Chapter 20

“Orion, are you sure about this?” I looked at my friend as he and Nala stood off to the side.

“As sure as apple pie.” Orion smiled.

“But I’ve never tested Video like this before,” I shrugged. “The only thing I can do with it is to summon those angel warriors I showed you and my sword that I create from my Amp or chain. Putting armor on myself is a different story.”

“Well I wasn’t aware one of your powers made you into a chicken.” Orion smirked as he flapped his arms while cocking his head back and forth like a rooster. “Bok bok!”

“Merow!” The manticore cub meowed at Orion.

“See, even Nala agrees with me, she’s calling you a pussy,” Orion joked.

“Alright, alright, just give me a minute,” I waved him off.

I activated Video and held my hands in front of me. I’ve never tried to experiment with my powers this way, especially since I didn’t think I could even do it at all. But thinking back, there have been times when I often imagine how much more Delsin could do besides the skills he was given.

“Okay, here goes.” I made an image in my head appear as my hands and arms chirped digitally and I waved my hands over my torso, shoulders, and legs. And then clenched my hands and in a flash, I was dressed in light Combat Armor from another game I used to play called Fallout 4.

“Wow, it worked!” I said, examining my new armor as it had digital static sparking every now and then.

“Well, you see? Despite how little of it there is, if you put your mind to it, you’d be able to.” Orion teased as he smirked.

I gave my armor a few knocks and it felt as hard as it looked. “This is so weird, it’s supposed to be digital but it feels like actual armor.”

Orion walked around me as he examined my armor. “I wonder if it will hold up though.” He wrapped his knuckles on the chest plate.

“Hmm, ok, this might be stupid,” I glanced at him. “Punch me right here.” I said, pointing at my chest plate. “But not too hard, I heard about what you did to two of Applejack’s trees.”

“Hey, that was Blueblood’s fault, not mine,” Orion defended while holding his hands up, innocently.

“Sure it was,” I rolled my eyes. I then took a deep breath and readied myself. “Okay, do it!”

Orion cracked his knuckles before taking a few steps back. “I’m far enough back that my fist should barely reach you. You won’t feel too much, should it break.” He reeled his arm back before thrusting it and it connected with the chest plate.

I grunted as the force of his punch forced me back a few feet. I expected to feel more pain, but I just felt like I got shoved really hard and the armor was still strapped to my chest.

“Oof! Well, at least it works,” I said, until I noticed Orion shaking his hand a little. “You good?”

“Yeah, I think the armor does more than block. I felt a surge of some kind zap my fist.” He shook his hand a bit more, clenching and unclenching his fist.

“Really? Huh, good to know,” I nodded and snapped my fingers to make my armor disappear. “I guess I should expand my imagination from now on when using my powers. Got any other ideas you wanna test out?”

He shrugged and paced around. “Not really, I don’t have that great of an imagination.”

“Merow!” Nala meowed again.

“Seems like somebody’s hungry,” I chuckled as I reached down and stroked Nala’s head. “What’s say we go to the Barn Burger? I hear they got a special of the week.”

Orion’s belly growled like a full grown manticore. “Sounds like my stomach seconds that idea.”

I chuckled as we made our way back to town and Nala walked close by my leg.

“Well Orion?” I grinned at my friend as he just looked back at me. “What’s the latest with you and AJ?”

I had a habit of asking him ever since that night at the Gala. “Nothing different than what I told you yesterday. We talk, smile, and work like no one’s business.”

“Dude, it’s been a week.”

“And?” He argued as he groaned. “Listen, we haven’t had a chance to talk about it since we have been really busy. What with Applejack’s brother constantly watching us, and me having to supervise Blueblood. Dude never stops bitching when we wake him up at the crack of dawn.”

“I get that, but maybe you should consider the fact that AJ wants you to make a move? If I know anything about women, thanks to Moon and ironically Rarity, is that girls hate waiting on the guy to strike first.”

He rolled his eyes as we kept walking. “It’s not as easy as you make it out to be, man. She’s beautiful and funny and cute, and when I try to get close to her, my heart feels like it’s gonna burst out of my chest “

“That, my friend, is the feeling of being in love,” I smiled as we walked through town. “Makes you feel warm inside too, doesn’t it?”

“Makes me feel like I could do anything whenever she’s around.” He blushed as he had a slightly goofy smile on his face.

“That’s the beauty of love, man, it’s honestly the best feeling ever.”

“YOU’RE IN LOVE?!”

“GAH!!”

We both spun around as Nala screeched and flew up high and were met with the party girl, Pinkie Pie.

“Damnit, Pinkie! You almost gave Orion and I a heart attack!” I snapped.

“I think you scared one of Nala’s nine lives out.” Orion moved a finger to gently pat the little cub’s back.

“Aw, I’m sorry Nala!” Pinkie said and reached into her hair to pull out a cat treat. “Here! This’ll make you feel better!” Nala sniffed the treat then took it in her mouth and ate it. “So Orion, did I hear right? Huh? Are you in love? Huh? Are ya?!” Pinkie hopes up and down close to Orion.

Orion’s face flushed, and he looked around for help, which I wasn’t planning on giving as I smiled and watched him. “Y-ye…nnnnn. If I tell you, you need to Pinkie promise me you won’t tell anyone?” He said quickly.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie said quickly and made the gestures. “Now tell me!”

Orion sighed and leaned in to whisper into Pinkie’s ear, and I could see her face break into a wide smile that almost took up her whole face.

“Oh Orion, I’m so happy for you!” Pinkie hugged Orion to the point she almost crushed him. “You both are perfect for each other!”

“So…!” Orion gasped, his head looking like it was gonna pop up his body. “I’ve…been told!”

“I hope you tell her soon Orion!” Pinkie released Orion as he gasped for air. She then sniffed the air for some reason and licked her lips. “Ooh, I smell cotton candy and chocolate milk!” With that, she zipped away, leaving a pink cloud shaped like her body.

“I’ll never understand that girl,” I shook my head.

“The day we understand Pinkie Pie, is the day the world goes mad.” Orion chuckled as he gingerly rubbed his chest, checking to make sure no ribs had been broken

“Don’t I know it, let’s get to the Burger Barn already. I’m starved,” I said.

“So when the teacher asked who drew the dick and balls on the white board, the first guy he called on was the guy who did it and he instantly caved,” I laughed, telling an old high school story as we sat outside and ate our meals. Nala was beside us and sleeping on the ground after the waiter was kind enough to give her some food.

Orion chuckled and shook his head before taking another bite of his food, chewing and then swallowed. “So was it really him who did it? Or did he just confess out of fear?”

“Oh it was him, he thought he could get away with it but the drawing was so obvious, it was impossible not to recognize. Guy had to write a three page apology letter as punishment,” I chuckled as I ate a potato chip.

Orion barked with laughter as he wiped his mouth of some ketchup that got on his cheek. “I never could understand why people do stuff like that? Don’t they understand it will only bring trouble instead of good?”

“I think that’s the point,” I shrugged. “What about you? Got any crazy stories from school?”

He shook his head. “No. I was a boring kid in school. I never went to events or hung out with friends, but I always did my work without fail. Thinking back on it now, I regret not having as much fun as everyone else around me.”

“Y’know, I always wondered, how do schools work around here in this world?” I asked. “Are they the same as they are in my world?”

He shrugged with his shoulders. “How would I know? I’ve never been to your world, so how can I compare the two? Does your world have magic?”

“Nope, just plain old boring humans,” I shrugged. “And I was once one of them.”

“Well there you go,” Orion chuckled as he finished his burger.

I was about to take another bite of my burger when I spotted something strange in the sky. A pink cloud floated overhead and was just staying in place. It didn’t look like any of the other clouds, since they were floating along on their own, and I thought it was a rather odd sight to see. There was a low vibration sound coming from Orion and he pulled out his phone as he swallowed his food.

“Hello?” He said as he held his phone up to his ear and he drank his soda through a straw.

“Orion!” I heard Applejack shriek, making Orion jump in his seat.

“Applejack?” He asked before putting his phone on speaker mode. “Are you okay?”

“Get yer butt to the farm, and bring Axel! We got long legged critters runnin’ around and apples twice the size of Big Mac growin’ on trees! And don’t get me started on the pink clouds rainin’ chocolate milk!” Applejack snapped.

“Uh…is she high?” I wondered.

Orion had covered the speaker so AJ didn’t hear what I had just said. “No idea, maybe it’s a prank, or something. We’d better go just to be safe.” He moved his hand away and spoke clearly. “We’re on our way, Applejack.”

“Hurry it up-Pinkie Pie! Don’t eat the cloud!”

Applejack hung up the phone and I left some bits on the table for the bill. I grabbed my pack and slung it over my shoulders and made sure my Amp was strapped on. I leaned down to wake Nala up and we all quickly made our way to the farm.

“All that stuff she said on the phone is exactly the kind of shit a buddy of mine used to say whenever he was tripping out on shrooms, dude,” I said.

“Well I’m kinda hoping this is the case, otherwise I feel like things are about to get weird,” Orion said.

I said nothing else as we continued on to Sweet Apple Acres. Although once we made it to the entrance and passed by the first few apple trees, there were indeed insanely large apples on the trees.

“What the oversized fuck?!” I said. The rest of the trees has the same size apples on them. “Just what kind of fertilizer are you using around here? These things are the size of cars!”

“Maybe Applejack gave them some kind of growth hormones.” Orion said while picking up a large apple and biting into it. “Mmm, the taste is still good though. Wanna bite?” He held the massive apple closer to me with his herculean strength.

“Yeah, no,” I shook my head.

“Merow?” Nala meowed and sniffed the apple.

“I wouldn’t do that, Nala,” I said as I pushed her away.

