Acheron, Meet Equestria!

The Palace was abuzz with activity when we arrived. Nobles were all around as they argued between one another, shifting their position to allow a pissed-off human, Chrysalis, and Trixie through. Luna was off to the side, quietly sipping on tea while her sister dealt with the morning court, heated discussion floating out from inside the palace. Approaching Luna, we sat down, glaring at any nobles that came our way.

“Luna, I've got a serious question to ask you.” I wrung my hands, staring around. While I never liked nobles, or anything to do with them, the topic I overheard mostly had to do with changelings. Luna sipped her tea, before letting her cup float down onto the tray beside her.

“What do you need, human?”

“I've been contacted by some being referring to herself as Yggdrasil, and I've been having strange visions of alternate futures.” She levitated a cup over to me. I almost took a sip when I noticed another crack, a small one, deep inside the cup. The impossible crack. Luna had taken another sip, spraying it onto an unsuspecting noble when she heard the name 'Yggdrasil.'

“'Yggdrasil?!' If she has contacted you, the situation must be dire indeed. Come, we must talk. All of us.” With a nod, I rose, followed by Trixie and Chrysalis.

“So, Yggdrasil is literally the World Tree? I was correct then.” I stood by the window, staring out. While normally that would have been a problem, I was busy watching the ground below. Sounds of fighting drifted up to me as I looked down on Canterlot. There appeared to be some sort of arena there, which was drawing my interest more and more.

“Yes it is, human. Unfortunately, her voice bodes an ill omen for Equestria's future. While we deal with the impossibility of your existence outside of your own time, as far as has been explained to me, my sister deals with an ever-increasing number of problems with Chrysalis' former hive.” Chrysalis shifted nervously. I noticed, though it did not seem that important.

“I see. I do have a question about something else.” I smiled as I pointed out at the arena. Before I even asked, Luna had paled.

“Well-”

“May I fight in the arena? Purely for testing my limits.” She lowered her head, sighing.

“All right. Remember though, I shall not retrieve you if you are injured.”

I stood at the entrance to the arena. Rarity had met up with us beforehand, giving me fingerless gloves with my symbol on them. I reached in my pocket, pressing the power button on my phone. A familiar buzz was accompanied by the phone beeping. Pulling it out, I nearly dropped it out of shock. The battery was full again. I shook my head, frowning.

“Well, this ought to be interesting.” I pushed the heavy wooden doors open, watching as the eyes of the application pony bugged out of his head. Nearby was one of those nice coat tree things. I removed my trench-coat, tossing it with a measured throw onto the coat-tree. Without nary a sound, it caught and stayed. My hat followed, unfortunately missing and slapping a guard in the face. I winced. I was probably going to hear about that one later. Tightening the gloves, I approached the table.

“N-Name, please?” I bent down, looking at the names already written down. They were nigh unreadable for me. The language was something I had never seen before.

“Acheron. A-C-H-E-R-O-N.” Quickly he wrote it down, pointing at the door to the arena.

“You'll be the first fighter in for a while.” I nodded, frowning. Suddenly, I was not so keen to getting hurt.

“You have got to be kidding me.” My first opponent, was, to be perfectly honest, pathetic. There was a small gnome attempting to kick me in the shins, falling over every time. I pointed down at the gnome, making a questioning face to get an answer.

“Acheron has yet to make a move. The gnome seems to just be annoying him at this point.” With a sigh, I pulled my foot back, ready to punt the sorry excuse for an opponent out of the arena.

I never saw it coming.

I ran for my life around the arena. As I was just about to punt the gnome, it suddenly gained size, putting it at slightly taller than me, and incredibly fat. Seriously, it was literally just rolling around due to its portliness. I gripped my fists, waiting for the telltale burning to start in my hands. Slowing to a stop, I pivoted on the spot, stance low, and face set as I thrust my hand forward, the fire speeding towards the pseudo-gnome. With a single burst of fire, I watched as the gnome screamed, returning to the garden gnome variety. It would have been horrible had I not fallen over laughing. A gnome screaming was literally the most hilarious thing I had seen since, well, ever.

