Chapters Acheron, Meet An Accidental Transport!
My day had finished early. As I had always done, I sat in front of my computer, keys clacking away. I could have done so much, but my leg had decided to act up again. The muscle behind the shin had cramped up quite badly a few days before, and I was still recovering. With a sigh, I returned to my typing.
I could have said that I was a famous writer, but then I would be lying. I love to write, to create worlds that allow me to escape the humdrum echoes of my life, but then I always come back. It can be fun to escape, but you always have something to return to. Me? I had nothing to return to. I would stay in those worlds for hours on end, and it would be incredible. Space ships, entire solar systems, science fiction always felt like my domain. I wrote as much as I could with that mindset, but, sometimes, it felt empty, which always unnerved me quite horridly.
That day, however, was a different day. My cell phone chimed with the familiar sound of Taio Cruz's dynamite, alerting me to the fact that someone was calling me. I lifted the phone to my head, making sure I knew the number.
“Hello- oh, hey. Yeah, no, I understand. Considering the time, I'm all down for an Airsoft practice battle. Yeah, I'll bring my air pistol. Yes, it's the CP99 compact. Yes, I'll be bringing enough BB's to fill an IED. No, I don't have any longer range airguns than it. Rated for 400 feet per second. Of course it would hurt, you dork! That's what it's supposed to do!” The guy on the other end clicked off. I sighed. He was an old friend, but I could not fault him for being exasperated. My airgun outdistanced most of his electric-style Airsoft armaments. The time for the practice match was the day after tomorrow. Not enough time to fully prepare, but at least to get a few... annoyances ready.
I stood in front of my cabinet. Sure, it had once held movies and video tapes – I used to be an old movie aficionado, but that is a story for another time – but now, it held my air pistol, and my model magazines. I liked to keep up to date with the current styles of painting my models. As I opened the door of the cabinet, White Dwarf magazines poured out onto the floor. Yet another mess due to the cabinet, but that was not as bad as the pickle jar incident before. That had reminded me never to leave a jar of pickles inside the cabinet. With a quick motion, I lifted out my little air pistol and held it. It always felt wonderful to hold the little devil. It was like I held an actual handgun, it was that realistic. Even had realistic blowback. I turned to a green waterproof backpack that I had pilfered from my older brother's items. He usually did not entirely care about the backpack, as long as it was not ruined, or had holes. It was a surplus army backpack, designed for long campaigns and other purposes which I could not recall. I had already packed it partway with clothing and my small fireworks. I planned a little surprise for him involving fireworks and a little nighttime fun. There were six little bottles of steel BB's inside that cabinet; those went inside the backpack as well. The CP99 was laid carefully on top. I checked for anything else. I had six small CO2 canisters seated in a box on the bottom shelf.
“Last ones, I guess. Better use 'em now before they start to leak.” I tossed those in as well.” The pack was pretty well full, with most of the clothing I had brought. Some was the camouflage clothing I had bought from a surplus store when I was missing my pants at one job I worked at. At least, non-work pants. I stood there, staring at the place around me. I would be gone for three days. Bidding good-bye to my area, I stood looking at my display case, where my models sat. Each had been painstakingly painted for the Warhammer 40,000 tournaments I had entered in, but was never accepted into. Apparently they did not like my idea of attack, which is to launch my Deathstrike Tactical Missile Launcher on the second turn. It had always made me laugh. My carrying case was leaned up against the front pane of glass that guarded the front of the display. I opened it, making certain my paints were still inside. I needed something to do when I was not shooting BB's like a madman. I made sure unpainted models were contained within, along with my paints and brushes. I looked outside. The sky had darkened, which meant I had been packing for a little over six hours. Sighing, I set the backpack on top of my case and tromped down the back steps of the house to where my bedroom was. I was tired beyond belief, although I had done almost nothing that day. With a simple flop onto my pillow-top mattress, I was dead to the world.
The sun was streaming in through my window as 'Dynamite' woke me up. My phone alarm was definitely the most annoying thing I knew of. I stirred, sitting up. My glasses had fallen off my face, clattering underneath the bedside table. Replacing them onto my face, I took one look around the room. Sighing, I left for the upstairs.
My case and backpack were seated by the front door, along with a small box with a note attached. Picking it up, I read it as I opened the box.
“'I thought I would leave you something to eat before you go on your trip. Here you go. They're quite fresh.' I wonder what they are?” I opened the box to the delicious aroma of freshly baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. My mother rarely made them, but they were my favourite. Even though I was sure she had gone to work, I shouted inside the house anyways. “Thanks, Mom! I really appreciate this!” I checked my shirt. Something had torn it in the middle of the night. A simple black shirt was all it was, so I grabbed a shirt that was lying out on the nearby couch. It had a red atomic symbol, flanked by two yellow triangles, the symbol for my video channel. It made me smile every time I wore it. A horn honking from outside alerted me to the arrival of my transportation. I was in shorts, so I quickly threw on a black pair of pants from the day before, and my channel shirt, along with an olive tan GI cap, and bolted out the door with everything I was taking. The guy I usually did Airsoft with frowned at me.
“Every time you come with us, you always have more and more stuff! Seriously, dude! I don't know how you get so much!” I merely smiled.
“It's called sales, dude. It's how I got the CP99, and it's how I'll always get my stuff. Also, we're there for three days! I don't want to go stir-crazy!” I frowned at him, showing him the seriousness of my statement.
“Get in here, dude. We're not waiting all day.” With a sigh, I stepped in. Four others were inside, decked out in their gear for Airsoft. With a rumble, the vehicle – a Ford F-350 Crew Cab, if memory serves me correctly – sped off towards the small camp where we would be staying while practicing. Although, for some reason, I felt like I would not be doing much practicing.
The journey itself had been quite uneventful, although the fog that had rolled in felt like a foreboding of strange intent. The truck stopped, its engine shutting off. I turned to the guy who had invited me and smirked.
“And why, of all things, does this happen, hm?” He glared at me, silent as the grave. The driver turned to us, frowning.
“All right, crew. We're going to have to hoof it from here. Grab your gear and leave nothing behind. I'll try to get the truck started again and meet you there.” A grunt issued from one of the two seated behind me. One of them had fallen asleep, and the other had tossed a heavy hockey bag onto him.
“Okay, okay, I'm up! Stop throwing things onto me!” I stepped out, grabbing my gear from the bed of the truck. I looked around, trying to see through the fog. Nothing was visible. As the others debated to which way they should go, I struck out on my own. I did not think there was any sense in arguing with the nutcases that had brought me up here in a truck that barely worked. My box of cookies rattled softly from within my backpack, as I had decided to pack it in there when we had stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break. The camp did happen to be four hours away from where we all lived. I carried the backpack slung on one shoulder, with my case tightly gripped in my left hand. No matter what anyone told me then, that army within the case was worth more than their entire games collection combined, dependent on market value and changing demand. Their voices faded, although I simply assumed that it was due to them leaving the truck. If I had turned around, I would have noticed that the truck seemed to not be there, or anything. I was walking through a cloud of fog, as if the ground was made of it as well. Suddenly, my feet fell out from under me. My backpack flew off, my case still tightly clenched in my left hand. I looked down towards what I assumed was solid ground. Solid ground from what appeared to be a mile up, with me plummeting towards it. I would say I took it like a man and stayed stoic throughout the fall, but that would be someone who has no emotion. What I did, I am not afraid to admit.
I screamed like a little girl.
Far below, in the city I could see now, something was happening. Multicoloured blobs were being overtaken by a massive amount of black blobs. I silently cursed my horrible vision. I had been wearing a mask to prevent injury from any BB's that would have been flying, which meant I had been unable to wear my glasses. Tearing off the mask, I threw it away, still screaming. As fast as I could – which, in relative terms in a very, very fast wind current, is really slow – I put my glasses on. I could see clearly. Black... ponies with insectoid wings were splashing multi-coloured ponies with green goop. I looked beyond them. The ground I was heading towards was paved with cobblestone. Now, I've fallen backfirst onto large stones before, and they hurt. I was also hurtling towards them like a kamikaze watermelon. I held onto my case with a death grip. If I was going to die, no one would get my Warhammer models. I closed my eyes and whistled the 'Reveille', a tune usually reserved for Remembrance Day, although I assumed that the moment was appropriate.
“I'm going to die. I'm going to die, and there's no one who will know!” I fell faster, faster, farther into what felt like a pit of darkness.
That was, until the awful crunching noise, and the sound of absolute silence. Along my back, something sticky oozed. Something sticky, and scarily creepy. Voices around me startled me before I realized I could understand them.
“It landed on the changeling! Where did it even come from?” I sat up, the weird oozing feeling slipping off my back.
“Eww~. I'm never going to forget that feeling.” I turned around, and sure enough, underneath me was one of those black ponies, except it was more flat than I had assumed. “At least I landed on something soft and squishy.” I stood up. My case was fine, besides putting a near-permanent impression of the Warhammer 40,000 logo onto my torso. Something was off. Something was missing. A sharp whistling alerted me to something above me, falling fast. Looking up, my jaw dropped just before I was slammed into the ground, another of the black ponies landing on me, with my backpack on top. “Ah, there it is.” I rolled the dead corpse off of me, strapping my backpack on as I stood up. My Warhammer case in hand, I stared around. Everything looked at me with menacing eyes. I took the only option I could see that was realistic.
I ran like a scared dog. Right and left, up and down, I could still hear the buzzing behind me. The very sound of the changelings, as I had heard a pony call them, scared me. I would have crawled into some home and hidden, if it had occurred to me, but being chased by hundreds of changelings, not to mention the fact that I had killed one, and my bag had killed another, by accident, meant that I had no time to hide. Every group of pastel-coloured ponies that I passed glared at me.
“Save us! Come on!”
“Kinda busy right now!” Protecting my Warhammer, and running for my life, those were my priorities at that moment. I did not want to be caught unable to continue a group back at home that I had painstakingly worked hard to bring back together.
“Why would you ask that strange thing? It is probably something that lives with commoners! I refuse to be touched by that brute!” That stopped me in my tracks. I have never had the greatest opportunities in life; everything I have, I have worked hard for. Which explained my next outburst.
“Commoner?! Commoner?! Alright, who's the idiot who called me that?!” I turned around, only to be met with an overwhelming force of changeling to the face. I was sent flying, my backpack scattering away, although I still clutched the case with fear of destroying the models inside. As I hit the ground, I felt something grab the strap of the case and lift it away. In that moment, I snapped. Now, for context, I was very protective of my models. I worked hard to be able to have those models, and to have those... things take them from me? I sort of lost it. Well, all right, I really lost it. What issued from my mouth was no sane intelligence, but the sheer rage of a gamer scorned. That case contained the culmination of my collection, and they were taking it away, the one thing that I knew would keep me sane.
“Oh, they took your red case, did they? Serves you right, peasant!” I turned to the pony that had spoken, pure, unadulterated fury blazing in my eyes. I charged after the swarm, which, although I had not noticed it at the time, led me to a palace.
“What have you found- what are these? And this? These are very strange...” Something was messing with my models. That was the thought at the forefront of my mind. I had recovered my pack, and was currently sprinting through the palace, following the echoing voice. I turned a corner to see the absolute ugliest creature in the entirety of my life with my models floating beside it.
“Hey, I wanted the biped-” All eyes fell to the strange man standing in their doorway, me. Something about the scene made the rage subside as I sat down beside my Warhammer case and watched in silence as the ugly creature played with my models. It seemed to prefer the Leman Russ Demolisher I had forgotten to remove from the case; it was already fully painted. Eventually, I reached out toward my case, drawing it back toward me.
“If you are done playing with my tank, I would greatly appreciate it- put the Codex down! Now! ” My Codex for my army, the Imperial Guard, was being mishandled by the ugly creature. Pages were almost torn out as it began to read it in earnest. “Either start treating my Codex with respect, or the models will be gone! ” As I watched, tears welled up in the ugly creature's eyes. She scooted closer, levitating the Codex into my outstretched hand.
“I... I have never seen anything like this before. What are those?” A smile crossed my face, a similar impish grin that always crossed my face when asked to explain what the Imperial Guard were. This was going to be fun.
After several hours, the ugly creature – she had let me know her name, which was Queen Chrysalis... she was the one who had instigated the strange invasion outside, apparently – had wonder-filled eyes at the knowledge of Warhammer 40,000 I had mentioned. Funny how my slightly obsessive nature can help sometimes. Without warning, a bright flash of incandescent light – though more like a dome – expanded out from two ponies near the back of the room. Without thinking, I put myself between Chrysalis and the dome. Her... subjects, the changelings, I could see them being blasted away as I watched out the window. Cheering as they flew away, some eyes glared up at me. I shrank back from the window, looking at the now four ponies looking at me. One seemed really, really happy – that would be the black changeling queen, Chrysalis – one was absolutely confused – a white pony with wings and a horn, and a sun on her flank – while two others stared me down.
“W-What did I do?” I backed towards the window, staring down at the cobblestone below. There was not a dog's chance in hell that I would be able to land on something squishy and soft. I sighed. Fear began to creep into my mind, although a smile crept across my face. I have that annoying habit. I smile when I am scared out of my wits.
“Why are you with her, the Queen of the Changelings!? You're probably helping her out!” Six others had joined the shouting at me. With a quiet nod, Chrysalis had levitated my case to her back and was silently making an exit with it. With a tear in my eye, I mentally waved a goodbye to my glorious Warhammer case that had only one working latch. I turned back to my tormentors with fear in my eyes, but that same, impish, retarded grin that I always flashed when I was afraid stayed on my lips. The large white pony had joined in on the anger, staring me down. I felt like a midget at that moment, although, if it had not been by a window, it could have been a lot worse.
“It fell out the window! Somepony catch it!” Somepony. Great. My inner Grammar Nazi had awoken, and fuel just kept being added.
“Everypony, look out below!” I was still smiling as I fell out the window, although, if I had been paying attention, I would have noticed the rather large cabbage cart below me a few seconds before. I crashed, and it began to rain cabbage. Painful, painful cabbage, along with a pony screaming. For some reason, it seemed very familiar, although I could not place it at that point.
“My cabbages!” I chuckled at that as I stood up and brushed myself off. My pants had torn on one of the legs. Something liquid dripped off the side of my head. I felt where it was, to have my hand come away with blood.
“Must have hit my head pretty hard. I'm... going to go find someplace to sleep.” With that, I stumbled through, although it should have been a fact that I stumbled into more walls than open doorways. Eventually, though, an opportunity presented itself. I saw an empty basement, with what appeared to be a cot, and a lantern hanging from the ceiling, through an open window. Without a second thought, I tossed my backpack in, slithering in after it, although getting stuck twice could not be considered 'slithering in.' A ladder led to a second floor, although the room appeared rather sparse, it was all I needed. The cot... it was almost my size, too, and pillow-top. It was heavenly. I was dead to the world in less than a minute.
Morning came earlier than expected when I felt something prodding my forehead. As I awoke, Chrysalis was standing above me, staring down. I looked behind her. A table was set up, along with my models... and my paints.
