While the princesses and Venquis were discussing Silver Crescent's deteriorating mental state, Silver himself was training the new generation of Night Guards. The day after the battle for the Crystal Empire, thousands had rushed to join the Dark Princess' elite personal guard. In the month since, most had either given up or had been sent packing. Silver looked at the recruits that still remained. It was an odd assortment. He checked his list. One hundred and fifty-three Pegasi, seventy Earth ponies, forty-eight Unicorns, twenty Crystal Ponies, twenty Griffons, five Deer, three Buffalo, six Diamond Dogs, and a Changling. He looked up from his list and spoke to the recruits, in the same emotionless tone that he had been using for the last month. "You have one final test before you officially become one of us." He whistled, and the nine surviving Night Guards flew down and stood at his side. "Attack us." Without hesitation, the recruits charged. Five minutes later, Silver and the old guard stood over the trainees as they struggled to stand up. "That was acceptable. Welcome to the Night Guards. Your REAL training begins at nightfall. Do not be late."
"Yes," Cadence agreed with Venquis, "Perhaps it would be better if you spoke with him. He may not confide as much with either Nightmare Moon or myself." She took a sip of tea, then sighed as she wondered if the New Linar Republic would fall before their first battle. If they couldn't trust a top general, who could they trust? ----- A few moments after falling unconscious, Yclept found himself in a white, foggy, expansive space. In the distance, he could hear Star's voice, but it sounded like she was bickering with herself. If he walked forward he would slowly see Star come into view, followed by about eight other Star Shimmers. They were all standing and arguing with each other, but the most noticeable ones were one with a completely black coat, whose eyes glowed with malevalent light. She wore a crown on her head. She was screaming at a version of Star that had a white coat who surrounded herself in a halo of light. The the third most noticeable Star Shimmer stood with her back to the crowd, her head hung in sorrow. Her coat was greyish and her mane hung limply from her head and neck. She was muttering to herself. Sombra, himself, stood a distance away, watching the arguments with a smirk on his face. As soon as he caught sight of Yclept, he was suddenly beside the unicorn, still looking at the Star Shimmers. He then spoke: "Look at them, Slave. Since breaking her psyche, the pieces sought nothing but to destroy one another. The only thing I need to do is wait to see who is the victor and destroy her comletely." He grinned wickedly. "Isn't it the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" The Star Shimmers didn't seem to take notice of Yclept's presence yet.
"Star?", Yclept asked softly, walking forward & completely ignoring sombra,"what the buck!?!", he yelled, looking over the many star shimmers
"Don't you think that you were a little hard on them?" Nightshade stood beside Silver, watching the old Night Guards escort the new recruits to the armory to receive their their weapons and armor. "You could have killed one of them. I know for a fact that you almost broke that Diamond Dog's neck. I suppose they were luckier than that poor Unicorn yesterday." Silver turned and looked at the spectral figure of his daughter. She had been appearing to him more and more lately. He was still unsure if she was real, or if she was just a hallucination brought on by his own guilt.
Crimson entered the hospital to check on Star's condition when he seen the unconscious Ycept next to her. Looking at the strange yet romantic scene, he checked both of their heartbeats and mental status. He then found out that Ycept had a necklace around himself and would wake up when Star wakes up. He felt concerned over the two, but dismissed it as love. If this was not dedecation from Ycept, then what was? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So it's worse than i thought...." Venquis said after he took another sip of his tea. "Wish me luck Princesses; I'll see if i can bring him back to himself again." The moment the Eriborian left the door, he was surrounded by two Crimson Rose guards. Unlike the military, the Crimson Roses took orders directly from the Eriborian himself and perform special high-level missions, such as assassinations and torture. The Roses usually work in teams formed to the requirements of the mission, ensuring maximum success and every Rose candidate is hand-picked by the Eriborian; chosen for their individual capabilities and special skills. Age, gender, background, or previous rank bears no weight in this decision. Its members can also leave the organization, but happens rarely. The Roses wear a custom suit of Dark Red Sleeveless Ryborian Spell-Sword armor, but is much stronger and lighter than its counterpart. All members, with the exception of the Eriborian himself wear animal-styled porcelain masks with some opting for more menacing looking creatures to conceal their identities and often wear black cloaks with their uniform, with the squad leader or Eriborian wearing White over his uniform. What is most distinctive about them however, is that they all have the signature Rose tattoo on their shoulders. They followed Venquis as they left the building and headed across the city, drawing huge amounts of attention. Eventually, they made it to Silver and his Night Guards. Venquis looked concerned about his friend, his mental state deteriorating. “Silver, we need to talk. I’m sure you know what this is about....”
