As we returned from the long trudge back through the San Palomino desert, Ghastly gorge and finally through the Everfree forest, we still had to make our way down passed the fields to Ponyville’s train station. When we first began our way back to the small town, the sun was just touching the horizon, once we arrived at the outskirts of the town, the sun had long since set and it was drawing towards midnight. An entire day and a half was the length of time we needed to return, and it was a good place to rest for the night. We rolled the giant, heavy orb over towards the only place that I knew that could house us and knocked on the front door. As I looked to Arch, he slouched his neck and tried to hide his face as the door slowly opened.

“Hello?” called the voice, she poked her head out of the door and looked around and laid her eyes upon us. “Oh! Welcome everybody! Come on in, welcome to my ‘new’ home.” Rarity quickly lead us inside, unaware of Arch’s presence. The large stallion slowly trudged behind the rest of us as we entered the homestead. His head hung in a shameful manner.

I looked to Rarity and offered her a smile and asked her a simple favor. “Hello, Rarity. Would it be too much of a favor to ask you for shelter? Me and the boys are back from our “Adventure” and you’re the only one I know that would be up at this hour, so what do you say?” I said with a smirk.

She thought about it for a moment and quickly nodded as she turned to face the others,“Care for something to drink? Eat? I wouldn’t be much of a host if I...” She trailed off as she laid her eyes upon the large white stallion as he cowered behind Terra. “...you..” I could see the anger rising in her eyes so I stood between the mare and Arch to offer some distance before anything got too out of hand.

“Rarity, he’s with us. Should he mess up the place or cause any form of disturbance towards you, then he’ll be cleaning the place from top to bottom, just as you instruct.” I turned from the violet maned mare and looked to Arch. “Isn’t that right, rook?” He didn’t respond verbally but only with a simple nod. I turned back to Rarity and watched as the once growing tension was slowly subsiding. “Alright, now that this is settled. I’ll go grab us some drinks.” I placed my pack down and rested it against the back wall of the room.

“I thought that I was the one retrieving the drinks and food for your visit?” Asked the mare. I looked to her and smiled as I made my way towards the front door.

“That would be mighty fine of you, but the drinks we need are much stronger than tea and coffee.” I closed the door behind me as I made my way into the dark night, walking onto the pathways that lined the streets of Ponyville. After searching the town for an open tavern or bar, I finally managed to get my hands on some brew and returned back to the house. I was greeted by Rarity as I returned, with a slight twitch in her eye. “Is something wrong?” I asked her.

“If you’re all going to be intoxicated, I would like it if you drank Archimedes share as well. He gets a little.. actually, quite sloppy. So no drinks for him, and everything will be fine.” After a enjoyable night and a slightly grumpy Archimedes from Rarity’s decision, we all fell asleep around three o’clock. Once the morning light broke through the windows and shone into the living room, blinding and stirring everyone from their slumber, I pulled myself off the soft armchair and stumbled over to the kitchen.

“So hungry..” I could hear someone whispering from the living room.

“Same here..” I was confused by someone else’s presence. I turned to see who it was and I found it to be Axton. Holding his stomach while it grumbled and roared as he opened Rarity’s fridge door, scanning for food. “What?” He asked as he set his gaze upon me, noticing my staring.

“Nothing, just confused is all. Come on, let’s get the others up and go out to eat instead of clearing out Lady Rarity’s fridge and cupboards like I know you all will.” I wrapped my arm around Axton’s shoulders, closed the fridge door and lead him towards the living room once more.

Once everyone was ready, and I had left a note with some bits behind for the lavender maned mare, we all set out for some breakfast. I had an idea as to where to eat, and kinda hoped that it was still there. A part of me thought that since they were a traveling couple, maybe they’d left already, but I hoped for the best as I left for their shop.

“There it is, feels like forever since I came here. Hell, it was one of the first places I came to, Delight and Sight.” I felt just a little nostalgic seeing the building there.

“Delight and Sight? Kind of a lame name, but whatever.” Voiced Pyro. I looked to him and smiled.

“That’s what I thought. Now let’s get some food.” We paraded down the street and entered the small cafe. Almost instantly I was greeted by the calm and relaxed stallion known as Flim. He quickly approached us with a warm smile and an arm full of menus. He handed them out to us as we pulled up a seat at the nearest stall.

“Welcome to Delight and Sight.” He said as he looked to the others. “And welcome back John. But it’s Darkmoon now right? You’ve come a long way since you first came here, wouldn’t you say?”

I looked to him with a grin,“Yeah, from just a regular guy looking for a bite to eat, to being a guardian. Wait a minute...” I reached into my pouch and took out eight bits and handed them over to him. “I’m not sure if I paid you back for the meal between Dash, Lela and I. So, here you are.”