We heard some commotion further down and followed the noise. We soon saw the girls and Spike. Only the sight before me looked like something I’d see from a Willy Wonka movie on a bad trip. There were critters with long legs, as AJ described on the phone, a huge pink cloud that was leaking chocolate milk tied together with a rope, and heaps of popcorn everywhere.

“This…is strange,” I deadpanned.

Orion grabbed one of the popcorn and sniffed it before taking a bite out of it and hummed with delight. “Mmm, so good. Could use some salt though.”

In response to his request, one of the normal clouds floated over him and sprinkles of salt came raining down on his kernel.

“Really?” I deadpanned.

Orion took another bite and smiled. “I really like this.” He gave a thumbs up before moving his head under the raining cloud to drink some of the chocolate milk, obviously to wash down the popcorn.

“Where the heck did all this come from?” I asked.

“We haven’t the slightest idea,” Moon said. “I was taking a nice stroll with Twilight and Spike when all of a sudden these pink clouds appeared, and these creatures came scurrying out from the trees.”

“And…why are the clouds pink?” I wondered.

“They’re made of cotton candy!” Pinkie chirped as she stuffed a mouthful of pink cloud in her mouth.

“Say what? Cotton candy?” I repeated.

And to no surprise Orion walks over and literally pulls a piece of the cloud off and bites into it, humming joyfully and licking his lips. “Dude, she’s right!”

“This has to be some kind of freaky magic,” I said.

“That’s what I thought!” Twilight yelped. “Even my failsafe spell failed!”

“I hope the little critters can return to normal somehow,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah! This is just nuts!” Rainbow said.

“It’s not all bad,” Spike shrugged as he took a bite out of the cloud. “Hey Orion, pass me some popcorn.”

Orion gave me the thumbs up before tossing some popcorn his way and even gave me some. “I’m not sure who or why, but this doesn’t seem like a bad thing does it?”

“Sheesh, this all seems pretty chaotic if you ask me,” I said. Though I didn’t want to, I caved and ate some popcorn. “Although…it is pretty tasty.”

“What did you say?” I looked over at Moon who was staring at me with wide eyes.

“Oh, I said it’s all pretty chaotic,” I repeated.

“…it can’t be,” she muttered to herself. “Is…she finally free?”

“And it looks like we’re playing the pronoun game.” Orion came back over with arms full of popcorn and cotton candy. “Who is she?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s nothing,” Moon tried to say.

“Moon, do you know who’s behind this?” Twilight asked.

BELCH!

We were interrupted when Spike burped out loud.

“It’s polite to say excuse me after belching, Spike,” Orion added before passing me some cotton candy.

A scroll appeared from the green flames that escaped Spike’s mouth and Twilight used her magic to levitate it over to her and unroll it. When she read its contents, she gasped.

“Come on, girls, Princess Celestia wants us to come to Canterlot right away!” Twilight said.

“Got it! Orion, watch the farm while we’re gone!” Applejack said as the main six girls ran for the train station.

“Well that ain’t a good sign if Celestia wanted to see them all,” I frowned.

“I don’t know.” Orion was helping himself to more food as we watched the girls leave. “So far the only thing bad I see about any of this, is people over eating.” He took another bite out of the giant apple.

“If only I could agree with you,” Moon sighed.

“I’m gonna head back to the library,” Spike said to us as he took off.

Orion turned to Moon and gave her a look of curiosity. “So, you already know what’s going on, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Moon nodded. “There was once a time when Equestria was quite literally thrown in a state of chaos and misery. All for her entertainment.” Moon used her magic to make a silhouette of a woman with two different kinds of horns on her head. The silhouette then grinned a creepy smile. “Her name…was Eris, the mad Spirit of Chaos.”

Orion looked at the spirit of chaos with a perplexed look. “So…making crazy stuff with food is bad….how?”

“It was more than that,” Moon shook her head as she made more silhouettes of people appear, all looking like they were miserable as Eris looked like she was causing their misery. “She was the embodiment of disharmony. Before Celestia and Luna stood up to her, Eris ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness.”

“Doesn’t sound like a team player,” I said, folding my arms.

“So what happened?” Orion asked. “How did they get rid of her?”

“They saw how Eris made everyone miserable. So after discovering the Elements of Harmony, they combined their powers and rose up against her. Turning her into stone,” Moon said as she made the silhouettes of Celestia and Luna fight Eris and showed how they managed to beat the chaos spirit.

“Okay, if that’s true, then what makes you think she’s free now?” Orion wondered.

“Isn’t it obvious, dude?” I asked, gesturing to our surroundings. “And I think that popcorn and cotton candy you’re eating is her doing as well.”

He glanced down at the food and shrugged. “But if she is free, how did she do it? Being turned to stone wouldn’t exactly let you do anything besides staying really still.”

“According to my shared memories with Luna, the spell should have been permanent,” Moon said as she made the silhouettes disappear. “But since Celestia and Luna are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell must have broken.”

“Well, this might just be above my pay grade,” I said as I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Thugs and scumbag Northerners are one thing, but an actual goddess of chaos running around? And here I thought things couldn’t get any more complicated.”

“Well, assuming the girls can use the elements, you may not have to worry about it,” Orion reassured me. “Who knows, maybe if we just be patient everything will go back to normal.”

“Here’s hoping,” I nodded. “Let’s head back into town and make sure nothing else is as crazy as they are now.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and the trees are made of pizza!" Orion rushed off towards the town faster than I was expecting.

“Wait up Orion!” I called out as Moon and Nala followed me. When we caught up to him, he was on his knees and his eyes were the size of dinner plates. “You okay, man?”

Orion leaned forward and started slamming his fist into the ground letting out a scream of hatred. “She’s a mad tyrant!” He screamed before slamming the ground again, making a small crater where his fists hit. “Damn you, damn you all to heck!”

“Dude, what is up your ass?!” I barked.

He pointed forward with a shaking hand and I turned to see what was wrong, thinking it was something horrifying. “She put pineapple on the pizza!”

Sure enough, there were trees and the leaves were slices of pizza with pineapple toppings. Thinking it was strange, I approached the tree and picked off a slice and took a bite.

“Mmm, not bad,” I said and ate the slice.

“She put fuckin’ pineapple on pizza! This is the greatest evil in the universe!” Orion roared in disgust.

Moon walked up and took a slice and gave it a small bite.

“Mmm, it is rather tasty,” Moon said as I handed a slice to Nala.

“We need to eradicate this foul creature of chaos. She mustn’t be allowed to tarnish the good name of pizza anymore!” Orion, who I think is currently in his own world, ranted as he screamed to the heavens.

“Would you quit it?! It’s just pizza!” I snapped.

“Somebody help me!” I heard commotion coming from town.

“Shit, no time for pizza,” I said as I stuffed the slice in my mouth and swallowed it. “Orion! Get your ass up and let’s go!”

“Oh, what a cruel world! Pineapple on pizza, has the whole universe gone mad?!” Orion cried out to the sky.

“ORION! SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT PIZZA TOPPINGS AND GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR!” I shouted in irritation.

Later

“Dammit! What the hell’s going on here?!”

I was flying up in the air with Moon using my digital wings and trying to stop a giant salt and pepper shaker from sprinkling their contents in town. Meanwhile, Orion was busy chasing down a pack of mutant apples that had little mouths on them.

“Get back here you abominations of food!” He called out as he chased them with a lasso.

Nala hissed at the apples and tried to sting them with her tail, but that only made the apples mad and chased after her.

“Merow!” Nala panicked and ran away with Orion following behind.

Orion picked her up in his arms as he sped off. “A for effort, F for results, Nala,” he joked, narrowly missing getting bitten by one of the apple monsters.

Moon and I managed to stop the salt and pepper shakers and forced them down on the ground. I looked at the apples and fired some Video Torrent shots at them, hitting them all and turning them into applesauce.

“Hell in a handbasket, look at this place!” I said as I landed back on the ground with Moon and saw the whole town of Ponyville looked completely…well, chaotic.

Buildings were floating in mid air, the ground was checkered all around, and day time quickly turned to night time every now and then. Lapis seemed to be taking it the worst of all since the guard’s precinct was turned into a gingerbread house. My ears were still ringing a little from her screaming as she had all her guards keep any perps from eating their way out of the holding cells.

When I went to check on Mr. Rich and Diamond, the poor man was having a panic attack because Diamond was trapped in their pool because the water turned into Jell-O. When I fished her out, I told them to stay in the house in case things got too crazy.

Well…it didn’t help when I saw people freaking walking upside down like there was a road, as if they were ignoring the laws of physics. Just before my current predicament, I had just helped the CMC, Pipsqueak, and Button Mash from being carried away by these giant soap bubble animals. The damn things were dancing around and tossing the kids in mid air and causing them to panic. Unfortunately for me, it was more trouble than I care to admit, chasing those damn bubble animals around. I managed to pop the bubble balloons and usher the kids to Cream Heart’s place for safety, to which she thanked me for helping them.

“Eris has begun to run rampant,” Moon frowned.

Orion was on the ground panting, with Nala so sitting on his chest as he heaved up and down. “I liked it better when the food didn’t try and eat you back.”

“Merow?” Nala meowed as she tapped Orion’s nose with her paw.

He glanced up to look at her. “How dare you be cute at a time like this.” He smiled before gently scratching behind her ears.

“I’m getting a little worried,” I said as I made my wings disappear. “The girls should be back by now.”

“You don’t suppose something happened to them?” Moon wondered.

“All we can do is wait,” Orion said while laying his head back on the ground, trying to catch his breath. “And try and keep the town safe.”

“Safe? When it’s this much fun?”

A sudden feminine voice called out from nowhere, making us all look around.

“Oh no…” Moon said.