Silver turned to Venquis. "I would imagine that the Dark Princess asked you to speak with me. I can assure you, there is no cause for concern. I am still able to perform my duties. Nothing else matters." Nightshade, who had vanished when Venquis had approached, reappeared suddenly. "Hey, Dad, I've been meaning to ask you..." She paused when she realized that Venquis was still there. "Oh dear... the look on your face would suggest that you can see me, too. Do not be surprised, Ryborian. Death in Equestria is not as black and white as it would appear.""
Venquis looked at Nightshade and looked at his two crimson rose guards who did not notice anything. It appeared that other than Silver, Venquis was the only one to see him. This made the Erioborians mind run through thousands upon thousands of questions to ask, but would rather not bother. Venquis got rumours from other officers that the recruits thought that their general was acting crazy and talking to something that wasn't there. This was now apparently not the case. Was this war driving Venquis crazy as well? Venquis then continued to answer the question at hoof. "Yes she did, the Night Princess wished me to speak to you." Getting back to his original question. "I understand now that you...and now me can see your daughter, but some reports are saying that you’re acting strange. I believe you, but the others don't. If this is apparently going to be an ‘issue’ that will affect you Silver, then I will out of my authority here. I’m sure Nightmare Moon wishes to see you as well, she’s really concerned for you.”
"If the Dark Princess wishes to... wait. Did you just say that you can see my daughter!?" Silver's spoke excitedly. "If you see her as well... I am not hallucinating. I am not crazy!" Nightshade laughed. "I wouldn't go THAT far... after all, you did kill me." Silver hung his head. "Of course. I will never forget it, no matter how hard I try. I lied to you your entire life, and I am solely responsible for your death." Silver looked up at Venquis. "I had thought myself mad. I have spent the last month haunted by what I thought was my own conscience. I thank you for showing me that I was wrong." He began walking away. "Inform the Princess that I will speak to her later. For now, my daughter and I have much to discuss."
Venquis smiled as Silver began to walk away. He looked around at the new recruits who were training, some of them watching the confrontation. The recruits were very young, possibly just turned 18 or faking their age to join the military. They looked at the Crimson Roses in their cloaked and white animal styled masks (Think of the ANBU masks from Naruto) as possibly the most intimidating group of soldiers they have ever met. Venquis then raised his hoof and did two signals, then the group moved out to return to the Castle. When Venquis returned, he seen Nightmare Moon and Candace drinking their tea. He then went to sit down again and began to pour his drink, starting to speak while doing so. "Silver wishes to inform you that he wants to speak with you later. It appears that he has reached a point of self understanding and wishes to be alone until he arrives later, and another surprise that me wants to show you." Venquis smiled at the last part, revealing a tiny portion of what the Princess will find out later. "Other than that, problem solved. Glad to be of assistance your highness."
All of the Star Shimmers immediately turned to Yclept and asked in unison, "What are you doing here?!" The tonality and emotion behind the question varied between th facets of Star's personality from overjoyment to utter rage. The dark-coated one stepped forward. "How dare you invade my thoughtspace? What gives you the right? I've killed for less." The one surrounded by a halo came forward then. "Pay no mind to her, My Love. We will destroy her soon enough." "You can't..." The grey-coated one stayed where she was, but was obviously directing what she was saying to Yclept. "We can't live without every part." She tuned away. "Not that it matters. We're doomed. Sombra has won. Again..." ----- "Betrayal, you say? Tell me more..." To anyone else in Cor De M'ane, it would just look like an ordinary pair of ponies speaking to one another, but in reality it was Chrysalis checking up with Tick on Scree's progress in the Crystal Empire. "It's just as I say, Mother. The word is, he's been calling Cadence 'Big Sis' and he follows her everywhere she goes. He and his entire troop have assimilated into their culture." The changeling queen narrowed her eyes. "Anything else?" "The tributes..." Chrysalis' eyes widened. "What about the tributes?" Tick's expression grew stern. "They're tainted." "WHAT?!" This exclamation drew a few glances from passersby, which Chrysalis and Tick quickly dismissed. Tick then nodded solemnly. "The Phoenix Queen has been using dark magic to taint the tributes with...Hatred. It kills any that try to feed upon them. A couple in the camp tried to feed off the tribute and both died within moments. It's probably the same at Home." Chrysalis began shaking with rage. Tick then added, with her head hung low, "We...we don't know how long it's been happening." The queen had heard enough, finally allowing her rage to boil over. "My children are bein exterminated, and you have no idea how long it's BEEN HAPPENING?!. What kind of spy are you?!" Tick drew back in terror. "I...I...Mother, please!" Chrysalis' gaze was cold and hard as she stated, "You and you troop are banished from the Hive." "But...but Mother!" "You are not my daughter! Begone!" With that, Chrysalis returned to her natural form, stunning everyone nearby before taking flight toward the Crystal Empire. A single tear flowed from Tick's eye as she drug her hooves leaving town to inform the rest of the troop at Celestia's camp. After all, they were also her brothers and sisters who were dying in the Badlands...