He looked to me and smiled,“I’m pretty sure you paid me back, but the thought is nice either way.” He slipped the money into his apron pocket and took out a small notepad and a pencil. “So, what can I get you all this morning?” He asked as he gazed down to the pad, pencil at the ready.

“I’ll have something tasty, how about a nice lettuce and tomato sandwich with a bagel with some blueberry cream cheese on the side? Yeah... that sounds about good.” Voiced the fiery maned stallion. Flim wrote down his order and looked towards the others and once everyone ordered their food, he turned to me with a raised eyebrow. I thought for a moment, but I couldn’t think of anything.

“I’ll just get a cup of black coffee. Not really hungry at the moment.” I handed him my menu, which was soon followed by the others. Once all the menus were collected, Flim turned away and called out to his cook.

“Better get up! We got orders!” We quickly paced his way into the kitchen and left eyeshot. I turned to the others and we began chatting.

“So, let’s talk about something, interesting hopefully.” I looked to Axton and raised an eyebrow. “You must have a story. Come on, let’s hear one.” Axton closed his eyes for a moment and rubbed his hands across his face. He held them there for a moment and then placed his hands down onto the table.

“Alright. I have of a story, and its a true one so you know it’s good. Dark, you’re not the only one that’s had to deal with interdimensional travel. When we first met, I didn’t recognise you for two reasons. One, because of the damned hood. Two, when I first met you, you weren’t exactly... human.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, intrigued by his offer for a story.

“Alright, well. Back in “My” world, I was a pretty big deal but this was many years ago when I was just a young pup...” We sat there for a while as we waited for our food to come, and even when it did and we dug into our food, the storytelling continued. “...When we first met, you were a little tyke much like I and we met during one of my adventures into a cave of relative importance. In our party were the CMC, my friend Defensive, and me. We were just about to enter the cave when we heard the sound of rushing hooves from behind. We turned around and found a small dark chocolate brown unicorn covered from head to toe in equipment. Various hooks and packs lining his body, underneath his cloak. When he took off his hood, he told us his name. I’m assuming you can already piece together who he was.”

“I was a.. pony? And a unicorn. That sounds... strange, but strange is good. It keeps things interesting.” I told the hazelnut unicorn.

“You were an energetic one, it was pretty strange considering...”

“What do you mean by that, am I not energetic enough?” I looked to him puzzled, slightly insulted by his comment.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. What I actually meant was.. here. Let me show you.” With his words spoken, his horn began to glow and a small image of a brown colt appeared on the table before us. “Now watch.” The small colt began to rush about, looking in every which direction. “From what I could guess back then, you were filled with this ever expanding surge of energy from your sense of adventure.”

I leant in and stared at the colt, bewildered by the sight. “I look so.. tiny. And I look like a regular pony, all hooves and no hands.”

“Yeah, to you it’s strange. But for me, it was my reality. I always used to walk around that way, but when I came here... I was considered somewhat of a weird guy because of the way I walked for the first few days of being here.”

“So, from what I understand is that back then and back there you were dating Applebloom right? Nice kid that one. She’s what? Seventeen now?” I looked to the others and they all shrugged. “I think she’s that old, when I first met her she was 16, young and fun loving. And you?” I looked to Axton. “Your age?”

“Well, eighteen if I remember correctly. And since we’re on the topic of dating, guess what Dark.”

“What?”

“You had your eyes set on someone very close to me, one of my best friends in fact.”

“And who would this be?” I asked, in all honesty, I didn’t think I could be with anyone other than Chrysalis, but the thought interested me a twinge.

“Her name was Iris Sapphire. Nice girl.” He leant back against the seat and his horn continued to glow and the image of a small filly appeared beside the colt.

“That’s almost really cute.” Strife voiced as he leant in closer towards the two figures.

I jumped in and brushed off the thought. “Different world, different thoughts, different people. I’m good with my wife, so I think it’d be best if you all kept this to yourselves.” I turned my head away and rubbed the back of my neck, slightly embarrassed. I signalled over to Flim for the last time and he came rushing over.

“Is there something else I can help you with?” He asked.

“I’d just like to pay for the food now, we’re all basically done...” I looked down to my coffee cup and frowned. “..sadly. Anyways, how much would that be?”

“In all, let’s just say fifteen bits.”

“Alright.” I reached into my pouch and pulled out some money. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.”

“So where’s that grumpy brother of yours? Flam, was it?”

