in the past now…”

“Okay, I’m Riff, The Wraith.”

“That sounds… Familiar… Somehow.”, Trixie replied.

“Wraith is my stage name. I’m in a metal band, Ghosts of the Guilty Mare.”

“Ohhhh, yes, I’ve heard of you guys. “, Trixie nodded.

“Really?”

Trixie shook her head with a bored expression, “No…”

“Oh… That’s cool too.”, Riff nodded again, keeping his casual smile despite Trixie’s sarcasm.

Cura spoke up, “Riff, you said you heard a man speaking?”

“Yeah, dude sounded kind of creepy. Kept on saying weird things to… I think it might have been me…?”

“What kind of things did he say?”, Cura asked.

Riff was about to recall what the man’s voice said. He stopped as he took a deep breath, struggling to recall the words. His smile remained as he told them, “I don’t remember… It was like… hours ago… Right before I started talking to you guys…”

Cura covered her face with her hand, “Riff…”

“Yeah?”

“That was two minutes ago…”

“Oh… Guess I lost track of time.”

Cura shook her head, “Never mind.”

“Never do.”, Riff declared with his usual expression.

“Is he on something?”, Trixie asked Cura.

Cura shook her head, “According to his friends, this is the way he has always acted. His personality is… Interesting. His ability is impressive though: both the reading thoughts and projecting his own.”

Trixie looked at Riff quizzically then turned to Cura, “Are you serious?”

Cura nodded, “Absolutely.”

Riff put his hands into positions as if he were holding a guitar. His veins glowed brightly.

Trixie looked at him and wondered what he was doing.

Riff moved his right hand down gently, a strum on his imaginary guitar. It made a sound that Trixie could hear, which fascinated her.

War Heart immediately sat up holding his head, “Son of a birch!”, he shouted as his head rang with pain.

Riff slowly turned to War Heart, “Sorry, Dude, did I wake you up?”

Cura looked at War Heart, wondering what woke him up and what could be giving him head pain.

Trixie was rather startled at the sound of War Heart shouting.

War Heart shook his head as looked down in his lap, seeing another playing card. The card had another letter on it, ‘A.’ War Heart turned to the others sitting in the kitchen. He then laid down again, trying to go back to sleep.

Riff turned off his magic, “So yeah, That’s what I can do.”, he said while nodding.

Trixie nodded slowly, “That is… quite a gift…”, she wasn’t sure if she should find this power impressive or intimidating.

Riff stared off into space with a quizzical expression on his face.

Cura looked at him curiously, “Is something wrong, Riff?”

“I’m like… Hearin’ things… And stuff…”, he responded to Cura in his far off tone.

“What do you hear, Riff?”, Cura asked with some concern.

“These people are holding you back from what you are…”, he droned.

Trixie turned to Cura, wondering if this was normal.

Cura turned to Trixie, she shrugged and continued listening to Riff.

“What if I don’t want to be like that? I don’t even know who you are!”, Riff shouted.

Cura and Trixie jumped from hearing Riff raise his voice.

“You will find out in time. What’s important now is you keep going. You’re weak, you need to become stronger… I am stronger… Events from last night say otherwise… Just stop talking to me, I’ve had enough of this… And what will you do? Break me? You’re pathetic…”, Riff snapped back to attention. He seemed to be dizzy and disoriented, “Whoa… I think I need to lie down…”, he said to Trixie and Cura as he stood up and left the room.

Cura looked to Trixie, “That was… Strange.”

“Without a doubt…”

Vinyl poked her head in from around the corner, “Hey, guys, what’s going on?”

Cura took a deep breath before speaking, “Well… We heard Riff have a conversation… With himself.”

“Oh… that.”, Vinyl walked over and sat with Cura and Trixie on the floor. She sighed, “He constantly hears people’s thoughts… Sometimes he just blurts out what he hears. I don’t think he even realises it though.”

Cura thought on the things that Riff said, “I think it may have been War Heart he was hearing…”

Trixie looked to Cura, “He was having a conversation with himself? One of them said that they didn’t know the other’s name.”

“Maybe there are fragments of War Heart’s memory that persist somehow… Images that have no labels and therefore he can’t tap into those memories… It explains why he couldn’t remember the names of many people he once knew but remembered when he looked directly at them and heard their name.”, Cura explained.

“But who is he talking to then?”, Trixie asked.

“I don’t know… but I do know he has been seeing a particular person. He didn’t describe it but I don’t think he ever said they spoke before…”, Cura replied.

Vinyl turned to the couch where War Heart was sleeping, “Wow… gotta feel bad for the guy… He seems okay but… I guess doing all this stuff is taking its toll on him.”

Cura sighed, “He has had… A rough time for the last little while.”