“Nice gnome-ing you.” The crowd collectively groaned. “Well, it was funnier in my head.” With a last puff of pained breath, the gnome collapsed into a pile of ash, as if it was made out of paper.

“Acheron, with a single fireball spell, has defeated the Mildly Annoying Paper Gnome.” I slapped my face. I had definitely walked into that one.

“All right! Bring out the next guy!” The next guy... well, that was something I had not expected. White hair and shirt, black skin, and the symbol on the shirt: a golden atom with red triangles. The guy was literally a reverse version of me, still in male.

“And this is where you fall, and I prove that I am not a copy.”

“... what?” I blinked, still confused. “You're... me. You're literally a palette-swapped version of me.” The other guy – I thought Norecha was a good name – stared at me.

“I do not have a name yet. I am merely Project.” I sighed. I looked down at my shirt. While normally the shirt would have stayed safe, there were rips from running away from the Paper Gnome. With a single yank, I tore it from my torso, showing the blood-red star to Norecha. “How? How can you have a Mark of Power?!” I frowned.

“Get hit with the equivalent force of a speeding truck and survive.” I gripped my hand. This was going to be good.

As I fought, I became aware of something watching me. I had the strangest feeling that Luna was viewing me through some strange apparatus. Norecha must have felt it too, because he began to glance around.

“I don't have time for this. Begone!” I never understood why, but at that point, Norecha burst into flames as I pointed my smoldering fists at him. His screams, along with the announcer, marked the end of the round.

“Acheron could keep going for another two hundred bits, or he can keep his two-hundred fifty and go! What will he choose, folks?” I knelt down, waving my hand. The flames dissipated, leaving a very angry man.

“Why did you do that? You should have ended me!” I held up my hand, silencing him. A serious look, one I never tended to use much, crossed my face.

“If I can help it, if at all possible, I refuse to extinguish another life.” I stood up, walking away. I stopped, listening to Norecha stand and huff in anger. With a start, he jumped.

“Don't you dare mock me!” I turned, frowning. My fist was already in the air as he came down with his fist. A torrential spray of fire torched Norecha.

“... Although, if someone were to refuse, I would have no qualms about it.” With a slow walk, I left the burning corpse of my doppelganger on the arena floor. A guard tossed me a small bag, a bag which jingled with the heavy weight of coins. With a smile, I left, not even turning to leave a passing remark.

Luna stood outside, her face marked with tears. Twilight glared at me, while Trixie and Chrysalis seemed sick. Twilight was the first to break the silence.

“How... how could you? You defeated him! You could have let him-” I held up my hand, clearing my throat. They all went quiet as I walked past.

“He would have killed me as well. Sometimes, the world is not as black and white as you think it is, Sparkle. I would have let him live had he not assumed I was mocking him.” I flexed my wrist, trying to act cool and collected. At least, until my stomach decided to empty its contents... all... over... Celestia. Twilight winced as Celestia recoiled from the sudden, foul-smelling substance that was now in her hair. I stood up, smiling weakly.

“Uh, Acheron?”

“One minute... please.”

“You just vomited on Celestia.” I stood ramrod stiff, fear setting into my eyes. That was never what I wanted to do, but the energy that had gone into burning, it had left me drained and ill-suited for anything else besides rest. I saluted, keeling over with a visibly stressed Celestia, a panicking Twilight, and two strange people looking on.

“Does he know?”

“If he does, he does not-”

“-understand what he knows.” With the confusion setting in, I lost consciousness, the sweet embrace of the darkness rushing up to greet me.

“...oo hard on his body. It was never meant to channel magic.” I woke up in the middle of the conversation, preferring to keep up a farce that I was, indeed, unconscious. The group that surrounded me kept on with their conversation, seemingly not paying attention.

“The Knight needs to rest, yet you still want to press him into service before he is ready? You speak more like an End Times Prophet than a member of the Order.” A tan pony to my left, whimsical mane notwithstanding, seemed agitated. A blonde-maned grey pegasus was in front, with the hat maker to my right.

