The moon was shining down through the clouds as hooves raced across the broken cobblestone path. Graves and statues of the former knights lined the large green field, the tombstones overgrown with moss and vegetation. A single torch burned on a large stone tomb. Mike paused and gulped as he stopped, staring at the imposing tomb. He grabbed the torch and slowly walked inside, his hooves echoing on the stairs.

He made his way deeper into the darkness, the torch emitting just enough light to see the stair in front of him. The temperature seemed to drop steadily as he moved deeper into the planet, his breath becoming more evident as the torch crackled and struggled to stay lit.

Finally he got to the bottom, the staircase disappearing behind him as he gaped at the large cave in front. Ancient stone bridges, weathered with age, led to platforms suspended over a bottomless pit. He leaned over, peering into the nothingness before making his way across, staying in the center of the bridge.

As soon as his hoof touched the first platform, fire erupted on the sides, illuminating a giant stone dragon’s head. The mouth wide open as the eyes stared at the pegasus. The tongue itself was another bridge, the fire leading straight down its throat. Mike unfurled his wings and flapped, hovering slowly inside.

An empty podium sat nestled in the middle of its mouth, a small door behind. He opened the door and met nothing but blackness. He made his way down the throat, hovering down another staircase. The throat led to another cave, this time lined with empty suits of armor. At the opposite side of the room, a giant statue of a man wearing armor that the pegasus didn’t recognize. Another staircase led up his waist and an altar was just in front of his chestplate, held by small outcropping. Around the edges of the platform, another pit of nothingness surrounded them.

Mike stared at the empty armors before he flapped his wings and flew up to the podium, something golden glinting in the faint light. As he got closer, he could make out a mask in the image of a dragon. His fur raised up, sensing danger as he quickly looked around.

He saw nothing as he landed next to the mask as his senses warned him of impending death. He looked at the mask, the feeling coming from it. It seemed to resonate fear and death, the mask almost grinning back at him

Loud clacks of metal on stone carried as Michael quickly turned around and stared at Martin. “Michael, what are you doing here?” He said, his voice near emotionless. He wore some sort of golden armor that looked like dragon scales. Black carvings and decorations covered the chestplate and traveled down the arms and legs. A thick black cape trailed behind him, a hood hiding his face..

Michael jumped and grabbed the hood, throwing it off. “Get that off!” He yelled, grabbing the chestplate and pulled at it.

Martin raised an eyebrow and grabbed the pegasus, holding him away. “What are you talking about?”

Mike twisted in his grip, pulling the gauntlet off. “You need to get that off or you’ll turn!”

Martin let him go as Mike dropped to the floor. “No.”

“Martin, we don’t have time to argue! You have to take that off you’ll die!” Michael said, hopping up and grasping at the chestplate.

He rolled his eyes and pushed the pegasus back to the ground. He walked up to the mask and grinned at it. “There you are…” He said, his hands picking it up.

Faster than the human eye could follow, Michael launched himself off the ground and grabbed the mask. He hovered just out of his friend’s reach. “I won’t let you damn yourself on some misguided fool’s preaching!”

He stared at his friend, dumbfounded. “What are you talking about?”

“If you wear this armor, you’ll turn into the Element of War, causing nothing but death and destruction. You’ll be corrupted and will be killed!”

“Beg your pardon but I highly doubt that. I’ve never felt better to be honest, since I put on this armor… I feel… stronger…”

“Do you know what the ‘God of War’ means? Unlimited strength, unbeatable in combat… Martin, I won’t let you become one of them.”

He stared at his hands, tracing the intricate symbols with a finger. “W-what if I want to?”

“You’re not thinking right! It’s already trying to corrupt you.” He paused. “What would Applejack say?” He asked, trying another tactic.

Martin turned to look at the empty suits lining the walls below. “This army, it will bring peace to the land…”

“No it won’t. It may for awhile but then you’d cause another!”

Martin smirked as he pulled out a new sword, made of the same material as the armor. He held it tightly in his right hand and slowly slid his left along the blade. He looked at his reflection in the metal, his pale face grinning evilly.

“Martin, there’s still time. We can work together and finish this war, just take off the armor…”

He chuckled and walked towards the podium, a notch in the ground just big enough for a sword. “I think they’ve slept long enough, don’t you?”

Mike’s eyes widened as he realized what he was about to do. “Martin wait! Don’t do it!”

Martin rammed the sword into the notch, a bright light shining from the swords as patterns lit up on the floor. Light surged towards the suits of armor as they glowed briefly before moving, their movements echoing loudly. Martin opened his arms wide, greeting his metal children. “Soldiers, never dying warriors!” He yelled loudly.

“Martin, take out the sword!” Michael said coldly, hovering over the pit.

He grinned. “What if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll drop the mask into oblivion.”

Martin narrowed his eyes. “Hmm…” He muttered, pulling the sword out of the ground and looked at the floating pegasus.

