I woke up to find the bodies of Twilight and Dash tangled around me in a mess of legs. I smiled at the sight, and chuckled a bit as I ever so carefully untangled the mess that was our bodies and hopped out of bed, somehow without waking the other two in it.

I made my way downstairs to find my brother sitting at the reading table with a mug of coffee and a book labeled, "The History of the Dragon Kingdoms".

I walked up behind him and greeted, "Mornin' Mace, what's up man?"

He looked up from the book and smiled at me. "Good morning, you dog you."

I laughed at him and shook my head. "This isn't the same as what you did with the girls back on Earth. I actually care about both of them."

He shrugged. "Well then, you're a better man than I was. Wait, you're a pony. Nope, I was still the better man technically."

I chuckled. "Okay Mr. Technicality, what's for breakfast?"

He pointed towards the kitchen and answered, "I made some eggs and potatoes with some tomatoes in there and green peppers. I took a walk to town today to pick up some things."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Where did you get the bits to do that? You're not dealing again, are you?"

He shook his head. "Nah, Spike burped up a letter from Princess Celestia this morning. She said she's accepting me as a royal smith and wanted to send us an allowance to get started. Something about making her sister and student so happy or something…"

I laughed. "Well I've never been paid for making someone happy, but I guess technically that's what a comedian does. I don't need the cash, you keep it. You should stock the pantry and fridge since we've been eating all Twilight's food without paying her back."

He pointed to the kitchen and said, "Way ahead of ya man. I didn't really know what to get so I took Spike with me and he helped out."

I was a little surprised at this new responsible person, and I made sure to tell him so. "I like the new you already. You make a cooler dragon than you did a human."

He laughed. "Well we all have growing up to do. Who'd have thought it'd take being a firebreathing creature of legend to do it?"

I chuckled and headed to the kitchen to get breakfast. I grabbed a bowl and heaped some of the food into it and grabbed a bottle of apple juice from the fridge. I walked back into the main room and sat with my brother at the table and I decided to give levitation a try, so I focused on the apple juice after I opened it, willing it to slowly float to my lips.

My brother just stared at me. "What are you doing dude?"

I shushed him. "I'm trying to levitate it."

He nodded and watched me. "You know your eyes look like they're glowing a little."

The bottle slowly floated off the table and towards my lips, and I took a sip of juice. "Mmm…that's quite possibly the best apple juice I've ever tasted. Oh yeah, I know my eyes are glowing. I found out about it last night."

He smirked. "What were you doing?"

"Nothing surprisingly. We just fell asleep." I answered.

He snorted. "Boring! Spice things up a little."

I shook my head as I took a few bites of breakfast. "It's not like that man…I love 'em."

He looked at me with a smile. "Well good for you man, it’s about time. It's been like five years since you've had a girlfriend."

I nodded as I continued to eat. "Yeah, I know. A fiancée breaking up with me after cheating on me with my boss kinda killed my drive to date. The females are different here though. They're much more loyal, and loving, and just altogether better. I thought the fact that they were equines would bother me…it doesn't. Not in the least."

He nudged me. "You go, bro. Just gotta find me a female and I'll be set too."

I shrugged. "You're gonna be hard pressed to find a dragon around here dude."

He shook his head as he drained the last of his coffee. "Nah, I've had my eye on Applejack. I'm pretty sure I can snag her, I just need to get to know her better."

"Well you better watch out for Big Mac. He's really protective of his family." I mentioned as I took another few bites of breakfast.

He frowned and became strangely quiet. "Yeah…that could be a problem."

I placed a hoof on his shoulder and said, "You're gonna have to change who you are, man. The whole party guy who has a different girl every other day isn't going to fly here. Break a mare's heart, and that shit gets around. Basically what I'm saying is don't be a dick."

He sighed and closed his eyes. "Yeah…I know. I think I can do that. Change is good, after all."

I finished my breakfast just in time to see Twilight and Dash come down the stairs, so I greeted, "Morning girls, how did you sleep?" Twilight smiled warmly, but Dash had a groggy expression on her face.

The pegasus grumbled out, "Coffee...” so I nodded and levitated over a cup of coffee I'd made for her. Dash smiled gratefully, and I winked at her.

"So girls," I started, "I've always wanted to see the ruins in Everfree Forest. Care to join me?" They both nodded. "Great, we'll leave after we all get cleaned up."

We all took quick showers and brushed our teeth before heading out the door. Twilight decided to let me carry her and just fly to the ruins, as walking through the forest would take too long and was rather dangerous. Dash led the way of course.

