The heat was oppressive. Hammer had forgotten how cool the Airtseuqe summers were, and he was once again wishing he was back there. As he turned over in his bed, his sweat left stains everywhere on the mattress. His mind kept going back to the Shade he had accidentally created.
"I will destroy everything!" The Shade could do anything, and ponies would think it was him.
----********
Hammer awoke with a start. He could smell smoke, and he was definitely sure he hadn't let Hermes cook anything. As he looked outside, he saw a shadowy figure standing at the end of the road. It was Shade, his doppelganger.
"Are you proud of me? Their village was weak, defenceless. Nothing like Airtseuqe. Don't worry, I already took care of your precious Rarity. She won't ever wake up from her nightmare!" The Shade galloped away, while an angry mob from Ponyville moved towards the Wheelworks. Hammer approached them alone. He sensed treachery. He stood in front of them.
"Hammer, you tried to hurt us! After all we've done to help you! How could you?!" They had him surrounded.
"It... wasn't me. I just woke up."
"Lies! I saw it with my own eyes!" Rarity spoke up, stepping forward. She sounded like Rarity, looked like Rarity. Hammer could tell, however that it was the Shade. How the rest did not see, he did not understand. "He's a monster!" Hammer looked away, tears beginning to flow from his eyes.
"Fine. If you believe the falsehoods of a Shade, then why should I be around?!" He galloped off into the night, leaving them to scratch their heads.
----********
Hammer sat by a tree he had hidden a small token of his by. He looked at the old faded photo of his friend in Airtseuqe. The tears bounced off the plasticized surface as he sobbed. As he cried, no pony ever came. Zecora stared out of her window at him, wondering what to do. She had heard the news, but she did not believe that Hammer was capable of such things. A roll of thunder above her hut, and it began to rain. Putting on a hat, Zecora made her way over to Hammer.
"What is it, young one? That goes and dims your sun?" She stood back when Hammer turned the other way.
"Just leave me alone. It's just like back Airtseuqe. Chased out of a place that finally accepted me. Beanstalk, Scooter, Hermes." He sighed, his head low. "Pumpjack, Deepwood. They're all better off without me." Hammer stared up at the sky. He stared to sing softly, letting the tears flow.
"Whenever I look at the sky,
I am always wondering why
the world doesn't slip away.
Forever takes a long time to come..." He couldn't finish the song. He started crying again. Zecora glanced around. None of his friends had come to find him. It worried her. She entered her hut again, and brought over Applebloom.
" Appleboom, a secret in trust, to not divulge is truly a must." She whispered in her ear, sending Applebloom scurrying back towards Ponyville.
----********
Hammer got up and trotted away, deeper into the Everfree Forest. Strange animal calls did not bother him. A few Manticores crossed his path, but he did not care. He had lost the last thing that mattered to him, and he could not bring himself to rectify it. He had his pack with him, which contained the broken pieces of the portal machine he had attempted to build. He sat down in front of a tree and began tinkering with it. He was alone, but that was fine with him. After all, it was just like before. The world felt so close to Airtseuqe it wasn't funny.
----********
Three days passed, and Hammer had not returned to the Wheelworks. Applebloom had tried to let the townsponies of Ponyville know about the Shade, but they would not believe her that Hammer was not the one who had attacked them. Hermes began to worry.
"Pumpjack, where d'ya think Hammer is, mate?" He paced back and forth. Everypony in the Wheelworks was stressed. It was not like Hammer to just simply disappear like that. Just as Hermes was about to go out, the door to the Wheelworks burst open, and a battered and bruised Hammer fell onto the front floor. Beanstalk cantered up to him, poking him with her hoof.
"He's... very badly hurt. Deepwood, could you help him?" Beanstalk stood to the side as Deepwood helped Hammer stand. She walked with him as they made their way to his room. She set him down, Hammer dozing off as soon as he hit the mattress. She shook her head.
"Just what happened to you, Hammer?" As she was about to go downstairs to get some bandages, a great earthquake rippled underneath the Wheelworks. The building started to groan and shake. Beanstalk burst in through the door.
"Deepwood! Something's going on in the Everfree! There's a... scary light. It looks like blood." Beanstalk and Deepwood left Hammer to rest and galloped outside. The light outside was red and stifling. A column of light tinted blood red was shooting up from deep in the Everfree Forest. Hammer hobbled out, staring at the light.
"No. It can't be..." He sat down, his eyes wide in fear and shock. Hermes, Scooter and Pumpjack stood by him, staring as well. Hammer's Shade stood in front of them.
"'It's the end of the world as we know it!' Ha ha! I told you I would destroy everything! First Equestria, then Airtseuqe!" He was about to gallop away when Hammer stood beside him, anger shining in his eyes.