“Darn, it's too early-” My phone. It was in my pocket, and of all things to go off, 'Dynamite' was playing. My 10:00 am alarm. “Scratch that.” I stood up, albeit shakily. Chrysalis sat expectantly beside the table, staring down at the models.
“Could you show me more about this 'Imperium of Man?' Could there be a changeling force?” At that, I rubbed my forehead. A mirror hung in front of the cot I had slept in. I stared at myself. I was a mess. My face was a veritable maze of scratches and minor cuts, while my hair was cut very, very short by someone highly inept. At least he had been bandaged properly.
“Did you do this?” Chrysalis nodded. I did not understand what was going on. Crossing my fingers mentally, I hoped it was all a cheese-induced nightmare like they usually were.
Oh, how wrong I would find myself to be.
It had been a week since I arrived. Chrysalis, the changeling queen, and I, had been hiding out in the random basement we had taken cover in. With the Codex in my case, and a few of my models to demonstrate, Chrysalis followed everything I said in regards to Warhammer. As the days kept dragging on, I had made the room more... homely. There had been a cot sitting in the corner, folded up, which I had brought out for her. It had been quite... mundane, to say the least. At least, until the question popped into Chrysalis' head about who I was.
“I know I've told you my name, but I don't know yours.” I froze. Normally, when someone asks that, I reply with my real name, but when in an unfamiliar locale, well, there are nicknames upon nicknames I could use.
“I'm... I'm Acheron.” I stood up, brushing myself off. I looked around the basement again. While it was not all that large, it was enough room for a guy and a changeling. For some bizarre reason, there had also been quite the supply of potato chips in boxes beside the ladder. A question formed in my head, one that I believed Chrysalis would be able to answer. “Hey, Chrysalis?” She looked up at me like so many new gamers had before.
“Yes?”
“Why do you suppose no one, or pony, has checked in this basement? I mean, I was accused of assisting you, even though they saw what I was doing. How could they consider this-” I motioned to my Imperial Guard models, “-assisting you in an invasion? I just don't get it.” I had long since unpacked my backpack, checking the CO2 canister inside my CP99. I knew it was not an actual weapon, but I preferred the fact that it looked cool. Chrysalis had, on multiple occasions, shot a potato chip out of my hand with it, followed by me scolding her for using up precious CO2.
“I don't know. I really don't.” A noise from the hatch above the ladder startled us into realizing that something may have found us out. I stood below the ladder in the vain hopes that, if it was even possible, whatever was up there would not come down. All that happened was the hatch shifting as I heard... rhythmic... pounding?!
“Okay, now I'm sure I don't want to know what's going on up there.” I looked at my pants, walked over to them, and fished out my phone. “Zero bars. Wonder why I was expecting anything different. No internet either. Eh.” I checked the battery. “Good for an hour, if I'm careful.” I shut the phone off, grasping my pants. I slid them on as fast as possible, tightening the ever-fraying belt that I always wore. Chrysalis watched in fascination as I finished my dressing.
“Why does your kind wear clothing all the time? Ponies only wear them on special occasions.” My hand mentally slapped my face, trying to keep my mind from descending into madness. I should explain that point. My mind is an ever-twisting fountain of chaos. Even I cannot understand it. All I know is most of the time it is serious, while other times it decides to descend into a random composition of syllables and gibberish. It has always been like this, no matter what anybody who knows me says.
“Okay, to clarify, that's kind of an odd question.” I looked up at the ceiling, attempting to figure out the best way to explain what I was trying to get across. “All right. Where I'm from, nudity is a taboo in a lot of cultures, which means we cover up. Some cultures do not have it, and it is very odd to go from my culture to theirs.” I sat down, resting my chin on my hand. A thought crossed into my mind as I thought of what changelings, according to legend, could do.
“Well, that is all right. Changelings would only wear clothing if the pony we impersonated would wear them.” I looked up at Chrysalis, who had begun to sway back and forth. As I watched, she collapsed. I had no inkling of what could have caused it.
“Chrysalis!” I knelt down beside her, looking down. Even though she was large, for a changeling in that world, she was just as tall as me, barely. I am quite tall where I am from. Over six feet tall. She looked up, her eyes glazed over.
“I... forgot... to survive... we changelings need to feed off of love...” An idea formed in my head after her statement. I had love for anything that took my interest...
“Chrysalis, what about me?”
“... what?” I shook my head and gave her a hard stare.
“Why not use the love I can generate to feed?” Chrysalis stared up, confused.
“We changelings can sense emotions, but all I can feel from you is passion. Not love.” And the wind billowing in my sails was quickly removed. I stared down, looking at the ground. I thought back to my family. I loved my family very much, and I missed them very much. Chrysalis stared at me in wonder. “... that is an abnormal amount of love. What is it with you humans?” I smiled down at her, a single tear escaping my eye.
“Well, emotion, for what I used to do, was something I always had to keep under wraps. Even on my world, for a male to show emotion was more for him to show weakness than anything. All that emotion has to go somewhere, right?” At that point, I wished that I could have seen it from Chrysalis' point of view. She smiled, standing up. She took a deep breath, sparkling dust blowing out her nostrils.
“And that emotion is delicious! Forget the ponies-” I clasped my hands firmly over her muzzle, holding her mouth shut.
“No. I refuse to be someone's food source. Now, will you drop that? I'll let you have some emotional overflow of mine whenever it is needed, but for now, don't speak of it. Besides, we're... kind of conspicuous at the moment.” I pointed down to myself. My clothing was the custom shirt I had made, with the same old pants I tended to wear a lot. My phone was on its last dredges of life, which meant that I was about to lose the last technological connection I had with home. “I mean, if this is a land where magic is real – I'm genuinely assuming it is, considering the fact that those two, from what I assume was a wedding, used some – then minotaurs should be real, right? We just need to observe how they dress, and I can follow accordingly!” I looked down to my pants with a small red tinge covering my face. “... as long as I can keep my underpants on, though.” Chrysalis looked at me with amazement.
“I never thought of that!” We laughed at each other, the thought crossing my mind that she reminded me once of a girl I had met. Forgetting that for a moment, I glanced out the window. As coincidence would have it, a minotaur walked by the window. I had never seen an actual minotaur before, and the images from legends that I had read through were completely different. Where, in legend, did it mention that a minotaur had an entourage of goats?
“Are minotaurs... usually followed around by a crowd of goats?” Chrysalis stood straight up.
“His name is Iron Will, and he teaches assertiveness to ponies.” She looked out the window. “Although... it tends to make them more aggressive than just assertive.” She sighed. I sat down beside her, looking at my pants. My wallet was still there, which meant... I reached inside, withdrawing a photograph. There she was, the girl of my dreams. Naturally, I became tongue-tied whenever I attempted to talk to her. I showed the picture to Chrysalis.
“Can you mimic this female of my species? Although it is unprecedented, it might be a good way to test just how far your... transformation can go.” I let go of the picture, it floating in the air due to Chrysalis' magic. She transformed, but how she did is not something I can ever forget. As she transformed, her front legs transformed into fleshy, muscular human arms. I can only imagine the pain she felt as she shifted. The middle joint on the hind legs cracked forwards, shifting to how a human would walk. Long brown hair fell from her new head, sea-green eyes staring out at me from underneath the strands. Her voice was still her own, but she looked the same as the photograph I had... minus the clothing. Turning away, I let my face burn with embarrassment. Walking over to my backpack, I looked inside. She had not copied the genitals of the opposite sex – thank God – but she had still, for lack of a better reason, mimicked the breast perfectly. At least the shape. I tossed her a pair of camouflage cargo pants and one of my several camo shirts.
“Why are you giving me these?” I pointed down, trying to keep myself from quivering in excitement. I did not understand it at that point, however.
“Because human females cover up the same as males in my culture. Unfortunately, the only human clothing here happens to be mine, so yeah.” As she dressed, I turned to my backpack. That green military surplus backpack had seen me through so much. It was a beautiful thing. A tap on my shoulder alerted me to Chrysalis. I turned and almost fell backwards in shock. My clothes fit her perfectly.
“How do I look?” She was trying to figure out how to walk similar to how I did. It was amusing. She would attempt to walk on all fours, then stand, followed by toppling backwards.
“Besides the constant falling, you look good. Now, how does it feel?” She glared at me, brushing strands of hair out of her eyes.
“Like a million bits. That transformation hurt more than I'd hoped it would. I can still feel my magic, though.” To test, she concentrated, her magic forming around her fingers. A single guardsman lifted from the case, floating towards her. Sweat pooled on her brow as she continued that activity. “It's... a lot harder than before.”
“Well, humans aren't magically inclined, I would suppose. I'll pack up my stuff. We've overstayed our welcome here.” She nodded, her face furrowed in a look of pure hate when her hair fell in front of her eyes.
“How do you deal with your manes?! Mine refuses to cooperate!” I laughed, patting her on the back.
“I don't take care of mine all that much. I get it trimmed every once in a while. In your case, we'd need a pair of scissors. I do know how to cut hair.” I put my fist in the middle of my chest. I beamed proudly. “My mother taught me, along with cooking, and various other things.” I packed up what I could into the backpack, letting Chrysalis figure out her fingers by allowing her to pack the Warhammer models away. As I finished, I heard a growl of irritation.
“How do these infernal models fit into these slots?!” She was about to throw a model when I grabbed her arm.
“Be careful. These are irreplaceable. They don't exist on this world. Let me show you.” I slid each model carefully into its designated slot, Chrysalis watching over my shoulder. If I had turned around, I probably would have noticed her sticking her tongue out at me.
“So, I should have put them in length-wise, not width-wise?”
“Yeah. So, ready to go?” She nodded, grabbing the case carefully and holding it close. I lifted the green backpack and slid it onto my back. I grabbed onto the ladder, climbing up.
“Ready.” A world awaited me outside, a world of endless possibilities...
A world of empty towns. I looked around. Each building was quite unique, flowing curves, and smooth symbols. It would have been perfect, had there been any sign of life. Chrysalis stood beside me, her eyes scanning the area too.
“This... this isn't natural, Chrysalis.” I looked over at a nearby table. Food was still left out, which meant that they had left in a hurry. Apparently very quietly too.
“There are usually ponies around, including my changeling spies as well.” I turned with a glare to her.
“Spies? Really... and you wonder why they don't like you.” She shrugged. She was gaining more precise motor control as she moved. I looked down at the ground. Her feet had nothing to protect them from anything on the ground. I removed my backpack, rummaging around. “I thought I had put them in here somewhere... aha! Here they are!” I removed a pair of sandals from the backpack, handing them to Chrysalis. Just for clarification, I have big feet, so when she put them on, and they fit perfectly... I was dumbstruck.
“Thank you, Acheron.” I rubbed the back of my head, smirking at the praise.
“Well, we should get going- is that cheesecake?! Gimme!” In the window of what was probably a cake shop, there was the most blessed of all desserts. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a New York Style cheesecake, my absolute favourite. Chrysalis stared as I ran into the shop, grabbing the cheesecake. I walked out with a box in one hand and a knife and two forks in the other. “Can't say no to New York style cheesecake!” I sat down on an abandoned table, setting the cheesecake between myself and Chrysalis.
“Why do you love cheesecake so much?” I nearly choked on a bite I had taken of the piece I was eating.
“Why do I love- cheesecake is one of the perfect pleasures of life! Delicious and smooth, with that slight amount of texture that makes it melt in your mouth!” I coughed as another piece decided to try to enter my windpipe.
“So... about the female human you had me take the form of...” I stopped with a wide-eyed stare at Chrysalis. The cheesecake slid down the right pipe, allowing me to talk.
“She was a friend. However, I liked her a lot... but she never gave me notice. I never really knew much about her.” I sat there afterward in silence, eating the cheesecake. Chrysalis looked down, her unruly hair falling in front of her eyes again.
“So... you had me transform into her so you could get a chance you never had?” I looked up. She was leaning forward, striking up a provocative pose.
“Not quite that simple, really. I don't want to be the only human here in- what is this place called again?”
“Canterlot?”
“No, I mean... well, the land, the area around.” I looked at Chrysalis with impatience.
“Oh, Equestria.” I nodded.
“I'd rather not be the only human in Equestria. Even though you are a changeling... you're the only friend I have here.” I sat there, staring up at the sky. I missed my home, but, then again, I never really had much of a life before I landed there.
“So... how many humans live where you're from?”
“Earth? Over six billion people.” It was Chrysalis' turn to choke on cheesecake. She stared at me with utter shock in her eyes.
“Six... billion?! You outnumber even Equestria several hundred to one!” I shrugged.
“Earth is a big planet. Although it is currently dying because of how humanity treats it.” I returned my gaze to Chrysalis. While she had transformed into the girl from the photograph, her eyes had returned to the green of her own eyes. She leaned sideways, leaving nothing to my messed-up imagination.
“So... how are the females in your society.” I shook my head. I turned away, looking elsewhere.
“How the heck would I know? None of them wanted to talk to me at all. It was like I wasn't even there.” I stood up, closing the cheesecake box. Tying it to the top of the backpack, I repositioned it on my back once more. “Oh, I've got a question for you.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“If you tell the ponies your name is Chrysalis, they'll arrest you – and me – in a heartbeat. Would... Chrys work? Just using the first five letters?” Chrysalis looked down at her hands. She seemed deep in thought.
“Yeah, I suppose that would work.” I turned around to come face to face with a guard holding a spear in my direction. Chrysalis looked around, trying to figure out what was happening.
“W-We were o-ordered to t-take you in, by force if necessary.” I shook my head. An idea formed in my head.
“I'm Osiris, and this is Chrys. We're albino minotaurs. Now, could you tell us where everyone has gone? It's kind of urgent.” The guard seemed to relax visibly.
“They're at the castle for some kind of celebration. The wedding a week ago was a bit of a bust, so they moved it to today.” Chrysalis looked at me, smiling innocently.
“Uh huh. So, could you take us there?” The guard pointed at the obnoxiously large gates a few hundred metres away from where we stood.
“Just go through there. You'll see the crowd soon enough.” As the guard left, Chrysalis looked at me questioningly.
“Osiris? Really?” I smiled sheepishly.
“I've got a lot of nicknames. If they figure out who I am, I can use the one I gave you.” Laughing, we walked to the gate. I never liked weddings, but for some reason, something felt extremely off. Chrysalis seemed to feel it as well.
“You feel like something bad's going to happen?” I nodded at her.
“Sense of impending doom. Always at the wrong times, too.” I turned to look at the wedding that was not far from us. Ponies and other creatures were running around screaming. Strange skeletons marched around, chasing them down. “You have got to be kidding me... why is it skeletons?!”
Acheron, Meet a Trickster!
I stood there, mouth open in utter shock as skeletons of ponies galloped around, incorporeal laughter seeming to echo from their frozen countenances. Chrysalis stood there with a look of utter confusion. My mind raced through memories to see if I had any data on how to defeat skeletons. I know it seems odd, but I have a near-eidetic memory. Faces are really problematic, but I remember almost everything else, some things right down to the accent.
“Acheron... why are there skeletons running around?” Chrysalis' voice resonated with shock. I stood there simply aghast. I rubbed my forehead, staring at where I assumed the laughter was coming from.