In a flash of light, a new being appeared in the air. It was a woman wearing an outfit that could only be described as she looked like she had different appendages for each limb. She wore a coat and her right sleeve looked like a lion’s arm, her left sleeve looked like a bird’s talon. Her pants were also mismatched, her right pant leg was green and scaly like a lizard and her left pant leg looked like a goat’s. On her back was a right bat wing and a regular blue feathered left wing. Her jacket had red coat tails with a white tuff on the ends that made it look like she had a tail. Her hair was long and pale white, a little frizzy, that reached down the middle of her back. Poking from her head were a deer antler and a goat’s horn. Finally, her eyes were bright red and she had a single fang protruding from her wide grin.

“Oh yes!” The woman cheered.

“Who the hell?!” I said, reaching for my Amp.

“Eris…” Moon sneered.

“You’re the psycho bitch who put the pineapple on the pizza!” Orion had jumped to his feet, his eyes flared with rage. “There are some things that shouldn’t be done!”

“And who made you the official pizza aficionado?” Eris rolled her eyes as she looked like she was walking down stairs towards the ground.

“Eris! How did you escape?!” Moon demanded.

“Well now, a sight I did not expect,” Eris snapped her fingers and made a pair of big goofy glasses appear and put them on. “Nightmare Moon in the flesh? I thought those Elements did you in?”

“I was spared, and Axel saved me,” Moon said.

“Axel? Ah, the Conduit,” Eris said with a grin as she took off her glasses and looked my way.

“You know me?” I asked, pulling out my Amp.

“Of course, I have good ears.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of ears. “See? The ones I’m wearing are my regular pair.”

“…well…that’s not creepy at all,” Orion said, looking queasy.

“Prude,” Eris giggled.

“You’re the one who did all this?” I asked.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Eris grinned, spinning around in a circle, soap bubbles popping in existence from her hands. “Such glorious chaos! It’s so great!”

“Great?! Your chaos has turned this town upside down! Literally!” I barked. “Put it back the way it was, now!”

“Don’t wanna,” Eris stuck her tongue at me.

“Great, we’re dealing with a toddler with powers, we’re doomed,” Orion joked while staring up at the evil creature.

“Wait a sec.” I looked around for someone then back at Eris with a glare as small sparks of electricity crackled along my shoulders. “Where’re the girls?!”

“Girls? Oh! You mean the Element Bearers, they’re taken care of, courtesy of yours truly,” Eris giggled maliciously.

“What did you do to them?!” Orion grabbed a nearby boulder and pulled it out of the ground. “You better not have hurt them or else!” With little effort, he chucked the rock right at Eris.

Eris responded by snapping her fingers and the Boulder turned into a big rubber chicken that honked on impact.

“Heh, that never gets old,” Eris grinned as the rubber chicken fell to the ground. “And don’t you worry about your little friends, I simply helped them realize their true natures.”

“You better start talking sense, or I’ll fry you where you stand!” I threatened as I pointed my Amp at the crazy spirit.

“Why don’t you come and find out?” Eris said wickedly.

“Eris, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll surrender right now!” Moon said, powering her magic. She then clapped her hands and in a flash she was dressed in her armor she wore when we first met, helmet and all.

“It’s no fun when people like you are involved.” Eris snapped her fingers again and Moon was trapped in a giant hourglass.

“What in the stars?!” Moon yelped.

“Moon!” I shouted.

Moon tried to use her magic to blast her way out but couldn’t break the glass. I activated Concrete and coated my fists in stone and slammed them on the glass, but didn’t leave so much as a crack. Orion charged in next and started punching the glass with all his might, however even with his strength he wasn’t able to make a dent.

“Are you two done?” Eris yawned as she sipped some chocolate milk.

“Guys!”

We both stopped trying to break the glass and saw Spike run up to us. “Guys! You gotta come with me! The girls are back, but something’s wrong! Very wrong!”

“Shit, Orion? You go with Spike.” I turned to Eris and extended my Amp. “I’ll deal with Harley Quinn.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, man.” Orion took off to follow Spike, leaving me with Eris.

“Be careful, Axel!” Moon called out from her hourglass cage.

The two of us stared each other down as more sparks of electricity crackled along my arms and legs. The bolts then began to crackle in between the coils of my Amp as I held my ground against my crazy adversary.

“This might be a first for me, but you’re just another threat to this world like the rest of them!” I shouted as I began charging at Eris.

“Save your heroic speeches, it’s so cliché,” Eris rolled her eyes.

I jumped in the air with my Amp raised over my head and swung it down towards her head. Eris sidestepped to evade my attack as my Amp hit the ground. The impact sent bolts of electricity flying and a small crater gave way in the ground. I brought my Amp back up and began swinging it at Eris, but she just bobbed and weaved from my attacks while giving me a coy smirk. I growled in frustration and attempted to fake her out. I went for another swing, to which she dodged. Then, I spun my body around all the way and raised my hand at her to fire Lighting Bolt shots at point blank. Eris, however, managed to jump out of the way, over my head, and landed behind me. I jumped back from her and decided to try a distanced approach. I kept my hand raised and fired more Lighting Bolt shots at her. Unfortunately, she was able to dodge each shot, which made my irritation grow for how poorly this was going for me.

“Well, I must say I am a tad disappointed,” Eris sighed as she took to the skies. She leaned her body forward and looked like she was lying on her stomach as she rested her head on her hands. “Here I thought I’d have a fun playmate in store, when all you’re doing is just doing the same thing over and over again. You’ll never hit me with that shiny stick of yours, and those little lighting bolts aren’t much to boast about either.”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet!” I snapped as I activated Video.

My digital wings reappeared from my back. I flapped them hard and flew straight at Eris. my Amp glowed bright with digital light as my great sword materialized between the coils. This seemed to catch her off guard a little as she narrowly escaped the slash of my sword. Seeing this as an opportunity, I continued my assault while also firing Video Torrent shots at her. I cut her off from flying straight up and swung my sword, but she dodged it. Lucky for me I anticipated her dodge and spun my body around to deliver a fierce kick straight at her face. The impact of my foot to her nose made her jerk backwards and her nose began to bleed. Not giving her a chance to recover, I unraveled my chain and slung it around her arm. I pulled on my chain and began to spin around in circles with her being pulled along.

“Let go! I’m getting sick!” Eris shouted.

“If you insist!” I said as I spun her around one last time and whipped my chain down towards the ground. Eris went plummeting towards the ground and impacted with a loud thud. I wrapped my chain back around my wrist as I descended back down and just by Eris. The mad spirit lay splayed out with her arms and legs out wide. She pulled her head out from the dirt and little stars were swirling around her head as her eyes were spinning in circles.

“Had enough?” I taunted her. “Because I must say, I am a tad disappointed.”

“Hey!” Eris growled as she managed to pull herself out from the ground. “No using my roast to roast me back!”

“Seriously?” I deadpanned as I rested my Amp on my shoulder. “Moon made you out to be some dangerous chick with a mental issue, but you don’t seem all that tough to me. Do yourself, and mostly me, a favor, Eris, put everything back the way it was and be done with it.”

“You think you’re so clever, huh?” Eris said with a huff. “You should never underestimate your opponent, Mr. Rickert, it could be your downfall.”

“I seem to be doing alright so far,” I shrugged.

“Oh really? Well, let’s fix that,” Eris grinned widely, then disappeared as soon as she snapped her fingers.

WHAM!

I didn’t have time to react as I felt something hard impact my right cheek. Eris managed to land a hard left hook that almost knocked a tooth out. She continued to rush me with punches and I held my arms up to guard. I noticed her hand swerve glowing with a magic aura surrounding them, which meant she buffed her punches with her magic. Even my Conduit durability was having trouble taking the full brunt of her strikes. Thinking quickly, I activated Smoke and turned into smoke vapors to escape her onslaught. Once my body was back together, I ran off to the side with her following and we began firing at each other. My Smoke Shots met her shots of chaotic magic as we ran next to each other. I used Smoke Thrusters on my feet to get ahead of Eris and charged back at her as I unraveled my chain again. The chain lit up with heat from Smoke and I whipped it at Eris as fast as I could. Eris was able to dodge my chain each time, but I also used my Amp as an added follow up swing. I swiped my foot at Eris’, making her stagger, and raised my Amp to swing. The Smoke trailed along the coils of my Amp and seemed to set them ablaze with cinders and smoke trails.

WA-BAM!

My inflamed Amp slammed into her midsection and sent her flying. She landed and tumbled across the ground with a loud cough as she held the place where my Amp struck her. She slowly picked herself up and I saw a big black mark on her midsection and she glared at me.

“What’s the matter, Eris? I thought you said not to underestimate your opponent?!” I challenged, as cinders and smoke trails billowed from my chain, Amp, and body.

“That hurt! I’ll get you for that!” Eris shouted and charged at me.

Seeing this shouldn’t go on longer than it should, I charged back at her and spun my body around. I swun both my Amp and chain and a wave of smoke and cinders shot towards Eris and slammed into her. The mad spirit was sent flying again and tumbled across the ground until she stopped and landed on her back. As she coughed and tried to regain herself, I quickly ran up to her and pinned her down with smoke wisps.

“There, now you won’t cause any more trouble for anyone.” I deactivated smoke as I wrapped my chain back up and sheathed my Amp.

“What’s with this smoke?! I can’t move!” Eris struggled to sit up.

“So are you gonna play nice and revert everything back to the way it was?” I asked.

“Never!” Eris said defiantly.

“Sheesh, what’s your deal? You’re pinned and outplayed. I beat you, so just give it up,” I sighed.

“Who said you won?” Eris asked.

“Is it not obvious?” I retorted.

“What’s going on? Keep fighting!” A voice called out from behind me, making me whip my head around and look up. I thought my head was playing tricks on me, but it would seem that wasn’t the case. Sitting on a pink cloud, munching on some popcorn, was the very same Spirit of Chaos who I just wiped the floor with.

“What the hell?!” I said as I looked down at who I thought was Eris but she disappeared. She then reappeared next to the real Eris as she rubbed her arm and winced.