"You took my form to exact revenge on others that imprisoned you. You tried to kill me when I used my portal device, and it nearly sucked you into it. We will find a way to destroy you, Shade. Be sure of that." The Shade pushed Hammer onto the ground and galloped away, laughing maniacally. Hammer turned around to see Twilight and four of her friends. Rarity was not among them. "Twilight? What's going on?" She wordlessly galloped up to him and helped him up.
"Rarity hasn't come out of her Boutique in three days. I know Ponyville isn't exactly friendly towards you right now, Hammer, but you're the only one who can enter. We can't get the door open." Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all nodded. Deepwood stood forward.
"We won't leave him to do this alone. We are, after all, together in this. The Shade took Hammer's form, but he has made one fatal mistake." Deepwood smiled and laughed, the first time any of the others had seen so. "He messed with the wrong mare." She, and the other four of Airtseuqe, stood beside Hammer. Twilight nodded and let them go, staring at the column of light.
"This is bigger than us, girls. We'll need their help too if we are going to fight this thing."
----********
Hammer bucked the door of the Boutique open to find Rarity lying on the floor. Articles of clothing swirled around the room as if something was controlling them. A glow from Rarity's horn was the source. Hammer approached her tentatively, as if she would suddenly leap up and try to eat him alive. Poking her, he tried to see if she would wake. The clothing fell to the ground. She stood up, eyes blinking.
"Just what... oh my." She looked out the door to see the column of light. Hammer stood beside her.
"The work of a Shade. He put you in a nightmare that Equestrians could not break you out of. This is bigger than just your world, Rarity. This encompasses mine as well. Your friends are waiting at the Wheelworks. Let's go."
----********
Rarity stood behind her friends as Hammer and his friends stood behind as well. Hammer stood in front of them all, preparing for what lay ahead.
"We all know who we are. We come from different walks of life. That no longer matters now. This is bigger than any petty squabble I had with the townsponies of Ponyville. This is bigger than Equestria. We are fighting for our right to survive, to live, to love, and to die a decent death. Today, Harmony and Combat fight as one!" He galloped forward, leading the charge into the Everfree, with both groups following close behind.
----********
As Hammer approached a cliff, stone floated in front of it, as if it was a bridge. The landscape was becoming more twisted, with scarcely any living animals or plant life as they moved closer to that column of light. Hermes zipped across, barely even touching the stones. Each of them went one at a time, tentatively in case the stones fell. As the last one, Beanstalk, finished crossing, the stones fell, shattering on the ground far below. They were walking inside of a terrible nightmare, except for the fact that they were still awake.
"Hammer, what will happen if we fail at this?" Rarity was beside him, her fear evident on her face.
"We will all die. No Equestria, no Airtseuqe. Nothing. It will be as if they never existed." Another tremor ran through the ground, comparable in strength to the one that could have toppled the Wheelworks. Beanstalk tripped and fell, sliding a little bit on her front. Hammer helped her up, making sure she was okay before continuing. "These tremors are strange. They rumble the ground, but don't crack it. An interesting thing, isn't it, Deepwood?" Hammer turned to see Deepwood already documenting it. "Classic Deepwood." The two groups continued until they cam upon a large obstacle. Deepwood approached it, running her hoof along its side.
"Old stone... ancient glyphs and symbols?! Hammer, this might very well be an ancient Airtseuqe Stone Guardian!" She found grooves in the side and began to haul herself up the side. Hammer laughed, letting Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash ferry him and all of his and their friends up.
"I would say your hypothesis is correct, Deepwood! They were mentioned in the Book of Legends, page 65. Old Guardians that protected Airtseuqe from the Shades, shapeshifters with otherworldy powers. They were impressive, to say the least. Well, in their artist representations. Find a stone dais! That's how they're activated!" Hammer was reading from the Book of Legends, Pumpjack having brought it along and was now levitating it in front of him.
"I think I found it!" Pinkie Pie, who had found her own way up, was bouncing happily around a raised stone dais. Three large gems were in a symmetrical pattern, perfectly set. Hammer pressed them in the order that seemed appropriate for them, and backed up. Lines across the Guardian lit up as it started to rise. Every pony leaped off to keep from being thrown off. The Guardian bent over and spoke.
"I feel that a Shade has returned. I must go. Stay away from the columns it might create. They only bring death." The Guardian walked towards the light, which now was much farther away than before. Against the Guardian's wishes, Hammer, Twilight, and their friends followed closely behind. Pinkie Pie and Scooter trotted beside each other,, holding two somewhat large bags. When the Guardian stopped at a large chasm, they opened the bags. Scooter had the Elements of Combat, while Pinkie Pie had the Elements of Harmony. They handed them out, making sure everypony was ready before continuing.
----********
As they came to be only a few miles away from the column, the landscape became twisted, with a red tint of blood. Hammer stopped the group before another large chasm. He glanced around and noticed an inscription on a stone nearby.