“Something's here. I know it. Wait right here.” I waded through the writhing mass of ponies – not easy, considering some were about half the height of me. Hooves collided with my toes, my poor shoes losing pieces wherever they struck. Chrysalis stared as I made it to the middle, where skeletons ran in a circle. “Skeletons, even the ones which shouldn't exist, have to have a summoner... aha!” My hand shot out, grabbing something that shouldn't have been there, my hand disappearing as it gripped.
“Wah! Who dares grab me!?” I turned to see that Chrysalis had made her way over. I looked down at her feet. They were red and torn.
“Chrys, you're bleeding.”
“And that's a unicorn you're holding.” Her hand snaked out and grabbed hold of something imperceptible. Almost all at once, the skeletons vanished within puffs of smoke, and my hand was revealed on a sky-blue unicorn's... flank. Chrysalis was holding her horn with a death grip, staring down with irritation. I looked down at Chrysalis' feet. There was no wound. I shrugged, looking at the unicorn. The ponies all around stared angrily.
“How dare you grab the Great and Powerful Trixie in such a... disturbing way?!” Chrysalis and I retreated a few feet back, staring her down. She really did not seem all that great, but powerful? What little I understood of magic had her pegged as definitely that. I stood back, the looks on the ponies' faces registering under one I knew very well.
“You're one to talk, with the locals detesting your very existence. Come on!” I hoisted Trixie onto my shoulder, running away as fast as my panicking legs could take me. She was not all that heavy, far from it, to be honest. Either that, or it was the adrenaline pumping through my veins as myself, Trixie on shoulder, and Chrysalis sprinted away. To be perfectly honest, I doubt I will ever forget the absolute look of terror on those ponies' faces when I, an absolute stranger, hoisted Trixie after revealing her, picked her up and ran away. Chrysalis caught up and sped beside me.
“Why did you do that?” Laughter escaping my mouth did not seem to answer her question.
“Because I think it's funny! To leave them absolutely confused is a great way to provide entertainment!” Chrysalis glared at me.
“The changelings despise this one greatly. She does not feel love, nor compassion. She only cares for herself.” Her point did make itself across. With a leap, I jumped from a stone walkway in what I assumed was the middle of the town. I would have to ask the name sooner or later. With another leap, roll, and sliding on my stomach for about three metres when I hit a banana cart, I had returned to my temporary home, the basement of the house. With that, I set Trixie down. Her white hair was frazzled as she sat there in shock.
“Y-You... took me away from them...” To be fair, half of the stuff I do is just for the absolute fun of it. I do not do it for reward, which is why Trixie's reaction took me by surprise. She hugged me – at least, I assumed it was a she. I was not very good with those pony voices. Her hug was like a pair of vice grips clamping down a piece of metal at home: tight, confining, and painful if you try to make it release. “Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthank-” I pushed her away as hard as I could.
“Y-You're... not... letting... me... breathe!” At once, she let go, letting me cough up both lungs in an effort to keep breathing. Chrysalis ran out to drag us both inside.
“Both of the occupants of this household were masquerading changelings. The originals have not returned, it seems.” Trixie looked at the house, a look of disgust crossing her face.
“You cannot stay here! The Great and Appreciative Trixie will let you board with her at the hotel!” Chrysalis and I stared at each other. Every building looked the same to me: colourful walls, colour-streaked roofing, it was amazing that anyone could find anything in that place.
“Really.” A thought crossed my mind. There was something I had always wanted to do, and this was my chance to cause some major panic as well. Two things, then, that I had always wanted to do. Trixie looked up with a questioning look.
“Yes really!.. why?” A smile overtook my face.
“Does the hotel have clotheslines from one building to the next?”
The hotel itself was quite extravagant. Silk banners floated from balconies, while maids flitted from door to door, their cleaning carts following. I stared in shock. It was an obvious structure, the colour contrasting to the other, extravagant structures around it. It was reminiscent of some Mexican architecture I had seen for villages from some of the movies I had watched.
“I guess you weren't kidding. So, where's this room of yours?” Trixie trotted along, silently leading myself and Chrysalis into the extravagant-appearing hotel...
To find what appeared to be a motel on the inside. I worked on a road crew, so I had seen my fair share of motels. I do not like them. It was about as dingy as one, with a few cracked walls, peeling wallpaper, and shot lights. Trixie looked down at the ground.
“I stayed here to keep a low profile. They all hate me...” I glared at her as she levitated a key, using forces beyond me, turning it in a lock for the second door we had found. The room itself was a stark contrast to the absolute garbage corridor.
“I wonder why. Oh, I have a request to make.” Trixie turned, a scowl of irritation on her face. Her cape floated onto a nearby hat rack, hanging down limply as she laid upon the main bed in the room.
“What do you request then, minotaur?” I took off my glasses, wiping my hand down my face.
“No! I am not a freaking minotaur! I can use it as a lie to get past guards and the like, but for anyone, or pony, to call me one... that's just taking the joke too far.” I panted as I regained my composure. I straightened out my shirt, breathing slowly. “All right.”
“Then what do I call you, hmm?” Trixie stared me down with a glare not unlike the various girls I had known throughout high school when they wanted me to leave. I looked down, flexing my wrist. The idea returned.
“First, you call me a 'human'. Bipedal, insane creature. That's... pretty much me in a nutshell. Crazy. Now, the request.” A Cheshire Cat grin replaced the frown across my face, creepily enough that Chrysalis and Trixie backed away.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” My smile only stretched further.
“I need small metal plates, preferably a sixteenth of an inch thick, metal nails, tools for bending and so forth, a few metal springs, and some leather.” Chrysalis stared at me while Trixie wrote the items down. With a flash, she was gone, while I sat there, quietly snickering.
“That was... quite a specific list. What are you planning?” I turned to bear my entire grinning face onto her.
“Chrysalis, have you never tried a zipline?” With a flash, Trixie had returned, items held within her telekinetic grasp. I quickly snatched them, looking through them all as they tumbled one by one from their place in midair. “These will work just nicely.”
I stood upon the roof of the dingy hotel/motel that Trixie was staying at, staring at the various clotheslines that stretched from roof to roof. I flexed my hand, a brand new metal contraption, attached to my wrist, extending as I did so. A leather-covered bend in the end of it attached to the springs that were inside. I was silently happy that Trixie had acquired high-tension springs. The entire device was spring-loaded, so when I gripped a certain part of it, the device would clap together, hopefully launching me with enough force to clear the line I was using. Staring down, I could see several open-air markets, with many ponies of various colours and fashions staring up at me. Trixie cleared her throat, garnering my attention.
“So, what is the point of this 'Zipline Tool', or whatever it was you called it?” I spun around on my heel – not an easy task, unless your shoes have no tread on the heel – and faced her.
“It allows me to hang from the clotheslines, hopefully allowing me to slide along it without any issue.” Chrysalis approached, pointing at several makeshift wheels within.
“What about those?”
“Those are what allow me to build speed. They're simple wheels, but they will do the trick.” I stared down, breathing deeply.
“Are you sure this is safe?” I turned to Trixie, a maniacal grin crossing my face.
“I've got no idea.” With that, I sprinted to the edge, leaping as hard as I could to end up on a line moving downwards. The metal wheels contacted, clacking as they spun. Building up speed, I was vaguely aware of the ponies below me panicking and scurrying around. With a squeeze, the tool clasped together, the sheer tensile force of the springs launching me. I was certainly a far ways above the ground, which worried me, since I had just missed the clothesline I was going to hook to.
“What is that?!”
“Somepony call the guards!”
“Think of the children!” Without warning, another clothesline simply appeared in my vision, my tool hooking on before I realized. It was also quite short, so I was heading straight for a stone building directly in my path.
“Come on, come on, come on! Dagnabbit jammed!” The device had locked itself, forcing me to hit it repeatedly with my fist in an attempt to unlock it. The building came closer. I dislodged the problem. It was right on top of me. The springs squeezed, launching me up, but also down. Bouncing off the wall, I landed face-first on a cart of cabbages.
“My cabbages!” I looked around. There was a strangely familiar pony who was weeping over his destroyed organic produce. I picked one up, looking it over.
“You've got some good quality cabbages here, I'll give you that. Also, I did not intend to fall on your cart, it just sort of... happened.” Heavy stepping behind me alerted me to something of a large amount of danger. I faced a large detachment of guards, their spears, swords, and crossbows ready to kill me at a moment's notice.
“Stop right there, criminal scum! No one breaks the law on our watch!” I was presented with two options. The first one was to give up and go with them, barring any way for me to figure out a way to get home. The second was- I turned. There was an edge. What seemed like a cliff... and there was a convenient rope going from it down to some other area. Smiling, I turned.
“Sorry, gentlemen, but I have things to do. If I had the money, I would pay for the damages to the cabbages!” With that, I sprinted off, spears clashing against the ground, bolts slamming into houses, and swords missing me by mere inches. “At least they aim like Stormtroopers. That's a plus.” I jumped, the tool grabbing onto the rope. Below, another section of Canterlot lay before me. The speed I was moving at was incredible... and slightly concerning. I chanced a look up. The wheels were moving so quickly, that sparks were flying off, and setting fire to the rope! “Oh no! Oh no no!” My screaming was heard for a long ways as I sailed down the ever-burning rope. “Nonononononononononononono!” With a sickening snap, the rope split, sending me careening towards what I assumed was a pool down below. Oh... how wrong I would be.
“Oh, darling! You really should come to the spa more often!” A certain white unicorn with a frilly purple mane was fussing over her companion, a cerulean coloured pegasus pony with a rainbow-hured mane. I will just say, I am very, very glad that it was deeper than I thought it was, because when I hit-
“What the-”
“Get out of the way!”
“What hit the pool?!” With an unceremonious coughing, I rose from the depths like some sort of sea monster, sputtering and slightly choking on my crawl out. I flexed my hand, making sure the zipline tool was still operable. It clanked with protest, meaning it was operable, but just barely so. The realization that I was somewhere I probably should not have been dawned on me. Looking around, I saw jaws drop and pupils shrink as fear set in.
“Well, this is certainly a predicament.” My sentence was punctuated by what seemed like an entire legion's worth of pony guards entering through any opening they could use. “This... doesn't bode well.” My eyes scanned the room wildly, looking for an exit. Conveniently, there was a window that was not covered, with a clothesline attached to the wall just above it. Perfect.
“Stop right there! We don't know who you-” One of the guards stared at me blankly, recognition slowly coming to him. “That's the albino minotaur who was seen assisting both the changeling Chrysalis and the rogue unicorn Trixie Lulamoon! Arrest him!” I smiled, backing towards the window. They advanced, their weapons at the ready. My grin grew only wider.
“Sorry, gentlemen. Though, you will remember this as the day you almost caught me, Acheron!” With that, I charged to the wall, jumping through the window and latching onto the clothesline. The wheels began to catch, ripping out of the tool as I continued along. The leather began to smoke, prompting me to press the spring-trigger. A few seconds later, the springs flew out, leaving me still sliding down a very long clothesline. Flapping behind me alerted me to something worse than I expected. “They have wings?! Dagnabbit, and here I was expecting to at least outmaneuver them for a while!” An arrow flew past, severing the rope before I slammed into an oncoming structure. I fell quite far into a pile of hay. With a single roll, I stood up, looking around. A crowd had gathered around me, allowing me to hide from plain view as they flew overhead. Crawling, I made my way past the various pastel ponies around me. With a quick breath, I stood up, leaning against a shadow-covered wall. With a flash, Trixie and Chrysalis were standing directly behind me.
“You know how to stir up the wrong crowd. We should get moving. My cart is on the edge of town, and I'd rather say goodbye to this place than stay here any longer.” I laid my hand on her side, pulling her back.
“Where is my bag? Where is my case?” With a flash, those items were deposited beside us, no worse for wear. “Chrys, you grab the case. I'll grab my bag.” With a fluid motion, I slid the backpack on, shifting it so it was comfortable. I smiled. “Last one to the outskirts of Canterlot's a rotten egg!” I sprinted off, leaving Chrysalis and Trixie to attempt to catch up to me. Leaping over stalls, ducking under low-hanging awnings, and sliding across wet stones, it was almost like I was the outlaw running away in one of those incredible pirate movies. Laughter came from close behind. Turning around, Trixie was following close, tailed by Chrysalis. I faced forward to land on my stomach in an empty cart.
“Whoa!” Chrysalis and Trixie landed beside me in the cart as it began to travel down a long flight of stairs. Bounce, bounce, bounce, I felt every bump and shake as the poor wooden cart groaned and creaked on every hit of the stone steps. I looked up to see the guards flying right at us.
“Well, looks like we've got company! Come on, you stupid thing, move faster!” I began to slam my torso onto the cart to bounce it higher, attempting to get it to go at a slightly quicker pace. The guards flung their spears, narrowly missing my pack, the pocket where the CO2 canisters were held. One lucky shot, and it would be like an explosive detonating on my back. Various houses zipped by, most with their windows open.
“Acheron, whatever you're planning, don't even think about it. Your zipline tool is missing the springs!” I smiled, pointing at the various open windows.
“On the count of three, I'll jump for one of those open windows. I'll try to meet up with you outside of Canterlot! If I don't meet you there, wait five minutes, and then leave!” With a silent breath, I calmed my nerves. What I was about to do was incredibly foolhardy and reckless, and could possibly kill me... the hallmarks of an insane plan. “Count me off!”
“Three!” I stood up, bracing myself.
“Two!” I made my way, staggering and shaking, to the edge of the cart.
“One!” I threw myself from the cart, plunging headfirst through a window into what appeared to be a sort of hat shop. Landing on a pile of material, I stood up to come face to face with perhaps the most shocked pony out of any I had ever met. Without a single word, she returned to work, silently stitching together some kind of leather cap. As I made to leave, she cleared her throat.
“No pony has ever done that and actually landed in the window. Take this aviator's cap.” I held it in my hands. It was the perfect size for me.
“Why... would you give something like this to me? I just fell through-”
“You did something incomparably incredible. Now run. The guards might catch you.” Without even a single word in edgwise, I was ushered out quickly, wearing a rather comfortable leather aviator hood, similar to the ones flying aces wore during one of the world wars. With a breath, I was off, sprinting towards what I assumed was the edge of Canterlot. If I had been paying attention, I would have seen that darn hat maker blowing kisses at me. I saw it in my peripheral vision, but thought nothing of it at the time. I stopped, staring around. I appeared to be in some sort of weapons market district. Various vendors hocked their wares, dickering with the various ponies that wandered about. Two left their stalls, approaching me.
“Looks like he met Shuffling Crimson. She's right messed in the head, but that cap... she knows how to pick 'em, huh.” The one on the left finished speaking, putting a bow at my feet. The one on the right nodded.
“She really can pick 'em. You'll need these. When you reach the edge, there should be some rope, and a small knife. When you slide down the rope, cut it before you hit a tree.” Without even an answer to the various questions now popping into my head, they left, leaving me with a bow and a quiver of arrows.
“Would anyone please explain to me what just happened?” Before I could even garner a response, a spear landed not five feet from me. The guards were back. “Maybe it's better not to ask!” I rolled away, grabbing the arrows and bow before I charged out of there, spears impacting houses right and left. The wall was close. I could see it. A ladder was guarded by some pony who also had a leather cap. She motioned to the ladder, staring back at the guards with a look of utter contempt. I nodded.
