Silver

Chapters

Silver
Pinkie
Such is Life
Onwards
I'm On A Boat

Silver

In the middle of a scorching day in Boston – which was unusual weather for said location – I sat down under a tall tree that kept me cool. It was a calm Saturday, and I found that I had nothing better to do than relax in bliss. Perhaps it was the silent sway of the leaves, or the sun’s playful rays that tugged on my legs, but I always found myself curled up under this particular tree whenever the weather was nice enough. I enjoyed the occasional leaf that would lightly slip off the branch and find its way to my shoulder.

“Matt!” someone shouted.

The voice turned out to be James Halberd, who was my best friend of twelve years. We had met in kindergarten at a young age and had formed a powerful bond over the years. I glanced up and, rather reluctantly, stood up. “What is it, mate?”

“I’ve been looking for you all over!” James blurted out. “Lucy has been bugging the ever-loving crap out of me, and I need you to get her to stop.”

Lucy was James’ little sister, and it just so happened that she had the biggest crush on me. It was more of a schoolgirl crush, as she respected me more than she liked me. While she was only fourteen, Lucy had already decided that she wanted to be a writer. I, too, wanted to be a writer and wrote stories about whatever came to my head. Lucy would curl up on her bed and read my stories. She found my positive writing style to be soothing, as she had told me once. “What’s she been bugging you about?” I asked my friend. I really didn’t find Lucy annoying; I enjoyed her company.

“She’s lost her diary and thinks that I’ve taken it! Can you believe that? I have no interest in her diary. I mean, really, who cares about how she feels about her period?”

I recoiled and began to frantically wave his hands. “Way too much information!” I told my friend.

We both laughed, but it ended when Lucy came into view. Her blonde hair was tied into a bun, and her glasses were carefully placed on the bridge of her nose. James’ blonde hair matched Lucy’s, and I would occasionally feel out of place with my dusty and light brown hair.

“Hi, Matt!” Lucy squeaked.

“Hiya, Lucy,” I smiled.

For a brief second, Lucy’s eyes wavered over my body and showed a hint a lust. I paid no attention, however, and was more distracted by the sudden shift of temperature. It kept dropping rapidly, and I felt a chill creep up his spine.

Now it was…snowing?

Lucy glanced around. “Huh, that’s odd,” she mumbled.

James and I shared a look and turned to Lucy. “Hey, Lucy, why don’t you head home?” I suggested.

“Why?” Lucy asked. She was clearly amazed by the light flakes of snow that landed gently in her hair.

I was about to yell, but something tapped my shoulder…

Behind me was nothing.

“Go home!” James burst out. He violently shoved his sister away.

With Lucy gone, James and I glanced around hurriedly. “What the hell is going on, James?” I asked. There was a slight drop of fear that crept up to my throat, but I forced it down.

Suddenly, I felt a burning pain envelop my hand. “Ah!” I cried out. James looked at me in surprise, but he was quickly on the ground in spasms. It felt as if someone was desperately clawing at my hand, intent on tearing it to the point where blood would pour out. I attempted to reach out towards James, but the pain was too unbearable.

I couldn’t take it anymore; I blanked out.

When I awoke, I was laying in the middle of a field. Slowly, I stood up. My hand still stung, but it was more of a dull throbbing now. I shook it a couple of times to get the feeling to go away, but it still remained. Ignoring it for now, I surveyed my surroundings. Lush trees stood tall and proud around me, with their leaves a dark green color that reminded me of the tree that I always sat under faithfully during those hot summer days.

Where was I?

I took two steps forward before tumbling to the ground. For about an hour, I wandered liked that, aimlessly. My head was in pure agony, and I couldn’t even think straight. All these questions were coming to mind. Where was James? Why am I here? Where is here?

“God damn it!” I shouted, frustrated.

“I’m assuming you’re confused?” someone asked me.

I jumped around in fright. “Wh-who are you?” Behind me was a tall and mysterious woman. She had long hair that rolled off of her shoulder and around her chest. Her attire was...dark, and I felt scared for my life.

“I’m princess Luna,” she said airily. “And you are Matt Hillock, correct?”

How did she know my name? “Yeah, that’s me.” I eyed the woman suspiciously and observed her appearance. She was the same height as I was, and she had azure colored hair that curled around her delicate facial features.

“Listen to me, please. I believe I owe you some explanations.”

I spoke up angrily. “That’s the very least you owe me. Where am I?”

“Mondax,” she told me calmly. “You’ve most likely never heard of it; we’re in another galaxy.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. I’m in another galaxy? My thoughts began to wildly storm all over. Was my life over? Oh god, could I ever go back? Wait, what if this woman was just fucking with me? Yeah, it's just a joke. "Nice one, lady. But enough of the joke. What did you do, toss some knock-out gas at me?

“No, I meant what I said. You're in another galaxy,” she repeated. “I know that might come as a shock, but you have to remain calm.”

I was about to throw a fit. Calm? No one can be calm in this situation! The last thing I could remember was my friend having a god damn seizure while my hand was practically torn off! Was he dead? I didn't even know if my very best friend was dead, and I was the only one to witness him. This was surely just a dream. There was no way in hell any of this was actually possible. But this lady seemed serious, so I played along with her. “Why am I here?” I chuckled.

“You have a power, Matt. Out of all the people in the entire universe, you are the only one able to harness this power, aside from one other.”

“So what’s this grand power I have, o' mighty one?"

“Silver,” she whispered.