“Sorry, boss, kid wouldn’t come quietly,” the fake Eris said.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll take it from here,” the real Eris waved her off. With a snap of her fingers, fake Eris disappeared and real Eris stood up from her seat.

“I was fighting a fake this whole time?!” I said.

“Pretty much,” Eris said as she descended to the ground. “What? You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?”

“For a second there, yeah, I kinda did,” I admitted.

“You put up a decent fight, Mr. Rickert, it’s a shame you’re on the wrong side,” Eris said.

“Save whatever two-faced offer you might have in store for me, I ain’t interested,” I said strictly.

“Who said I was gonna offer you anything? I was talking…to your other half,” Eris grinned, making me pause.

“How do-who told you that?!” I demanded.

“I also have good eyes.” Eris smacked the back of her head, and two golf ball-like objects dropped into her hand. “My old ones are at the cleaners.” She popped the eyes back in and blinked a few times.

“I asked you a question!” I said.

“Ugh, why don’t you just shut up?” Eris snapped her fingers and suddenly, my hands were bound together by these strange-looking oven mitts but I couldn’t get them off. “Hey! What gives?!”

“I told you,” Eris said as she stood by me. “I have good ears and good eyes, that’s how I figured out you can use your powers through your hands.”

“Just wait until I get these things off me, you’ll be sorry for tricking me!” I said. I activated Smoke and began channeling my powers in my hands to burn these weird oven mitts away.

“While you do that, I have a question,” Eris said. “Why bother?”

“The hell do you mean?” I asked.

“I mean, why bother fighting me?” Eris asked.

“Do I gotta spell it out for you, or are you messing with me again?” I wondered as smoke and cinders surrounded the mitts.

“I’m not talking about stopping me from spreading my chaos, I’m talking about why bother fighting me for them.” Eris pointed at the distorted town and I saw some people running around trying to avoid the craziness.

“Because they’re miserable and are being threatened by you, what other reason do I need to feel obligated to help them?” I said.

“But do you owe them anything?” Eris tapped her chin in thought. She snapped her fingers and a weird-looking book appeared and she flipped through the pages. “Doesn’t seem like they’re worth the trouble after how they’ve treated you.”

“Well, I’ll admit it was a rough first impression, but I managed to earn their trust over time,” I said.

“Have you? Even if you’re a little punk, you can’t be that naïve,” Eris rolled her eyes.

“Why do you care? It’s not like you give a damn about what these people think anyway,” I spat.

“Oh, I don’t, and neither should you,” Eris pointed out. “From what I’ve witnessed, you’re a sort of special case.” She began circling around me. “I’ve been around for millenia, and I don’t believe I’ve seen magic such as yours. Then again, it might not be magic at all from what I’ve seen.”

“You’d be right about that,” I said.

“Just what is a Conduit?” Eris hummed in thought. “No one has ever heard of such a word, yet here you are. But that’s besides the point. Even if you somehow manage to stop me, which is unlikely, what makes you think these people will accept you? Especially with that dark side of yours lurking within your mind.”

She talking about me? I heard Dante ask.

Guess so, stand by, I can handle this. I said.

“So you know about my split persona,” I said.

“Indeed, and might I say, he brings a very interesting alluring form of chaos whenever he makes himself known. His brutal show of strength and power, not giving a tinker’s curse who says what about him and why, and…the way he brutalized those Diamond Dogmen in the caves.” Her grin widened at that last part.

“So you also know about that?” I growled, the smoke and cinders billowing more from my hands.

“You may try to hide it, but I know the look of someone who has killed before, especially the faint scent of dog blood. But it would seem the rest of this town is not aware of what you have done.” Eris hummed again.

“That’s none of their concern, so long as they’re safe and undisturbed,” I stated.

“Which brings me back to my point, how do you think they would react if they knew what your darker half had done? I’d imagine they would be disgusted, horrified even, that a killer walks among them carefree,” Eris presumed.

“I did what I had to, to save my friend!” I barked defiantly. “Those hairy assholes were gonna kill Rarity!”

“Are you sure about that?” Eris glanced at me as she circled in front of me. “Are you sure…it wasn’t because you wanted your darker half to kill them? I wonder what would have happened if it were just you? Would you have committed the same level of violence?” I was silent as she talked. “Face it, Axel, you are different from these foolish pony folk. They are weak and simpleminded, not used to the kind of brutal nature you bring with you. One day, you might snap, and that dark half of yours will run rampant. I can only imagine how they would ostracize you.”

She’s got a point, you know, Dante said. You once called me a loose canon, and I agree with that. It’s also like I said before, these people are too used to living a peaceful life and would turn tail and run at the first sign of danger. Not saying they’re all like that, probably, but it doesn’t change the fact that I can’t stay hidden in your head forever. Sooner or later, you’re gonna face the music once someone else outside your little friend group sees the real me. Such as that Orion kid.

“Why tell me this?” I asked Eris. “What could you possibly gain from telling me all this?”

“Nothing really, to be honest, I am just giving you some helpful advice. You don’t owe these people anything, so why bother? If you want, you can just leave and never come back. Be free to live your life in this world wherever and however you please.” Eris tapped her chin again and smiled at me. “But, now that you mention it, you could join me?”

“Join you?” I said.

“Why not? Chaos is so much fun and you’d be able to act out however you desire at my side! You wouldn’t have to worry about your darker half since he too would be able to do as he pleases. So what say you, Axel?” Eris raised her hand at me. “Would you like to unleash your own kind of chaos?”

It’s not a bad deal, if you think about it, Dante said. It’s inevitable that I’d turn you into a pariah and ruin everything. This way, we both win.

…

You’re wrong, Dante.

What?

You may be my dark persona, but you’re not a bad guy. You’ve had plenty of times to just let loose and spread your so-called carnage wherever you wanted, but you held back.

Well yeah, we had a deal.

Was it really because of our deal? Or maybe it’s because we share the same mind that we share the same goals?

“Like I said before,” I said aloud. “You can keep whatever two-faced offer you have and stick it where the sun don’t shine. I’m sticking with my morals, and that’s the end of that.”

“Well…and here I thought you were the smart one-ow!” Eris yelped and we both looked down to see Nala had bitten her leg and growled up at Eris.

“Nala?! Get out of here!” I demanded but Eris used her magic to lift her up and glared at the cub.

“You little furry pest! How dare you?!”

“Put her down!” I shouted.

“That wasn’t very nice,” Eris growled as she raised her other hand at Nala.

“ERIS! DON’T YOU DARE!” The smoke and cinders blazed from the mittens covering my hands to the point they caught on fire.

“It seems I have to teach you a lesson, little kitty.” Nala looked at me with a now fearful look as Eris readied her magic.

“ERIS, I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU HURT HER, YOU’LL REGRET IT!” I ran towards her, not caring that my hands were still covered.

“Bye-bye!” Eris said and snapped her fingers.

“M-Merow…?” Nala meowed at me. I sprinted towards Eris with the intent to bodycheck her, but I was too late.

Poof!

It happened so fast, and I was helpless as I watched Nala be turned into a toy stuffed animal manticore cub. Her eyes were still and her body was plush and unmoving. Rage boiled up inside me as Nala was dropped and hit the floor. The flames from my Smoke burned away the oven mitts and I screamed in pure rage.

“YOU FUCKING BITCH, I’LL KILL YOU!!”

I thrusted my hand towards Eris and fired a large Cinder Blast at her. The blast slammed into Eris, knocking her back as a black burn mark was left on her chest. I unraveled my chain, which lit up and was white hot with the intent to whip her with all my strength. Eris, however, glared at me and used her magic to lift me in the air to stop my charge. I seethed at Eris and used Smoke Thrusters in my feet to break free of her hold and launch towards Eris. She grunted from the streign and I kept my thrusters going.

“I’LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE!! I’LL SHOVE MY CHAIN DOWN YOUR THROAT AND WATCH YOU BURN FROM THE INSIDE FUCKING OUT!!”

“You are too heated for my taste!” Eris said then used both her hands to hold me. “Why not go somewhere else to cool off?!”

Before I could react, Eris swung her hands over her head, with me following in her magical grasp, and was sent flying through the air. She tossed me away from Ponyville and my body was spinning in circles. I tried using my thrusters to level myself out, but the force of her throw was preventing me from doing so. I eventually activated Video and brought out my wings to finally help me get leveled. Which helped a little as I stopped spinning but I soon found myself falling back towards the ground. I landed in some gorge with caves all around and tumbled across the floor until I hit a wall. I should be thankful I have the durability of a Conduit, otherwise I’d probably have a few broken bones. I coughed as I managed to pick myself up and shook my head. I was so angry that I almost let Dante take over, but I stopped myself.

“Damn it…goddamn it!” I cursed. I paced around, literally fuming with rage. “I’m so fucking stupid! Why did I let that happen?! Fuck!” I activated Concrete and wrapped my chain around my fist. Concrete covered my fist and I began banging it against the stone wall.

“Shit!”

Wham!

“I’m such a goddamn moron!”

Wham!

“The girls are in trouble, and I’m here with my thumb up my ass!

Wham!

“Moon’s trapped, and I can’t free her!”

Wham!

“Nala got turned into a toy, and I let it happen!”

Wham!

“WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE POWERS GOOD FOR?!”

WHAM!

“I’M SO!”

WHAM!

“FUCKING WEAK!!”

WHAM!!

I slammed my concrete coated fist into the wall, making it crumble and large cracks spread from my strikes. Rubble littered all around me and I leaned my head against the wall to wallow in my shame. I’ve been wasting my time, just going with the flow without any care, and I literally get thrown out of town like yesterday’s trash. There was a part of me that believed that I could take on anything and anyone that came at me so long as I had these powers. But instead, I squandered it and now everyone’s paying for it.