“Oh, Flam. He figured he would try some work somewhere else instead of being in this comfy cafe. Since it was mine and his knowledge combined that created the cider squeezy 6000, he wanted to come up with other things of the sort.” He looked away in thought for a moment. “He told me the last thing he’d been working on was.. some kind of cannon. Something that you could shoot from anywhere at anytime, and being able to carry it around in your hands.” He looked to me with a bright look. “Fascinating stuff, isn’t it?” He asked with a bright expression.

I looked to him with a smile,“That’s some pretty ground breaking stuff, my friend. Let’s just hope nothing goes wrong with this project.” I looked to the others and signalled for us to begin our tread back to Rarity’s to retrieve the orb and head back to Canterlot. I looked back to Flim and grinned. “Later bud.”

“Come back soon.” He turned and headed back towards the kitchen. As we left the front doors, my expression dropped from that of a smile to a concerned expression. The others noticed this and began to ask questions.

“Something wrong Dark?” Asked Archimedes.

“Yeah, something’s going on, what’s up?” Asked Terra. I stopped just as we made our walk onto the sidewalk and turned to them.

“We’re going to have to build this guardian fortress sooner than later. From the way Flim was telling it, his grumpy brother is out there making these.” I grabbed onto my sawnoff and showed them. “But not fueled by magic, but bullets. In my world, they’re a pretty common thing, in the right hands, they can be used to protect. But in the wrong hands, they can be used to kill. If guns are becoming more of a reality by the day, so is the rising threat.” I let go of my gun and turned back down the street towards our destination. “So let’s get back to the castle and get this orb back to the royals.”

As we trekked down the street, the others began asking questions. “But if these guns are as effective as you speak, then that means we could use them ourselves to protect the land. This should be aiding our cause, but you seem to want to cast it aside, surely its not such a bad thing, is it?” Asked Terra.

I continued to walk down the street and didn’t speak. “Come on, you’re just being stubborn. They can’t be all that bad as you claim.” Called out Strife. I stopped and looked to him, a small bit of my heart sunk from hearing his words.

“Not you too Strife.”

“Come on, tell me. How can these guns be so bad? I know its bad when some people die because of things like these, but how are guns any different from any of our weapons? We’ve killed many others just following you into caves and your explorations of the land, but having something like a gun is more devastating? How? Are you worried that you’re not going to be special anymore, being the only one with that kind of item?” He asked. Intell looked to him and rolled his eyes. “Well, a hand carried one, not something that’s apart of you.”

I looked to him sternly, the expression wouldn’t break. I never wished to have to look to him in such a way, but there is a time and place for such things from time to time. “You’re right, how can such small weapons be so harmful to a land that has known nothing but peace for many years. Tell me, how long before the greed starts to set in, how long you’ll wait to get rid of your miniscule enemies? And with this small weapon, with the simple pull of trigger, your problems are gone in the blink of an eye. Back on my world, because of these weapons, wars were fought. Men and women died fighting for their countries, all because of a petty squabble between governments. Imagine this Strife. How would you feel if you watched Axton take one of those guns and end up dying for his people, fighting another kingdom like the gryphons. How would you feel?”

He looked over to Axton and his eyes lowered and he stared down at the ground beneath him. “I’d... I’d wish that he didn’t.”

“Exactly. And these guns aren’t needed for anything here. Ponies don’t hunt for meat, they wouldn’t casually use them for anything! So why in the living hell would anyone need them here?!” My voice was rising and as was my anger. I began to notice a few passersby as they strolled through the streets, but I was too furious with Strife to care. “Guns are just bad news, for everyone! It’d just be best to lay this whole thing to a rest and after we get the orb back Celestia and luna, we find Flam and shut his operation down before it gets too out of hand.” I noticed that Strife’s gaze laid upon the ground and he didn’t speak after I’d stopped. “Look... I’m.. I’m sorry for getting angry, but guns are only the beginning of the problems. Lets just.. set this aside for now and just head back to the castle. Alright?”

“Yeah.” I could barely make out his words for they were no louder than a whisper. We arrived back at the house and picked up the orb, rolled it all the way down to the train station and boarded the train. After a long train ride and an irritating task of rolling the orb uphill, we arrived at the front gates of the castle. Upon seeing us struggle, a group of nine guards came to take the orb from us and tried to roll it into the castle, but that plan quickly failed as we let go to give control over to the guards. Even with their numbers outweighing our own, they weren’t as strong as us.

“Ugh...” Voiced Terra as he saw the guards attempting to keep the orb from rolling back to the hill. “Let’s just roll this thing the rest of the way. Should be over, hopefully, soon.”