Haha, this lady was off her rocker! Silver for the name of a power? That's a color, and a girly one at that! "Oh goodness, I'm so scared. What is 'Silver'?" I asked, amused

“Silver,” she began, “is a weapon of mass destruction. It’s a sword that fuses itself into its user’s hand.” My mind drifted to the searing pain in my hand that suddenly sparked up before I fell asleep. Maybe I fell into some kind of shock because of the pain? Either way, I have to put up with the rest of this dream. “A thousand years ago, a hero stood against an army of darkness. Pure chaos that melded to form beings that held no intelligent thought, just a desire to kill. Silver descended from the heavens and assisted the hero. With the new power, and several allies, the hero slaughtered the enemies with grit and determination. The hero eventually had two children, and they had two children, and it went on like that. Now there are only two capable descendants of the hero left. There’s you, and there’s an evil man that wishes to rule over the entire universe through the use of Silver. For the sake of the universe, you need to kill this man. He has incredible power and is a threat to humanity itself.”

“He really doesn't seem that much of a threat," I mumbled. But I allowed the lady to continue.

"This man has already destroyed several million galaxies,” Luna said.

I sarcastically said, “Okay, has anyone called the cops? Actually, no. They're probably too busy eating donuts." I laughed to myself. "Now, what happened to James? Did he go to Candyland?"

Luna looked at me with a solemn expression. “I’m sorry, Matt, but James was not meant to be near you when we merged the sword with you.”

“Oh joy. Let me guess, Candyland?" I snickered.

“The magical energy that radiated off of you was too pure, and it severely affected your friend. He was forced into spasms, and then, when the teleportation sequence began, he had enough energy inside him to attach onto you. We were only expecting you, so when we saw your friend, we attempted to add enough energy to keep him on, but the amount of energy that he had was decreasing rapidly. We nearly had him, as I was adding energy myself, but the man came.”

“The man? The same one that wants to rule over the universe?” I decided to play along with the woman. Who knows, maybe I could get a kick out of this.

“Yes,” Luna nodded. “His name is Discord. As I told you, he is extremely powerful. He was able to easily jump into the teleportation sequence and snatch away your friend.”

I shrugged, "Bummer."

"I'm sorry, Matt." Wow, she really didn't get that I didn't care.

There was one thing I was confused about that I wanted to ask my subconscious. “What about the tap on my shoulder?”

A dark shadow flashed across Luna’s face, “Again,” she said, “Discord.”

“That’s an off-putting name; it's so silly, too. Okay, you mentioned that Silver was a sword, but what’s so special about it other than that?” I asked, attempting to show at least a little bit of interest in her story. Or rather my story... It was just a dream after all.

Luna widened her eyes suddenly. “Oh yes! I forgot to tell you about Silver’s powers. Silver can…shape shift, for lack of a better term. It has about twenty different forms, and each one is deadly. There used to be a record about the forms, but it has been lost over time.”

“Twenty? That's an unusual amount."

Luna looked at me, confused. “Why are you being so relaxed about this, Matt? Your best friend is in terrible peril!"

I ignored her comment and looked at my hand. “How do I get the sword to come out?”

The princess sighed, “You have to will it out.”

Frowning deeply, I took a deep look at my hand. In an instant, a silver sword was there. After pausing for a brief second, I twirled around and hurled the sword at a tree, effectively cutting the tree in half. I was impressed with the sharpness of the blade. At least I had some creativity in my inner mind.

“Any reason for doing that?” Luna asked me.

“I don't know; this is just a dream after all," I told her.

Luna was about to say something, but I ignored her and walked off.

Despite my inability to walk straight, I fumbled over to the sword and picked it up. I eyed it warily and stumbled back over to the princess.

“Matt, you're not in a dream, but I have no time to convince you otherwise. There are certain things that you need to do, but Mondax is a big place, so there’s going to be a lot of places you don’t know about. I can’t hold your hand the entire time. So I’m going to give you a guide,” she said.

“Miss Luna? Are you here?” someone asked.

“Perfect timing,” I commented. Dreams always seem to play out perfectly.

A girl walked into view. She had bright pink hair that was up in fluffs. I could faintly smell a wisp of chocolates trailing off of her. Maybe she was the humor of my inner mind. “Hi!” she chirped. “I’m Pinkie Pie, but you can call me Pinkie!”

“Okay, Pinkie," I said.

Okay, opinions? Good? Bad? Did I dive in too fast? Is Matt a Gary-Sue? First thoughts on him? I'm interested in everything, people, because I have an entire plot drawn out for this, and I'm interested in what you think should be either different or more focused upon. Do not fear being too rough; I love constructive criticism. Remember, I'm writing this for all you readers, so do not be afraid to tell me what you think. Alright, have a fantastic day!

-BritRecon signing out

Pinkie

I hovered away from the girl. While she appeared to be nice, I couldn't help but feel a little off-put. Why were this many people in my dream? I was also slightly wary of the length of this dream. Perhaps I was stuck in a coma... I thought about all the possible ways I could have been put into a coma. Did a branch fall on me? Did I trip? I couldn't recall anything. Ever since the beginning of my dream, I couldn't remember anything about my actual life; it was all hazy.

"So you're Matt?" the girl asked. Her head was tilted to her left, and she eyed me with a curious expression. Her bright pink hair was this deep color, but it was lighter in the sun. Her eyes, a bright blue, were tranquil and caring. I began to eye up my dream girl, and I use that term literally. She seemed so happy, so caring, and so real. And not to mention she was very pretty. With a great body, she was on my top ten of girls in my dreams.

"Yeah," I confirmed, "that's me."

The girl, Pinkie, smiled. "Awesome! We're going to have such a great time! I can show you all my friends," she happily told me while enthusiastically hopping up and down. Jeez, she sure was exuberant for a figment of my imagination.

"Of course we are! But I don't think I can stay for long, though."

Pinkie stepped closer to me and shot me a befuddled look. "You sure are strange, mister. What do you mean you can't stay for long? Is it because I'm a girl? Don't you worry, I won't try anything, I promise!"