Mike hesitantly flew closer, still out of his reach. “See? We can talk about this?”

Like a cobra, Martin lashed out, making a grab for the mask. Mike instinctively fell back, Martin’s fingers slipping through his tail. “Give. Me. The. MASK!”

“I can’t do that.”
Martin paused, staring at his friend. “Then I’ll have to get it.”

“Martin, its your friend Michael remember? You promised that you’d protect everypony remember?”

His chuckle turned into laughter, an evil grin on his face. “Now who do you think is in control; Martin or WAR?”

“Martin, he wouldn’t let such a weak spirit control him.” Mike stared at the possessed human. “He beat Discord, he can beat you.”

His laugh echoed in the cave. “You think Discord can compare to me?” He reached out with his left hand, his fingertips touching each other. “Now if you don’t mind…” The mask nearly slipped out Mike’s grip as it begun to crawl towards Martin.

Mike gripped it tightly. “You ain’t pulling any Force shit on me.” He said before he flapped his wings and dived down towards the pit.

He laughed maniacally and closed his hand into a fist. The mask forcibly freed itself and headed towards Martin. “No one takes what is rightfully mine.” He chuckled.

Mike pulled up in a sweep, the forces stalling him for a second before they pushed him. He went to make a grab for the mask but at the last second, pushed Martin and grabbed the sword from the surprised human. He tossed it into the abyss, the blade shining once before disappearing.

Martin watched the metal disappear. “Oh well, nothing that can’t be replaced.” He held the mask in both hands. “Come here you beautiful…” He said, pushing the mask against his face. Pain suddenly erupted in his hand, numbness creeping in. His eyes shot open and looked at his hand. It was broken horribly, several bones nearly obliterated.

Mike held the remains of the gauntlet in his hooves. “Martin, I made a promise to make sure you survived and didn’t get out of hand. And I intend to keep it, even if I have to drag you back in casts.” He said, tossing the useless thing into the pit.

Fury etched into Martin’s face as he seethed at the pegasus. “You… why? Why do you hold onto him so much?!” He spat, the mask shaking in his grip. He looked at the useless thing and tossed it to the side.

“Because… the least I could do for him is make sure he lives. After everything he’s done for me. He’s a friend and I’ll do anything for them, even fight Death himself.”

Martin shook his head. “Oh, you don’t want to meet him. He’s no fun…” He sighed. “Oh well..” His hand was already healing, the bones realigning. “Maybe I’ll return one day. Then again, I would be in Death’s way…” The armor cracked before exploding into ashes on the ground.

Mike chuckled. “Death’s a nice guy, once you get around his day job.”

“Oh you haven’t met HIM yet.” Martin took a deep breath before grinning back at Mike. “Now, you’ll have your precious friend back… but how long till he dies...”

Mike coldly looked at the human. “See you in hell.”

“Sadly, I’m not the one that’ll decide that. Only Death can choose…”

“Remind me to tell Death his receptionist is terrible.”

Martin laughed. “Will do.” He said, staring off into the distance. “You’ll see him soon…”

“Just go back to wherever you came from so I can yell at Martin.”

“Alright… but don’t forget, time always follows one path...”

“I’m more of a wishy washy timey wimey fan. Take your philosophy and show off, War.”

Martin gazed at his friend one final time. “We might see each other soon enough, friend.” Martin dropped to his knees as his body shook. He coughed as a wisp of black smoke left his mouth and dissipated.

Mike ran up to Martin and put a hoof on his back. “Hey Martin, you ok?”

He looked up, exhausted. “Yeah… I’m fine…” He groaned.

Mike looped the human’s arm across his shoulders as he flapped his wings furiously, trying to get airborne. “Come on, we gotta go save the others.”

Martin’s eyes opened wide as he staggered upright. “What about the army?”

Mike looked at the bottomless pit. “The sword was the activation lever, wasn’t it?”

Martin followed his friend’s gaze. “No but it has the same effect.”

“Good cause I may have threw that into the bottomless pit.”

Martin turned to stare at his pegasus friend. “That was…” He sighed and shook his head. “Whatever, we have to get the others.” He said, getting back to his feet and shuffling his way past the suits.

Michael flew next to him, quiet as the armor stared at the pegasus. Martin held a hand up. “Do not harm any nonhuman creatures in the castle.” The armors stopped, looking slightly confused as they marched back onto their podiums and went dormant. “Come on.” Martin said, walking away.

Michael’s mouth was slightly ajar. “And you didn’t say this earlier why?” He asked, hovering at shoulder height.

“I had my reasons.”

“Alright… are you sure you’re ok?”

Martin shook his head. “I still feel kinda odd. I only remember bits and pieces. But I do remember seeing… some guy wearing a black suit standing behind you. His face was covered in bandages… only his eye was visible.” He shuddered. “He was really creepy.”

Michael’s face paled. “You were probably just seeing things.” He insisted, flying faster. “Come on, let’s go get the others and get the hell outta here.”