“But he's nearly here! Chaos will reign, and only the Knight can-”

“-restore balance, I know. But with him incapacitated-” I sat up. I stared down at myself, anger swelling in my chest. I was extremely pissed off. And now that I knew that Discord was definitely supposed to be returning at some point, I was even more pissed off.

“'And the only thing to save is the banner that you wave to be wrapped around your grave.' Discord, I hope you can hear me. You pissed off the wrong human. This.” I stood up off the bed, sneering as I walked towards the door. “Means.”

“War?” Twilight trotted into the room, the other three seemingly having made themselves scarce. She was frowning, her gaze directed towards me and solely me.

“Twilight, stay out of my way. Wherever Discord is, I swear, I will end him. In his case, I hope I get to kill him.” Twilight still stood in front of me. Her mouth was still open, but it had stopped. I walked around her slowly. It was as if time itself had frozen. Two people stood in front of me, adults who, by appearance, seemed to be in their mid-thirties, with striking orange hair each.

“You are quite the remarkable individual. You certainly live up to your name, Acheron. Another name of the River Styx.”

“Why you picked that specific name? An enigma that is the exact same throughout every single timeline.” Those two were starting to get on my nerves.

“So, you froze time to tell me information that I likely already knew? A corruption of the word Echelon. That's how I got the name Acheron. Only after a year did I ever look up the meaning of it.” They frowned. Something about what I said made them stop speaking.

“That was the enigma. A word. One word that could end worlds, topple kings.”

“Really? A single word could do that?” A man in a long coat entered the room. His brown hair was in quite a state of disarray. His suit was clear underneath, his glasses perched perfectly on his nose.

“Sorry, it is actually six words. Six words I used on a particular prime minister.” He approached me, handing me a piece of paper. “'Don't you think she looks tired?'” With that, they disappeared, leaving me with more questions than I had ever had before. I opened up the piece of paper. My jaw dropped before curling into a manic smile. It must have been Christmas, and that was someone incredibly, incredibly devious. Either that, or he was a madman. The world returned to its normal state, Twilight staring forwards in shock.

“I will not let you get killed. There are some that care quite a lot about you, Acheron.” She seemed to spit out my name, as if it was poison. I hesitated to ask.

“Why does my name seem like venom to you? I mean, besides me losing my lunch all over your princess?” She stared down at the ground, before looking at me in spite.

“Because a legend came true. Something that should never have been needed, and yet you were called. You. You were brought here. Not a knight. Not even someone who could fight. You.” Those words stung. The fact that a legend had been proven true by my arrival, but the fact it was supposed to bring some kind of knight... that hurt. Barely even consciously, I felt my hand grip tightly, the fire beginning to smolder.

“And you had to rub it in, huh?” I removed my glasses, rubbing them clean. Replacing them, I stared. “I never asked for this Twilight. Not once. Yet I've been accused, hurt, chased, abused, and probably various other things by you ponies. Not once have I complained, not until now. You want to know why that is? Huh?!” I had begun yelling by that point. I was becoming extremely angry, to the point of slamming my fist into the wall.

“Acheron-”

“I never complained because I assumed that everything would get better. That there would be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!” I felt liquid running down my hand, blood slowly oozing out.

“Acheron-”

“Twilight, for once, just shut up! Just shut up! I need to take a walk.” I turned to leave, grabbing a shirt that Rarity must have left for me, leaving a visibly distraught Twilight behind me. I passed by a yellow pegasus as she entered the room. I felt a tug on my shirt. Turning around, I saw her again, staring at me. Motioning me lower, she whispered into my ear.

“If you hurt any of my friends, I swear to whatever you believe in, I will end you.” I stared down, dumbfounded. I leaned down closer, even more pissed off than I already was. Anger becomes more of a problem when a pony decides to threaten you.