“Get moving. They'll kill you if they catch you.” Geez, give me another incentive to run like I just murdered someone. Scaling the ladder, I looked out. There was a long incline, impossibly tall trees near the bottom. I tried archery once before, and was quite mediocre. Silently praying that I would have better luck, I tied the rope that had been spoken of to an arrow and notched it to the string. With a single pull, I drew the bow, aiming for the thickest tree I could find. With a swish, the arrow was away, the rope quickly zipping away. I grabbed the end, securing it to the nearest fixed pole. With an unceremonious sigh, I waited. Hooves impacting the ground brought my attention back to my rear. Spears aimed at me as arrows were notched. I sighed.
“You're nothing to mess with, I can see.” I smiled, backing up. The edge was near, my freedom was close. I looked at them, the fear in their eyes. “Well, I'd like to stay, but I have an appointment to keep! Ta-ta!” With a motion, I fell backwards, letting my zipline tool catch on the rope. The speed at which I began to move was incredible. It was almost like- I forgot the knife.
“He's gone! Where does that rope lead?! Find out!” Something impacted my back. With a flash of light, a knife had been tied to my back. I was beginning to question whether or not I was sane. It was like a chase straight out of Pirates of the Caribbean. Something began to move around on my head, as if it was alive. I felt my hat once more. It was not really an aviator's cap anymore... but more like... a pirate... captain... hat. I was wearing Captain Jack Sparrow's hat. The feeling of complete joy filled my entire being. I had outwitted guards of Equestria, all while wearing a hat that Johnny Depp had worn to be one of the most peculiar characters of all time.
Far below, Chrysalis and Trixie had gotten to talking. Trixie had become interested in the facets of the universe of the “Warhammer 40, 000” that Chrysalis yammered on about. As they spoke, a rope sank into a nearby tree, coupled with the maniacal laughter of a human having entirely too much fun. With a single swipe, the rope was cut, leaving the human to swing towards the ground, nary a scratch. Chrysalis was the first to notice my new head attire.
“Nice hat, Captain. Steal anything good?” I held up the knife, watching it sparkle in the light.
“Just a knife. Those guards are probably freaking out right now. Also, this hat is incredibly awesome!” I removed it, almost tossing it up before I noticed the message inside. Removing the piece of paper, I held it at arms length to read it. “'So, you have finally arrived. It appears that you came from places unknown, but have come through my window. That must mean you know, and therefore, those of us who harbour resentment towards certain nobility will aid you wherever you go. The hat will be the message.' Well, that's not cryptic at all! No sirree bob!” I sighed, crumpling the paper and tossing it to the ground. With a flash, it changed. No longer was a sheet of paper there, but another pony... a lavender unicorn, dazed and confused.
“Acheron, did you do that?”
“What's going on?”
“What the- what?” The lavender unicorn's eyes narrowed in on me, staring intently.
“You're going to tell me who you are, and what I am doing so far from my studies in Ponyville.”
I blinked twice. First, I did not fully comprehend what had happened. Second, even Chrysalis and Trixie were blatantly shocked. With a look of anger, the lavender unicorn glared at me as I backed up slowly.
“L-Listen, I can explain... something, I think. The... whatever that was? No clue whatsoever.” The lavender unicorn sighed, pointing with her hoof at Trixie.
“So then, what are you doing with her? A pony who only understands bragging?” I hardened my face. If that unicorn had been anyone I had met before, there were words I would have said. I am not a polite person unless the situation is exceedingly awkward. Which it was fast becoming. Trixie turned around, glaring at the lavender unicorn. She felt like I did, and I had a sense that Chrysalis was also becoming irritated.
“Well, besides not berating others with questions? Getting us away from Canterlot. Apparently, she's quite the illusionist, something that is quite useful-” Without letting me finish my sentence, the unicorn ripped my new hat from my head, examining it closely. Flipping it upside down, her eyes widened as she gazed inside.
“That's impossible. You are impossible. How did you get this hat?” I rubbed the back of my head, sheepishly grinning.
“Fell through a window. Meant to jump through it, but sort of... jumped wrong. Some crazy pony made me a leather aviator's cap, which, for some bizarre reason, became a captain's hat.” The unicorn held up the hat, glaring at me.
“What is this symbol?! I can read one of the words inside, which says 'Balance', but I don't understand!” The symbol in question was not entirely clear. To me, it appeared to be some sort of wobbling mess of lines. The words, however, were in almost perfect English.
“Uh, I can read this. Huh.” I looked closer. “'The Order Of Balance.' Symbol's a bit... odd, seeing as it's impossible itself. Hope you can forgive me for whatever that flash of light was.” The unicorn levitated the hat back onto my head, frowning.
“We have to speak to Princess Celestia!” I quickly glanced back at Chrysalis, who was shaking her hands in a No way, Jose sort of way. The unicorn backed up, her horn charging. I gulped, hoping I was not going where I thought I was going.
“... and the strange minotaur was spotted assisting Trixie, along with another strange creature. The strange creature had these weird... bumps. Not sure what they-” With a flash, we arrived inside the palace, everything inside my stomach evacuating at once. As I was bent over retching, the three ponies at the table looked up, two becoming very, very angry. I stood up. I felt my face drain of all colour.
“Well, crap.” I bolted for the window, before a large field of energy surrounded me, lifting me back. It was blue, so I assumed it was not of that lavender unicorn. I turned to face one of the ponies I had met when I originally landed.
“Well, look who it is, Princess. Just the minotaur we were looking for!” I looked down at Trixie and Chrysalis, adrenaline beginning to course through my system. Everything stopped when a door opened. I turned to face the door, and lo-and-behold, there was the holier-than-thou pony I had met before. I looked back at the one holding me in the air, frowning.
“I don't care what you do to me, but please, for the love of Pete, let me kick his flank! No one insults my hobby and gets away with it!” I began to struggle, trying to break free. I turned, rage flowing through my veins like roiling water. People say that when you get mad, you only feel it in certain parts of your body. I feel it everywhere. Every fibre of my being quivers in anger when I get mad.
“Prince Blueblood!”
“The minotaur!”
“You bastard!” All eyes fell on me once again, two pairs in anger, one in confusion, and the other in absolute terror. The last one was the desired effect. I crossed my arms, staring down at the white pony that seemed to have forgotten I was floating. “Okay, you gonna let me down any time soon, or is it dangling time? I don't like dangling time.” With a pop, the field dissipated, dropping me from a short height onto the table. While it knocked the wind out of me, I was alive enough to roll off the table and groan. That had really hurt.
“Shining Armour, would you be able to explain the animosity you feel towards this... minotaur?” I stood up, brushing myself off.
“I've taken worse hits. Now, clarification.” I pulled a chair out, sitting down at the oversized table. “I am not a minotaur. Minotaurs are freaky giant bull-goat-things from mythology, while I am a human, who, incidentally, fell from the sky. Now, I'm not pointing any fingers, but someone in this room knows why I fell. Anyone?” I stared around. None of the ones seated had a response. Another of the ponies with a horn and wings entered, this one dark blue, with a moon on its flank.
“Dear sister, what is going- oh.” She stared at my hat as I sat there. “Well, there is nothing more to discuss. This being is now in my custody, and my Night Guards will escort him to my portion of the palace. Good day, Shining Armour, and the same to you as well, Twilight Sparkle. Sister, we will speak of this later. And Cadence? Your chair leg is going to break.” With a crash, the aforementioned Cadence fell to the ground. Strange guards appeared as if from nowhere, ushering me towards the door, with Chrysalis and Trixie close behind. We began to walk the corridors, pushed past beautiful tapestries, ornately decorated stained-glass windows, and lush, iridescent paintings. The pony that had entered before began to walk beside me.
“So, care to explain what that was all about?” Without a word, she motioned to a large set of double doors, inscribed with sapphires and opals the symbol that was upon her flank.
“In here.” As we entered, the door shut, leaving the four of us – Moonbutt, Trixie, Chrysalis, and I – alone. I stood there as the others chose their seats.
“So, seriously, what was that all about?”
“We cannot be too careful about who we speak about this to. We have awaited your arrival for some time, ever since the sky tore.” I stopped breathing for a few seconds, choking on my own saliva. When I had fallen from the sky, the sky had torn? Something was not adding up.
“What do you mean, 'the sky tore?'” Moonbutt glared at me as if I had just spouted nonsense. Something was very off, very... disconcerting. A quick look out the window confirmed my fears. A voice in my head tried to get my attention.
“Acheron? Acheron! Wake up!” I woke up with a start. I had not even realized I had dozed off. I sat up straight in the chair I was in, looking across the room at Moonbutt.
“So, you fell from the sky? Well, something has been amiss since that day. And yes, we have not forgotten about you, Queen Chrysalis.” Chrysalis blushed, looking down. She rubbed the fingers on her right hand together, something that seemed like a nervous habit.
“Please, Princess, it's just Chrys now.” Moonbutt looked from her to me, a red tinge coming across her face.
“Well, in either case, we are glad the human has arrived.” My full attention was given to Moonbutt. She had been expecting me? That was impossible on all levels.
“Uh, if you don't mind me asking, Moonbutt-” I closed my mouth after what I said. Chrysalis and Trixie were giggling, while Moonbutt turned bright red. I felt a thousand times smaller in that room. It was as if the very air was wanting me dead. I swallowed hard.
“Please, it's just Luna.” With a sigh, I loosened up, just in time to have a book slam into my face. The golden aura around it set me off. Turning, I saw the cursed Prince Blueblood.
“Excuse me. I have a murder to commit.” With that, I bolted out the doorway to chase down Blueblood. Surprisingly, he was not that fast, despite being a pony, and more in shape than I will ever be. With a slide, I fell over a banister, rolling down a spiral staircase, and slid on my stomach until I came to a stop in front of Princess Celestia, who was not entirely pleased. The nobles in front of her were slightly in shock. I can take a hit. Quite a few, too. I guess all those footballs, basketballs, volleyballs, medicine balls, and soccer balls in school toughened me up a bit.
“I would believe my sister is looking for you. Is there any chance you were attempting to 'kick Blueblood's flank,' as you said earlier?” The nobles in front of her snickered. I was about to stand up when something slammed into my back. The heavy weight meant it was a pony, and from the ragged breathing, I could only come to one conclusion.
“He's on my back, isn't he?” the nobles nodded. I rolled around, removing him from my back, and glaring. Blueblood stared at me, smiling.
“Ah, not so tough without a red case to- not the face!” With a single hand, I slapped Blueblood as hard as I could. I felt the bones in my hand pop, a red mark the shape of my hand clear on his face. With that, I left.
“Just be glad I didn't kill you like I wanted to, jackass.” I could hear them all beginning to laugh, Blueblood growling in irritation behind me. Luna came to the top of the stairs as I hoisted myself up.
“Human, are you all right?” Heading up the stairs, all I could do was smile. There were times in my life where I was in excruciating pain. I fought through it with a smile and pretended like everything was all right. My back was protesting every movement I made, while my knees felt like they were going to explode.
“You should see the other guy.” Blueblood was trotting away, his head still high in the air, the handprint brutally visible on the side of his face. “If you have an ice pack, that would really help. It feels like I broke my hand.” Without a word, a large blue bag of ice was lifted onto my hand. I still had to ask about what their weird ability was called. Teleportation, levitation? Seemed a little bit strange to me to not have some sort of advanced technology or something. My hat was given back to me, without even a word. Placing it once more on my head, I looked back at Luna.
“What exactly was that about, human?” I sighed, holding my right hand. It occurred to me that if I had broken my hand, I would be screaming in utter agony. According to people I had talked to, breaking a bone, when you actually feel it, is one of the worst feelings in the entirety of time immaterial.
“That Blueblood made fun of me during that whole... whatever it was I landed in. He made fun of the red case. No one makes fun of the red case.” Chrysalis, who had been listening in, apparently, appeared from behind a banister. She was holding a small knife.
“Give the word, and I'll gut him.” I held up my hand, shaking my head. She stuck the knife back into a sheath attached to her leg.
“Chrysalis, there is a time and a place for plotting murder. This is not the Roman Empire, nor is it the court of Emperor Nero.” When I mentioned Nero, every single pony around me backed away, frightened.
“H-How do you know of Emperor Neigh-ro?” I stopped. That was the first time that human history coincided with what little I understood of Equestrian history. A strange parallel, to be absolutely honest, but then again, if this was an alternate world, I would expect something like that to have occurred.
“Earth, he was called Nero. Nothing compared to Emperor Little Boots. Caligula. Now, there was a madman.” I chuckled. History was a favourite of mine, laughing at the antics of the ancient civilizations. Caligula was a favourite. He was clinically insane. He had slept with his mother, and both of his sisters, then, to top it off, he ate his firstborn. If he had been born in the modern era, he would have been rolled up in rubber wallpaper, not just given a padded room.
“Well, it seems our planet has a parallel to yours. Speaking of which, if you know about old history, does that mean it interests you?” I turned to the voice that had begun to speak. Twilight Sparkle was walking up, smiling as if she had just found her new curiosity. Beside her floated three encyclopedias, old in appearance, very old. She floated one to me, opening it up to a strange black-and-white photo of old ruins. Strangely enough, there appeared to be some sort of pavement, like asphalt, heading into them, albeit cracked up and partially scorched, with what appeared to be shells of tall structures behind-
“Twilight, where is this?” My face had become very hard, my expression serious. Something was very, very wrong about this photo. Something that was not supposed to be there. With a quizzical look, Twilight stared down at the photo, shrugging.
“The Badlands. We could send you by train, if you really want to see the ruins.” I nodded, silent in my method of operation. Chrysalis stepped forward, her eyes twinkling.
“I could be his guide. I do happen to know the area well.” Luna nodded to all three of us. Trixie, who had been silent the whole discussion, piped in.
“I wish to see these as well. Even though they are ancient ruins, they might be of some sort of use.” I smiled. Four was always a good number. The smile dropped when I remembered what exactly 'Badlands' were.
“I hope we're being given plenty of water, if these badlands are anything like the ones that existed on Earth.” With that, our little group of four was ushered out of the main hallways of the Canterlot palace, towards a train, and packed out to the area known as the Badlands.
“Four days, Twilight. Four days we've been on this train ride. I'm starting to get a little cramped.” The seats, while normal size for a pony, were half the size they should be for me. The armrests did not fold up either, which was quite a shock for my system. The comparison, in my mind, would have been me in a crowd of small children, a veritable sea of midgets.
“Just be quiet. We have enough trouble from Trixie! She kept begging for first-class accommodations, when all we could get on short notice was the train that had just come out from repairs!” A car over, I could hear Trixie mumbling, her grumbling beginning to get on my nerves.
“Twilight, I understand that. Tensions are high-” I stood up, the chair coming with me. Twilight's eye's went wide as I found myself with a permanent seat attached to myself. “Uh, okay. Never had that happen before.” Twilight had fallen over laughing as I attempted to extricate myself from the offending item that was attached to my pants. I sat down, giving up after a few minutes. A strange noise from the front of the train startled me. Twilight, noticing I was not paying attention, pulled the chair off quickly. “What was that noise?” With that, the train began to slow down, the landscape outside slowly turning to a burned-out wasteland. I opened the window, sticking my head out. The ruins stood out quite clearly in the darkness of the badlands. A speaker above the door crackled to life.