I shook my head, "Nah. It's fine. I'll just wake up in a couple of minutes." The delusion was beginning to bother me. I could feel emotions, pain, and other feelings, but it was still just a dream. Huh. Usually when I have dreams about two women, they play out differently than this.

Pinkie advanced towards me worriedly. "Wake up?" she asked. "What do you mean?" They seemed confused. Did they not realize that they weren’t real? Should I tell them? I didn’t want to mess up a conversation and risk free sex. This isn’t the first time I’ve had a lucid dream, but this is the first time I’ve had such real women before.

Princess Luna sighed, "He believes he's in a dream, Pinkie." And now they continue to talk about it. What was I supposed to do? Should I pay attention? I was supposed to have full control of my dreams, but it seemed to me that I couldn’t control anything.

The pink-haired female placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "How can we wake him up properly?" I knew about ten millions ways Pinkie could ‘wake me up,’ but I held my tongue in hopes that if I thought about it hard enough, it would happen.

"With a large chunk of my magic, I could probably get him to realize the reality of this situation. I would have to mix my magic with drugs, though, and that would be very costly. And it would take a large chunk of time out of the entire operation to take down Discord..." Luna trailed off. She cannot go ten minutes without mentioning Discord! Who was he again? Her fantasy man who destroyed planets? My mind drifted off, and I found myself wondering if I was supposed to best Discord in an attempt to win Luna’s heart. Although I’m assuming I would have lots of powers in my dream form, I still don’t think I can properly wield a sword.

"Wow, you actually believe you're real, don't you? You're just some hot girls I'm having a dream about!" These girls are so weird. Damn it, my dreams usually play out differently than this. I'm supposed to be soaking in a hot-tub while they prance around in bikinis, not listening to them talk about weird stuff.

Princess Luna and Pinkie blushed hotly at my insult. Ha, I got them good. Luna knows I know that this is a dream! Dumb bitch thinks she has me pegged. That's the last time I write a story before dozing off. Now I've got all these silly ideas floating around. I mean, seriously. A princess? That sounds like something from one of Lucy's stories. I began to stumble away from the two girls. Ha, I’m giving up free sex; I deserve a god damn medal!

"Wait, don't go!" the pink-haired girl cried. Wait, was she...sincere? No. She's just a figment of my imagination. I'll wake up soon…right?

"Just let me wake up!" I cried out. My legs twisted around as I pushed myself to the ground from the girl and towards the edge of the forest. I could get out, I know I could. I just had to get to the end of the forest, and then I would wake up. I would finally get out of this incredibly weird dream. "You might be incredibly hot, but I don't need this right now. I just want to wake up!"

The girl's face was crestfallen. "Please. You just need time to relax, and then everything will be okay, I promise. In fact, I Pinkie Pie promise." I froze. She…what? I’ve never, ever heard that term before. It was my dream! I was supposed to know everything that was going on. Was I…not dreaming? No! It’s not that. This is just a mistake.

I took a long look at the girl. Her sky blue eyes were innocent and heartfelt. I felt a pang of guilt push through me, but I shook it off. This was just a dream. A weird dream, but a dream nonetheless. "When can I wake up?" I asked.

"That's it! I've had just about enough!" Princess Luna shouted. Her voice lowered several octaves to become a deep and powerful voice that forced me to cover my ears.

"This is sonot hot," I complained.

The princess began to glow a purple light, and I shuddered. Suddenly, I was enveloped in the purple light, and I felt myself lose control over my body. "I can fly!" I happily shouted.

And I flew straight into a tree.

-Unknown Time: Unknown Location-

My mind was in deep, deep pain. The pain was sharp and intense, and it was located only on one part of my head. Every couples minutes or so, it would disappear, but it would reappear again quickly.

Matt, can you hear me?

I stood, frozen in fear. Where was I? I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in a dark room, and my body was covered in a mellow light.

“Where am I?” I asked the voice. Normally, I would have assumed the voice was my own, but it was softer and higher.

You’re in a dream. A medicinal dream. We’ve drugged you up.

“I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.”

Magic has its usefulness.

“I thought you said it was drugs,” I retorted.

Magically enhanced drugs, I meant to say. Now, the only way you can wake up is when you realize that you’re not in a dream.

“You just said I was in a dream.”

Right now is a dream. But that place you were just in, with Luna and Pinkie, was real. And the only way you can get out is to accept that.

“But it was just a dream! I’ve just slipped inside a coma or something.” I stomped my foot hard on the ground, irritated.

You’re stuck in here until you recognize facts, Matt. This is the real life.

“No, it’s impossible to ‘jump dimensions.’ That is against many laws of physics.”

Nothing is impossible, Matt.

“I usually hear that phrase when I’m debating religion with friends. I never did like it.”

Matt, accept it. I understand that everything might feel shaky and upsetting, but it’s okay. This is real, yes, but it’s better than Earth.

I mused over that. What if I was in an actual world? I could start anew…

A tempting off, is it not? Not to mention the powers of the sword. You’ve always dreamed of a life of adventure, Matt. Now you have your chance.

I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it soon after. The voice, whoever it was, was right. I fantasized of a life where I could be free of parents, chores, jobs, school, and be free of responsibility.

You wish to be free, you know that much. Seize your chance.

Again, I found myself unable to conquer the sapient voice. “B-but it’s scary…” I admitted.

There is no reason to be scared. You have strength. You have courage. You have will. Go out and save a universe, Matt. Be free.

So I wasn’t dreaming…

This was it.

A bright light swept around me. “Here we go,” I mumbled to myself.

-Hospital-

I awoke to find myself in a hospital bed. Pinkie was sitting in a chair just opposite of my bed. She was currently balancing a tray of cookies on her head.