"What! N-no.. Star, you can't give in to sombra... Maybe you all can work together to stop sombra...", Yclept said, starting to sound sad
"Why should I be forced to work with these simpletons?" the dark one asked. Likewise, Halo Star turned up her nose at the idea. "We have no need of them, My Love." Grey Coat trudged toward Yclept. "Do you really think we could do it? We were united once, and Sombra broke us. He'll just break us again..." Suddenly, a brightly colored version of Star Shimmer bounced toward the group. "Look on the bright side, Pointy-head! You can be with us until we all die! More for the lovin'!" Halo turned up her nose at that idea, as well.
"I need you all to work together, & ill be here to help..." Yclept said, then turned to the dark star,"please, I couldn't live without you...", then turns to the others,"all of you..."
After having a relaxing talk with the Princesses, Venquis excused himself and had to leave to attend to business. From what he knew, Ardelan was not only occupied by Equestria but also has been turned into a post apocalyptic- wasteland due to century of constant warfare since The Black War. Those who did survive the massacre escaped south where they fight under Venquis and the Republic. Venquis sighed as he walked around the city to attend to a report about something headed towards the city. Something monstrous... He got to the scene where he had found five Republic officers, all of them in disbelief at the reports. Venquis walked in with two Roses, eager to hear the reports. “Eriborian Razona, we have been awaiting your arrival. This is the brief report from a survivor of what we had found.” The officer said as he gave Venquis a small piece of paper. The Ryborian began to read. “What we had faced was no longer a Griffon; it was an abomination of arcane science. He was enormous, easily four times the size of a normal Griffon. His claws were changed to the strongest and sharpest metal and tore through armoured Crystal ponies in half like they were nothing. We fired arrows at him, having no effect. We attacked him with swords and axes and they shattered in half. This beast wore a special suit of armour that covered him entirely, with the exception of his forelegs. What was most terrifying was his face; he wore a strange metal helmet with glowing red eyes. If I don’t make it out alive, tell my wife that I love her....” “This letter was sent a month ago, close to the Republics border of occupied Zebrica. The sender has been confirmed as K.I.A. We have alerted Republic military and are en-route to officials as we speak. We have called you here Eriborian due your relationship with the Republic, we want you and your Roses to make the first attack against that...thing.” “As long as the military arrives as reinforcements, consider it done. I will not risk my Roses for a suicide mission.” “Alright, it was sighted northwest 150 miles from here, two hours for the average pegasi.” “Excellent. We will hold off Celestia’s pet until reinforcements arrive.” And with that, the Roses began to mobilize with Venquis and headed out. The messengers would have reported out by now to his friends and the princesses. This mission was enough for Venquis to gather his interests, considering that he did not like to go on missions like this.