“Now arriving at Equestrian Research Camp. Please watch your step as you leave the train.” I looked up. The speaker was something I would have expected of a human train, not of an Equestrian one. Something gnawed at the back of my head, telling me to turn back. I had to know, I had to find out exactly what the ruins were. With a step, I was out of the train, leaving behind the tiny seats and uncomfortable beds. The others followed behind, Chrysalis in the lead. The ruins seemed eerily familiar, and very, very unnerving. As we approached the research camp, the feeling only grew in magnitude. Tents appeared over the hill we were climbing as we walked. Twilight, clearing her throat, decided to break the silence.
“So, what do you expect to find at these ruins? No pony has ever been able to decipher the inscriptions of the various articles of metal found around.” We entered the first tent, the metal plates coming into view.
“Answers, Twilight. What everyone wants. Information is power. Remember that.” One was an octagon, which read 'Stop'. While it was not a shock, the others were. 'Schubert', a green rectangle with chipping. 'Junipe'... it was missing the end half of the sign.
“Miss Twilight! We found a rather large sign buried! You might wish to see this!” Without even stopping to answer my emergent question, she galloped out, leaving me, Chrysalis, and Trixie in the dust. I followed, sprinting fast. My questions were growing in number, but what the large sign said, I had not even expected.
“Chrysalis, stay back.”
“Why?”
“Because whatever it is, it is completely impossible.” A large pit opened before me, rope leading down to a hole in the bottom. I could just barely see a corner of a large wooden sign. Forgoing the rope, I slid down, standing behind the researchers. As I approached the sign, more came into view. My heart sank, deeper than it ever had before. The sign... I recognized it. I should never had been able to, but I recognized it immediately. I sank to my knees, tears beginning to stream from my eyes. Chrysalis rolled down beside me, sitting up. Her eyes widened as she saw me in the sorry state I was in.
“Acheron, what's wrong? Acheron?” I barely heard her as my heart pounded in my ears. Louder, louder. The ruins, I knew them. I knew them very well. Every street, every road, every building. I turned away, staring at the ground.
The ruins...
It was my home town.
Chrysalis shook me, bringing me back to reality. I stood, shaking. I could feel the depression associated with the knowledge of just what was going on.
“What goes around... comes around, I suppose.” I walked to the rope, my nose running. Twilight galloped up to me, her face tightening.
“What is that sign?! Why did your react like that?” I turned, angry. She seemed irritated, but I was beyond that point. I hurt, horribly.
“Twilight, that sign... you're standing in what's left of my hometown.” She stopped, falling behind as I dragged myself up the incline of the pit with the assistance of the rope. With a flash, Trixie and Chrysalis had teleported to the top, waiting for me. Twilight was still at the bottom, staring up with tears in her eyes. Chrysalis grabbed my hand, dragging me up into a hug.
“Just don't even speak. There are some things that don't even need words.” I stood there, in the embrace of Chrysalis, the tears flowing freely. Trixie, having heard what I had said, seemed to forget keeping up her act of a performer, tears streaming as well. Something about the whole thing just felt... wrong.
“Chrysalis... if this is my hometown... this is Earth... and the time period... means I've travelled through time.” I pushed her away, looking down. Wiping away the tears on my dust sleeve, I stared around, looking at the ruins. An idea appeared before me. Twilight flashed up, appearing behind me.
“So, your name is Acheron... I am so, so sorry. I didn't know-” I held up my hand.
“Twilight Sparkle, for once, please shut up. I thought I'd left the horrible world of depression behind. It seems... it never leaves you.” Laughing seemed to come from the air around us as we stood there. The laughter... the voice was familiar, for some bizarre reason, even though I was perfectly sure I had never heard it before.
“So, you found my little secret? Oh, the human seems to recognize my voice! Ah, the humour! Even though we've never met, you seem to be familiar with me. What, has mythology been revealed to you, human? There are some things that never change. Even your people learned the meaning of true chaos, though they already had the capacity for it. Ta ta, for now! We shall meet again!” The laughter subsided, echoing out into the ruins. Everyone was on edge after that. True chaos... even though I understood mythology, a being of pure chaos, I did not know of any.
“Acheron, you recognize the voice?” I shook my head. It seemed familiar, but then again, it was alien.
“I really don't know- look out!” A bright white sphere was approaching out of nowhere, heading straight for us. I pushed her out of the way, the light landing in front of me. The shockwave hurled me into a nearby boulder-sized piece of concrete, pain coursing through every muscle. Celestia appeared out of the light, a look of pure anger on her visage. I reached up my hand to my mouth, wiping blood that was coming forth off. Twilight stood up, staring at the princess.
“Princess! What's going on-” Celestia stood between her and myself. I stood there, my hand on my back pocket. Unbeknownst to the others, I had my BB pistol there, loaded and ready.
“Get behind me. The human is dangerous. He will try to kill us.” I drew the pistol slowly, making no sudden movements.
“This is his hometown, princess! We are standing in the ruins of a human town!” Celestia paid no heed to her words, focusing on me. Her horn charged. I revealed the pistol. As she discharged a beam of energy, I fired, pulling the trigger as quickly as humanly possible. The beam melted the BB's, arcing past them towards me. I closed my eyes, holding up my hands. The beam struck something, a muffled explosion reaching my ears. I opened my eyes, shock forming on my face. A shield, of sorts, surrounded me. Celestia herself was even shocked. I looked down at the BB pistol. While it looked almost the same. I noticed an actual ejection port on the top. Pulling the slide back, I heard an actual handgun round enter the chamber. Dropping it, I backed up.
“What is going on?! What was that shield?! How do you teleport, lift stuff and-” I passed out, the mental strain finally taking its toll.
“I think he's waking up. If you want to ask him anything, princess, I suggest you ask him now.” Chrysalis' voice drifted into my deadened sense of hearing as I regained consciousness. I noticed Twilight, Trixie, Chrysalis and Princess Celestia standing over me as if I had died. Slowly, I sat up in the large hospital bed I found myself in. I hurt everywhere, as if I had just finished exercising for more than a recommended two hours.
“Yeah, no thanks to that blast of yours. Now, why exactly did you shoot at me? Seemed like a good- why am I chained to the bed?” I looked down at my chest, noticing bandages. Chrysalis slowly removed them, allowing me to see what exactly they all seemed to be so afraid of. On my chest, there was what appeared to be a blood-red star. It was very unsettling.
“This appeared on your chest soon after you collapsed. It burned away the clothing you had been wearing. Speaking of which, a pony named Rarity has agreed to recreate the clothing, as long as you give her the... odd design on the front.” I frowned. That had been my favourite shirt.
“There's no reason to fear the atom.” I shook my arms again. “Okay, so, I'm chained because you think I'm a threat, and I have a funky red tattoo. Anything else you want to tell me?” A knock at the door removed their attention from me.
“Is this the room where I'm supposed to deliver the pizza?” The rage I felt, I hazarded a guess that the entire room felt it by the looks on their faces. My right hand began to burn as the rage dissipated. I looked down at my hand. My hand was on fire, melting the iron chain.
“What's going on?!” The chain dripped away, setting the bed on fire. “Get me off of this bed! I don't want to burn to death!” I shook my hand violently, flinging molten drops of iron around. Other parts of the hospital bed began to smolder as smoke filled the room. With a blast of energy, the chain was gone, the fire out, and I was standing without a shirt on staring down at the various ponies before me. The sight was shocking, to say the lest.
“Why did that happen, princess? Who is he?” I flexed my hand, popping the bones into place. My gaze floated over to Celestia, who was near the back of the room, frowning.
“I do not entirely understand how the human acquired magic, but somehow, he has absorbed a small amount of it. It seems tied to his emotions, however.” I sighed. At first I thought it had been advanced technology, which would have been amazing, but magic? That was just unfair, in the cosmic scheme of things.
“So, you're saying that I'm a ticking time-bomb pressure cooker, and if I experience heights of extreme emotion, I could burn up?” Celestia nodded silently. I stuck my hands in my pockets. A voice from outside the door silenced all.
“It is a good thing I accounted for something along those lines, darling. While the... symbol was odd, it was simple enough to replicate.” A marshmallow white unicorn with a frivolously styled purple mane entered, a clothing rack following behind her. One of the outfits appeared to be a sort of trench coat. “If it had not been Princess Celestia who had requested this, I would never have done it.” I smiled as I lifted one of the shirts off. The fabric was exquisite, comfortable, and hopefully fire-proof. I slid it on, the shirt fitting perfectly. I looked down at myself again. I was skinnier than I had been before. Something was very strange.
“Wasn't I a lot heavier before- wait... how long have I been unconscious?” Twilight and Trixie shifted nervously as I stared. Rarity was the one to break the silence, much to my chagrin.
“Around two weeks. The healing magic we used on you must have used up the extra mass in your body to repair itself.” Healing magic. Magic. They had used magic to heal me, and now I had strange, Mutant X-esque powers. I grabbed the trench-coat, smiling. While it was a simple black trench-coat when viewed from the front, the back had my symbol on it.
“Never fear the atom.” I slid it on, making sure it was done up right. Chrysalis tossed me my hat, letting me put the final touches on. I smiled. I looked remarkably like a sea captain. Something was nudged into my hand slowly, cold metal, and quite heavy. I frowned. The handgun could be useful, but killing, it was not my style. Even though, I still grasped it, sliding it into the inside pocket of the coat.
“'Never fear the atom?' What does that mean?” I turned, the sadness in my face showing.
“Something I wish I could have said to some people. Something I wish I could have... to some of the people I used to know.” A tear fell from my eye. I wiped it away quickly before they saw.
“So, what now? You going to tell us about the voice?” I sat down, sighing.
“It was at the research camp...”
“... and that's everything, Celestia, right up until before you arrived. That, by the way, was extremely painful. Also, it was entirely uncalled for.” I sat there, shifting slightly. Tea had been brought by the request of Celestia, something I had welcomed. It was very delicious, and definitely served to lessen the tension of the situation.
“The voice... it sounds like you may have met Discord.” The name seemed to bring disgust and hatred throughout the room. While it seemed strange, it seemed to belong to the creature that had destroyed the human race. That alone was reason enough to bring a foul taste to my mouth thinking of him. I clenched my fist, staring down at my feet.
“So, he's the reason that my people are dead...” I could feel my face tighten as the anger returned in full force. Hatred. Pain. The only proper word to express the emotion was fury, the very sort of fury that could destroy everything in my path, but leave me scorched and dying. I drew a deep breath, drawing my mind inwards. Meditation, it does wonders towards calming one's inner fires.
“You seem to have gained control over your anger. That's good. Hopefully that won't change in the long run.” A voice inside of my head had spoken. It was not the voice of Discord, or of any other pony or person I had met. It was female... and quite relaxing to listen to.
“So, might I ask who you are?” The voice was silent, not responding. I stood there, a discussion happening near me as I frowned. They were not paying attention, which meant that they did not notice me talking to myself.
“I am the voice of order. You would call me Yggdrasil, if that is the appropriate name.” The name was familiar, itself coming from Norse mythology on Earth.
“The World Tree. The one under which the Norse 'Nine Realms' were protected. I know my mythology well.” Beside the hospital bed sat my red Warhammer case, and my paratrooper backpack. Quickly grabbing the backpack, I undid the knot that held it shut, removing from it a single book that was always in the backpack, no matter where I put it. A book that dealt entirely with mythology. I flipped through until Yggdrasil was the one I was looking at.
“In a matter of speaking. Another name is the Tree of Life, the very being that gave life to this planet. Acheron, I have been watching you for many years, while you wondered if there was a purpose to your existence. While I cannot give you the entirety of what I mean now, rest assured that you coming to this land was not accidental.” The voice seemed to disappear, leaving me with a lot of questions.
“Acheron, why exactly are you talking to yourself?” I looked down. Trixie was staring up at me, confused. The conversation in the background continued on-
“Trixie, why are you a filly?” I reached down, picking her up. She was about the size of a small dog, which meant their size grew somewhat exponentially later in life.
“Achewon, why am I so smaw?” Even though something was not right there, the sheer adorableness of it kept me from mentioning it. I squeezed her slightly, eliciting a high-pitched giggle from her.
“Trixie, I'm going to clear out my backpack of some stuff. Do you want to ride around with me?” She waved her little hooves around, smiling. Her little voice was incredibly cute, even though normally she would be keeping up her act of being 'great' and 'powerful.' I pulled out some of the items inside the backpack, namely a camouflage jacket, a chest rig for what was once a BB pistol, and my fingerless gloves. Quickly slipping them on, I lifted the filly Trixie into the backpack, strapping it on as she giggled, seeming to not understand what was going on. Celestia turned, staring.
“Acheron, why is Trixie a filly?” I sat down on a nearby stool, looking down at the ground.
“Something is happening that I cannot figure out. On the train, on the way to the research camp, there was a speaker. That is technology from my time, from your past, and that means that items from the past are bleeding through.” I turned to the wall. There was a thin crack on the wall, but it seemed impossible. “A... crack... in the universe. That's impossible. That is scientifically and physically impossible.” To be perfectly honest, I understood what that crack could do. I watched Doctor Who, but I never expected the crack to actually occur.
“A crack in the universe? What do you mean, Acheron?” I looked around. I was holding a teacup, drinking the Darjeeling tea that Celestia had made. The situation that had just occurred was reminiscent of the event with Luna.
“Something really strange is going on. An event plays out, but then I seem to be right back just before the event began.”
“You seem to be able to perceive an alternate future. The crack is not in the universe, but in the fabric of time itself. Time is unraveling. Be careful, Acheron.” Yggdrasil, at least, had been real. Time unraveling, though... that was bad. Incredibly so. I looked up at the group again. Chrysalis was wearing clothing from my backpack again, a trench-coat with a wide-brimmed green hat.
“Looking good, Chrys.” She turned away, her face red. I smiled. Celestia glanced at me, worry on her face. “So, I have a serious question right now.” She nodded, silent. “How does that healing magic work, exactly?” Celestia seemed to calm down, at least, quite subtly, although I could still see it.
“It jumpstarts the magic in one's body for healing, forcing it to- oh.” She apparently seemed to understand what I was getting at. While I, a human, was not magically inclined in the slightest, she had gone and forced magic into my body, giving me something that, in all logical sense, I should never had ever been able to have.
“And the mark on my body... it is remarkably similar to the one on Twilight's flank. What were they called again?” Celestia merely frowned. She seemed to be drawing the same conclusion I was.
“... Cutie Marks... and they are a representation of one's true talents.” I nodded, frowning.
“I thought as much. While yours are Cutie Marks, mine cannot be described as such. Hmm... Mark of Power would be more appropriate than Cutie Mark for a human.” I waited for Yggdrasil to speak again, for a message that would tie it all together.
“Acheron, this is most... unusual. While your life energy is usually a bright white, the light of humanity's spirit, I see in it intertwined tangles of magical energy, something your race never had. I will speak again when it is an appropriate time.” I sighed, staring at the ground. Sometimes, I wished things would be simple, just for once.