“You’re awake!” she sang out.

I sighed. “I guess I am.”

The door swung open; Luna stood in its opening. “You’ve come to a realization?”

Nodding slowly, I said, “Yep. So this is really real?”

“I’m afraid so.”

Such is Life

Luna looked at me expectantly. "What?" I asked. She had entered the room now, with the door closed fully behind her. Her robes, which I assumed to be royal, fluttered around as she paced around my small hospital room. After her slight pacing of the room, she walked up to the left side of my bed.

"I was expecting you to get up," she admitted sheepishly. The princess was much more lighthearted now, and it seemed like she has examined the entire situation properly and thoroughly.

"No." I shot her a confused glance. "You just drugged me up. With magic. And drugs. I'm taking a nap."

Although I was indeed joking, Luna became slightly panicked. "Come now, Matt. Surely you can get up so we can speed along the rebellion?" Whenever the topic of the rebellion came up, Luna always tensed. As I have noticed. However, Pinkie seemed to not care about the rebellion, or at least didn't show that she did. I couldn't tell if the rebellion was only a sour subject among royalties, or if Pinkie just didn't care about the rebellion as much as anyone else.

The room I was in, which I was assuming was a hospital room, was dark gray. The sun gleamed in through the window, and I guessed it to be around midday. I followed the glint of sunshine that slipped past the thick window borders, and it led right up to the door. The light just touched the tip of the handle, brightening up the golden doorknob.

There was a sharp knock on the door.

Luna tensed up immediately, her back stiffening like a board. Pinkie remained relaxed, and she was happily mumbling to herself about her cookies. Neither Luna nor Pinkie took the initiative to answer the door, so I called out, "Come in!"

I felt a hand clamped around my mouth, but I had already talked, so it was of no use if Luna was trying to get me to shut up. The door slowly creaked open, and I swear the glittering light of the sun retracted slightly. As the door opened, I saw a tall man standing there.

"Who are you?" I asked. His attire was neat and crisp. With a black suit and a silver tie, this man radiated snobbishness.

"Inspector Yataro, with His Highness the King." Even the man's speech was formal. His black hair was matted down, drenched for some seemingly unknown reason. It gleamed slightly, but I took no notice.

Luna was the one to answer his introduction, as I had no idea what to make of the man who stood there so orderly. "Yataro, I forbid you from entering this room, no matter the order of the King." Her voice was shaky and worried. It was unusual to see the proud and strong woman fumble around like this. And I just sat in my bed, watching this scene unfold calmly. To be honest, I was itching to get out. A whole new world to explore. I could feel new energy sprout through my body and invigorate me.

The man, Yataro, stepped forward. My heart stopped for a moment as I realized what his hair was drenched in.

Blood.

Luna's hands lighted up, but her hands were snatched up by Yataro. "Honestly, Princess," he chuckled, "you should have recognized me immediately."

Luna frowned, attempting to grip that calm demeanor that she had maintained during her first encounter with me. "I can't say that I do. I just know that you're with the King. I don't like anyone with the King," she growled.

"I'm an assassin!" he barked. "One of the best. Yataro Rose."

I couldn't resist it. "That is the unmanliest name I've ever heard."

Yataro's eyes glazed over with a deep, thick red color. He slowly turned towards me. "What did you say?" he calmly asked.

Pushing the covers off my body, I was pleased to find that I still had my clothes on. Nice black jeans and a white shirt. I ignored the man momentarily as I walked towards the window. I gripped it firmly and pulled it open. There it was. A whole new world.

Yataro cleared his throat with a cough. "I said," he seethed, "what did you say?"

I parked myself on the window ledge. "I said that was the unmanliest name I've ever heard. But you heard me. Look, pal, I really don't have time for this. There is an entire world outside," I chirped excitedly.

Ignoring my insult, Yataro shook his head and turned to Luna. "He's the bearer of Silver? He's the most idiotic child I've ever met." Luna remained calm at the mention of Silver, but I caught her face contort to one of shook as he did. "On the topic of Silver, however, the King does have some issues. First off, he wants Silver. Second off, he wants you dead. Thirdly, he wants this done today."

"Why not just kill me in my sleep? And how did you get in with blood on your hair?" I asked. The man was a horrible assassin. Not only did he tell us he was an assassin, but his bold approach had already steeled my nerves and prepared me for a fight. I was, admittedly, rather curious to hear how he got in.

"Everyone in this hospital is dead," he said bluntly.

Fuck.

Pinkie gasped; I almost forgot she was here.

"As for the 'killing in your sleep' part, I'm afraid the King says he wants you alive. And Luna is weak after bringing you over, so it's particularly easy to kill the weakling."

Luna shot me a look that plainly read: This would be a great time to attack, wouldn't it?

I snapped my sword into my hand. It was its usual form, as Luna had told me, and it was gleaming silver.

Flicking my wrist sharply, I maneuvered the sword to a fighting stance. I was surprised to see Yataro chuckle. "I've been in this business for ten years. I highly suggest giving up," he said with an air of authority.

I felt my anger build up in me; I rushed at him. My strong arms rose into the air and I did a little pounce at him, like a tiger would pounce on their prey. But he expertly dodged my swipe and pushed himself behind me. In his hand, he held a large knife. Before I could have a moment to think about what was happening, he charged at me at mach five speed.

I was immediately tackled to the ground, and my sword was snatched away from my hands. Yataro was straddling me, putting me in a position where I couldn't reach him. Luckily, my father had taught me an old trick a long time ago.

I sat on the ground, staring intently at my father. My elder brother was next to me, sitting cross-legged on the dusty old carpet. "Now, boys," he began, "I used to be a wrestler when I was a kid. I know a couple of moves or two. Would you like to try some?" he asked.