As the large drake finished speaking, Pyro jumped in and started knocking on the orb,“Knock on wood. You’re just asking for the universe to come crashing down on us like usual, aren’t you?” He let a smile come over his face as he took hold of the diamond once again. “Not on my watch, no sir.” We continued to roll the blasted thing the rest of the way and finally collapsed of exhaustion on the red carpet trailing inside the throne room. The snow white mare Celestia approached us as we lined the floor panting.

“It’s a.. lot bigger than I remember. It was just a small rock when I was able to give the diamond to their family to help with the mana problems, maybe six generations of storing excess magic will do that.” She leant against the orb and tried to push it. Like I had already assumed, the orb didn’t even attempt to move. “And a lot heavier than I remember.” She stood back up and looked to us. “At least you all only had to get it from the Everfree back to here. So at least it wasn’t too troublesome.” Celestia said with the always positive and heart warming voice of hers with that bright smile.

As I slowly pulled myself from the ground, I looked to her and began to chuckle. “You’d think right? But unfortunately, we had to roll his rock from the Sans Palomino Desert. A group of rogue changlings were trying to take it. Though, they didn’t take it so easily. When we arrived at the trail into the Everfree, Lucky Clover hadn’t shown. So when the sun came up, we left in search of him inside the forest, but when we finally found him, we were already too late.” Her expression dropped from a joyous expression to one of sadness. “They got to him before we could. They were playing sick games with the poor soul and drove him into madness. During our investigation around the house, we discovered that his parents are living in Stalliongrad and I think it’d be best if I give them his final wish.” I dug into my pouch and retrieved the small locket and showed the mare.

“That would be...” She gazed upon the trinket and frowned. “That would be for the best.”

“And when I found out Lucky had a brother named Four Leaf, I began to think. In the note that I found on his body, he mentioned that Four leaf was going to town to get supplies for the house, but on our travels to the cottage, we didn’t find a body. This means that there’s a chance that he’s still alive.” Her expression seemed to brighten at my thought, and I was glad that it helped.

“Good. I’m glad that he may still be alive! Maybe he’s visiting his parents, or somewhere else that... isn’t the other option.” She gulped and shook the thoughts from her mind. “Anyways. Here follow me please you all. It’s time you all got your just rewards.” We followed close behind and I noticed that Arch was cracking a smirk.

He spoke up,“We’ll my princess, I didn’t think that you thought about me that way, hell, I can’t blame you. I’m pretty amazing if I have to say mysel...” He stopped speaking as I gave him a glare.

“Archimedes... just.. just no.” I ran my hand across my face and looked to Celestia with an apologetic expression. She stopped and turned to Archimedes with a heart melting smile, wielding devastating bedroom eyes that would cause any man to go mad with desire.

She slowly swayed her hips as she made her way towards the stallion and spoke in a sweet voice. “Oh my.. you have no idea Archimedes. I’ve had my eyes set on you for some time.” She leant herself against him and lightly ran her finger down his chest, leading down towards his lower half. I looked to his face and he was gulping and looking unsure of what to do, then I was beginning to see what she was up to. Just before she reached his stomach, she paused and looked to him. She leant in closer, drawing her face and her lips closer to his. Her mouth slowly perched, and his eyes quickly widened. Just before her lips made contact, she stopped and turned back towards the throne.

He blunk numerous times before he came to terms with what just happened. “Wa.. Wait a minute! That’s not fair!” He cried.

“I didn’t say I was going to be.” She chuckled as she sat down on the throne beside her sister, who rolled her eyes as she watched her sisters acts.

“Really sister? Have some class.” Voiced Luna as she lightly sighed.

“You forget who taught you the things you know, or should I tell the tale of your first royal dinner all those years ago?” With her words spoken, Luna’s eyes shot open as she quickly shook her head in disagreement. Celestia smiled and turned back to us. “Alright, now for your rewards. Pyromancer. Step forth.”

The fiery maned stallion strode forward confidently and bowed down before the princess. He looked up and seen that she was retrieving something from a large case beside her throne. His face instantly brightened up after he had seen his prize.

“This belongs to you now, take very good care of it. This is an hatchet with the blade made of complete fire. I’ve come to know that you are extremely interested in items such as these, and from what you’ve accomplished here today, I believe you’ve earned this.” She handed him the axe and he graciously accepted it. He inspected the weapon and I could see that the grin that covered his face from when he first laid eyes on it still hadn’t attempted to fade, but had actually grown in size.

“I.. I don’t know how to.. Thank.. thank you princess. I will treasure this forever and protect me and the axe with my life. Thank you.” He turned and showed it to the rest of us. On closer inspection, I noticed it was more of a fireman's fire axe than a hatchet, but seemed be be light enough to carry with one hand. It does make sense with the metal edge replaced by fire. The handle was solid black with a bright red stripe going down from the top of the handle to the hilt.