So that’s it, huh? I opened my eyes at Dante’s voice. You gonna cry now?

“Shut up…” I muttered.

You gonna cry, bitch? Huh? One screw up and you throw in the towel? Damn, you’re pretty pathetic right now.

“I said shut up! I fucked up!” I snapped.

So go un fuck it up! Dante barked. Those people need you, right?! Your friends, your girlfriend, everyone needs you! What good is beating up a stone wall gonna do, huh?! Fucking nothing!

“THEN WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT ME TO DO!?”

SUCK IT THE FUCK UP AND GET BACK OVER THERE! AND DON’T FUCKING STOP UNTIL THAT PSYCO BITCH IS PUT IN HER PLACE! EITHER THAT, OR LET ME TAKE THE WHEEL SO I CAN KILL THE BITCH MYSELF!

I was silent after Dante yelled at me in my head. I knew he was right, anything I’d say otherwise would just sound like a piss poor excuse. There had to be something I could do, but nothing came to mind. As I contemplated how to face Eris again, something caught my eye within the destroyed part of the wall.

It was shiny, and I could feel a faint glow come from within. At first I didn’t pay it any mind, but then I felt some kind of pulse of energy. It was a familiar pulse to me, something that I felt some time ago. With curiosity overcoming my anger, I dug at the wall and used Concrete help clear the way. As I dug, the pulse got stronger and the light grew brighter. The familiar energy coursed through me and it made me dig more in order to get at it. I eventually dug far enough so I could grab whatever it was with my hand. I reached in and grabbed the unknown object and tugged on it to pull it out. As soon as I grabbed the unknown object, my eyes widened in disbelief as the realization came to me.

“No way…” I muttered.

With one last yank, I pulled out the object and looked down at it. To my utter shock, within my hand’s grasp, was none other than a Blast Core in all it’s glowing glory!

“What the hell?! A Blast Core?! What’s this thing doing here?!” I wondered as the Blast Core pulsed with energy.

I thought you absorbed the one that you found in your pack when you first came to this world? Dante asked.

“I did, but now I’m holding another one!” I said as I examined the Blast Core. “I don’t get it, how is there another Blast Core here?” I tried to contemplate how this was possible, but then I was reminded of my current predicament. “No, now’s not the time. Besides, this might be the opportunity I was hoping for.” I then held the Blast Core with both hands. “I just hope this works…and that I don’t pass out afterwards.”

Just do it, you pussy!

Ignoring Dante, I activated Electricity and began pouring my energy into the Blast Core. The reaction was instantaneous as the Blast Core glowed even more brightly. My whole body began pulsing with wave after wave energy coming from the Blast Core and sparks of Electricity sparked violently all around.

“HHHHHOOOLLLLLYYYY SSSHHIIIIIIIIITTTTT!!!”

Suddenly, my powers seemed to automatically change by themselves. Smoke activated and embers and smoke flickered off the Blast Core and my body. Neon activated and my hands and the Blast Core shined brightly as fluorescent colors filled the area. Video activated and my wings appeared and seemed to grow a few inches in width along with digital static surrounding the Blast Core. Concrete activated and shards and large slabs of stone floated around me and circled the Blast Core. The whole spectacle ended back with Electricity, making the stone shards and slabs fall to the ground, and a bright flash lit up my surroundings. Once the light died down, I managed to collect myself as small bolts crackled off of me. The Blast Core had lost its glow and began to fall apart piece by piece until it crumbled away. I stood there for a moment, basking in the aftermath of absorbing the Blast Core. A smile slowly formed across my lips, I could feel the major power boost coursing through me and all my powers had gotten a major upgrade.

“Hell yeah, it’s all coming together now,” I said with newfound conviction.

I activated Video and made my armor from earlier today appear. I then made my wings appear, which seemed to have grown in width and were a few inches wider than before thanks to the power boost. The digital feathers also grew in size and I gave them a few test flaps. With everything set, I crouched down a bit and flapped my wings, launching into the air and flying straight back towards Ponyville. I was flying faster than before and my eyes were locked on the town I was thrown from.

“You won’t get rid of me that easily, Eris,” I said as I flew faster.

I flew with my newfound speed straight towards Ponyville. I had no idea how I was able to find a Blast Core back in that gorge, but I could think about that right now. All I could think about was stopping Eris and her crazy tirade. After about ten minutes of flying, I made it back to Ponyville and the whole place looked even more like a madhouse than before. I narrowed my eyes and soon spotted the hourglass where Moon was trapped. I landed by it and saw Moon on her knees and she was crying.

“Moon!” I called out to her. She gasped and looked up to see me.

“Axel!” Moon cried and ran up towards the glass. “You’re alive! Oh, thank the stars!”

“Yeah, It was a hell of a trip. What happened while I was gone?” I wondered.

“After Eris threw you, she went into the town to further spread her chaos. She proclaimed she would turn Ponyville into the Chaos Capital of the World!” Moon said.

“Not on my watch, stand back and form a shield around yourself!” Moon did as instructed and I pulled out my Amp. I charged it with Electricity as bolts surged between the coils. I raised it up high and swung it forward as hard as I could.

CRASH!

The force of my swing shattered the glass as shards went flying. Moon’s shield protected her from any flying shards and immediately dispelled it to come running into my arms.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Moon said, then kissed me.

“I’m glad you’re okay too,” I said then looked at the distorted town. “Come on, let’s find the others.”

“You seem different, Axel, what happened to you? What is this armor you wear?” Moon asked.

“I’ll explain later, I promise,” was all I said as we quickly walked through town. The people were in complete disarray and I could only watch as we passed by. I would help them, but it would be better to deal with the source. Our search for the girls wasn’t going well since none of them were around, that is until we saw Orion and Spike. They were sitting on a polka dot bench but Orion seemed to be sad for some reason.

“Orion! Spike!” I called out to them.

“Axel? You’re okay!” Spike smiled. “Look Orion, Axel’s back! He’ll make everything right again!”

Orion hadn’t moved from the spot where he sat. He was staring down at the ground with a blank expression.

“Orion?” Moon said to him.

“Hey man, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“She…said she hates me…that I’m the ugliest man she’s seen, ever.” Orion mumbled under his breath as he stared down at the ground.

“Huh?” I tilted my head.

“It was Applejack.” I turned to Spike. “The girls were very strange when they came back to Canterlot, like they were complete opposites of themselves and Twilight didn’t know what it was that made them so. Rainbow Dash just took off without warning and we couldn’t use the Elements on Eris. Twilight’s a mess and back at the library and when Orion tried to talk to Applejack, she completely insulted him to his face!”

At this point Orion flopped onto the ground with a thud, looking defeated.

“Come on Orion, snap out of it!” I said grabbing him and hoisting him up to his feet. “There’s no way AJ would say that shit to you!”

His eyes looked half dead as he stood there, staring into space. “You heard Spike…she hates me…she never wants to see me again…guess you were wrong about her liking me.” His voice almost sounded dead.

“That’s a load of bullshit and you know it!” I snapped. “It was all Eris’ fault! She must’ve cast some weird spell on her and the girls to make them act differently. Think about it! Would AJ ever insult you to your face even if she tried?”

Orion stayed quiet for a while before saying something that really freaked me out. “What’s her element again?”

“Uh…I think it was honesty?” I said. “Why?”

He looked at me with a look that says he’s defeated. “So she can’t lie, or never likes to lie.”

“Well you know what, I still call bullshit!” I said defiantly. “I don’t care if her element is honesty and she couldn’t tell a lie if her life depended on it! Whatever she said to you was a lie. And there’s only one person in town who can prove it!” I turned away and began marching towards the library. “Come on! We’re going to see Twilight!”

“Okay, let’s go Orion,” Spike said and grabbed his arm to pull him along. Orion followed, but moved like he was some kind of puppet.

As we approached the library, Spike belched and out came scroll from his green flames.

“Dang it! Not again!” Spike complained.

“What’s up with you?” I asked.

“The Princess has been sending these things ever since we first tried to use the Elements on Eris,” Spike said as he handed me the scroll.

We eventually made it to the library and I opened the door to see Twilight packing books in a suitcase. Her whole appearance seemed grey and bleak and she looked more depressed than Orion.

“Twilight?” I said.

“Oh, hello Axel,” Twilight sighed. “I wish we didn’t have to leave under these circumstances.”

“Where are you going?” I wondered.

“I don’t know yet, just not here…” Twilight shook her head.

“Well, what’s all those scrolls over there,” I pointed out at the pile off to the side.

“They’re all the letters I’ve written to the Princess since I’ve lived in Ponyville. I’m not sure why she would send them back.”

Curious, I walked over to the pile with Moon and picked one up to read it. As I did, I read about the many lessons of her friendship with the girls she shared and found myself reading more scrolls. Each one was admittedly fun to read.

“Looks like you’ve learned a lot, Twilight,” I said. “Maybe Celestia’s trying to remind you of something.”

“Like what?” Twilight wondered.

“Well, just come read all these letters again,” I said, offering her a letter.

Soon she too began to read with me and out loud. She read about how she helped Applejack with harvesting the acres with the help of her friends, when Rainbow Dash stood up for Pinkie against that Gilda chick, when this street performer girl tried to upstage Twilight, when Fluttershy was able to make the dragon relocate, the slumber party she had with Rarity and AJ, and so many more lessons. As she read, her color seemed to come back to her and she looked more confident and back to her normal self.

“That’s it!” Twilight beamed as she skipped around the room. “It’s all so clear now! Eris has been trying to distract us from what’s important! She knows how powerful our friendships are, and she’s trying to keep us from seeing it!”

“I guess your friendship is worth fighting for, huh?” I said.

“Without a doubt!” She skipped up to me and hugged me. “Thank you for helping me see that, Axel, you’re also a true friend.”

“Anytime, Twi,” I nodded, patting her head.