Dark Star blinked in surprise, seemingly speechless. "I...you..." Bouncy Star squealed with delight. "Yay! You can't live without us! And we can't live without you!" Halo Star nodded. "My Love..." She smiled. "You really can't live without us?" Even Grey Star managed a slight smile. "I knew you'd find some way to reunite us..." The Star Shimmers all looked at each other. Halo spoke first. "We must persevere. For our Love." Darks Star replied, "Yes... It's the one thing we can agree on." She turns and glared at Sombra. "We can also agree that we hate him..." The rest nodded grimly. Sombra seemed surprised. "Fools! You think you can best Me?" All of the Stars turned and faced the dark king. "We don't think we can..." Halo stated. "We know we can," the rest finished. Sombra seemed genuinely worried at the prospect of facing multiple Star Shimmers, so he took the initiative by charging at the nearest one, only to have her disappear. As he looked around in confusion, the other Stars appeared around him, glaring intently. Dark Star laughed, "You simpleton! Did you think you could really beat us here, in our world?!" Halo Star narrowed her eyes and added, "The Power of Love stopped you once before, and it will utterly destroy you now!" The Stars begun chanting eldritch words of power as a gold line stretched between them all, connecting them. As their chanting became louder and louder, Sombra's expression turned from smug indignation to outright fear. He screamed as his body started burning away to nothingness, and soon the entire area was filled with a blinding light. The light faded away just as Sombra's screams faded. When Yclept could see again, there before him stood one singular Star Shimmer, sparkling brighter than he had ever seen her before. Even brighter was her smile. She was grinning from ear to ear. As th scene faded away, Yclept could see Star mouth the words, "Thank you..." ----- The orb around Yclept's neck turned black as the night itself as Star Shimmer's eyes fluttered open. She turned her head to face her true love. "Parson? Are you awake?"
Yclept slowly woke up, shaking his head to help awaken faster, looked to star with a huge smile,"y-yes, I am, star...", then kissed her
Before Yclept could wake up completely, Jack was upon him. He snatched the necklace off him and smirked at Star. "Tell Yclept he made the right choice for everyone." He dropped the crystal ball that had originally summoned him on the bed again, and walked quickly backwards. His voice echoed creepily as he phased backwards through the wall. "Give the ball to Yclept. He helped me so much, I feel like I owe him one." He held up the necklace in front of his face at the last moment, vanishing through the wall completely a second later.
Crimson entered the room moments after Jack had vanished, his expression lighting up in glee as he seen both of his patients. Ocean had also come along as well, taking time out of her new job in the republic as an elite officer. “Good to see you two lovebirds are awake. We just came to check on how you two are doing, you know, being unconscious and all.” Ocean told the two romantic ponies. Crimson then went over and began to study them both, then cheerfully smiling before looking at his clipboard. “Mental and Physical health is perfect, you two are completely normal. You can leave the hospital whenever you want.” Crimson said, before beginning to laugh happily. “You two are really cute together, you should both go on a date. Get some stress off your chest that this war is causing.” “Also, Venquis is not in the city if you are looking for him. Something big has happened and the military is being alerted. Being the new Eriborian and all, he and the Crimson Roses have left the city to fight some strange mutated griffon that was going to attack the city. He might need the help, so why don’t you catch up with him. He only left ten minutes ago.”
Silver entered the palace, where Nightmare Moon was waiting for him. "It is good to hear that you have returned to your old self, Silver Crescent. Venquis informed me that you wished to speak with me." Silver nodded. "I did indeed, Princess. But that will have to wait. Nightshade has informed me that Venquis has taken a team after some sort of abomination. I'll be damned if that Ryborian and his Crimson Roses are going to show up my Night Guards! The new recruits are about to be trained the old fashioned way..." As Silver left, the Dark Princess sat, processing what he had told her. "Wait... Nightshade informed him? But... she is dead..." She stood up and ran after Silver, catching up with him and a team of rookie Night Guards near the city gates. "You will not escape this conversation THAT easily, my knight. I will join you on this mission. Let us move quickly. I too wish to see this abomination." - - Auto Merge - - Silver entered the palace, where Nightmare Moon was waiting for him. "It is good to hear that you have returned to your old self, Silver Crescent. Venquis informed me that you wished to speak with me." Silver nodded. "I did indeed, Princess. But that will have to wait. Nightshade has informed me that Venquis has taken a team after some sort of abomination. I'll be damned if that Ryborian and his Crimson Roses are going to show up my Night Guards! The new recruits are about to be trained the old fashioned way..." As Silver left, the Dark Princess sat, processing what he had told her. "Wait... Nightshade informed him? But... she is dead..." She stood up and ran after Silver, catching up with him and a team of rookie Night Guards near the city gates. "You will not escape this conversation THAT easily, my knight. I will join you on this mission. Let us move quickly. I too wish to see this abomination."