He strode his way back to my side and stood there confidently, eyeing his newly acquired gear.

“Terra Firma. Step forth.” The large drake did as the princess requested and followed the same example as Pyro. As she brought his reward into view, a smile covered his face. “Is that what I...” He trailed off.

“Terra, I wish to bestow this onto you. You’re going to have to come and get it, it’s a tad heavy for me.” She stated as she struggled to keep it balanced on the floor. The drake quickly walked over to her and took the reward and gave it a look over. “I wish to give this to you, I know that you strive to be a guardian, and you served under the old guardian blacksmith Firefist for many years, so you are more than deserving to have his weapon of choice. Firefist’s war hammer. May his work and dedication continue through you.” As I watched him hold the monstrous war hammer within his grasp with little to no effort, he warmly smiled as he looked it over.

“Thank you my princess.” He looked to the warhammer and said,“I thought I’d never see you again.” He slowly made his way back over to the rest of us, his concentration fixated on his reward.

“Night Strife. Step forth.” I watched as the blue pegasus slowly made his way over to the princess and nervously bowed before her. “Night Strife, I heard that you’re quick on your feet and quite skilled with daggers. These are yours now.” She stepped down from her throne and handed them to him, giving him a wink as he took them cautiously. He looked over this new gear and a smile overcame his face.

“These are amazing, and they’re pretty badass looking.” He lightly placed the tip of his finger against the edge of the blade and stopped as a small dot of blood began to show. “A razor sharp edge, and if that wasn’t overkill, the base of the blade is made to look like a saw. A bit overkill, but then again, if I do need to use these, I’ll be fighting for my life.”

Pyro called out to him and chuckled,“Yeah, speak for yourself! I’m using this baby for everything!”

Strife turned back to Celestia after waving off Pyro with a smirk, shaking his head at his remark. “Thank you princess, I will treasure this always.” He took out his old daggers and replaced them in their sheaths, but that plan quickly failed as they sliced through and fell to the floor, stabbing into the marble flooring. “Umm.. do you have some sheaths for these?” He asked with a sheepish smile. She grinned and quickly handed him their holsters. Once he strapped his replacement sheaths on and the daggers within their grasp, he strode back to us and stood there, chest puffed out and confident. “I’m awesome.”

“Keen Intelligence. Step for...” She trailed off as she watched him shake his head in protest.

“I’m fine, I don’t need a reward, thank you anyways.” Intell rubbed the back of his neck, hoping as to not offend the princess.

“Very well, I shall respect your wishes. Axton Gears, Step forth.” Once again, he followed the others to the very point and got his reward. “I’ve heard that you’re a mechanic of sorts, so I find it more than fitting that you should receive this. This is a magically enchanted wrench that will aid you in your work, but it’s also fashioned to serve as a trusty weapon. The enchantment serves to grow and shrink the tool to any size that you please.”

“I know what he’s gonna use it for!” Called out Archimedes as he did some vulgar gestures, thrusting his hips forward, trying to look like he was holding something in front of him.

“Cut it out Arch, come on. You’ll get your turn soon enough so don’t get your panties in a knot, ok mate?” Voiced Axton as he looked back to the large stallion. “Thank you princess, I’ll be thinking of ya when I’m working on me next project, eh?” Celestia smiled at his remark and gave him a playful push. Axton quickly made his way over to us.

“Archimedes, Step forth.”

“Unless it’s your undying love for me, then I’m good my princess.” Called Arch.

“Alright, Darkmoon’s Cres..” She was quickly cut off as Arch spoke up.

“Again! Not fair. These mind games Celestia, I’m severely starting to think that our first date might be a bit weird now.” She rolled her eyes at his remark and continued her speech.

“Darkmoon’s Crescent, Step forth.” I slowly made my way to her and placed my arm across my chest and leant forward, bowing to her. I raised back up and looked to her. She smiled and her horn began to glow. With a large flash of light, three items came into view. “These aren’t really rewards but the return of what was rightfully yours. I know that your tasks may take up much of your time, so some of your gear is what I return. The first item is your father’s greaves, they are strong and hearty. They are enchanted to make the stress from falling from great heights less of a pain and generally more comfortable.” She handed the to me and I quickly strapped them on. They fit like a glove.. or more so, a boot. “The next item is your father’s shoulder pad. Having one pauldron is nice and dandy, but your other arm is open for attack at anytime. This should solve that problem.” I took it and strapped it around my upper arm, taking a quick stretch to see if everything fit comfortably, and gladly, they did. “Lastly, there is this. Forged by your grandfather, made for your father, and now in your hands and yours only. Your fathers treasured sword, Rokire. Blade of the guardian of the fields of Equestria. Now the treasured sword of Darkmoon’s Crescent, Guardian of Mystic Mountain. It is sharper than any blade, lighter than any steel, deadlier than any weapon.”