My brother and I nodded eagerly, happy to become big and strong men like our father was. He instructed my brother to sit on top of me and straddle me. He did, although rather reluctantly as he didn't want to hurt me. Now that my brother was on top of me, my father looked towards me. "Alright, Matt, are you ready?" he asked. I nodded. "Excellent. Bring your feet up." I struggled to bring them up in the air, but I eventually did. "Now place them on your brother's shoulders," he instructed. I complied and placed my small feet on my brother's shoulders. "And push!" he finished. Again, I complied. With a quick push, I found that I was able to overtake my brother and reverse the position to a point where I was on top of him. "Great job, Matt!" my father told me happily.

Remembering my father's words, I swiftly brought up my feet and pushed Yataro to the ground. He was utterly shocked. "What in the hell!" he cried out. I didn't let him finish, as I placed a well-aimed punch to his face. And then another.

Quickly, the tables had turned in my favor. I was able to devastate Yataro with several punches. Unfortunately, Yataro wiggled his arm loose and socked me in the head. I crumpled to the floor. He still held my sword in his hand.

"Luna!" I cried out. "I would very much appreciate some help here!"

Instead of Luna, however, Pinkie rushed to the scene. She held a long staff in her hands. Yataro glared at her. "I suggest you leave, little girl. This isn't your fight."

Pinkie laughed. "You may be right, silly. But I'm still going to whoop your ass."

Yataro's face contorted into one of extreme anger. It was obvious this mission wasn't going exactly as he had planned. Twirling my sword in his hands, he rushed at Pinkie with devastating speed. Pinkie, however, managed to block his attack with the seemingly metal staff. She pushed the sword away from her staff and then aimed a kick at Yataro's legs. The tall assassin flew backwards, but transitioned to a roll in order to save himself from a jab directed by Pinkie. "Pinkie!" I yelled out. "Try and get the sword!"

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. "Okey dokey lokey!"

I couldn't help but watch in amusement as Pinkie lashed at Yataro. Whenever he raised my sword for a blow, Pinkie would block it. Whenever he pierced my sword for an attack, Pinkie side-stepped. And whenever he seemed to have any type of advantage, Pinkie would spike it down. Numerous blows were dealt to Yataro's side, and I could begin to see why Luna chose Pinkie as my guide across this land. From the moment I met her, I had just assumed that she was weak, mainly because she was a fragile female; an unfair stereotype, I know.

Luna walked over to Yataro as he was viciously beaten by Pinkie. "Sorry, Yataro. I faked my fear. You've always been a second-rate assassin. We know you used poison gas to kill all the other people in the hospital, and then you smeared their blood on your dusty hair. Pathetic. While Matt may not have been able to do much, being largely inexperienced, Pinkie could have killed you the minute you stepped in, and same for myself. Yet you decided to get cocky, tell us all about Discord's plans, and then get beaten up by a girl who isn't even using her preferred weapon."

Two guards burst into the door. "Princess," they saluted. Luna nodded in return.

"Kill him."

I might not have been in favor of the man who tried to rip me to shreds, but it was an upsetting sight to watch him be carried out. He was crying. A grown man crying. I could see his racketing sobs. He attempted to pry his way out, but the guards held on strong. It was so...odd. The man that had just threatened my life was now being dragged out the door to be executed. Was that life on this planet? No trials, no lawyers, no anything? Perhaps that lingering thought in the back of my head that begged me to go home was the only sane part of my body. And I had put myself on a serious risk to. In the beginning, I had been so close to being killed by him for merely insulting his name. Luckily, I had squirmed out of that one. But was that going to have to be the case for the rest of my life here? Barely sliding by in life-or-death situations.I turned to Luna. "Was that necessary?" I asked.

"That man killed everyone inside this hospital," Luna defended with a fierce tone.

I dropped it, deciding it better to just not argue. I ran a hand through my hair. "This is just one hell of a mess," I mumbled to myself.

Good afternoon, readers. Or morning, or night, whatever the case may be. I hope you liked this chapter! I recommend reading chapter two if you haven't reread the chapter on March 7th, as I have updated it severely. It should assist with the flow of the story. That's all, folks!

Onwards

It was always amusing to watch Pinkie throughout the day. On this particular day, right after I witnessed a 'professional' assassin break down into tears, I was going around town with Pinkie. She hopped, skipped, frolicked, bounced, jumped, and swirled across the town. I merely stuffed my hands in my pockets, with my thumbs tucked neatly onto the folds, and hunched my shoulders whilst trailing after the enthusiastic and bubbly girl.

"Matt!" she cried out.

Rising an eyebrow, I walked over to where Pinkie was. She was standing in front of a rather large bell tower, staring at it in awe. Her eyes twinkled in delight, and I steeled myself for the usual onslaught of over the top adjectives and speeches that lasted for ten minutes straight. While I had only known Pinkie for about two days, one where I watched a man be sent to his execution, I had already found out pretty much everything about her. She grew up as a pretty lonely and quiet child, but she soon found a thrill in fighting and making friends (I know, I know, complete opposites, right?), so she opened herself up. She then began to work for Luna starting three years ago, when she was just a 15 year old teen. Pinkie found herself ready to do her duty for her country, and the princess had seen that.

"What is it now, Pinkie?"

"Isn't this tower just super-duper awesome! It's so tall, too! I really want to climb it and put a flag up there. Oh, can we do that, Matt? Hey, that rhymes! That Matt! That Matt over there is brand new! That Matt is so silly." Pinkie began to ramble on about lots of other rhymes, so I tuned her out.

Luckily, I was saved from eternal hell when Luna arrived. "Matt!" she barked out, already forcing in that air of authority. "I wanted to apologize about the whole 'sending a man to his death' right in front of you," she said bluntly.