Vinyl looked to Cura with a bit of concern, “You don’t think he’ll… you know… snap?”

“He is much too bull headed to break at the whims of a hallucination… I hope…”

War Heart sat up quickly, breathing heavily as if something had frightened him.

They all turned to him, surprised at his sudden movement.

War Heart took a moment to collect himself, covering his face with his hand.

“You okay, War Heart?”, Cura asked.

“I’m fine… Just a bad dream…”, he replied.

Cura nodded slowly and stood up. She walked over to him, “Now… What have we learned about going out after bad guys?”

“That I should take my time with them… Make it real slow…”, he spoke in a slightly joyful tone.

Cura backed away from War Heart, “War Heart… I think you should lie down…”

War Heart chuckled, “I think I’ll be just fine…”, he stood up and faced the window going outside.

“War Heart… You’re not yourself… Just lie down and take a second to calm down…”, Cura spoke slowly and clearly. In the back of her mind she knew that there was really nothing she could force him to do.

Trixie and Vinyl were both standing in the kitchen, afraid to move lest his attention turn on them.

“I know I’m not myself… I feel…”, War Heart took in a deep breath, “… Stronger… I feel like being what I really am…”

“What are you talking about, War Heart? What do you think you are?”, Cura asked fearfully.

War Heart turned to Cura and smiled, “A monster.”, he whispered as he grabbed the couch and threw it into the window, smashing it through the glass and letting it fall to the street below. He dove out the window and fell down to the street below, slowing his descent with his wings.

Cura ran towards the window and looked down onto the street below.

War Heart looked at the crowds that saw him descend to the ground. He had a sadistic smile as he stared at each one. He noticed one man in a tuxedo, a faint green glow of the dead magic inside them. He walked over towards him slowly, his wings spread to make him look more menacing than usual. He grabbed the man by the arm and tossed him into the middle of the street. He chuckled, “All right, let’s see what you got… I want you to try and take me down!”

The man stood up slowly, obviously aware of War Heart’s inhuman strength. He trembled, knowing he was out of his league.

“And don’t you even try running… Or I’ll rip out your spine…”, War Heart laughed at the idea of doing such a thing.

The man couldn’t think of anything he could do. He stood there, frozen in fear at the creature before him.

War Heart’s smile turned into an expression of anger. He walked towards the man, “If you won’t hit first, I will!”, he shouted as he kicked out the man’s leg, breaking it backwards at the knee. War Heart grinned as he heard the man scream in pain and hold his now broken leg. War Heart looked at his hand and thought for a moment. He concentrated on his fingertips, his blood glowed green. The bones in his fingertips extended into sharp points, he chuckled at the discovery of his new power. He jabbed his fingers into the man’s chest, ripping through his flesh and piercing his lungs. He retracted his claws from the man and watched his lungs fill with blood. War Heart stomped on the man’s chest, breaking ribs and spurting blood out the man’s mouth. As life faded from the man, the dead magic flowed into War Heart. He took a deep breath and enjoyed the feeling of power. He turned to the crowds to see them all terrified of what they had seen. War Heart grinned at them for a moment then screamed at them in a lust of blood. The crowd turned from him and started running away. War Heart chuckled as they ran from him, feeling high off of their fear.

Cura turned to the others after War Heart dove out the window, “Crusaders!”, she shouted.

Sweetie opened her eyes, “Initializing Processes.”, she stood up and turned to Cura, “What is the nature of your emergency?”, she inquired in her digital tone.

“War Heart is out on the street, he’s going crazy!”

“Lethal Force Authorization?”

“Don’t kill him! Just bring him down!”

“Affirmative. Initializing Retrieval.”, Sweetie said as she sprinted towards the window and dove out.

Cura had a shocked expression as Sweetie dove out the window, thinking it was pure suicide.

War Heart was about to take off after the civilians before he heard a crash from behind him. He turned around to see a cloud of dust.

Sweetie Belle emerged from the dust, a small crater where she landed. She looked straight at War Heart, “Target: War Heart. Combat Proficiency: Dangerous. Escalating to Threat Level Two.”, her eyes glowed red. She changed into a combat stance, “Initializing combat protocols.”, she announced in a deep digital tone.

War Heart chuckled, “Looks like the little one think she can take me down…”, he cracked his knuckles in anticipation of the battle.

“Initiate Subdual Protocol Five…”, Sweetie announced as she sprinted towards War Heart. She leapt into the air, aiming to kick War Heart in the head. Her flying kick was interrupted as War Heart grabbed her leg and shifted sideways. He swung her around and tossed her aside. Sweetie rolled along the ground a few feet before bouncing up and landing on her feet.

War Heart sprinted at her with a wild look in his eye, an expression on his face that only showed an excitement for battle. He readied his claws and swung his right arm at Sweetie.