“... so, your Mark of Power-”
“Wait... my back! ” I threw off the coat and shirt I was wearing, turning to a nearby mirror to check my back. Surely enough, there was another mark on my back, balancing scales. To humour myself, I grabbed the hat I had been given, staring inside at the mark. The shifting mark had become a mark. While otherwise it would not have made everything fall into place, that time, it was the perfect final piece of a puzzle. The mark of the Order of Balance... it was a blood-red star over balance scales. I... I was the Order. As if it was a poisonous snake, I hurled the hat away from me, quickly bringing the shirt and coat back on. I clenched my fist, watching as a ball of fire enveloped it. It did not hurt when it happened, and it was not burning the clothing I was wearing. Waving my hand, I dispelled the magical fire, staring at the ground.
“You have a modicum of control over the magic already.” My mind returned to the night when I had discovered exactly what I feared, the shield that had enveloped me, and my BB gun becoming a lethal weapon. A desire to hit the ground came over me, as I stared at my shoes. Without a second thought, my fist was slamming into the ground, wind whipping around Celestia as she flinched against the rush of sudden wind. I sat there, my fist on the ground, and a bright, shimmering field of energy covering my body.
“I also have my own shield. Huh.” Standing up, the shield dissipated, leaving me feeling exhausted and drained. Staggering, I sat down. Twilight, Rarity, Celestia, heck, all those inside the room, save Trixie and Chrysalis, were open-mouthed in shock. Chrysalis had seen how my little world operated, and did not think on it. Trixie seemed to not give two bits about it.
“As to why your magic activates only in certain ways is beyond-” A whistling from outside of the window sent a shiver up my spine. I stared out the window. Rain had begun to fall, and a pony in red clothing stood outside. Even though I did not know the pony, I knew the song, and every time I heard that specific rendition, something bad had always happened. Something inconceivably bad. Words began to slowly drift into the room, fear gripping me as I sat there.
“When the blazing sun is gone, when the nothing shines upon. Though I know not what you are... Twinkle Twinkle, little star.” Celestia stared at me, noting the look of abject fear on my face. The words were apparently non-existent, at least, for the princess. I was visibly shaking.
“Whenever that song plays... something bad always happens.” The next thing that happened made me wish I was never right about that. Ticking echoed through the hallways, quiet, but foreboding.
“I-Is that a clock? What is that?” The ticking... it was something far worse than a simple clock.
“We need to leave. Now!” The ticking had increased in speed, a timer that was counting down faster and faster. As they left the room, I frowned. Something was incredibly off. I brought up the rear, glancing into other rooms as I passed them. “Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God!” In every room, there was blood, as if someone was trying to paint the walls with the insides of patients. Bodies were laying on the ground, signs of a struggle evident. As we moved down the stairs, I stopped. Something had changed. We were standing in the front lobby of the first pony hospital I had ever seen. My hat was on my head, my hands with no marks or burns. I clenched my fist. A small amount of fire gathered in my palm as I unclenched my fist. I waved it away, letting it dissipate. Chrysalis stared back at me with a worried expression.
“Acheron?”
“... I think we need to talk to Luna again.”
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.”
Acheron, Meet Your Enemy!
I stood stock still, unmoving. Memories of Doctor Who, of a character with a giant beetle-like bug on their back, came back to mind. Sweat began to stream down my face as I stood there, shaking. Announcing that there was something on my back, without something being there, was, more or less, one of the worst things she could have said. I fell back into what seemed like a conveniently placed chair, panting. As I began to panic, Luna's face twisted into a smile. I calmed down, realizing what she was doing.
“Human, you are too easy to read. You seem to not fear death, nor pain, but you fear what you do not know, what you cannot see.” I leaned back, sighing. She was definitely right. Uncertainty was the very thing that would be my undoing in the long run, a fear of the unknown. I decided to stand, moving to the window where I stared out at the garden around the palace. There was a strange statue of something in a perpetual state of shock. Pointing, I gathered Luna's attention to what I was looking at.
“Might I ask just what in the heck that is ?” Luna sighed. It seemed like a sore subject for her, as if she may have explained it more times than she would like to admit.
“Discord's prison. He is known as a draconequus, the most vile of-”
“Chimaeras? Yeah, I know what those are. Mythological creatures that were a combination of various parts of animals.” Luna stared at me, confused as to why I would know that.
“You are correct, human. Discord is a chimaera, but he is so much more. Pure Chaos-” An urge to shout a single phrase forced its way to my lips. For a small second, I lost control of my voice.
“Chaos falls this day!” With my hands, I covered my mouth. While I usually never had qualms about what I said, for some reason, that was something that I never even thought of saying. A laugh echoed through the room, my spine bristling as I clenched my mouth. Luna watched my face. Chrysalis seemed more occupied with how she viewed the world as a human, with human female hormones, and her curves- tearing my attention away, I faced Luna.
“You recognize the laughter?” I nodded. My voice came out with malice and wrath dripping in it.
“Discord . I don't think that stone prison is holding him.” The laughter returned.
“Once again, the human is astute in his observations! Oh, how wonderful! A pony could listen to what I said, and never understand! But a human-”
“A Knight of Balance , Discord.” The room went silent as I said that. It was as if they did not fully understand what I was talking about. Then Discord began to laugh.
“A Knight , you say? Oh, well, then I'm doomed! Ha! Whatever could you do to me, human? You're nothing but a simple beast, to be controlled, to be conquered, to be ruled .” I spat on the ground, glaring at the statue outside of the window. 'To be ruled.' Those words were one thing that I could not stand. I would never submit to the rule of a dictator.
“Discord, you killed my entire race ! My friends, family, every single person I ever knew!” I felt a strange tingling sensation from behind me, on my back, then all over. My vision became red as my anger exploded, along with the flames that had gathered in my hand. Fire surrounded me in a vortex of fiery pain, swirling and shifting as my fists clenched tighter. With a few steps, the floor was left with burning footprints, ash swirling around me. Luna and Chrys had retreated to the far side of the room.
“And once more, human , you prove how destructive your race was! I did Equestria a favour by destroying them!” With an inhuman yell, I threw my hands up in front of me, fire blasting through the window, burning a large hole in the side of the palace. I panted, staring down at the hole I created. I could hear shouting behind me as the flames died out, but it was muffled. Something else was inside the room with myself, Luna and Chrys. Something else that was impossible. I saw a body of a snake, a chicken's leg, and a strange wing- I stared out at the statue in the garden, or where it had been before. Shattered stone remained on the ground. I froze. If what happened was true, I had accidentally freed the very being that was responsible for the destruction of my race. My anger returned, the swirling vortex surrounding me as I stepped forward. Ashes flew in front of me as I stood in front of Discord, who merely laughed at the sight.
“You really want to mock me? The human who, right now, is pissed-off enough to tear down buildings just to kill you?” I looked at my hand. “Hellfire. The very definition of anger. Ready to die?” With a leap, I jumped at Discord, swinging. Strange creatures rampaged through the room as I attempted to strike Discord at least once, my fire merely bouncing off of him as he blocked every single blow. I screamed, rage burning through me as I continued, in vain, to strike Discord. Laughing, he swatted me aside into an undamaged wall, the fire dissipating.
“Oh, poo. You're no fun anymore. Well, maybe I should just cause some chaos! Ta ta, for now!” He continued to chuckle as he left. Falling out of the wall, I felt the back of my head. Liquid was beginning to pool underneath me. I sniffed it. I was bleeding. Reaching out towards Luna and Chrys, I shouted out, in pain and grief.
“Help me!” With that I passed out.
“Once again, the human proves himself foolhardy. Unbelievably so, too. Discord appears, and he immediately attacks, never even considering he was fighting the Lord of Chaos himself.” I woke up slowly, unable to move. My eyes shifted around, scanning everywhere. I was inside a full-body cast, staring out as a drip slowly brought painkillers into my bloodstream. Wherever the voices came from, they were gone. Luna entered, followed by Trixie and Chrys. Chrys' eyes were red, as if she had been crying. Trixie had her hat low as Luna looked on with sadness.
“He tried to fight Discord. Without even a single clue as to how, he leaped in with everything he knew.” Chrys walked forward, laying her hand on my leg. Luna levitated a vase of flowers over to the side. Trixie placed my hat on my chest, smiling.
“Thank you. You were my first real friend. You never even asked who I was.” I smiled.
“I'm not dead yet. I swear, though. If you keep up with this mushy stuff, I'll probably have a heart attack.” Chrys and Trixie brightened up, the former squeezing me tightly in a hug. “Ow, ow ow! Ribs!” While I was sure that they would have hurt a lot more, it felt closer to bruising than being broken. Luna stood beside me, staring down.
“Discord has not been spotted since when you decided to fight him. Whatever he is planning, I have a feeling that it, in itself, will be horrifying.” I sighed. Shifting, I realized I could move. Luna's horn was glowing, the cast falling away as I sat up.
“How long was I out this time?” All three of them shifted uncomfortably as what I assumed was a doctor entered the room. He looked up, shocked I was out of the cast and walking around.
“Seven months, sir. You've been unconscious for seven months.” The window drew me in as something outside caught my attention. Staring out, all I could see was a giant hole in the sky. A hole... in the sky... chaotic-
“Seven months, and there's a giant hole in the sky. Anything else you forgot to tell me?” None of them answered. The area around Canterlot was surrounded by a giant blue sphere of energy. There appeared to be various domes in the distance, light flashes sparking off each one. The world was very wrong. I turned back to Luna, who was smiling. Something had changed. Returning to the window, I stared out. Birds flew past, the sun was high in the sky, and there was no hole in the sky. The room shifted, rippling to become the personal quarters of Luna. Bookcases sprung up, while a large, luxurious bed swapped with the hospital bed.
“You are correct, human. Discord is a chimaera, but he is so much more.” Luna looked downtrodden. I stared down at my feet. That future... it was horrible. Why did the room change as it did?
“Acheron, the future itself is unwinding. You are here to protect Equestria from an unwound future. I am sorry I could not explain beforehand, but you needed to see that future, a world ruled by Chaos and fear. If you wish to find me, ask Luna about the Tree of Harmony.” I looked up at Luna, who seemed puzzled. Laughter echoed through the room as I pondered my course of action.
“Luna, we don't have much time. Discord might break out of his stone prison soon-” Luna held up a hoof, a look of confusion crossing her face.
“Acheron, I never told you about Discord.”
“Luna, we don't have time! What is the Tree of Harmony?!” Luna paused, her thoughts elsewhere, it seemed. Her horn charged, probably doing what I was now expecting.
“If you dare teleport me again, I swear I-” With a flash, she cut off my sentence.
Landing in a large pit, I assumed we were in the Everfree Forest. Luna stood behind me, frowning. A glow was emanating from a large cave near the end. Luna nudged me forwards, staying behind me as I slowly walked towards the light. Something inside drew my eye. There was a tree inside, but what it appeared to be was something beyond my comprehension. I was expecting something with strange symbols, not the actual Norse World Tree to be planted right in front of me. A face turned from the front, staring down at me.
“Acheron, the Knight of Balance. You have come at last.” I approached her, falling to one knee out of respect. A branch reached out, tapping my shoulder.
“I never meant for any of this to happen. As long as I have existed, so has the primordial force of Chaos. Discord is merely the most recent in a long line of Lords of Chaos. However, you, Acheron, are the first time we have ever needed to bring in outside assistance to defeat Chaos. A legend surrounded the myth of the blood-red star.” A branch touched my chest as I stood there. Straightening myself, I looked up at the face, an uncomfortable feeling arcing along my back. The face... it was so familiar.
“So, what do I do now? Fight back? Build up some forces to fight against Discord?” She closed her eyes, shaking in a gesture similar to 'no.'
“Recruit the Changelings. They should be willing to follow you.” I turned around, Chrysalis walking into the cave. Her shoulders and torso were adorned with black armour. In her hands were small, black daggers that seemed to suck in light.
“Especially if their queen returns.” I smiled. She returned the smile with her own, coupled with a giggle. She reached behind her, removing my black pistol. With a quick motion, she tossed it to me, her daggers disappearing momentarily until she returned her hands to her sides.
“Let's go get us some changelings, shall we?” With that said, Luna's horn charged once more. “Luna, no! No tele-” And once more, I was interrupted while speaking. I was beginning to get that it was not very important what I tried to say, more or less.
With a flash, we appeared near where the Changeling hive was supposed to be, supposed being the operative word. There was a huge pit, with dead bodies littering the ground. My hand burned as I held it up, sliding down the side of the pit to the bottom to check for survivors. I moved from one corpse to the next, attempting to find signs of life, if any at all. Some would shift, but then just tumble around. Others seemed to breathe, but air was just simply escaping. My jaw tightened. It was senseless slaughter, cold-blooded murder of living, sentient creatures. As I began climbing up, some of the piles of bodies shifted, barely conscious Changelings dragging themselves out. One grasped my leg, dragging me close.
“Chrysalis! We've got survivors! Get down here!” Sliding down beside me, she helped the others out of their respective piles. I looked down at the one in front of me, frowning. There was lacerations along its side, bleeding deeply. Although they appeared like insects, they were not at all similar. Two red bags rolled down the side, landing behind me. Bags of supplies that were definitely not of Equestria. Human medical supplies. “All right, stay still. I'm going to get you bandaged up.” As I worked on one, Chrysalis would help others up, bandaging them as well. More than I had expected were still alive, some completely intact. A few, the poor souls, dragged themselves out, only to discover that they were without half of themselves. I could not bear to watch.
“Acheron, that looks like all of the survivors.” In front of us, there was what seemed to be somewhere around one hundred Changelings. Chrysalis frowned.
“Chrys, how many were there before?” Her silence was very unnerving. I turned around. She was on her knees, tears streaming down her face. Squatting down in front of her, I looked right into her eyes. “Chrys, I know. They're dead. You are not. Concentrate on the fact that you are still alive. How many were there before?” Her hand contacted my cheek, a loud slap ringing out through the Everfree Forest. I backed up, falling over in shock.
“You jerk!” She was definitely becoming more human. Something that would not have occurred to a pony, or a Changeling, had just occurred to her, at least, from my perspective. I held my hand on the wound, feeling a heat burn through as the stinging died down. She stood up, the daggers appearing in her hands. My fist was balled up, ready for a hasty retreat. With a scream of pure fury, she charged me, swinging wildly. I did the best I could have with the skill level I had, fire bursts barely deflecting her swings. One swing, however, was not a swing, but a stab. I deflected it directly into my stomach. With a sudden rush of pain, I fell backwards, my mouth open.
“Why...” The only word I could even muster before the pain shook me. The dagger was not long, so it had not pierced me completely through. The problem was, she had hit me directly in a kidney, and I was hemorrhaging internally. I could feel the toxins beginning to make their way through. Of all the things that had happened, it was the worst. Chrysalis, probably the first friend I had made in Equestria, had just stabbed me, and it was a deadly blow. She leaned over me, her brown hair tickling my chin.