It only took us about ten minutes to reach the ruins, and we landed softly and walked inside. Twilight explained to me in detail everything that happened here in the past, right up to the point where her and her friends became the Elements of Harmony.

I stood for a moment in awe of actually hearing all this from their perspective, and I just gasped out, "Wow…that's intense. I didn't realize this place was so special."

Twilight nodded as she looked around the ruins. "Yes. This place was once known as the Palace of the Two Sisters, back before Luna became Nightmare Moon. These ruins are all that remain after the battle before Nightmare Moon was banished for a millennium."

I nodded in response and gazed around the ruined palace. One hell of a battle must have taken place here, as I could still feel powerful magic within the place after over a thousand years.

Next, we walked into the chamber that once held the Elements of Harmony. I noticed a pedestal in the center that seemed to still have a great amount of magic seeping from it, and I pointed to the spot. "I can feel a lot of magic on that pedestal there. I take it that's where the Element of Magic was?"

Twilight shook her head. "The Element of Magic was hidden until we found the bond of true friendship. Once the other girls' Elements awakened, I realized just how close we'd become. The power of our friendship revealed the sixth element, the Element of Magic."

I cocked an eyebrow…this didn't make sense. What had been there then?

We walked around the ruins a bit more before sitting down to have a lunch that Twilight had packed for us. As we finished, I noticed a strange feeling in my gut…like we were being watched. I took a look around us and didn't notice anything, so I shrugged the feeling off..but that's when I heard the flapping of wings behind me. I turned to see ten gryphons dressed in full armor with blades on their wings.

"Well well…what do we have here? I knew sooner or later the Elements would slip up." said the largest one, who I assumed was the leader.

I turned to face them and growled out, "What do you want, gryphon?"

The leader smirked at me. "Our fight isn't with you, stranger. We're here for the Elements. Get out of the way and we won't kill you."

Inside I was terrified, but I stood my ground and responded, "I can't do that. You want them, you have to go through me."

The leader grinned maniacally at me. "Very well…I've always been curious as to what an alicorn's blood tastes like."

I stared him down and whispered, "Girls, get inside the ruins. Don't come out until I come to get you." They quickly complied, and I then made contact with Moonfang and Luna. “Luna, Moonfang, I need your help. I was walking around the ruins in Everfree Forest with Dash and Twilight and we've been ambushed by a large group of gryphons. It appears they have intent to kill. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold them off, get here now!”

I felt agreement from both of them, as well as fear welling up from Luna. “We are on our way Steel. I will pick up Moonfang and then I will teleport straight to you, just hold on!”

With that, I opened my eyes to look at the enemies before me. The leader smirked. "I guess you're done praying to your god then. Ready to die?"

I cracked a smile. "I think you'll find this meal will not be worth the pain you're going to feel…" with that, I called upon a great wall of fire to separate the gryphons from me and I ran inside the ruins.

I entered the Vault of the Elements, hoping it was a small enough space so that they wouldn't be able to get behind me without me knowing about it and I noticed that luckily the ceiling was very low, so they wouldn't be able to fly. I felt Dash and Twilight in this room as well though, and I then realized I was the only thing protecting them from death.

As terrifying as it was, I knew what I had to do.

I made contact with both of them. “I love you Dashie…and you too Twilight. I can only give you a moment…I want you to run when I tell you to.”

I heard Dash gasp. "No, Steelbreaker! We're not leaving you!" She made herself visible, and I could see tears in her eyes.

I let a tear of my own drip on the cold tile floor and said, "Dash, you're the Element of Loyalty. I need you to be loyal now. Do as I say and save your friend and get out of here. If you stay, we all die."

The cyan mare threw her forelegs around me and hugged me tight. "…no…I can't. I'm sorry Steel."

I sighed and focused my power on both of them…and teleported them to the library. I could have just as easily saved myself as well, but no…these monsters weren't going to stop until they captured or killed my friends.

This ends now.

As soon as I thought this, I felt a rush of power envelop me, and a flash from the empty pedestal in front of me. A ball of swirling white light popped up from the pedestal, and flew into me before I could avoid it. I was blinded by a flash of intense light, and I thought I had died.

I opened my eyes to find I hadn't perished, however.

I noticed my vision was much sharper, and I could now hear the gryphons outside shouting curses at each other. I stepped in front of a window to look outside and caught my reflection.

“What the...?” I said out loud, but the remainder of my sentence died on my tongue.