“And you too, Orion!” She skipped over to Orion and hugged him. “Please don’t give up on Applejack, I’m sure whatever she said wasn’t true in the slightest. Besides, even after those mean things she said, would you say you don’t care about her anymore?”

Orion’s eyes had slowly begun to light up as a sense of hope seemed to spark within. “Y-yeah, you’re right Twi. I still do care about her, she’s still my friend after all.”

“Of course she is!” Twilight chirped.

“They’re my friends too,” Moon said. “After all you have done for me and the second chance you’ve given me, how could I not call you friends?”

“Exactly! So let’s go show Eris, everyone, let’s go show her that friendship is worth fighting for!” Twilight cheered.

“Been meaning for a round two anyway,” I said, cracking my knuckles. “Now that I got a power boost, I’m raring to go.”

Orion seemed to perk up real quick as he stood tall and proud. “Don’t forget me, I’ll be helping you guys too.”

Spike groaned as he laid on the couch and clutched his stomach.

“Seems like those constant burps are a catching up to the poor guy,” I chuckled.

“Can’t…move…” Spike groaned.

Orion ran into the kitchen before coming back with a green soda bottle. “Here Spike, some ginger ale should help ease your belly.”

“Thanks…” Spike sighed and took the bottle.

We all left the treehouse to let Spike rest. We then made it to the center of town where Eris was lounging on a throne and admiring her work.

“There she is,” I said as sparks of electricity crackled along my arms and legs. “Twilight, Moon, you girls go find the others so you can turn them back to normal.”

“You’re going to fight her again?” Moon asked.

“Without a doubt, it’ll be different this time.”

“And I’ll help out.” Orion added, stepping next to me slamming one fist into his palm. “I may not be able to do much, but at least you won’t be at this alone.”

“You sure? Despite how she looks, she’s not a pushover, man,” I said.

He looked at me with a look of someone determined to get something done. “Do you honestly think I’d let you go in all on your own again?”

“Fine, just for backup though, okay? Don’t want you getting hurt,” I said.

“So what’s the plan?” Orion asked as we crept closer to Eris.

“I’ll go get into position to catch her off guard. You go distract her,” I said.

“Be careful you two!” Twilight said as she and Moon went to gather the girls.

As Orion went off to confront Eris, I used Smoke to turn into smoke trails and hide out of sight. I hid behind a pizza tree and peered around the corner. The bitch had the audacity of having Nala, who was still a toy doll, in her lap and she was playing with her. As she did, she noticed Orion walk up to her, making her laugh.

“Well, well, Mr. Rickert’s little sidekick!” Eris said and held up Nala. “Like my new toy?”

Orion scowled before getting himself back under control. “Lovely. You know I was curious, if you love chaos so much then you must love the kind that has been harvested and passed on for generations.”

“What do you mean?” Eris tilted her head.

“Only chaos passed down from father to son. Words of power that make those around cringe and groan in humiliation and agony.” He added.

“Pfft, is that right?” Eris giggled.

“Oh yes, even the name of these forms of words would make people groan and run for cover.”

“And pray tell, what is this malicious chaos you speak of?” Eris asked, on the edge of her throne.

Aw no… I thought. Orion, please don’t. Not now…

Orion fixed a look at Eris and smiled evilly. “Dad jokes.”

DAMN IT, ORION! I facepalmed.

“Dad…jokes?” Eris tilted her head in confusion.

Orion smiled before holding his hands up to ask for silence. “What’s brown, and sticky?”

“…what?” Eris asked.

Orion smiled before pulling a stick from behind him. “A stick!”

I cringed a little, but Eris seemed to giggle a little.

“Amusing…” she said.

“Why did the coffee file a police report?”

“Why?”

“It got mugged,” Orion said with an almost satisfied tone, and the people who were around groaned and facepalmed.

Oh god, that was bad… I thought.

“Pfft, ha! Hilarious!” Eris laughed.

“Have you ever wondered why the tomato is red?” He asked as he picked up a nearby tomato off the floor.

“Why?”

“Because he saw the salad dressing. Hayooo!”

“Hhgggg!” I clutched my chest from cringing and the people around groaned and also cringed.

“Hahahaha! It’s true!” Eris laughed.

“What do you call a professional team of fly killers?” He asked as I got into position, still mentally groaning at his terrible dad jokes.

For god’s sake, Orion, enough already!

“Oh, do tell?” Eris grinned.

“The S.W.A.T. team!”

At that point, Eris was laughing up a storm and I just banging my head against the tree. The people around all did the same or facepalmed from the utter cringe. Nala had supposedly fallen off Eris’ throne and bounced off the ground towards Orion.

“Hahahahahahahaha! That’s so funny!” Eris laughed out loud.

“Last one.” Orion smiled as he carefully picked up Nala without Eris seeing. “What do you get when a chaos goddess gets distracted?”

“Hahaha…wait, what?” Eris paused.

Seeing the opportunity, I jumped out from my hiding spot and fired a Cinder Blast at Eris. The blast impacted her and sent her crashing through her throne and across the floor.

“I swear to god, I thought I was gonna throw up my lunch from that amount of cringe,” I deadpanned at Orion.

He shrugged, making sure to keep the plush Nala safe. “I wasn’t even using my best dad jokes,” he shrugged.

“Who dares?!” Eris roared and flew up into the air. “You?! You just don’t learn, do you?!”

“Yep, I’m all kinds of stubborn!” I shot back. “Get out of here, Orion, I’ll take it from here.”

“Okay, show’s over everyone,” he called out to the people. “Get moving, or else I’m gonna to tell more dad jokes.”

As Orion led the people away, I pulled out my smartphone and put in my earbuds. After selecting a song I hit play and tucked my smartphone phone back in my pocket.

“I’ll make sure you won’t disrupt my spread of chaos any longer!” Eris hissed.

“One thing you gotta know about me, Eris,” I said as smoke and cinders billowed from my body. “I won’t ever back down!”

“We’ll see about that.” Eris snapped her fingers and she was back on her feet and was dressed as an Opera house Valkyrie, holding a brick wall as a shield and a balloon sword. “Let’s get busy!”

Not wasting any time, I switched to Video and spread my digital wings out. I flapped them up high and straight towards Eris with my great sword, powered by my Amp. Eris raised her shield above her head and stopped my attack before blocking my amp with her balloon sword. Guess it's made from tougher stuff since it didn’t pop. Twisting my body, I went for a side swipe with my sword. Once again it was blocked. I backflipped in midair and followed it up by firing Video Torrent shots. Two hit her legs, one his her in the chest, and another hit her square in the face.

“Ow! You hit me right in the tit!” She yelled before doing a war cry that belonged to a certain warrior princess and charged at me while her balloon sword turned into a Nerf Axe.

We then started trading blows in mid air. I blocked her axe from splitting my head open and kicked her in the gut. She followed it up by slamming her brick shield in my chest and punching me across my jaw. I shook my head and unraveled my chain to create a second digital sword. I flew straight back at Eris with both my swords and clashed with her shield and axe, forcing her back as I flapped my wings against her.

She growled at my assault and her brick wall shield became a black bat with red stripes. “I’m gonna bash your head like a watermelon!”

Like a crazed person ODing on caffeine, Eris swung both her weapons at me and I was left on the defensive. I narrowly dodged her axe but she managed to wing her bar right into my chest armor. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of me as I was sent plummeting down to the ground. I managed to stop my falling at the last minute by unfurling my wings like a parachute, but I landed with a thud on my feet and staggered.

“Shit! Thank goodness my armor held…” I said, then glared back up at Eris. “Let’s try something new.” I switched to Neon and my wings disappeared, but my whole body lit up with fluorescent lights. My chain and Amp turned into light sabers and I bent my legs into a running position. “Let’s see you catch me now, you Joker knockoff!”

I sped off as fast as I could across the ground. I zipped and zigzagged all around Eris, leaving a neon light trail behind me, as she tried to keep up with me. I jumped up on an upside down building and leapt straight at her, swinging my light saber chain at her back. Just as I was about to make contact, my saber chain was blocked by a dual lightsaber of all things. When I jumped back, I saw that Eris was now dressed in a black robe. She had red face paint on and her hair was done up in spikes.

“Feel the power of the chaotic side,” she told me before rushing towards me while spinning her lightsaber like a propeller.

“Where the hell did you get that outfit from?! And what’s with the lightsaber toy?!” I snapped, hovering in mid air thanks to my Neon Thrusters.

“I borrowed it from Comicbook guy after he fell into a vat of Lucite as The Collector. Also, the outfit I was wearing was gaining some unwanted stares from some of the townsfolk,” she told me before continuing the attack.

I shook my head in irritation, not bothering to understand her nonsense. Our sabers traded blows and she forced us down on the ground. I double backflipped out of the way to avoid her slashes and fired Neon Beams at her to throw her off. Eris deflected each beam and used her magic to try and grab hold of me. I wasn’t gonna let her have her way, so I sped off running again. I zigzagged all around Eris and swiped at her each time I passed by. I either landed a few slashes or she managed to deflect them each time. I then thought of trying the same tactic back at the Gala with those Northerners. I started running around in a circle around Eris and sped up. As I ran around in circles, I kept firing Neon Beams at her so they came from all directions. Eris was having a hard time avoiding and deflecting them, and I soon found an opening to try and finish this. I used the momentum of my running and launched myself at Eris to deliver the final blow with both my light sabers.

As I got close to her, she smirked before snapping her fingers, causing the ground to rise up and I smacked right into it. As I started to slide down, I was soon wrapped in what I thought was rope but was actually those rubber snakes you see in the bargain bin of a Walmart toy aisle.

I tried to cut the rubber snakes with my Amp and chain, but they were soon taken when two giant gummy worms came out of the ground and snatched them from my hands. As I continued to struggle, Eris came up to me, dressed in her original attire. “So, care to reconsider my offer and join me, or would you prefer to have your ass handed to you?” She asked while pulling out an ass-shaped cake.