“Y-You idiot! I wasn't trying to hurt you!” She slammed down on the ground beside me, screaming between sobs. “I never got to tell you! Acheron!” She leaned over, her lips meeting mine. “Acheron, you may never understand, you may never know, but I care deeply about you... and not just as friends.” Something inside me turned off. My organs were failing. “Luna!” I could barely hear the princess landing beside me. “I-I didn't m-mean to! I d-didn't mean to s-stab him! I just wanted him to recognize how I felt!” She moved away slowly. A cold sprinkle touched my deadening skin. It had begun to rain. Luna, sensing my imminent demise, must have done something at that point, because the dagger shot out, the wound sealing itself up quickly. As I stood, Luna fell over, unconscious. I rushed over to Chrysalis, helping her to her feet.
“Chrysalis, I heard everything. Okay, I was dying, but maybe I was trying to prove something.” I drew her in for a hug, holding her tightly. “Maybe... just maybe I was trying to prove that I am not a soulless monster. I don't know. But Luna- oh God!” I turned to Luna, who was struggling to get up. With a little assistance, I had her laying normally, her head laying weakly on my lap as I stared up at the rainclouds.
“So, it worked, then?” Luna was speaking, albeit very weakly. “I must be a fool, giving up some of my own life to heal you, Knight. At least it worked. My sister must have felt it by now.” A whistling overhead brought my attention to Celestia dropping in from what seemed like orbit, although slowing down considerably. Before she could even speak, I held up my hand.
“I know, reckless behaviour won't make friends. I'm not here to make friends. The fact that I did, especially considering what I am, is a fact that I will not live down lightly.” I lifted Luna to her feet, no easy task considering how heavy she was.
“Well, at least she is safe, Knight. I hope it is the same for you.” She motioned to my jacket, which was stained brown with the coagulated blood.
“Darn. I liked this jacket, too. Now, Celestia, take your sister. Chrysalis and I have some... things to attend to.” Celestia turned to witness an entire force of around one hundred Changelings staring at her. Nodding, she left with a flash, a smoking crater where she had once stood. Chrysalis stared at me with sorrow.
“There had been over ten thousand Changelings.” I whistled. Only about a single percentile had survived whatever had attacked them, and the signs seemed to point to Discord.
“Darn. He doesn't play around. Although... this isn't really Chaos. More like a targeted genocide.” A sick feeling took hold in my stomach as I realized what Discord was trying to do. Chaos was not enough. “That bastard.” Chrysalis looked at me, confused. “He's beginning a campaign of terror. Terror is the worst possible kind of chaos, the kind that gets people killed!” I stomped my foot, the changelings mirroring me. Confusion began to set in as I started walked around, their gaze never leaving me.
“Acheron?”
“Chrysalis, why are they following me like this? This isn't normal.” Chrysalis pointed at me, motioning for the Changelings to watch me.
“If you all can, become him!” With a flash, sickening pops, and the screaming of pain as their legs shifted, one hundred almost identical clones of myself, minus the bloodstain, were staring at me. I clasped my hands together, a chill running down my spine. I lifted my hand, gripping it until I felt the smolder. While my hand flamed, the hands of my clones were energized with a sickly green light.
“Perfect.” A flash of light startled me as something appeared behind me. The voice calmed me down. Trixie was there, her jaw metaphorically hitting the ground. “Impressed yet, Trixie?” I turned to watch her nod slowly. I smiled, throwing my fist in the air. “Discord will fall, and we shall make it happen! The Order will never fall, so long as one of us draws breath, so long as one of us still can speak, we shall never fall!” The rain pounded, hail beginning to pelt us. “We are a legend, a fairy tale told to young colts and fillies to reassure them that the world is not a horrible place! We are not a legend! We! Are! Forever!” With that, I turned, staring up at the sky. The rain continued, although the hail had stopped. Chrysalis placed her arms around me, drawing me close.
“Acheron, what's the plan now?” 'What's the plan now?' For once in my life, I felt like I had a calling. While Yggdrasil had let me know about my nature as a Knight of Balance, I never accepted it, until those four words were spoken to me. I was their leader, a man born out of fire and chaos to bring order to those who would strike me down. I turned around, my eyes glaring in the encroaching darkness.
“We kill Discord.”
Acheron, Meet The Next Step!
The alarm rang for the fifth time, shocking me out of bed. My blue-haired compatriot, Sherman, continued to snore as I righted myself. It was another day where the classes would hopefully be good, at least, for me. With a quick flurry, my pants, shirt and jacket were on, while I hopped around trying to get my socks on in a hurry for breakfast. Considering it was Thursday, it was probably more waffles. Stretching out my hand, I poked Sherman, attempting to wake him up.
“Geez, man. You don't wake easily.” With my free hand, I reached for the air horn I kept on top of the desk where my laptop was set up. I pressed the button, bracing myself. With a loud blast, Sherman was awake, smacking his head once more on the bunk above him. Bunk beds are amazing.
“I'm awake! I'm awake! Sheesh, dude. You have to stop with the air horn. You probably woke up the entire dormitory.” I shrugged. It was most certainly not my fault if they missed breakfast.
As we passed by the stairs to the upper wing of the dorms, where the girls' rooms were, someone leaped onto my shoulders, giggling. She spun me around before drawing me into a hug.
“Ash!” I smiled. My friend of a few years, Krystal was probably the best-looking girl on campus. She had dyed her hair green, matching perfectly with her green eyes.
“Hey, Krys. Heading to breakfast?” She smiled, nodding silently. With a quick walk, we were inside, the door to the Academy slowly closing.
Breakfast was, of course, waffles, the most boring food without whipped cream and strawberries at your disposal. With a generous portion of each, I was seated with Krys across from me, Sherman beside me, and Trinity, an annoying bookworm who had dark hair with pink highlights, chattering beside Krys. Two other girls decided to sit at the table. With a groan, I shook my head in exasperation. Heaven and Louise, though everyone called the latter Lulu, much to her chagrin.
“There was always that strange part of the story I was working on where the character learned how to control fire, and tried to punch...” I tuned out Trinity's conversation with Krys to face Heaven and Lulu.
“Well, look who decided to join us!” I stuck out my fist, Lulu returning the gesture with a smirk. Heaven just had fruit and orange juice; she had gluten allergies. Lulu was busy wolfing down her waffles, various fruits covering the copious amounts of whipped cream covering them.
“And look who once again is 'The Human Vacuum Cleaner!'” Sherman chuckled at his own joke, while everyone else merely rolled their eyes and glared at him. I put my hand on Sherman's shoulder, frowning.
“It is better to never speak and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” With that, the table erupted in uproarious laughter, all at Sherman's expense. I stopped laughing to point my fork at Krys, before I started laughing again. Krys blushed, hiding her face as she smiled. Lulu stopped eating for a second to smirk at Heaven, who simply shrugged. Trinity had already finished, leaving the table quickly.
“I've got to get to class here soon!” I held up my hand, stopping her from leaving.
“Trin, you realize that it's only seven-twenty in the morning? Class is at eight. We've got forty minutes.” Her face mimicked a tomato as she returned to her seat, letting me have my victory against her obsessive studiousness. Something behind us exploded, someone's bowl being exposed to the cherry-bomb antics of the new student, Artur. He was a master at causing havoc and chaos, letting other students run around akin to chickens without heads. I merely continued to eat my waffle, letting the chaos peter out as one of the faculty dragged Artur out from the cafeteria.
Class consisted of the same boring lectures, the same boring topics... suffice to say, every day was the exact same routine of waking up, quickly getting dressed, moving to the main building to eat, going to class, going back to the dorms, doing homework, and then sleep. I sat in the main common area where all the students seemed to congregate every once in a while. Krys had afternoon classes, which meant she and I never really saw each other much outside of breakfast, and sometimes in the common area. Trinity sat down beside me, three books firmly in her grasp. With a glance, I rolled my eyes. She was once again studying quantum physics and mechanics, subjects which were more of the style of someone who planned to enter the field of experimental physics.
“You realize that none of those book have any real applications outside of a laboratory, right? Unless you plan to be cooped up in one for the rest of your life, I'd look for other pursuits.” Trinity stuck her lip out, pouting. Chuckling, I leaned my head back, yawning. Every day, every single day, I was always tired, always on the verge of passing out. It never made any actual sense to me, but I never complained... much. Hands wrapped around my neck as a familiar scent of morning dew entered my nose.
“Hey, Ash. I'm kind of tired, so I'm heading back to my dorm room. Don't stay up too late, okay?” I nodded, staring back into her big green eyes. It was almost cartoon-like, how her eyes seemed.
“All right. I'll try.” With that, Krys left, leaving Trinity and I alone. Trinity, looking around, slid up next to me, cuddling close. She had taken her glasses off, staring up into my eyes as I looked around. “Trinity, this isn't safe. If Krys ever found out-”
“She won't find out. Don't worry.” With that, she leaned in for a kiss, her lips meeting mine as I closed my eyes. The night went on for a while after, the darkness seeming to melt away as we sat there in each others company, simply kissing. There was a strange spark, something which seemed alien, yet all-too-familiar. She backed away, breathing heavily. With a smile that could melt the heart of a frost giant, she left, leaving me slightly confused.
The following day was the beginning of the weekend, the day I always got things done. Saturdays were always productive... usually. Most of the time, I spent too much time sleeping, as I barely slept throughout the week.
“They're coming to take me away, ha ha...” I was in enough of a humdrum mood when I woke up that even my alarm barely gave any humorous comfort. I moved into the usual Saturday funk, my mind blank as I attempted to do anything productive, with zero results. I just could not focus on my schoolwork. Leaning back in my chair, I stared up at the ceiling. I wanted to do something, but I did not know what.
“Just another Saturday, as usual.” A fist slammed through the door, looking almost exactly like- that was impossible. The door opened, revealing myself wearing a long trench-coat, pirate hat, and seeming extremely pissed-off.
“What are you doing, you moron? Wake up! Discord won't defeat himself, you know!”
Something slammed into me as I woke up. Coughing, I saw the blood trailing my arms. My eyes darted around, catching glimpses of someone torturing me. The pain was immense, almost causing me to cry from the sheer immensity of it.
“So, is the human going to cry, hmm?” I stared down. In front of me was a small... well, I could not tell the color. I could tell it was a mare, but she was greyscale, a massive contrast to the rest of the room. Across from me, a light was focused on Chrysalis, blood dripping from her head. Anger boiled in my chest as I stared without moving.
“You... hurt her.” The mare stared up, a cruel half-smile directed at me. Her mane was covered in blood, various implements of pain and misery surrounding her on bloodsoaked tables.
“You would not believe how long I had to take just to find which one was you. And yes, I hurt her. She was fun to break.” I heard moaning from the other side. The anger focused in my hands, the fire expanding, the manacles slowly turning red. Muffled screaming came through a vent above me, the voice sounding like... Twilight!
“Let me go, now, or I'll destroy you.” A small platform raised, bringing her to eye level.
“And what would you do, human? You're bound, and no matter what you do, you'll never break free-” I flicked a small amount of molten metal at her face, watching it burn her as she backed off, screaming. My hands came free, flipping me upside down, staring directly at a dead body below me. It was a changeling. I cursed myself. They were my new friends, the force that I would have used to help me defeat Discord. Reaching up, I watched the mare while I melted the metal loops around my ankles, the metal dripping down and setting fire to the body of the changeling, allowing whichever one it was a moment of peace in a fiery makeshift funeral. As soon as I was free, I was searching through the tables, looking for anything that might work as a makeshift weapon. Something caught my eye. At the end of the table was a long, thin blade, a rapier, of sorts. Smiling, I picked it up, twirling it to test.
“Perfect. Now to-” Something slammed into my back, throwing me onto my stomach. The rapier bounced away, landing near Chrysalis. She looked up at the noise, then up at me. Her eyes widened as she mouthed my name, then smiled. I frowned. The mare was on my back, pushing me down every time I attempted to stand.
“You are going to pay for that!” I rolled, getting a good look. The burn was clearly in colour, something she had no control over. I smirked, rolling out from under her. My arms burned, the flames lighting up the darkness of the room.
“And what would you do? I'm going to burn this place to the ground, and take my friends out of here! Try stopping that!” The mare backed away, anger on her face, but clearly understood what I was attempting to get at. Keeping myself facing the mare, I backed towards Chrysalis, who was crying softly. With a small amount of heat, I melted her bonds, allowing her some freedom. I turned to her, only to have her slap me. Hard. I was even more shocked that afterward, she gripped me tightly in a hug, squeezing.
“Never let me go again.” I nodded, pointing at the rapier.
“Arm yourself. We're springing every prisoner inside this insipid torture chamber.” The greyscale mare continued to growl in anger as Chrysalis and I made our way out. With a final farewell, I pushed my fire-encompassed hand onto the door handle, melting the door into the frame to permanently lock it. The mare's face pressed against the bars of the metal door, glaring at me.
“I will be free, and then you'll be sorry, human!” I sprinted away, Chrysalis following me.
“Okay, Chrysalis, fill me in. How did we end up here?” Chrysalis spat on the ground, blood clotting on her head wound.
“We were on our way to Ponyville to meet up with Twilight Sparkle, and Princess Luna, when we were ambushed. Discord must have gotten to her friends. That one in there... her name was Fluttershy. She was apparently a sweet and kind mare, one who cared for animals before... the switch.” I nodded. Another reason added to my list of reasons to kill Discord. Mind control was not as serious from my time on Earth, but something like that, simply modifying a person's behaviour, that was just... I had no words. Simply put, I was angry.
“I heard Twilight screaming. You can spring the remaining changelings, I'll go free her.” Chrysalis nodded, turning to the locks and breaking them with the rapier. Voices mingled with sobbing as various prisoners were released. Reaching a set of stairs, I sprinted up them, trying to move as fast as possible. There were no guards, which was incredibly disturbing... until I saw the corpses. At the end was a single pink pony, her mane straight, and her grin wide.
“No one... escapes Pinkamena. No one ever escapes.” With a single bound she was on me, her force knocking me onto my back. I barely had enough time to squeeze my legs against myself and kick her away, her malnourished body slamming into the ceiling. Her sighs escaped as she fell, unconscious. I caught her, hanging her over my shoulder.
“And no one rushes me. Okay, okay. Prisoners... what do I do?” An idea hit me, a very wonderful idea. Setting down Pinkamena for a second, I threw fire at the various doors, the locks melting and the doors opening. Ponies and changelings alike entered the dimly lit corridor, staring at the human who stood beside an unconscious Pinkamena. With a cheer, they rushed down the corridor, up to another set of stairs. I hoisted the unconscious one once more, sprinting to the stairs. There was a long corridor here, but only one door. I frowned. One of the changelings stopped, staring at me.
“If you need to take care of that, I'll take her up to the surface. Godspeed, Acheron. And may the Order be forever mindful.” The changeling stood still, allowing me to drop Pinkamena softly onto his back. With a growl, I kicked the door as hard as I could, bouncing backwards and hitting the wall. Standing up, I gripped my shoulder. The back had been torn open, blood starting to slowly pour out. I had not hit an artery, good.