I was covered head to hoof, head to tail in glowing black armor. There were solid plates on my legs and my wings, as well as a helmet that covered everything but my eyes. On the forehead of the helmet was a bright silver shield with a black gem in the middle where my horn should be. The armor surprisingly didn't weigh anything at all, and I didn't feel any heavier. My eyes were also no longer normal biological entities, instead they were glowing spheres of golden energy. I marveled at my new appearance. “What…what is this?” I was interrupted from my thoughts by the voices coming down the corridor, but they stopped in their tracks when they saw me.

The leader's mouth dropped open and he stammered, "Wh-who are you?"

I turned and smiled at him. "I told you if you wanted the Elements, you'd have to go through me."

The leader growled and lunged at me, but as he did I noticed something very peculiar. It was almost as if he were moving in slow motion. I easily sidestepped him and slammed my hoof into his forehead, knocking him unconscious. Upon seeing their leader fall so easily, the others began to scatter.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" I yelled as I cast an improvised spell, tying them all together with strands of magical rope. I then plopped them on the ground next to their leader.

I had teleported to Fluttershy's home to pick up Moonfang and had then teleported to where I remembered the ruins of my once great palace would be. The wolf and I arrived to find a massive wall of magical fire before us, causing my companion to shy away in fear. I noticed this and dispelled the fire, and he relaxed.

"What was that?" he asked.

I shook my head in disbelief of what I’d just seen. "That is a spell that has not been used in nearly two thousand years. The last one to use it…was my father." I quickly rushed inside the ruins, Moonfang following close behind me, but when we entered the Vault of the Elements we found nine frightened gryphons tied up, with one more unconscious lying next to a large armored figure. The figure must have heard us enter, as it slowly turned around to meet us. The armor it was wearing was as black as the night itself, and was giving off a dark glow. Its eyes were two glowing orbs of gold. Intimidating as it was, however...it was smiling at us.

It was then that I noticed something very unnerving and I shouted, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH STEELBREAKER?"

The figure winced and answered, "By Celestia, Luna. You don't have to yell at me."

'I know that voice…'

"Steel?" I squeaked out in shock, and the figure nodded.

The smile was familiar, and so was the very presence he held, but once he responded, all my doubts fell away. "Hi Luna."

My mouth dropped open for a moment until I composed myself and replied, "You…you're different."

Steel looked at himself and nodded. "Yeah…I'm not sure what happened."

Moonfang stepped forward in concern of his friend and asked, "Steelbreaker…are you alright?"

Steel nodded. "Yeah, I feel great." Steel then turned to me and pointed a hoof at the prisoners he was holding. "Luna, these are the gryphons that attacked us. I think Celestia would probably like to have a word with them."

I nodded. "Very well, let me contact my sister." I reached out across the void to connect with her mind. “Sister, something has come up…something I believe you will want to address with the offenders directly.”

It took her a moment to respond, but she finally did so with a slightly panicked tone. “Hello dear Luna, what is it?”

I sighed. “Steelbreaker, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight have been attacked by a large group of gryphons. Do not worry yourself, as everypony is unharmed, but I feel that we now have prisoners to take care of.”

I felt her relief and she sent back, “I am relieved to hear that, dear sister. Very well, I am ready when you are.”

I turned to Steel. "Okay Steel, Tia is gathering guards to prepare for our arrival. I am ready when you are." He nodded once before beginning to charge a spell.

Before I cast the spell, I looked to Moonfang and said, “Head back to Fluttershy’s. We’ll see each other later, okay?” The wolf nodded and scampered off, so I focused on all of the gryphons, Luna, and myself…as if grabbing them with my mind. I then focused on the throne room of the palace in Canterlot and closed my eyes as I felt the familiar cooling of the air around me. There was a loud electric popping noise, and then nothing.

When I opened my eyes again, it was to find myself staring at an entire platoon of royal guards.

They all tensed up, but Luna saved me. "Fear not guards, it is Steelbreaker. There is no danger." She then pointed at the gryphons with disdain. "Take these scum to the dungeons until we can figure out what to do with them." The guards nodded, so I cast a spell to knock out all the attackers and dispelled the rope around them. The guards then began to shuffle all of the gryphons out a large wooden door.

Once we were alone, I turned my head to find Celestia staring at me in shock. I shifted a little nervously. "What?"

She just continued staring at me for a moment before stuttering out, "I-I am sorry Steelbreaker…it appears you are the Lost Element."

Luna just stared at her sister and questioned, "Sister, I do not understand. What are you speaking of?"