I stood there, unwavering, for a moment for two. I wasn't sure how to react. I'll admit that the death slightly freaked me out, but I don't truly believe an apology was necessary. Blood, gore, sex, drugs, and death never really freaked me out or affected me as a kid. My father, a marine, and my grandfather, a Vietnam veteran, always told me horror stories about their times, so seeing it all unravel in front of me was just like my father described it. Except this time I was 18, a young adult. After Yataro was sent off, I just went to sleep. Simple. And then I woke up, learnt about Pinkie, and began to walk around town with her. Of course, there was a guilty feeling building up in my stomach. I know I was supposed to feel bad, horrible, and downright depressed after seeing a grown man sent crying to his death, but it didn't...click that way with me. I shook away my thoughts and looked more deeply at the princess. "It's no problem, my lady." I used 'my lady' to address her instead of princess or your highness. It felt more right coming out of my mouth. Princess and highness were too formal, and Luna didn't seem to come off as a really formal princess. Numerous children and teens flocked to her in causal conversation, and she seemed to know everybody in town.

"Excellent." She loosened her body. It seemed that she was uptight about addressing her faults as a leader. Although I wouldn't consider it a fault, there was something in her eyes that led me to believe that she personally felt that way. "Now, I would like to talk to you about your mission."

"What about it?" I asked, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Well you're going to need a game plan, are you not? I'm not going to be able to hold your hand the entire quest. And, while I don't doubt Pinkie's skills at fighting, I don't think it would be the best thing to send you both off alone across the planet. It's unnecessary and will most likely result in one of you getting injured."

I nodded in agreement. "Of course," I said, "so what exactly do you want me to do? Or where do you want me to go, for that matter?"

"Where I need you to go," she began, "is the rebel's tower in southern Islonda."

"Islonda?" I repeated. "What the hell is Islonda?"

A face of disbelief crossed over Luna's face, but it was quickly replaced by an understanding look. "My apologies," she said, regarding her change of facial features, "I forgot you're unfamiliar to the geography of our planet. Islonda is the largest island on our world. It's covers approximately 50% of our planet, and it is divided into two sectors: the beasts and the humans. Since the dawn of time, humans hunted down the beasts to use them as clothing and food. But, around 5 million years ago, the beasts began to instantly devour any human that dared cross a certain line of the island. Apparently, after millions of years of being tortured and killed, the beasts developed a keen intellect and hatred towards humans. The next island is the one that we're currently on: Paxnor. Luckily, all of the other islands had been leaving us alone, as we don't have a powerful army, and we're not a hateful nation."

"You say that," I pointed out, "but you trained Pinkie to some extent and summoned a powerful weapon to topple the king."

Luna shrugged. "Times have changed," she said solemnly. Without a word, I nodded and motioned her to continue. "There are two islands aside from Islonda and Paxnor: Volcada and Royalot. Volcada was the birthplace of industrialism. Unfortunately, there are always large sacrifices to allow such a powerful change. There are one billion child workers in Volcada. Each one barely makes enough to feed themselves as they scurry away from their tedious jobs. That's the lower segment of the island. The upper segment consists of amazing machinery and devices that are beyond the knowledge of Paxnor. Finally, Royalot is the island of the most powerful people on this planet. They have money that seems unfathomable to the mere human brain. Discord lives there. Unreachable across a hundred miles of sea, he is the world's most powerful man with the world's most powerful army. There are twenty billion people on this planet, and Discord has 15 billion people in his army."

I tensed up. Luna had seemed so confident about the rebellion at first. But, from my point of view, it looked like it was crumbling down from the inside. Was my sword, this plain, silver sword, really good enough to tear apart a king with 15 billion pawns surrounding him. No...There had to be a way... I might not know all these people in the world, but I was going to try my best to fight against them. Pinkie had stopped her bouncing to look at me. "Come on, Matt. 15 billion weaklings! You gotta remember, we're super duper strong!"

Luna nodded her head in Pinkie's direction. "She's right."

"So we have well-trained professionals against pawns. That slightly evens out the odds. Okay, I know the geography now; tell me about my quest," I said.

"Right. Basically, my sister, Celestia, runs the rebellion tower in Islonda. Take a boat to Islonda and you should arrive in Talax, the coastal city of Islonda. There, you'll find the tower. But be warned, there are numerous thugs that hang around the area surrounding the tower, and they're all employed under Discord. I recommend slipping in as quickly as possible, talking to Celestia, getting her to give you a mercenary or two, maybe a possible sword tutor, and then you can head on your way," Luna suggested.

"That sounds all fine and dandy," I said," but where am I going after I collect these mercenaries? And why do I even need them? Can I trust them?"

Luna waved off my concerns with a flick of her hand. "You need not worry, Matt. After collecting the mercenaries, you should take the eastern path away from the city and travel around the outskirts of the mountains. My sister can fill you in more, as I'm a little sketchy on the exact path. And you're going to need help against Discord, so having a small team that you can rely on would be the best possible course of action. As for trusting...well, I don't actually know. They should be loyal to Celestia, having been by her side for years, but I can't assume anything. For now, just take the boat to Islonda." Luna reached into her royal garments and pulled out two tickets. "These should suffice. Now, go!"

I smirked and pocketed the tickets. "Don't worry, Luna," I said earnestly.

"I can't help but worry when it involves Pinkie Pie..." Luna admitted with a sigh.

I chuckled and then began to walk away, with Pinkie hopping enthusiastically behind me. "This is going to be the bestest thing ever, Matt! I hope you're ready for a party!"

Shaking my head in an attempt to not burst into laughter, I found that I couldn't help but giggle. Which was rather a girly thing to do. "Pinkie, you're so crazy."

"I know, right?"