I looked over the blade and unsheathed the one from my belt, I set it down to the side for the moment. I quickly took my new sword and slid it into the sheath, and it clicked with a fine tone as it fit perfectly within its grasp. “Thank you Celest. I’m most grateful for this, although this means my attempts at finding my father’s hidden treasures are over.”

“Not exactly, there is one left, but my powers and my grasp can’t touch it. You must be the one to retrieve it, for I cannot. If my powers can’t reach its hold, then your father must have set it there for a reason, but as for the location its in, to me its a mystery. I can sense it’s out there, but not as to where.”

“Well, one last adventure, right? It’s all fine Celest. Thank you for the gifts.” I turned to look at Luna and seen that she was approaching me, with half lidded eyes. “Umm.. Luna?” My worry was quickly washed away as I felt something slide by me and I found that it was Shadow, my ever present brother. He quickly approached her and gave her a kiss and a hug.

“Hello love, I’ve missed you.” Shadow smiled.

“It’s been too long.” She said with a smile, glad about having her husband back. But his shadowy form didn’t last long and he began to transform, back into the form I once knew him in.

He turned around to face me and rolled his eyes, knowing that this would happen if he tried to leave the shadows. I knelt down and scratched under his chin. “D’aww. Who’s a cute foxy? Lela is. Yes he is!” I gave off a chuckle and was quickly tackled to the ground by the small pile of black fur. “Alright, alright. I’ll stop with the games, you little softy. Ha, softy... because of your fur.” I looked to Luna and she had a blank expression towards my joke. “It’s the best I could come up with on such short notice.”

“Anyways, if you two are done playing around, Shadow and I have some ‘forever dreamers’ to deal with in the Dream Realm.” I looked to her and asked if she’d seen Lucky Clover and she nodded. “He’s sorry he couldn’t meet with you, but.. you know the rest.”

“Tell him that I’m the one that’s sorry. I could’ve been there a lot sooner, and maybe we could have saved him.”

“I will. Come now Shadow.” The small fox jumped off my chest and sped over to Luna and stood by her. They walked towards the wall and just seemed to vanish into thin air.

“We should be doing the same as well.” I picked myself off the floor and turned to the others. I was about to leave when I remembered that Celestia needed to speak with me after the adventure. “On second thought, you all head on to the fortress, Arch, you get them practicing and get the recruits training as well as soon as you get back. I’m gonna stick here for a moment or two.” I told the large stallion.

“Alright, but don’t be too long. We’re all training, you’re no exception.” Voiced Pyro as he lead the others out of the throne room. Once they were gone, I looked to Celest and walked over to her. She took me by the hand and lead me towards the castles library. Once we were in, she looked to me and held a worried expression, a definite change from that of the happy faces she held earlier.

“Is something wrong Celest?” I asked.

“Not really, but I was just worried is all. You’ve been spending more time over at the Hive with Chrysalis and Moon Shadow that you hardly have time to come and visit us at the castle anymore. We’re supposed to be like a family of sorts, have you forgotten about your family Dark?” She looked to me with worried eyes, ones I knew I’d have to calm.

I looked to her and smiled,“No. I could never forget about my family. And I have two new additions to that family on the way, you’re going to be a busy aunt Celest. The reason I’m spending so much time with Chrysalis and Moon is because of that very reason. Separation from your family is soul tearing, like your leaving half of who you are behind, but if it pleases you, I can bring them here from time to time for visits. Though, once it gets difficult for Chyrs to come on these trips, the visits will have to wait for a while.”

“She’s pregnant? When were you going to tell me? I thought that secrets weren’t kept to ourselves!” She fumed at me for a moment, but I stared at her with a hint of confusion.

“I thought Luna or Shadow would have told you by now, seeing as how they could see them before I even could. So I figured they would have told you, well, these kind of things happen from time to time I guess. Tell me Celest, how have you been since we last spoke?” I asked.

She turned her head and went into thought for a moment, when she collected her thoughts, she spoke,“For me, it’s been a bit lonely in all truth. My sister spends most of her time with Shadow it seems these days and you are either adventuring or at the hive with Chrysalis. Though I’m not entirely lonely all the time I suppose, given that I’ve been meeting up with my dearest student Twilight and her friends. We’ve been trying to solve a bit of a dilemma in that small town, at Sweet Apple Acres, there is a small “infestation”. So, I’ve been spending a fair amount of time out of the castle and staying at the library with Twilight for the past couple of days. When I got back, I got word that you and your group had just arrived at the front gates.”