Princess Celestia composed herself and explained. "Long ago before peace reigned, there was a great war between the dragons, gryphons, and the ponies of what would be Equestria. This war lasted nearly a century until it ended.” The solar princess then looked to her sister. “In order to end the war, King Sol, our father, forged the Elements of War.” I was about to ask a question, but the sun princess held up a hoof to silence me, so I allowed her to continue. “The Elements of War were the Element of the Berserker, the Element of the Assassin, and the Element of the Guardian. Unlike the Elements of Harmony, the Elements of War were sovereign…meaning they did not need the presence of the other Elements to release their power. These elements held no place in peaceful society, and so the Elements of the Berserker and the Assassin were destroyed; because of their nature, the possibility for evil to corrupt the bearer was too great.” Princess Celestia then smiled at me. “The Element of the Guardian was thought destroyed as well, but was instead secretly hidden. This secret was kept only by certain members of our line. Unlike the other Elements of War, two things must be present within the bearer: a desire to protect selflessly…as well as love. Because of its nature and potential, this Element was hidden in plain sight with the Elements of Harmony…it would only activate when its chosen bearer arrived.” The alabaster alicorn pointed at me and said, “It appears that after three-thousand years, a bearer has been chosen...and I can think of none better, Steelbreaker."

I felt myself relax with this new information. "Thank you Princess Celestia. I was worried you were going to banish me or something."

She shook her head with a benevolent smile. "For protecting your loved ones? Never. I would not do such a thing to somepony for taking an act as noble as yours."

I nodded gratefully, but then remembered something important that I had to take care of. "Thank you Princess Celestia. I don't mean to cut this short, but I got Rainbow Dash and Twilight out of there and sent them to the library. The last thing I said to them sounded like a goodbye, so I don't think they're in too good of shape right now."

Princess Celestia nodded. "Yes, I believe you are right.” Her gaze then fell upon her younger sister. “Luna, I wish for you to go too. I can take care of things here and you deserve a few days with the pony you love.” Luna blushed hotly, but the elder sister merely smiled lovingly at her younger sibling. “Yes…I know how you feel about him." I smiled at Luna and she blushed, then saluted to Celestia. "You may go. Thank you, Steelbreaker. Treat my sister well." With that, I teleported Luna and I to the library steps.

We stood outside the library for a moment before entering. For scaring them both, I was afraid Twilight and Dash were going to beat me or something, so I turned to the princess beside me. "Luna, if they feel the need to…punish me for scaring them so much, don't intervene."

She gazed at me in confusion, but nodded slowly. "I am confused as to why you would allow such a thing, but I will respect your wishes."

I smiled at her. "That's why I love you, Luna." She blushed hotly and kissed my cheek, and then I sighed. "Okay…here we go." I opened the door to find my entire family downstairs in the main room, along with Dash and Twilight. They all looked up at me with puffy red eyes, and stared in shock.

Twilight looked me over, then her eyes fell on Luna. "Luna, who is this?"

I smiled and focused on dissipating my Element's power, deciding instead to let it hide within me. A bright flash came, and I could no longer feel the armor on me. Everyone gasped and I nervously answered, "H-hi girls…"

My brother stood up first and walked over to me. He just stared at me for a second as if he were confused...and then punched me in the face, hard. He growled at me, "If you ever pull a stunt like that again you won't have to worry about dying, because I'll fry your ass." He scowled at me a few more seconds, but then reached down and pulled me off the ground into a tight hug, surprising me. "I'm glad you're okay man."

I pulled away and smiled at him. "I'm sorry Mace…I thought it was them or me. I chose them."

My mom stood up next, walked over to me and smacked me…and then pulled me into a hug as well. Her angry mask broke and she sobbed out, "Don't ever do that to me again, Drew. I thought I lost you."

I hugged my mother tightly. "I'm sorry mom, but I love them. You'd have done the same for me had you been in the same situation."

She nodded. "Yes…you're right, I would have...but I’m your mother. Just please…be more careful."

I grinned and replied, "No promises mom. Trouble seems to find me wherever I go, but I’ll avoid it whenever possible." I then went and sat between Twilight and Dash on the couch. They wouldn't look at me at first, and I lowered my head in guilt. "I'm sorry girls…I'm really sorry. I had a choice to make…and I chose both of you. I'm sorry and I understand if you don't want to forgive me for this…but I do ask you to try and understand." Twilight grabbed me and sunk her head into my chest, crying softly, but Dash still wouldn't look at me. Instead, she quietly got up and walked out the front door. I sighed and mumbled, "Well…so much for the fairytale reunion."

Suddenly the front door flew open, and a blue blur slammed into me. I felt hooves pounding on my shoulder painfully as a certain pegasus cried out, "DON'T EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN, STEEL!" She ran out of steam eventually and hugged me tight, her tears running into my coat.