We chatted on our walk to the dock. Pinkie was doing most of the talking, but I did add some comments here and there. I followed the pink-haired girl, seeing as I had no idea where the dock was, until we reached our boat in the corner of the dockyard. "And that's how Islonda was made!"

I shot her a surprised look. What was she on about?

However, the sun was shining brightly overhead, and I had no time, or willpower, to question Pinkie. I hopped onto the boat, which was a sailing boat with a cabin underneath, and sat in a chair that was propped up on the port side of the ship. The warm sun rejuvenated my tired body, and I began to feel renewed.

"Hi!" shouted a cheerful voice.

I bolted up from my comfortable seat to greet the voice. There was a girl, standing right in front of me, holding a clipboard. I narrowed my eyebrows in confusion. I was expecting there to be a captain on the ship, yes. But I wasn't expecting a clipboard. I mean, what possible use of a clipboard is there on a ship? Hey, I'd like to conduct a survery? Oh jeez, they could do that, couldn't they? What if it's a Jehovah's witness? Do they even have religion in this world? Maybe I'm overthinking this...maybe she just had a spare clipboard.

"May I see your tickets, please?"

Oh... Yeah, that would explain the clipboard.

"Sure," I mumbled as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the tickets.

The girl politely took them from my hand and glanced them over. After a second or two, she marked something on her clipboard and put the tickets in a little envelop. "Much appreciated," she said. "Sorry about the tickets, but you need the princess' approval to leave Paxnor at anytime."

Now this was even more confusing. Luna had seemed calm and relaxed when it came to her island, although a little uptight at the mention of the other islands, but it was a surprising move, in my eyes, to limit transportation off the island.

"Now if you could just enter the cabin; we'll be leaving shortly."

I nodded and entered the bottom cabin with Pinkie. Luckily, there were two beds. As attractive as Pinkie was, I don't think I wanted to share a bed with her on my first night here. I collapsed onto the bed. Admittedly, the sun's warm beams had filled me with warmth, so sleep wasn't going to be the easiest thing to achieve.

"Good night, Matt!" Pinkie called out from her bed.

"Night, Pinkie," I said back to her.

And the peaceful bliss of sleep crossed over me. I guess I was more tired than I thought...

I'm On A Boat

I awoke from my fantastic sleep with a bolt. Pinkie was sleeping soundly next to me on another bed, so I assumed that whatever woke me up didn't wake her up. Picking my feet off the bed, I quietly slid off and walked to the upper deck. The boat was sleek and painted brown. I still felt like I was in a dream, but it was different this time. It was more, like, a bunch of hazy thoughts that clouded over my mind. I leant over the banister of the boat and peered over the edge. The water surprised me. It was surreal. Living in Boston, I've had my fair share of days on the beach, where I lazily sat and read classical novels while the crashing sounds of the waves soothed me. But this...this was different. The water was a light blue color that entranced me. It was clear as well, allowing me to witness the millions of fish flowing through the large ocean. I shook my head, attempting to think about something else. I shoved my hands in my pockets and was surprised to find my lighter. I'm not a smoker, but I always kept a lighter with me. It was a gift from my uncle before he passed away. I clicked it open, watching the flames flicker to life despite the winds that pushed its strong flame. Watching the flames of my lighter always excited me; it stired something inside me, even as it extinquished.

"What are you doing?" I heard someone say.

It was Pinkie. She was wearing a large, white t-shirt that covered her chest and went down to her thighs. It was hard to tell if she had anything on underneath her shirt, so I visibly blushed. "I'm, um, just playing with my lighter," I stammered. It sounded silly coming out of my mouth, like a child talking about his toy to an older, attractive girl.

"Oh," she said. It was quiet for a couple of seconds; the first time it ever was when I was around Pinkie.

"Why are you awake?" I asked after a couple more seconds. Normally, I would have been calm and collected, but I was always awkward around girls who were wearing little or no clothing. And Pinkie was undeniably pretty.

"I couldn't sleep," she moaned, regaining some of her usual enthusiasm. "I had a nightmare." She grasped my arm and pulled me. "Come on, I need someone to protect me."

I almost chuckled until I realized that she was being serious. "Pinkie, I'm nowhere near as strong as you." Pinkie could handle her own in any case.

She shook her head and groaned again; her pink hair fell in front of her eyes after she shook her head. "I don't care. Please, Matt?" she begged.

I know I didn't really know Pinkie, so I felt kind of weird about sleeping with her. I sighed heavily and nodded. She was still just a girl, and it looked liked she really wasn't thinking of this in the same way I was thinking it. She cheered happily and clutched my arm. "Yay!" We walked down to the lower deck where the beds were and laid down on her bed. Almost immediately, she clutched onto my arm and drifted off to sleep. Despite the awkwardness and me being as stiff as a board...wait, no, I meant my body not my...nevermind. Anyway, despite all that, it was nice. Pinkie's warmth kept me nice and content. Her rhymetic breathing soothed me as her minty breath collided with my shoulder. Soon, I found myself driting off to sleep.

When I woke up, again, I felt Pinkie wrapped around me. I didn't want to wake her up, but I didn't want to lay in bed, either. I wiggled slightly but to no prevail. I huffed to myself and glanced at the girl beside me. Was she even wearing a bra?

...

No, no, no. Control your thoughts.

Anyway! I had learned many moves to get out of a sleeping girl's grip - thanks to Lucy - so I slid my arm under Pinkie and wrapped it around her back. I then rolled to my right to maneuver her over to the far side of the bed. Very carefully now, I slipped away and managed to get out of the bed. I walked up to the deck again, where the girl who greeted us - and who was most likely our captain - stood. She was wearing a sailor's outfit, decorated in several badges. I didn't take the chance to observe her earlier, so I took the oppurtunity now. She had brilliant orange eyes that glittered strongly in the light. I was taken aback by them and nearly took a step back. Her hair was amber with a mix of orange that shone like fire. "Morning, sir!" she greeted friendly.