“Infestation? Maybe I can get the guys to help out with that, though Jack might not like the offer...” My mind swayed when I thought about Pyro and his new toy, in fear of his words from before, to use it for everything. “Then again, she might like the idea of a little help, even though she’s not the most accepting in terms of help.”

“That would be quite nice.” She said with a smile.

I looked around the throne room and noticed the guards staring, so I pulled over my hood and looked back to Celestia. “Well Celest, I need to start heading to the fortress. I don’t want to leave but it’s my duty, so I bid you farewell for now pup.” I reached out my arms and pulled her into my embrace, holding her within my grasp for a moment to which she accepted with ease. “I’ll see you later.”

She was more than unwilling to let me go as I released my grip around her, but she slowly let go after a moment or two as we stood there as the guards continued to watch us. “Come back here more often Dark, also.. I have a question if I may.”

“Ask away” I told her.

She lightly brushed her hand across her waist and looked to my pouch,“Why is your pouch so cold? It’s warm out, so it seems a tad odd.” She continued to eye my pouch.

I reached in and pulled out the small gemstone wrapped in golden wires and held it out towards her. She took hold of the gem and looked over it, seeming to be fascinated with it. “When we were camping beside the Everfree, I was lead by a ghostly pair of green eyes deep within the forest and into a large clearing. The eyes lead me into the middle of the clearing and I found the remains of the untimely soul, and he gave this to me. He told me that it would help me with training and that I would become his student. Apparently, he used to be apart of the guardians of old, so that’s a plus on my part.”

“And what if he wasn’t and it’s an attempt in possession, deceiving you into believing such and then turning around to stab you in the back?” She asked with a look of concern as she handed the emerald back to me. I took it in hand and placed it back into the pouch, and thought for a moment. She was right to a point, it could be a trap that I’m not seeing, but there isn’t any proof saying it is one either.

“It’s just a chance I’m gonna have to take. Should something happen to me, I’m sure the guys will be able to restrain me until I find a way out of that kind of situation.”

“Alright, if you say so. Just promise me that you’ll be careful.”

I placed a clenched fist across my chest and over my heart, bowing to her. “I promise, farewell pup.”

After I left the castle, and with the help of my wings, I was able to catch up with the others. The walk back to the fort was a long and uneventful one, but once we arrived, we were all greeted by the hordes of recruits that Intell and Pyro managed to round up. Out of the overwhelming crowds, I managed to see a couple of familiar faces. One I could recognise was the stallion Skyler Blue, the other was Fire Dancer. They approached us and shook our hands and said that they were grateful for the opportunity to join, but there was one that I didn’t recognise as he approached me. He wore a fine coat with a interesting hat of sorts, from what I could clearly see was that he was a unicorn, his fur coat a mint green. His coat had the sleeves torn off from the elbow and his forearms were visible. They were covered in scars and marks and I could make out a tattoo on his right arm. A four leaf clover.

Once he approached us, I sent Arch to begin training with the recruits and the others to help Axton with the defences. I stood within the walls of the fortress speaking with Fire, Skyler, and the stranger.

He held out his hand and I took it in mine, giving it a firm shake,“Afternoon recruit, tell me. What’s your name?” He looked to me with a smile and removed his hat, which was blocking his face. I found a large torn scar across his face overtop his eye. He smiled and nodded.

“The names Four Leaf sir. Four Leaf Clover.”

“And why do you wish to join our guild, Four leaf.” I asked him. I felt kind of saddened once I found out he was Lucky’s brother, but I was joyful to discover that he was alive.

He let go of my hand and looked to his hooves for a moment,“Well sir, I used to live in the Everfree with my brother Lucky, and when I was going to get some supplies from town, I was attacked by a group of demons sir. I managed to barely make it out of there alive, but from the cries I heard coming from the forest when I was trying to return in hopes that they had left, I recognised the voice. The echo of my brother’s death cry still haunts me, so his death brought me here. If I can protect others in hopes of saving others from the same cruel fate, then I will. This is why I joined, to protect.”

Skyler and Fire listened to his story much like I, but Skyler was the first to speak,“That’s terrible, I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Don’t be, it wasn’t you that killed my brother, it was those demons. I know a changling when I see one, but they wouldn’t be working for the hive. They must have been rogues, working to only serve themselves.”

I looked to him and thought for a moment,“Tell me, do you wish to seek vengeance on these demons? Or would you only seek to protect others?”