“I'm coming, Twilight.” I held my hands in front of me, pouring all the anger I could muster into that flame. The door, a heavy steel slab, now that I actually had checked, began to melt. The screaming was more pronounced, something whipping something else. As soon as the edge of the door was melted, I kicked it open, staring down the long room at... Rarity... whipping Twilight.
“Don't worry dear. As soon as you give in, I'll make sure you have an extra special place with the rest of my slaves!” An inhuman scream issued forth from my mouth. My vision was tinted red, the sheer amount of rage controlling me as I charged forward.
“Get away from her!” My foot connected with Rarity's stomach, propelling her up into the ceiling, where a strange X was placed. Loops clicked shut around her legs, keeping her in place. Twilight looked up, her eyes blinded by a leather strap. With a swift motion, I removed the strap, letting her eyes re-adjust to the room.
“Let me free, human, and I'll make sure I won't break her. I'll condition her just for you!” I pointed a burning finger at Rarity, the anger clearly gleaming in my eyes as I freed her.
“One more word, and the authorities won't be able to identify your corpse when I burn this hell-hole to the ground.” Her mouth clamped shut, nary a peep leaving her mouth. Twilight stared at me, her mouth dropping open. We stared at each other for a few minutes, unspoken words passing between us. Without a word, I knelt down, bringing Twilight into my embrace.
“You... you didn't leave me... you could have, yet you didn't.” I leaned back, my hands on her forelegs.
“Twilight, I don't leave my friends behind. Your friends appear to be long gone, but Chrysalis and I are springing every prisoner we can and heading to... the surface.” A thought occurred to me. The time difference... something like this was impossible. My pants were still on, so that was good. “How long were we in here?”
“... a full month. Rarity became a slave to Fluttershy, conditioned to create other slaves. Her mind... I can't save her.” A single tear escaped my eye.
“I...” I stopped speaking. My mind was growing erratic, ever-shifting. “Did they take my case?” A voice at the door made my heart sink.
“I... I found the red case... All the models... they were smashed. The pieces... I have them all in here.” I stood up, the red star on my chest flaring as the anger reached a peak. I could feel my shoulder blades burning, my whole body warming up hotter than should have been possible for a human being. Twilight tapped my leg, bringing my attention behind me.
“Acheron... you have wings. You have wings of fire.” I glanced over my shoulder. While they appeared translucent, they were, in fact, wings of fire. I gripped my fist, the wings stretching as I stared at my hands. The scars clearly showed, scars from a month of torture. “Acheron, what's the plan?” I stared down at Twilight, no emotion besides anger coursing through my veins.
“Discord... I'm going to kill that son of a bitch. Rip his throat out, snap his neck, torch the corpse. I am going to murder him, and never again shall anyone suffer such travesties! Never again! Never, because that son of a bitch is going to die!”
The sun... it had never seemed so bright before, so beautiful. As I stood watching the light dance across the landscape, tears fell from my eyes. The balcony was familiar, as if a Knight of Balance had been there once before. A great city was etched into the cliffs of the mountain above me, a dragon guarding the oil-soaked bridge behind me. My armour shifted as I stared down at the ground far below. The sun was more beautiful, more radiant.
“I see another seeks his own sun. Might I inquire as to your name?” I stared up at the sky, smiling. I looked at my wrists, metal bracers covering both, strapped down tightly.
“I am Inquisitor Ordo, the Knight of Balance.” The title, nor the name, had any reaction from the voice. Another in armour stood beside me, his hands resting on the balcony's stone railing. His shone with radiance, a bright sun that seemed eerily familiar stitched into the tabard that covered the front of his armour.
“Ah. A fellow Adherent of the Sunlight! It is always good to meet under the sign of jolly co-operation, hmm?” I chuckled. I turned back around to face a bleak landscape, a wasteland of more horrific proportions. I sighed. My chest burned as I walked forward, steps echoing behind. Turning, I faced Chrysalis, who seemed to have been weeping.
“Chrysalis, why are you sad?” Without warning, she pointed up, something streaking out of the sky. The form looked incredibly familiar, someone I felt I had met before, if in a previous life. The wings of fire spread behind me as I took off, the power of fire propelling me towards the familiar figure falling from the sky. I turned. Chrysalis was smiling, albeit with sadness in her eyes. The figure came closer and closer as I pushed harder and harder into the sky. With a single blast of powerful fire, I was floating beside him, watching him fall.
“The sun is such a wondrous body. Like a magnificent father! If only I could be- Oh, well, hello there? I don't suppose we've met somewhere before?” I smirked, holding out my hand.
“I believe we have met, if not in this life, Adherent of the Sunlight. My name is Acheron, and I am the Knight of Balance.” I could not see his face, but I could have sworn he smirked underneath that bucket helmet of his. His voice was more chipper and friendly when I mentioned my title.
“Ah, the successor of the strange Inquisitor! I am Knight Solaire, of Astora.” He gripped my hand, dragging me down with him for a short while.
“You're a lot heavier than you look, Solaire. Any way you can lose some weight? It's either that or we both die!” The world began to slow down around us, something charging in Solaire's hand. I barely knew what had occurred when he threw his hand forward, casting something.
“Ah, much better. Now, shall we return to the ground?” I nodded, my wings flapping until we were closer to the ground. Solaire dusted himself off as he stood, staring at me- at least, I assumed he was staring at me.
“So, Solaire, what are you doing here? I mean, the last time I saw you, you were in Lordran, going to the Kiln of the First Flame.” Solaire chuckled, shaking his head. He drew a small flask, taking a small swig from it. He offered me the flask, but I refused.
“Well, I was merely going through the Parish when fog surrounded me. As I continued forward, I found myself in the sky, like the sun.” Something nudged me in the back. I turned around, facing three of the ponies that my little group had freed. My clothing, my handgun, and a sword were on their backs.
“My lord Knight, your possessions.” I smiled. With a flurry, the trench-coat was on, the hat tightly fitted. Picking up the handgun, I set it inside my pocket to strap the sword to my hip. Solaire appeared to approve of my weaponry.
“You are prepared, it seems. As it is courteous to request such, might I accompany you on your journey? Who knows? I might find the sun I am looking for, my own sun.” I smiled, holding my hand out in a gesture of agreement. Solaire took the hand, shaking it mightily. “Then it seems our fates are intertwined! Let us go forth in jolly co-operation!” I raised my hands to the sky, laughing.
“Praise the Sun, Solaire.” Solaire nodded, raising his arms in joyous mirth.
“Praise the Sun, fellow Adherent. Let us go forth!” A sword and shield were brought forth for Solaire, a longsword etched with runes that glowed with powerful enchantments, while the shield was studded with pulsating gems. He bellowed in laughter until he looked ahead. All of us were staring at what appeared to be a great gaping hole in the sky. “Might I inquire as to what that is?” Chrysalis was about to speak when one of the changelings came forward, his head in bandages.
“It is Discord. I overheard the traitors speaking of such, my lords. Discord intends to bring forth powerful foes to bring true chaos and terror to Equestria- nay, the entire world!” Solaire seemed shocked, although it was an assumption; he appeared to have no other emotion besides the jovial mood he was always in. The changeling bowed before me.
“Don't bow. Please. Okay.” I pointed at the ponies and changelings we had freed, Chrysalis and Twilight off to one side. As I scanned the crowd, I noticed two ponies shivering at the back, looks of abject fear on their faces. It was Fluttershy and Rarity. Motioning Twilight to me, I knelt down to whisper. “Just what happened to them?” Twilight leaned in closer, her hoof grabbing my other shoulder.
“I used a memory spell, reminded them of who they are. Rarity remembers what she did, and Fluttershy is just scared.” I nodded, rubbing Twilight's head.
“Good job, Sparkle. I trust that even though I did not burn the structure to the ground, all equipment was retrieved?” Twilight nodded, pointing to several stocky ponies near the back, large packs of armour and weapons strapped onto them. “Get everypony and everyone here suited up. We must be ready for war. Just remember that. Chrysalis?” Chrysalis smiled as she stood by my side. “Solaire might have armour that will work appropriately for you.” She nodded, jogging to have a chat with Solaire. I sat underneath a tree, watching the events of my orders unfold. As everything completed, I stared up in the sky, watching two balls of light come crashing down not far from us, a light yellow ball, and a dark blue ball. Solaire sprinted up to me, pointing at the smoke rising from the impact zone.
“I should assume we mean to investigate that phenomenon?” With a nod, I stood, stretching. Every pony, changeling, and human was armoured and ready to fight. One was missing, however. I turned to Twilight, who was decked out in full plate armour, her eyes steely with determination.
“Twilight, where's Trixie?” She looked up at me, tears in her eyes.
“Discord... he has her. Said something about making her truly 'Great and Powerful.'” I shuddered. Trixie was my friend, and Discord had swayed her with promises of power. I pointed over at the column of smoke. “Get everyone here marching. We need to get over there.”
The march was a long one, taking several hours even though it was a short distance away. A large crater spread out before us, Celestia and Luna staring up at us, their bodies battered and broken. With a wave of my hand, any pegasi in my ranks that could fly flew down to assist the recovery of the battered princesses. With that done, the small army I had with me set up camp, tents dotting the area around the crater. Celestia and Luna were shivering, wrapped in blankets with mugs of hot tea in front of them.
“So, how on Earth did you have that happen to you?” I motioned to the crater outside, the meaning of my question obvious. Celestia began to cry as Luna sniffled.
“Canterlot... our subjects... slaughtered in front of us. We barely held back the tide of foul beings that assaulted the palace, and the city. Discord was a part of the attack, but someone else was there as well, someone like you, Acheron. He shouted, though. He was like a sun!” Luna broke down and began to weep uncontrollably. Solaire entered, bowing before Celestia.
“Praise the Sun, Acheron.”
“Praise the Sun, Solaire. I have a question for you.” Solaire took the seat next to me, shifting in his armour as he flexed his fingers. His armour was streaked with dirt, having been one of the ones who had rescued the princesses from the crater. Celestia smiled at Solaire, who nodded.
“Ask of me what you will.” I turned to him, frowning.
“Does that description fit something like, well, you know... Lord Gwyn?” Solaire sat bolt upright, his armour shaking. Something seemed off.
“L-Lord G-Gwyn? I-Impossible. The Inquisitor defeated him, ushering in the Age of Humanity. The age of your people, Acheron. It is utterly impossible... although, the body of Lord Gwyn was never seen...” Solaire's head rested on his hand as he seemed to drift deep into thought. I looked over at the princesses, shaking my head. Leaving the tent, I looked over my army. Some of the prisoners had been former military officers, and as such, they were training the others in the different forms of combat, from close combat, to archery, to the offensive spells. Solaire tapped me on the shoulder, pressing something into my hand.
“Solaire?”
“Your flame. It is uncontrolled. These gloves... They were from a friend. They will help you focus your flame into something controlled, but extremely powerful.” I nodded, slipping the gloves on. While they seemed tight at first, they expanded to comfortably hug my hand, shifting as my hand did. I stared at my hand, willing fire into it. Instead of my entire hand bursting into flame, a ball of fire formed above my palm, more condensed than that of my normal 'wild fire.' Waving my hand, I dispelled it. The anger within me dissipated, leaving me feeling... strange. I watched the camp, the training occurring, the hardships being felt by those within my army.
“Solaire, what do you think our chances are? We fight against a master of Chaos itself.” Solaire looked over the army, sighing.
“Many here have not seen combat, nor extended battle, I would assume. It is not something that I willingly wade into, battle, but if need be, I shall.” I looked down at my shoes, the ground muddy and mottled with different hoofprints and footprints.
“So, our chances are not that good?”
“Precisely.” Solaire returned to the tent where the princesses were warming up, the weeping continuing as I stared at the sky. The ground began to shake, something upsetting the very planet itself. The sky, I watched as it was sheared open, a great gaping hole of darkness and evil floating high above us. Twilight stood beside me, her two friends reasonably calm, and also wielding weapons. Fluttershy sat there, staring at me.
“So, you're shy, but you're willing to wage war now? What changed?” Fluttershy did not speak, merely staring forward. Twilight shrugged. Rarity spoke up.
“She lost her animals, darling. They were murdered before her eyes.” My fist tightened as I stared at the sky. The glove began to hurt as I gripped tighter. Tears streamed from my eyes as I stared at the hole, my mind filled with images of a horrific nature. Without warning, I turned to Fluttershy, embracing her tightly. She burst into tears, her eyes red from the sobbing that wracked her already-frail frame. Standing up, I looked over at the sky. Anger swelled within me, pure and white. Solaire stood beside me, himself glowing bright yellow.
“Well, Solaire, what do you think we should do?” The tone of voice that Solaire took was not something I was even expecting.
“We kill this Discord, fellow Adherent. We save this land.” Gone was his jovial attitude, and his seemingly never-ceasing happiness. Solaire was angry as well, and I could feel it. The sword in his hand glowed white as he stared at the blackness spreading across the horizon. I stared at it, drawing my sword.
“You do realize there's a high possibility we're all going to die, right?” Solaire laughed, still never ceasing his gaze.
“That crossed my mind, but we are gathered in jolly cooperation! No greater adventure can be had without such camaraderie!” Two larger ponies stood beside us, a bright white one on Solaire's right, and a dark blue one on my left. Celestia and Luna stood with us. They had sworn off their regal attire for more practical armour, Celestia covered in gleaming white plate armour, while Luna had opted for darkened ringmail.
“Equestria... Canterlot... we were as nothing, knights! Help us retake our homeland, and we shall assist you in returning to your homeland. Solaire, what say you?” Luna, although she was in a relatively modern age, seemed to speak with a more medieval style of speech. Celestia was silent. I could see the burning flames in her eyes. Solaire turned to Luna, his face still not visible for any sort of expression.
“I say thee nay! I follow my fellow Adherent, for I wish to join in his quest. His quest to restore balance and protect the innocence of your land!” Our army stretched out before us, those who had been with Celestia and Luna's guard training those who had never seen combat before. Archers fired at targets, those with melee weapons slashed, smashed, and otherwise destroyed target dummies. I decided to inspect it. Leaving the other three behind, I walked through, noticing the armour that was being forged by blacksmiths that had been freed. Every weapon and piece of armour was crude, but they would be what was necessary for the army to fight. Chrysalis sat with several of her changelings, her hand resting on her leg as she was still, her dark armour glinting in the light.
“So, how are you holding up, Chrys?” She turned to me, standing up. She had two swords, one on each hip. Her face was covered by the frog-mouth helm she wore, her face a mask of sadness. A song wafted up from some of the new recruits training in a field that was not muddy, nor was it destroyed. I did not know how, but that song, it was something that I had heard before. A marching band strode in front of them, playing a tune I had heard once before, but never really paid any attention to.
“I'm holding up as best as can be expected. My subjects... most of them are dead. That marching band down there, that's almost all of them.” I looked down at the marching band. Sure enough, even though it had gotten many of them killed before, they had returned to imitating my form, but it seemed they were wearing armour that was custom-fit to their frames.
“Don't worry, Chrysalis. We're going to murder those lousy bastards by the bushel.” Chrys looked up, anger in her eyes. She stood, saluting.
“And I will follow!” We looked out over the great fields of battle. In the distance, the sounds of construction could be heard. He knew we were coming.
“We march in two days' time.”