“Initiate Subdual Defense Protocol Three.”, she announced as she grabbed hold of War Heart’s wrist and thrust her other hand into the back of his elbow, breaking his arm.

War Heart screamed in pain and anger, he reacted by taking a jab to Sweetie’s facing, dead magic surging out of his arm and forcing Sweetie to stumble back a few feet. War Heart’s knuckles bled from the impact, the bones in his hands shattered from the blow. He wrenched his arm back into place, grunting at the pain and then smiled at Sweetie, “This is gonna be good…”

Sweetie watched as he fixed his arm, “No Substantial Damage Afflicted. Reinitializing Lethal Authorisation.”, she declared.

“Say wha-”, War Heart’s thought was interrupted as Sweetie slid under him and kicked out his legs. He did not fall to the floor as Sweetie immediately rose and held him up.

“Initiate Attack Protocol Twenty Three…”, she declared as she started to bend War Heart in half.

War Heart could feel the pressure on his spine building, he tried to resist. His regular strength seemed to not be enough to break out of her grasp, but enough to keep it at a stalemate. He twisted his body around and swung his elbow into Sweetie’s arm, forcing her to let him go. He dropped to the floor, the pressure leaving a sore point in his spine. He stood and faced Sweetie, grinning. He panted from the tough fight she was giving him while she stood staring at him, motionless. He chuckled, “You’re tough, kid, but I’m-”, his taunting was interrupted as something grabbed his arms. He turned his head to see Apple Bloom holding his right arm and Scootaloo holding his left.

In the instant that War Heart was looking away, Sweetie quickly moved in towards him. She grabbed his shoulders, “Initiate Subdual Attack Protocol One”, she announced in her digital tone as she swung her head back and then smashed her forehead into War Heart’s. She saw that he was unconscious now.

Apple Bloom was breathing heavily, “What the heck happened?!”

Scootaloo shrugged, “I don’t know…”, she and Apple Bloom started dragging War Heart back to the elevator, Sweetie trailing behind them.

They brought War Heart back to the hotel room, laying him down on the floor with Sweetie Belle keeping close in case he had to be restrained when he woke up.

War Heart slowly opened his eyes, he groaned at the headache that greeted him, “Ugh… Was I hit by a train or something?”, he looked beside him to see Cura standing a few feet away. She seemed fearful of him, “What’s wrong…?”

Cura looked at him with a shocked expression, “You don’t remember… You jumped out the window and killed a man. We had to restrain you… Violently.”

War Heart put a hand on his head, his face showing an expression of disbelief, “I thought it was a dream… I watched as it happened… It was all him…”

“Who?”, Cura asked, she thought she already had some idea of who it was.

“I don’t know his name… He has never talked before until after I was…”, he paused for a moment as he recalled being tortured, “… Last night…”

Cura thought for a moment, “Perhaps the traumatic event caused you to make your hallucination more realistic. Creating a personality that is violent as a defense mechanism…”

War Heart had no clue what she was talking about, “I just want him to leave me alone… I can’t escape hi-”, he stopped speaking as he looked up to see DeadBeast standing next to Cura, smiling at War Heart. War Heart glared at him, “Just leave me alone!”

Cura jumped as War Heart shouted, “War Heart… I’m trying to help you…”

War Heart pointed at DeadBeast, “Not you, Him! He’s taunting me…”

Everyone in the room was becoming unsettled by War Heart’s outbursts, all filing out of the room except for Cura, the crusaders, and War Heart.

Cura walked over to War Heart, “I know it’s hard… But you have to try and ignore him… I told you that it will only get worse if you interact with it.”

DeadBeast chuckled and then spoke to War Heart, “If she had any idea of what you really are, she would fear you. Nobody wants to help you, they only want to make you weak so they can be safer…”

War Heart’s expression grew furious, he glared at DeadBeast with an intense hatred.

Cura turned War Heart’s head towards her, forcing him to look into her eyes. She pressed her forehead against his, “War Heart… You need to ignore him… He will only have more power over you if you keep talking to him or act on his presence.”

“She’s a weakness… Kill her… Or I will.”, DeadBeast threatened.

War Heart was still looking at Cura, “He says he’s going to kill you…”

“He can’t do anything to anyone, War Heart. You need to understand that it is all in your head.”, Cura explained.

“It’s all in my head…”, War Heart whispered to himself.

DeadBeast rolled his eyes, “Forget it, I’m out. See you soon, if you can keep yourself alive that long, Wretch.”, DeadBeast said as he left the room.

“He’s gone…”, War Heart whispered.

Cura smiled, “See? He can’t do anything…”

War Heart nodded unenthusiastically, “I guess so…”