Martin frowned. “But I’m sure I saw something…” He muttered, jogging after the flying pegasus.

Mike slowed, letting his friend lead the way. They were both silent, lost in thought. After a while, Mike coughed. “So… how much farther?” He asked, breaking the tense silence.

Martin looked around and before he could answer, a high pitch scream rang through the building. They looked at each other before rushing off towards the scream, Michael faster of the two. Suits of armor were bashing down a door, the door only being held together by a purple aura.

“Hey uglies!” Mike yelled at the suits of armor, which quickly turned to stare at him. “I should’ve probably thought his through..” He said, taking a hesitant step back.

“Step away from the door.” Martin said calmly as he caught up. The suits looked at him before grudgingly stepping away. “Good. Now don’t harm any nonhuman creatures that enter the castle unless they provoke an attack.” He sighed. “Now, start rebuilding the castle. Make it shine like new.”

The suits stared at him before looking at each other and forcibly put away their swords before they disappeared. Mike walked up to the door and knocked. “Hello?”

The aura holding the door together vanished as the door crumbled to bits. The girls stood there, Dash and AJ getting to fight. The girls paused as the pegasus and human stared at the Elements before Fluttershy flew into Mike’s arms, her body shaking. AJ walked over to Martin and wrapped him in a hug as everypony sighed, relieved. Mike buried his face into her mane. “Hey Flutters, glad you're alright.” He whispered into her ear.

Martin bent down and hugged her back. “Sorry about that…” He muttered, running a hand through her mane.

“At least yer alright…” She said.

He nodded and looked at the girls. Everypony looked happy that the guards were gone. “Alright, let’s go home.”

The girls nodded as Twilight glanced at him suspiciously as they began the trek home, Fluttershy and Michael bringing up the rear. Guards walked past them, patrolling the castle and repaired what they could.

Martin faintly smiled. “Can’t believe the castle will be good as new.” He said and disappeared into the armor. Awhile later, he came back wearing a new set of armor. The metal was polished and showed the crest of the Order. “Who needs armor that makes you invincible anyways?”

“Yeah… who needs it?” Mike asked coldly, staring at him out of the corner of his eye.
Martin rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry mate, you know I couldn’t resist. How was I supposed to know what it was?”
Mike sighed. “Yeah, let’s just get out of here.”

They finally left the castle, turning around to get one final look. Michael squinted, something seeming off. A black robed figure stood on the battlements and looked back at him. His face was covered in bandages, only his eye could be seen. His look made Michael shiver, fear and cold surging through him. His eye seemed to glow like the sun, his gaze intently stuck on Mike.

Mike gulped. “You guys go on, I gotta take care of something.” He said, flying away before anyone could disagree. By the time he reached the battlements, he was long gone. Mike sighed and went to turn back.

“Michael…” Someone whispered, the voice filled with fury. Michael’s body froze, his fur sticking straight up on the back of his neck. His heart skipped for a moment and he felt colder, his breath noticeable.

He turned towards the voice. “W-what do you want? I’m getting tired of all these smokes and mirrors crap, so just show yourself already.” He said and tried to hide his fear.

The figure landed, his shoes clacking against the stone. He stared silently at the pegasus, tilting his head slowly. Mike gulped, his body urging him to run away. The figure’s suit was darker than night, his tie sticking out solely because of the light. A lantern hung around his waist, the dirty bandages trailing up his body.

“W-who are you supposed to be, Chiron?”

He deliberately shook his head. “I am the end, I choose who dies and who lives. No one can change my decision, save me.”

The color drained from Michael’s face as he took a few steps back. “Death… w-what do you want?”

His eye looked at him before looking up and stared at the departing ponies, his eye fixated on Martin. “They told you he’d die.”

“But I stopped it.”

The eye came back to focus on the pegasus in front of him. “And who made you think that you can decide? They said he’d die, not what would happen afterwards.”

“It doesn’t matter about afterwards if he died. And like I told them, I’d stand up to even you… if it meant saving my friend.”

Death chuckled. “No one leaves this world completely…” He tapped the lantern. “They all gather in here.”

“Then that’s a fate worse than what I imagined…”

He turned around. “No one can change what I plan and don’t worry, your friend… Well let’s just say I have something special planned for him.” He grabbed the air like he was grasping a doorknob and opened a portal-like door. He walked into it and disappeared, the portal closing behind him.

Michael stood there and stared at the spot before finally he smacked his head against his hoof. He repeated it several times, his head ringing. “I can’t do anything!” He said, smacking harder as his already bruised and cut face started to bleed. He rubbed his eyes before he got up and lazily flew back to Ponyville.

Author's Notes:

Ha! New update yay! Sorry for the long delays... got way to many stories on my plate, trying to update/edit/fix/etc. So, what did you guys think? He done got possessed... again. Poor Martin... Well, don't forget to leave some comments. Always love reading them =D Till next time!