“Screw you!” I spat. “This is my home, and I won’t let you twist it up and turn it inside out for your own amusement!”

“Well, I’ll give you this, you’re committed.” Eris then snapped her fingers and Moon and Orion appeared, tied up with an apple in their mouths, tied to a spit over a fire. “Then how about this? Join me, or see your friend and girlfriend barbecued like luau pigs!”

Seeing them both threatened set me off in a way I didn’t realize. I screamed at the top of my lungs as I switched to my Electricity power. Huge bolts of lightning burst from my body, burning away the snakes and I jumped up and glared at Eris.

“I’LL SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU THREATEN THOSE I CARE ABOUT!” I shouted.

I thrusted both my hands forward towards a downed electric transformer nearby and fired three Tesla Missiles at Eris. The large bolts of lightning slammed into her, making her scream in pain as Orion and Moon were released.

“I WON’T EVER LET MY FRIENDS BE ENDANGERED!”

As I marched towards Eris, I quickly switched to Neon and thrusted my hands forward again. Phosphor Beams shot out from my hands, blowing up upon impact as Eris was sent tumbling across the ground.

“BASTARDS LIKE YOU WON’T EVER PULL THIS KIND OF SHIT WHILE I’M AROUND!”

I switched to Concrete and large shards of stone levitated around me. I swung my arms forward and fired five stone disks at my opponent. The Concrete Barrage slammed hard into Eris as stone flew everywhere around her and she landed on her back. I switched to Video and made my wings appear. I flew up high above Eris and made digital swords appear around me. I launched Bloodthirsty Blades at Eris, some of them cut her badly while others pinned her to the ground.

“I SAID IT BEFORE, AND I’LL SAY IT AGAIN!”

I switched to Smoke and lowered my body. Plumes of smoke and cinders surrounded my whole arms as I charged up my power to the max.

“I’LL PROTECT THIS TOWN AND MY FRIENDS, EVEN THIS WORLD IF I HAVE TO, AND I SWEAR IT ON MY SOUL!!”

I rocketed up in the air after turning into smoke vapors. I went higher and higher until I felt like I was high enough before re-materializing in the sky. I floated there for a moment before turning around and began falling straight towards Eris. I fell faster and faster and Eris was panicking as she tried to free herself from the digital swords.

“HAVE A TASTE OF ORBITAL DROP, ERIS!!!”

As I got within a few feet of making contact, I could hear Eris’ defiant words. “Aw…shit.”

KA-BOOM!!

An explosion of fire and smoke blasted the area and blew away a lot of debris. After about a minute, I focused my power and gathered up the smoke to form my body back to its original form. Once that was done and I was back to standing on my two legs, the song playing in my earbuds finally ended. I breathed heavily as I looked around to see the whole area. There was smoke and small fires everywhere, until I heard coughing off to the side. Eris was laying on her side, completely covered in burns and her clothes were a total wreck. She could barely hold herself up as she weakly looked up at me.

“And this-cough! cough!-is why I don’t smoke…” She had the nerve to joke.

“Now you see just how outclassed you are,” I huffed, trying to catch my breath.

“Rub it in, why don’t ya.” Eris went to sit up against a slab of stone before chuckling. “You know, you may have beaten me, you may have made yourself out to be more heroic, but mark my words, you give these pathetic weaklings the smallest reason to hate you, and they’ll turn on you faster than egg salad goes through an old man’s lower intestine.” She continued to cough before giving me a serious look. “Fair warning, hero, I may be bad, but there are worse things in this world than even me.”

“Yeah, I know,” I scoffed. “And I say bring it.”

“Heh, typical male ego.” She rolled her eyes before quirking her eye at me. “I’m sorry, but how did your hair change color a little?” She then gave me a smirk. “Looks pretty good, handsome~.”

“Huh?” I arched my brow and glanced over to a building’s window. Sure enough, when I took off my beanie to see, I noticed my hair did in fact change a bit. For some reason, it was a tad lighter than its usual dirty blonde color. I could even tell there were hints of blue streaks within it. What’s more confusing, is that when I turned to look at the sigil on the back of my vest, it had changed from the star shape of two birds and the white bird side was bigger than the red bird side.

“Okay…that’s weird,” I said aloud and put my beanie back on.

“Axel!”

I turned to see the girls, Moon, Spike, and Orion run up to me. The stopped when they saw Eris and were in a state of shock.

“What happened here?” Twilight asked.

“I beat her, that’s what,” I said.

“You what?!” Rainbow yelped. I noticed she and the other girls were back to normal, since they weren’t grey like Twilight was before.

“How’d you do that?!” Applejack asked.

“It was astonishing to witness,” Moon said. “After we helped Rainbow Dash come back to her senses, I found myself gagged and tied up over a pit of fire with Orion.”

Orion, who was not funny enough, munched on the apple Eris gagged him with while looking at his arms. “Not exactly how I would get a tan, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t add olive oil on you, you’d be sizzling!” Eris spat.

Orion, despite everything, smiled a bit. “Well, it’s a good thing you didn’t have a cookbook on hand, otherwise I definitely would have.”

“I believe it’s time we put you back where to belong, Eris, because I learned that our friendship is worth fighting for!” Twilight said firmly as she and the girls stood next to each other. Each of them wore the necklaces I once saw them wear and the crown on Twilight’s head. “Orion, if you would please get her on her feet?”

Orion slowly walked in front of Eris, who stared back up at him. A look of defeat on her face as she knew what would come next. However, instead of just grabbing her by the arms and pulling her up to her feet forcefully, Orion extended his hand out to her and stared.

“Orion? What’re you doing?” I asked warily.

“You know, when you were laughing at my jokes earlier, I could tell you were having genuine fun. How long has it been since you felt something like that?” He asked in a calm tone.

“Why, all the time!” Eris said, refusing to accept his hand as she shakily stood up. She winced in pain and gripped her injured arm. “Before Mr. Meddlesome came along, I was having the time of my life!”

“I don't believe that one bit,” Orion said, folding his arms across his chest. “I think you wished it was fun. What’s the point in doing what you do if you can’t share that happiness with someone else.”

He smiled and moved closer to the chaos goddess. “For someone who thinks friendship isn’t worth anything, I feel like you more than anyone crave it.”

“Crave it?! Ha!” Eris chortled. “What would I need friends for?! I have myself, and that’s all I need!”

“Wow, that’s actually kinda sad,” I said.

“Indeed,” Rarity nodded.

“It also sounds lonely,” Fluttershy muttered.

“Fluttershy has a point, you know.” Orion added as he pointed towards her. “I don’t care if you’re a goddess of chaos.” He pointed to Eris. “Or a pony.” He pointed to Twilight and her friends. “Or even a human with way too many powers, and bad breath.” He pointed to me.

“Ass…” I grumbled under my breath. I subtly breathed into my hand and sniffed it. “…it’s not that bad.”

“Loneliness is a fate I would never wish upon my greatest of enemies.” Orion continued. “Can you really take being imprisoned in stone for another thousand years…alone?”

“But I…” Eris tried to say, then I stepped in.

“I guess I can also attest to whatever point Orion’s trying to make,” I said. “I spent the better part of my young adult life alone with barely anything to show for it. I’m betting that you did all this to lash out for being alone when you probably could’ve just asked to have friends.”

“You and I just had a brutal fight, and now you try to sway me towards a brighter path?” Eris questioned.

“To be fair, you deserved what was being thrown at you,” I retorted. “But if there’s one thing I learned.” I glanced at Moon with a smile. “Is that everyone deserves a second chance. “And, I suppose, you do too. That is, if you’re willing to try instead of lashing out again.”

Eris looked at me with a rather confused look, and I could tell she was having mixed feelings about this.

But then Orion butted in. “I think what you mean to say is, that she isn’t too scared to try,” Orion said with a smirk.

“Eris,” Moon said. “Take it from me, it never ends well when holding a grudge.”

Eris looked down and away from us, letting her hair fall over her eyes. We saw her biting her lip and a single tear drip down her face.

“Are you all saying…you now want to be f…f-friends? W-With me?” Eris muttered.

“Well I’ll be honest.” Orion smiled as he got closer to Eris. “I think your idea of fun is fun, just so long as no one gets hurt.” He pulled Pinkie Pie closer and smiled. “Me and Pinkie really did enjoy those fun snacks you made. I mean cotton candy clouds that rain chocolate milk? You might end up making Willy Wonka jealous.”

“Yeah! And this time, you better not forget the whipped cream!” Pinkie chirped.

“Whoah! Whoah! Whoah!” Rainbow said, flying over us. “Are you serious?! After what she put us through, you wanna spare her?!”

“Well, I just wanted to put her in her place,” I shrugged. “I already did that, so I say we’re square.”

“But that’s just crazy talk!” Applejack said. “The whole reason for all this was to turn her back into a garden ornament!”

“Back when we thought she was evil, for the sake of evil.” Orion jumped in, doing his best to not look at Applejack. “In a way you could say that she was just acting out to get attention. I know it doesn’t erase the mistakes that were made, but like Axel said everyone deserves a second chance.”

“Orion, dear, are you sure about this? What if she does something dreadful like this again?” Rarity asked.

“Then I’ll be there to put her in her place again,” I said plainly.

“Kinky,” Orion wiggled his eyebrows a bit while giving me a coy smile.

“Shut it,” I snapped.

Eris contemplated all that was said then looked back at us.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever been treated so…justly. After all I’ve done, you’d still wish to offer me redemption.”

“What can we say? Life’s full of mysteries,” I shrugged. “I’m willing to let bygones be, so long as you can keep your word to keep yourself in check.” I raised my own hand towards her. “Deal?” Eris nodded slowly and reached up to take my hand and we shook our hands. “Now then, you mind fixing all this?” I gestured to the distorted town.