“Does it look like I care? 'Oh look at me. I'm shy, but that's because I hide murderous tendencies!' Kid, you don't even know the half of who you're messing with.” She stared down at my hand, blood dripping down still. She seemed to cringe visibly. I turned, staring at the window. The look on her face made the drop from the window seem very inviting all of a sudden. I looked back over my shoulder. “Whatever your name is, just remember one thing. I will not kill someone in cold blood. That being said, if you attack me, for any reason, be it imaginary, or just plain paranoia, I will not hesitate.” I gripped my non-bloodied hand, fire appearing.

“... what?”

“As I said, I will not hesitate. I will not give a second thought about hurting you.” I looked at the window. “I used to wonder how people felt when they jumped from tall heights. Let's find out, shall we?” With a smile, I broke into a sprint, zipping towards the bay window at the end of the hall. I would have also made it out, if only the window was not made of what appeared to be Plexiglass.

“Why didn't you hesitate then?” I backed away, fear setting in.

“That's not possible. Kid, that's not possible. That's Plexiglass.” The pegasus stared up at me in confusion.

“What do you mean?” It was then I noticed the crack in the window. Another impossible crack. The crack that seemed to be following me, bleeding parts of my home into Equestria.

“It's almost as if... Yggdrasil.” The familiar female voice chimed in my head.

“Yes, Acheron?”

“Explain to me what the cracks are.” Her answer, although not surprising, did scare me.

“They are the eventual point in which this world will perish. They are the end of times.” I stared down at the ground in shock. My world was bleeding through, pieces of impossibility in a world of improbable nature. My shoes became quite a wondrous sight. Twilight came behind, fuming.

“No one tells me to-”

“Before I decide to see if unicorns can break Plexiglass with sheer force, please, for the love of all that is good and wholesome, shut up before I do something I'll regret.” With that, they fell silent. I noticed Trixie and Chrysalis entering through the doors below.

“So, you wish you could best Twilight Sparkle? An admirable feat-”

“Yeah, if she could get her to shut up for more than ten seconds.” Even my threat of physical violence had done nothing to slow the onslaught that was the inquisitive unicorn. Trixie looked bored, but Chrysalis looked tired. Not just a little, but as if she had not slept in days. “Chrys, how long was I in the hospital?” She smiled, tumbling weakly into me. She wrapped her arms around me, smiling.

“At least you're okay.” She looked up, still smiling. If I had been any other person at that stage in my life, I would have gotten the signals. I held her up, unsure of what was happening. Trixie sighed, shaking her head in what I assumed was exasperation. The yellow pegasus came down the stairs, glaring daggers at me, to which I responded in kind. Chrysalis looked from me to her, a look of confusion crossing her face.

“Is there something I'm missing here?” I shook my head, still glaring at the pegasus.

“No, nothing that's important. Isn't that right, kid?” She nodded, still glaring as she backed up the stairs. If I did not know any better, I would have sworn it was a truck backing up, not a pony. Shaking my head, I stared out the front doors. I was still pissed off at the pegasus, and being with Chrysalis was the only thing I could think of for blowing off steam. Trixie, seeming to understand what I was thinking, levitated a red case to me, my red case. I smiled, glancing over at Chrysalis. She understood, giggling. “Ready to learn, Chrys?”

While I prided myself on knowledge of the Imperial Guard, the entire fact that Chrysalis had memorized the entirety of the Codex for them was, to say the least, impressive. While I had picked a small infantry force supported by a couple of Leman Russ Punishers, complete with flamers, extra armour, and camo netting, she had gone almost exclusively mechanized, bringing every heavy gun she could onto the field. I let my mind slip into the role of an Imperium commander as I stared down at our battlefield.

A few hours in, and my force was hard-pressed. Heavy weapon teams on the right were bearing down on my flank, repositioning every once in a while to make it hard to target with my Guardsmen. I had lost one Punisher to the relentless onslaught, my men screaming out for the tanks to arrive.

“You can't move the tank like that, Acheron.” Chrysalis piped in.