I nodded to her. "Morning, captain. Hey, I didn't actually catch your name. I'm Matt," I said.

"The name's Spitfire, captain sailor under Princess Luna. Nice to meet you!" she said enthusiastically.

"It's a pleasure," I said in return. "So sailor, huh? What's that like?"

"It's a pain being on the sea, but it's much more fun when I take flight," she casually mentioned.

Take flight? Was she a pilot, too? I guess it's okay to have more than one profession in this world. But still, I felt the need to ask. "...take flight?"

"Yeah. All boats can fly."

Is she kidding? Is it April fool's or something? Not that they have April fool's here. "Okay..." I mumbled, playing along with her silly joke.

She shot me a curious glance. "Do you not believe me? You sure are under educated to not know that boats fly."

Under educated? Uneducated. Unless she's implying that, while I've had education, it wasn't enough. Or was she uneducated herself and the fact that she could have possibly misused the phrase ironicly? Perhaps I'm over thinking it...

"I'm not an experienced civilian, yes. I generally stay indoors. Do boats....actually fly?" I asked carefully.

"Of course they do, sir. A boat will start in the water and slowly glide through the water for about 10 hours, and then it will gradually pick up its speed until flight is ready. After which, the boat will open up its wings and take flight. How else do you think we'd cross the 3,000 mile gap?"

Wait, 3,000 mile gap? That's, like, the distance from...um, Boston to London? Jeez, really wish I'd paid attention in geography class. What was I doing that could have distracted me from the class? Oh yeah, that one chick who wore a thong everyday. A new color for every day of the week, heh... What was her name? Paula...Cara...fuck, who knows. No where near as hot as Pinkie, now that I think about it.

"Sir?"

Oh yeah, Spitfire said something. I hate the mornings; my thoughts are always so cluttered. I should really stop being distracted so easily. "Yeah, of course. So when is the..." I fumbled around for the word, "boatship taking flight?"

"Actually," she paused to look at her watch, "right now."

"Fantastic. Love flying..." I grumbled sarcastically. "I'll be in my cabin if you need me." Spitfire nodded to confirm that she heard me, and I walked back into the cabin where Pinkie was still curled up on the bed.

"Wake up, Pinkie," I said. "The flying boat is taking off." God, don't think I'll ever say that again. Well, I will next time I'm flying on a boat, provided I live through this.

"Whazzat?" she groaned softly.

"Wake up, you lazy girl."

She instantly jumped awake. "I'm not lazy," she complained.

"Well I hope you're not; the boat is flying or whatever, so you're now my only means of entertainment." Entertainment...Heh, I wonder if I could get her to strip for me? God damn it, Matthew. Control yourself. Eighteen years old and acting like a preteen who just discovered tits, what would your father say?

Good to know that you can't hold yourself back without thinking about the possibility of angering your father... "We could play a game," Pinkie suggested.

I mused over her suggestion. It would be fun, yes. But I've never been a "game" type of guy. I suppose it couldn't hurt to try... "Alright, Pinkie," I said, "we'll play your game."

The hyperactive girl cheered and began to bounce around eagerly. "Whaddya wanna play?" she asked me.

Shrugging my shoulders, I said, "Your choice."

"Let's play the question game!"

I groaned softly, but agreed to play it with her nonetheless. "You go first," I said.

"Okie dokie lokie! What's your favorite color?"

"Green, and yours?"

"Pink, duh! Seriously, silly, couldn't you tell my favorite color is pink? Oh, maybe you're colorblind! Wait, that doesn't make sense, 'cause you said your favorite color is green, which means you can see color. Or maybe-"

"Pinkie!" I loudly said.

"What?" she innocently asked me.

"Just ask the question," I said with another groan.

She blinked once, and then once more. "Oh yeah, the game!"

...how short was this girl's memory? She might be hot, but Pinkie is a handful! Kinda like Lucy, now that I think about it...

"So do you have any family?" Pinkie asked me.

"A father and a mother, that's it." I didn't mention my brothers, but that was more for personal reason.

Oddly enough, she caught my lie. "You're lying," she said simply.

I held back my urge to frown; if there was one thing that annoyed me, it was being caught in a lie. I could never play along with a lie; I would always stumble up and stutter. They were confusing, irritating, and a damn mess if you backtracked into one too many. I don't know if it was just me, but the atmosphere surrounding Pinkie and myself darkened. The girl had a light-hearted smile on, but there was something deep in her eyes. Shock? No, she was too aware to be surprised by a simple lie. I hadn't thought that earlier, yes. However, I now found myself wary of Pinkie. She wasn't just a girl, she was clever, cunning, and absolutely wise. In fact, I even felt slightly...intimidated by the girl with the bright pink hair. Her eyes - a light blue - scanned over me quickly. Eventually, I realized the awkward silence was surrounding the room at a rapid pace. "Yes," I admitted slowly. "I lied."

"Why?" Her voice came out softly, like a whisper.

My eyes steeled, as I've trained them to do when confronted about...my brothers. "It's not something I like to talk about." Usually, people say that when they want attention. When they want someone to talk to them about what troubles them. But it wasn't like that for me. Talking about my brothers was a taboo subject that always left me feeling absolutely miserable. Before Pinkie could respond, Spitfire burst into the room.

"We've got a situation on the top deck!" she cried. "There are monsters everywhere!"

Wow, it's certainly been a while. To be honest, I was working on this chapter for an entire month; it kinda wore me out. But I still am going to continue this, albeit at my own pace. Alright, read and review!