My sister was the only one not crying, and she simply walked over and smiled. "I knew you were fine. No one believed me, but I told them, 'He can't die, he loves us too much to leave us.' No one ever listens to me." I smiled at her attitude, and she brushed my mane away from my face. "You need a haircut, Drew." I laughed.

Luna strode over to me and kissed me softly on the lips before saying, "All is put right, and the Element of the Guardian has awakened."

Twilight stirred and looked at Luna. "What do you mean?" I went through the whole situation, as well as what Celestia had told me, but by the end, Twilight just stared off into space. "So…there was another Element all along? It's not in any of my books, I'm sure of it."

Luna turned around in a circle before sitting down on the rug in front of me, and for some reason I couldn’t help but be reminded of a dog by this. The lunar princess then explained, "It would not be found in any book, Twilight. The creation and subsequent hiding of this Element predates recorded history in Equestria. I did not even know of its existence."

Dash finally spoke up. "So my coltfriend is an alicorn, a spellbender, and a super-secret Element? Wow…I really know how to pick 'em." I chuckled, glad that humor had been reinjected into the conversation while Twilight laughed loudly.

Luna was smiling as well and remarked, "Yes Rainbow Dash, it appears we all have somewhat of a talent for choosing stallions." We all shared a laugh again before relaxing after the ordeal of today.

After everything had calmed down, Luna, Twilight, Dash, and myself all were having a small dinner and talking about the day. Twilight of course was fascinated at the prospect of a previously unheard of Element, and that it had chosen me as its bearer. Dash was beaming, clearly still pleased that I was okay and now about 100% cooler. Luna kept nuzzling into my side the whole time, which I found so cute.

After dinner, we all were exhausted mentally and physically so we all headed up to bed. Luna shared a shower with me which much to my excitement got rather steamy (pun intented) before I stopped myself. 'Wow, Luna gets loud. Soundproofing spell for the win!'

We then lay down on the wonderful bed as Dash and Twilight went to clean up. I quickly found myself all over Luna. I found that she was very aggressive, almost animalistic in some ways. She loved it when I overpowered her and took control, though. 'She must not come across many males that aren't afraid of her. Makes sense.'

Twilight and Dash returned a few minutes later and joined the fun, so I quickly cast another soundproofing spell on the room before we continued. I expressed my wish to not go any further than foreplay, as I was still a little uncomfortable with going any further. The girls didn't seem to mind as my mouth, wings, and magic proved to be more than enough.

About two hours later I found myself lying in the middle of a pile of very pleased, panting mares…me with a triumphant grin on my face and a distinct lack of any more energy. All the same, I couldn’t help but think,.'Oh yeah, I'm the man.'

Dash had passed out near the beginning, clearly not as in shape as she thought.

Twilight and Luna climbed up next to me and nuzzled my side and neck, respectively. Twilight then sighed. "I'm going to have to wash these sheets tomorrow now."

I looked down at the unicorn and smirked. "I didn't hear you complaining a few minutes ago."

She blushed in embarrassment, but smiled. "Well, I guess it was worth it." I then levitated Dash and put her down on her side on my chest before looking at Twilight and Luna with deep affection. I offered a simple, "I love you girls." They each leaned up and planted a kiss on my cheek before whispering 'I love you too' in my ears. I could barely keep my eyes open and fell asleep shortly thereafter.

I woke up shortly later to find Twilight and Dash still sleeping, but Luna's eyes were open, staring at me.

I chuckled softly and said, "Creeper."

The moon princess tittered. "What? I like watching you sleep."

I smiled. "Yeah, I do have that devilish charm to my looks."

She shoved me and giggled…then gained a look of deep thought. "Steel, I have a question for you."

I trained my eyes on her, but smiled. "I have an answer for you. What is it, love?"

She smiled happily then looked up at me. "What are we to you? I apologize, I just fear that perhaps you may leave us…"

I shook my head. "You girls are my friends and so much more than that. I love you all, and I would do whatever it takes to see a smile on any one of your faces. I love you with all of my heart, each one of you. I am your guardian. More importantly, I will never leave you alone and I will love you to my last breath, whenever that may be."

She seemed to sense the determination and adoration in my voice, and closed her eyes, nuzzling into my neck with a kiss. "Thank you Steel. You make me so happy, I just wanted to be sure." I lifted her head with a bit of magic and kissed her with passion. I broke the kiss and she gazed at me with a dreamy expression. "I…I love you Steelbreaker. No…I love you, Drew." I don't know what it was – whether it was that she used my real name or that she meant it so strongly – but I had tears in my eyes.

I kissed her one more time and we fell asleep in each other's embrace.