“Oh, of course,” Eris said.

She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. A bright light flashed around her and a wave of magic covered the whole town. The buildings were put back in place, the animals turned back to normal, the plants were no longer food, and the clouds were their normal color. We heard cheering coming from the town and I smiled proudly, satisfied that everything was back to normal.

“Well, this has been…interesting,” Twilight chuckled sheepishly. “I’m…going to write a letter to the Princess now.” She slowly walked away, sheepishly laughing to herself a little as the girls followed.

“I shall also go with them,” Moon said as she offered Eris her hand. “Come along, Eris.”

Eris nodded and they left as well. Eris glanced back over her shoulder to me before continuing to follow Moon back to the library. It was just me, Spike, and Orion. I finally relaxed as I made my armor disappear and collapsed on my back on the ground.

“I…am…wiped!” I exhaled out loud.

“Yeah, this was one heck of a day,” Orion sighed as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. “Never a dull day, huh guys?”

“My stomach still freaking hurts,” Spike groaned as he lay there on his back next to me.

“I fought a chaos goddess, and won,” I said, pointing to the sky. “Does that make me a badass?”

“Hmm, more like lucky in all honesty,” Orion added as he followed Spike’s lead and lay on the ground on my other side.

“Pretty ballsy move to show Eris mercy, dude,” I said, glancing at Orion who rested his hands behind his head. “What’s up with that?”

“You know…I’m not a hundred percent sure, myself.” He stared up into the sky with a calm tranquil look. “I had this odd feeling like some Compassion needed to be shown. Funny enough, I had the same feeling when I proposed the idea for Blueblood to work on the farm. It just felt right.”

“Pfft! Compassion for Eris was one thing, but that asshole? Yeah, I still say he ain’t worth it,” I scoffed as I reached up and took off my beanie to let my hair out.

“I can vouch for that,” Spike nodded and glanced at me and Orion. “So what do we do now?”

Orion shrugged and stretched out his back and sighed. “Who knows? Maybe this will help us in the long run someday.”

“Here’s hoping,” I chuckled.

“Merow!”

The sound of that familiar meow made me sit up to see my little manticore feline companion run up to me. I smiled widely and held out my arms as Nala jumped into my chest and nuzzled the crook of my neck with loving affection.

“Nala! I’m so glad you’re okay, girl!” I said as I hugged her close. “I was so worried you’d stay a toy plush!”

“Right, I almost forgot about her. After I got her from Eris, I hid her in the library thinking it would be a safe place for her,” Orion explained.

“Merow!” Nala meowed again and licked my cheek.

“Yeah, I missed you too,” I chuckled. Nala jumped out of my arms and jumped in Orion’s lap.

Orion smiled and moved his hand to gently scratch her behind her ear. “Glad to see you’re alright.” He gently poked her belly playfully. “You sure there isn’t any stuffing in there still?”

“Merow!” Nala batted Orion’s hand away with her paw.

“Okay, okay, just making sure is all,” Orion teased.

“It’s rude to call a girl fat, Orion,” Spike pointed out.

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Orion playfully punched Spike’s arm.

“Boys! Boys!” We all looked up to see Twilight walk over to us. “Pick yourselves up! Princess Celestia wants us in Canterlot to honor us for our victory against Eris!”

“Seriously?” Orion pushed off the ground and jumped onto his feet. “Well you guys have fun. I’ll man the fort here.”

“Oh no you don’t,” I said, standing up and grabbing Orion’s shoulder. “She said she’s honoring us, which means you too.”

“Me?” He pointed to himself, confused. “I didn’t exactly do anything major.”

“What are you talking about? You did plenty!” Twilight said. “If it weren’t for your words of compassion and patience, I would have never gotten my friends back to normal!”

“Is that right?” I said, smiling at Orion.

“All I did was help you convince the others that they weren’t themselves,” Orion said.

“And it worked!” Twilight chirped. “Now come on! The train’s waiting for us!”

As Twilight ran for the station where everyone else was, the boys and I took our time and walked. I managed to grab my Amp and chain before we left and strapped the Amp on my pack and wrapped my chain around my wrist.

“So Eris made them the opposite of who they are?” I guessed.

“More like the opposite of their elements. Reversing the traits that made them the Element Bearers,” Orion explained.

“Well good on you,” I said proudly to him, then thought of something. “Hang on, the girls were acting oppositely of their elements, right?”

“Yeah. Example would be that Rarity would be greedy rather than generous. Why do you ask?”

“So…that means they said and did things that they wouldn’t say and do?” I questioned.

“Uh…I think so. Why? What are you getting at?” Orion asked, still confused.

I grinned at Orion. “What was it that AJ said to you? That she hates your guts and thinks you’re ugly? Now, I wonder what she really meant since she wasn’t acting herself?”

And just like that, Orion’s cheeks flushed a deep shade of red and he went silent.

“Oh! Oh, I get it!” Spike beamed at Orion. “That means…AJ really does like Orion!”

Orion hadn’t said anything the rest of the walk, he simply stared at the ground with a sort of neutral expression on his face.

The train ride was nothing but quiet since the girls were asking me about my fight against Eris. Orion chimed in on occasion, but I could tell he was contemplating the realization from earlier. Moon had to stay behind with Eris back at the library to keep an eye on her so we could figure out what to do after our business was done in Canterlot. When the train arrived, we were met with a large crowd that cheered for us as guards led us to the castle. People were calling out to me, calling me a hero who defeated the chaos. It felt good to be praised, and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. We eventually arrived at the castle and were led to the throne room where more people awaited us. Celestia stood by the throne with a proud smile as she climbed the steps to stand before her. We all smiled ear to ear at each other as Celestia addressed the crowd.

“We are gathered here today, to once again honor the heroism of these eight friends. Who stood up to the villainess, Eris, and saved Equestria from eternal chaos!” Celestia announced, and the crowd cheered. “I personally would also like to honor Sir Axel Rickert, who boldly faced Eris on his own and managed to defeat her in combat!”

I turned around and faced the crowd. Wanting to put on a spectacle, I pulled out my Amp and activated Video. My digital wings appeared on my back and unfurled out wide and my long sword materialized between the coils. I held my Amp up high, which only made the crowd cheer even more for me.

Celestia then used her magic to unveil a window behind some curtains. What caught my eye the most was an image of me fighting Eris, dressed in my clothes and armor, holding my Amp with electric bolts around it, my digital wings on my back, and in my other hand was my chain. A little key detail I also noticed was the new sigil on the back of my vest that was also on me in the window mural. At the bottom of the mural were the girls and they were raising their hands at Eris and I as we fought, as if they were supporting me during my battle.

“Wow, not bad,” I grinned.

“Don’t get a swelled head over it,” Orion smiled as he slapped me hard on the back.

“You should be proud, Axel, you’ll finally be recognized as a hero!” Twilight said.

“You were awesome! You kicked Eris’ butt!” Rainbows cheered.

“Yay! Victory party for Axel!” Pinkie chirped.

“I’m happy for you too, Axel,” Fluttershy said.

“You certainly are a valiant soul, Axel,” Rarity nodded.

“Yeah, dude, you saved Equestria after all,” Spike said.

“Aw shucks, thanks for the words of praise I guess,” I said, rubbing the back of my head.

“Don’t forget Orion, partners,” AJ said, wrapping an arm around him. “He also did his part.”

“Can’t argue that, you also deserve some much deserved praise,” I nodded.

Orion had a somewhat goofy smile on his face and he looked away with a hard blush.

“You have done us a great service, Axel,” Celestia said. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for confronting Eris.”

“It’s no problem, Princess,” I said.

“Please, Axel, I insist you call me only Celestia.” Celestia smiled warmly at me. “You’ve more than deserved to not have to address me so formally all the time.”

“Well, if you insist,” I smiled back at her.

“And I hope we can discuss the other matter back in Ponyville as soon as possible. So I shall make a visit a week after things have calmed down,” Celestia informed me.

“Sounds like a plan,” I nodded. I looked over to Orion and saw he was glancing at AJ, who was waving at the crowd. “Well?” I leaned over and elbowed him. “What’re doing standing here with your thumb up your ass? Go ask her out!”

Orion gulped and tugged on his shirt collar a bit before making his way over to Applejack’s side. He gently tapped her shoulder to gain her attention. I crept in closer to hear what they had to say.

“What’s up Orion?” AJ asked him, smiling.

I watched as he fidgeted in place, barely able to look at her directly before speaking. “W-would you umm…like to maybe, uh…”

“Yeah?” AJ tilted her head.

“Out with it! For fuck’s sake!” I barked, reaching over and slapping his back.

“Would you please go out with me?!” Orion shouted out as I slapped his back.

AJ and her friends were silent at Orion’s confession. I saw his face turn bright red before AJ gently reached up and put her hands on his shoulders.

“Sugarcube?” AJ smiled sweetly with a small blush. “It’s about darn time, Ah’d love to go out with ya.”

Orion smiled with a look I had yet to see on him, he crunched down and with all his strength shoot up into the air like a rocket “YAHOOOO!”

The girls all squealed and cheered for Orion and AJ, and Spike and I just smiled proudly at our friend finally asking out his first love. The rest of the day was one big party of music and dancing. It honestly felt pretty damn good to be the savior of a whole kingdom. I almost doubted myself for a minute there, but I know now to never second guess myself. If the going gets tough, I just have to remember to keep a level head. I’ll do anything to protect my home and those who mean the most to me.

Author's Note

The Guardian rises and is recognized for his heroics. He can only continue to grow here on out.

Side Note:
Special thanks to Ghost Warrior for helping me out with the fight scene and The Saiyan Brony for co-writing this story with me!

Hope you enjoyed!

~WurkyWilk has left the building…