“Bullcrap! That's not impassable terrain! It's merely difficult terrain. I just have to roll- well, screw down my diodes and call me Frank!” I stood back from our battlefield. My dice rolls so far had been very ineffective, leaving my remaining Punisher immobilized right in the firing line of several lascannons. I cursed my bad luck underneath my breath. Chrysalis was positively beaming.

“Well, what do you say?” I winced. She had made me a bet that she would beat me quite soundly, which she had. My shoes became quite interesting.

“You beat me fair and square.” She smiled, sidling up beside me with a quiet giggle.

“And what is my reward?” I turned towards her, my face burning with red embarassment.

“Chrysalis, no. I'm not going to.” She grabbed my neck, smiling.

“You don't have to agree.” With a swift movement, she brought her lips to mine. As I stood there, Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, was kissing me. Kissing! I sat there, eyes closed. It was as if a large amount of the bioelectric current in my body had simply surged into the surrounding air. I drew back, sharply breathing. Chrysalis was panting, a big smile on her face. As I watched, something shifted in the air around us. Energy from the air around seemed to converge on her as her form shifted, gaining more of a human female's shape. My eyes threatened to bulge from my head in sheer shock.

“I'm just- I mean- what?” I was incredibly confused at the turn of events. I stared at her as she smiled, blinking slowly.

“That was... that was amazing- Acheron, why do I feel... hungry?” Something had definitely changed. Something impossible. Something impossible and grand. Without a word, I grabbed an apple from a nearby table and tossed it to her.

“Take a bite, Chrysalis. See if it helps.” I stood there as she bit into the apple. While she might have fed off of love before, her eyes lit up as the taste of the apple hit her tongue. She tore out chunks of the apple, ravenously feeding. I was slightly apalled at the sight I was viewing in front of me. Within a few minutes, she was finished.

“That was... delicious. And what I needed? Acheron, what's happened to me?” I smiled, not saying a word. Whatever had happened, Chrysalis was no longer a changeling, in any sense.

“Chrysalis, you're human. I don't know how it is possible, but magic appears to have shifted the shape you took to be a fully human female.” She twirled around, giggling. Why she giggled like that, I never figured out. While I was standing there, staring, a guard burst through the door, pointing at me.

“You! The one called Acheron! Princess Luna has summoned you!” Chrysalis stopped twirling to grab onto my arm, still smiling. “And you, the human Chrys! She has asked for you as well!” As I watched the guard, I noticed it had bat wings.

“All right. So, how are we-” I noticed one charging up its horn for a teleportation spell. I gritted my teeth in preparation. With a flash, we were gone.

Luna was standing in the foyer of the palace as we flashed in, a bucket in front of my face to catch the contents of my stomach. Smiling, I gave her a thumbs up. Her expression was, to be honest, less than kind.

“Acheron, we need to talk. Chrys, come along.” I stopped when she said the shortened form of Chrysalis' name.

“Luna, why did you-”

“She is human now. She does not have to answer for her past anymore. However, you, Knight, are responsible for her now.” I nodded, silently following. Past several doors, inlaid with the mark upon her flank, we came upon what could be likened to a war room, with generals all around.

“Luna, what is this about?” She frowned, the frown quickly becoming a scowl. The generals mirrored her expression, taking their leave as we sat down. A map of what I assumed was a massive forest was laid out on the table, various markings detailing out guard detachments, weapons deployments, and various other things. She pointed at what looked like a very large pinecone drawn out  on the map.

“Does that look familiar?” I stared at it, not understanding.

“Luna, I don't think-”

“I was asking Chrys.” I sighed, letting them go at their plan. While Chrys seemed reluctant, Luna kept pushing, and pushing. Finally, she jabbed her finger at the pinecone.

“That is a changeling hive. What was my hive.” I stepped forward, frowning.

“So, is that a target you want us to take out?” Luna nodded, her expression sorrowful.

“If we do not stop that problem right now, we will not be able to deal with the problem that is coming.” Luna stared behind me, staring at something.

“What problem? Luna?” She began to touch my back, as if to find something that was not there. "Get your hooves off me, you damn, dirty pony!" She glared at me, ignoring what I said.

“There's something on your back.”