"'The path may not always be seen. Faith will always point your way, if you let it.' Stay back. I'll test this out." Hammer stood at the edge of the chasm, heart pounding. He breathed deeply and stepped out. Almost as soon as he might have started falling, a large stone raised underneath him. "'The path may not always be seen.'" As he stepped forward, stones continued to lift to keep him out of the chasm. When he glanced over at the other side, he though he saw the Princess Luna he knew, the eldest of Airtseuqe, lifting up the stones. He moved faster, not relying on each step he took, but faith that his hooves would take him across. When his hooves pressed on the other side, a click resonated, the sound bouncing throughout the chasm. The stones raised upwards and locked into place, allowing the rest of the group to cross the chasm. Hermes patted Hammer on the back.
"Don't worry, mate. We'll take the Shade out. He's got a lot to bloody answer for." As they passed by, Hammer wheezed a little bit from shock. That chasm had seemed bottomless. He did not know why he had let himself do that.
----********
As they moved away from the chasm, shadows of other ponies, seemingly from the past, danced across the stone walls in the small canyon they had entered. The shadows screamed as sharp, flowing shadows pierced them, with physical blood spraying all over the walls.
"'And the mortals could not fight the Shades, as the shapeshifters were too crafty and sinister to be defeated by them. But the Guardians fought for them, leaving when the last Shade had been sealed away. So ended the First Era of Airtseuqe.' Their souls have remained with me since then, each one's fear fueling my power. They cannot help themselves, nor can they help you. The time of mortals ends, and the reign of blood, and fire, and darkness begins!" The voice appeared to come from the very walls. The shadows disappeared, to be replaced with the shadow of Hammer, laughing maniacally. "You believe with your power alone you can destroy me! Ha! Your power could never even cause me a single iota of pain!" The shadow disappeared, leaving flames where it had been.
----********
They closed in on the area where the column of light rose from. If they could have been any closer, they would have been able to touch it. Shadows of everypony, past and present, stood staring at the light. Mayor Mare was among them. Hammer watched them closely.
"'The light brings death.' The Shade uses a pony's shadow against him, or her." As he watched, the Guardian thundered in, standing in front of a large black swarming mass.
"Shade, you have needlessly endangered mortals. I have no choice but to destroy you. Sealing you was the worst possible thing to do to you." As the living watched in horror, the Shade entered the Guardian, the lines across it changing to red.
"But, Guardian, we are on and the same now!" It glanced down at the 12 Element users. "Your time is done. The seas will boil, the land will be set aflame, and your sun will be blotted from the sky!" The Shade stared at Hammer as he stepped forward.
"You won't get that far! As long as we have the Elements of Combat and Harmony, you will never be allowed to destroy the world!" The two groups began charging their Elements, the energies from both activating at the same time combining, creating a whirlwind of rainbows and energy. The Shade's voice dropped its mocking, arrogant tone and took on one of fear.
"N-no! W-we can coexist without pain! No! Don't hurt me!" The combined release of energy from the Elements exploded in a giant wave, rolling across the land, the corrupted landscape returning to what it had been before. The Shade began to shriek, rising in pitch to a near-banshee-like howl. The ground cracked around them as the Shade began to break apart under the assault. The shriek suddenly stopped, the column of light dissipating. Twelve shadows stood in front of the Element users, letting the rest return to their respective ponies.
"We are the ones that came before, wielders of the Elements. We were given them to defend our world. You must understand, what we are about to tell you is the truth. Airtseuqe and Equestria... were once one and the same, a world called Piety. However, when the Shades attacked, we split the worlds with the Elements to save both. Inadvertently, we created two vastly different worlds: one where war was well-known, and innocence was rare, and a world of pure happiness, sunshine, and innocent naivete. We... are proud." The twelve disappeared, leaving more questions to be answered than had been. As Hammer, Twilight, and the rest of the Elements turned to leave, they were faced with three glowing ponies of all three species.
"We are the Guardians. You may not understand, but we are proud of you all. You have shown the true essence of purity of heart, mind, and soul, and that if you work together, you can defeat any evil." The ground rumbled. "However, the damage the Shade did to the barrier between the two worlds is irreparable. Airtseuqe and Equestria will become one once more." As they watched, the Guardians brought them into a different plane of life, and brought them into space to witness the event. Two planets shifted into one another, the continent expanding to encompass the two countries. Hammer looked at Twilight, who had been musing.
"So... Airtseuqe and Equestria..."
"Are one and the same." Hammer felt Rarity nuzzle up beside him.
"Our worlds are the same. Who would have guessed?" When the worlds had finished shifting, the Guardians left the two groups of Elements in the centre of Ponyville. The two different Ponyvilles had combined, creating a much larger town.
"Well, it looks like we might be safe after all-" A three headed dragon flew overhead, heading towards Canterlot. "Nevermind. Come on! Let's go!"