“I only seek to protect. Even if I were to kill these creatures, it wouldn’t bring my brother back.” His expression filled with sadness but was soon ended as he looked back up to me with a smile. “As long as I’m protecting others, I believe he’s watching over me, feeling proud of what I’m doing.”

After a few minutes of chatting, I sent the three on their way towards the training grounds and I left towards the exit, but was soon followed by Intell. He called out to me just before I left,“Hey Dark, wait up.” Once he caught up, we exited the fortress and began heading down the mountain. I looked to him with a puzzled expression, and asked a question.

“Shouldn’t you be training with the others?” I asked. He tilted his head to the side and waved it off.

“I’ll start training once I get back, since I’m assuming that you’re heading down to the hive, I thought you could use a bit of company.” I smiled at his offer and welcomed it. We chatted about various things on our trek down the mountain and once we finally arrived at our destination, I was greeted by my wife and child. I knelt down and gave Moon a hug, even though she’s gotten older, and taller, she’ll still be the little kid I once knew. She gave me a kiss on the side of the cheek and turned around and started to head towards a small group of changling children. I watched as she scampered off, but once I turned around I noticed Chyrs giving me an odd stare.

“What’s wrong love?” I asked, she kept her eyes focused on me but she made barely noticeable gestures towards Intell. “Ah, sorry. Intell, this is my wife Chrysal..” I was cut off by Intell as he spoke up.

“I already know her, I just thought that she wouldn’t be here.” He just stared blankly at her.

The ebony queen said with a hint of derision ,“Come crawling back have we? Too late, nearly five years late.”

“What are you guys talking about?” I was lost in a fit of confusion, drowning in the ever rushing thoughts of possibilities of how they could have met before.

Intell looked to me with a sheepish grin and said,“Well, I used to work here before the whole Canterlot wedding scenario and I kinda... used to be.. umm.”

I came to the realization of what he was speaking of and I looked to him, unsure of the whole thing. “It’s a thing of the past, I wasn’t even here when it happened so.. it’s best if we forget it..” The whole scene was awkward and Intell thought it would be best if he left back to the fortress.

Months had passed and the fortress’ construction was finally complete, the recruits trained, their armor forged by Terra and everyone was fitted to protect. The guys were all trained, and I had managed to learn as much as I could from between both the gem’s memories and Archimedes. My book collection began to grow, as did my three children. Moon Shadow was getting taller and smarter, as did her brother Bluemoon’s Crescent, and her sister Horizon’s Shadow. They were twins and they were a couple weeks old.

As for the Apple family infestation problem, I had managed to get the others to help out, though as I already thought, Jack was less than willing to accept the help. As for Flam, we managed to persuade him so the construction of guns ceased, with the offer of a large amount of gold that is. We hadn’t heard anything about this glorious leader after we retrieved the orb, so I assumed with his plans left in ruins, that he slipped away into the darkness in defeat. Everything was running smoothly.

I now had a family of my own, I raised the guardians into something that could do great things for the lands, and I had become someone that my children could look up to. I was at an all time peak of my life and everything was fine. But then again, was.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

“Alright, we gotta get moving.” I told the alicorn next to me. Arch raised his head and we started heading our way away from the beach we had been sitting on for nearly a full two hours. He looked to me with a bit of confusion.

“What do you mean? That’s it? I have so many questions, and only a couple of them have been answered! The story can’t end there!” He yelled. I looked to him and nudged his side as I began to lead him through the field and over the hills towards my destination.

“Don’t worry, the story’s not done yet Archimedes, we just need to be heading out before the sun sets.” I looked to the sky and seen that the clouds had rolled over and it gave the sky a grey look, quickly followed by the light tapping of rain. I looked to Arch and he gazed back at me. “I’ll finish telling you once we make camp under some shelter. Tomorrow I need you to head to Canterlot and tell Celest that I’m going to be a while. So hopefully I can finish my story tonight before I need to head out.”

And that my friends is the end of a story, but not entirely. For any of those who wish relive our whole adventure, and for the name sake of the writing, I will be going back and slightly editing the chapters so they are at least grammatically correct. If you requested for your OC to be put in but have not seen him/her in the story thus far, I will have plenty of time to add him/her later in the continuation of It's always worth the price, the story rightly named: The Guild.

If your interested in the story Axton was telling, you should check out the full length story told by Axton himself, Link is in the here.
Check it out, it's a fun adventure and a half. Also, I'd like to thank you for your time and like I used to say, stay sexy as a walrus.

Keep it cool, Condemned.
(p.s, I'll be taking a slight break before The Guild begins construction, but in the meantime, I have another story in the process of writing. So watch out for that one.)