Demons from the Past

3 Days Later

"This fucking forest is a maze." Aldric mumbled, still unable to find his way out of the forest he was thrown into with his defeat by Frederick. "If I ever get out I will actually be happy....for...once." He began to sniff the air, for he picked something up he hasn't smelled in ages. "Smells like....horses? Horses means mounts. Mounts mean people. Wait....they're getting closer." Instincts told him to hide, but his mind was saying to stay and ask for help. Instincts took over and he hid in the shadows. 'Let's see who these people are,' he thought. Then the bushes began to rustle and his hand went to his sword. Then a voice spoke.

"How much longer Twilight?"

'Twilight? Well that's an odd name for a human.' What happened next surprised so much, he was sure he went insane or ate some bad food. Really small horses came out, but thats not what surprised him, it was that they were all weird colors. Orange, pink, purple, white, yellow, and cyan. 'What the fuck...' he thought.

"I don't know Rainbow." Stated the purple one. 'So she must be Twilight...and Rainbow must be the cyan one, with that mane I don't know how it couldn't be,'  thought Aldric. They continued moving down the path. 'Should I follow them? Oh who am I kidding of course I am!' Aldric begins following them through the trees, moving like a shadow. They soon stopped at the river he has crossed many times while he was lost. The river this time however, was raging. 'That's different.'

"What are we going to do now!" Rainbow complained.

"Do ya'll hear that?" The orange horse asked. 'The more I think about it, I think they're ponies.'

"Sounds like....crying." stated Twilight.

"Crying? Oh no that must mean somepony is sad." Cried the pink one. 'SOMEPONY!?! Ok....I've gone insane,' thought Aldric.

"It's coming from this way," pointed Rainbow, "come on!"

They all began running to the source, along with Aldric, to find a River Serpent crying. 'River serpent? Been awhile since I killed one of them,' thought Aldric 'but why is it crying?'

"Are you okay darling?" Asked the white one. 'Why are you asking it a question?' Asked Aldric internally. Then it talked.

"Okay? No I'm not! My moostache is ruined!" Aldric shut up.

"That's what's this is about? A stupid moustache!" Stated Rainbow. His rational mind was saying to stay put but his survival side was saying to slay it and sell the scales. 'Self-restraint,' thought Aldric.

"Of course this is what's about! That amazing mane!"

"I know!" "Those beautiful scales!" Another I know. "And that absolutely dazzling manicure!" 'Wait, a manicure? Who did it for him?' thought Aldric. "All ruined by that destroyed moostache! I must correct this!"

She then walked forward, grabbed a scale, and raised it over her head. 'Is she going to kill him,' thought Aldric. She sliced and.....cut her tail off. 'Nope nevermind,' she then used magic to raise her tail up to his face and attached it to his destroyed moustache.

"Oh! That is absolutely marvelous. Thank you!" Stated the serpent. When this happened the river became crossable again.

"Oh but Rarity," 'Well that's her name,' " your tail." Stated the yellow one, who sounded very timid and shy.

"Don't worry Fluttershy, it'll....grow back." Stated Rarity, who sounded nervous.

"So would have the moustache." Grumbled Rainbow. He smiled at this, which was strange, for he only liked dark humor.

They continued to a bridge, which was broken, something he never saw while lost.

"Oh no! What are we going to do now?" Asked Fluttershy.

"Don't you worry, I've got this." stated Rainbow. 'Wow she's overconfident, that'll be her downfall.' She then opened her wings...wait, WINGS?! 'She has wings,' studying each pony carefully, he saw that Rarity and Twilight have horns, making them unicorns. The pink one and orange don't have anything, and Fluttershy has wings too. 'If she can fly, why didn't she help Rainbow?'

Three minutes passed and Rainbow flew back over. "Oh thank goodness you're alright." Stated Twilight.

"Don't you girls worry, I'll never leave my friends behind." They then crossed the bridge, and Aldric walked over to the bridge. 'Okay.....this is still not the weirdest thing I have seen....but it's close up their,' he thought. He then began to cross the bridge when it snapped while he was halfway across it.

"Well FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" He yelled, falling down the chasm.

"-UUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Startled, all the ponies jumped and spun around.

"What was that!" Asked Applejack.

"I don't know but it came back from the bridge!" Stated Twilight.

"Somepony is in trouble! We got to go save them!" yelled Rainbow. They galloped back to the bridge, only to find it gone and all the ropes broken. Then a huge cry of pain came from the bottom of the cliff. "I'm going down!" Yelled Rainbow as she flew down.

"Ughhh," groaned Aldric, "I hate falling off of cliffs." He got up and patted himself down, knocking away dust from his armor.

"Is anypony there?" Asked a voice. Aldric was about to say yes but then he heard anypony. 'Better not let it see me.' He started walking away from the voice and with a good distance apart, started climbing up the cliff. When he got to the top he looked to the right to see five ponies looking down into the drop. Soon, Rainbow came back up.

"Well Rainbow, do you see anypony?" Asked the orange pony. Rainbow shook her head.

"So are you saying they...." asked Twilight, not able to finish her sentence.

"No, I'm saying I didn't see anything. No ponies, nothing."

"So what, are you saying they just....disappeared?" Asked the pink pony.

"Maybe Pinkie." Silence filled the air for a good minute before Twilight spoke.

"Well...let's keep going, we still need to find the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon." A disheartened nod came from the group and they continued. 'I kinda feel bad for them.' Aldric thought

He followed them sticking to the shadows. They suddenly stopped, confusing him. Turning his head to look at what they were looking at, his eyes widened slightly. A castle, a good one thousand to two thousand years old stood there. 'I'm assuming that's where those Element things are,' he thought to himself. Suddenly, he stumbled, crashing down on all the ponies.

"Ugh what happened?" Asked a confused Twilight.

"Well you see," stated a voice that she hadn't heard during the trip through the forest. "I sort of...fell on you." She went wided eyed and looked left and right to see who this mystery pony is. "That's not going to work." She and the other ponies came too and they saw Rainbow on the ground.

"Oh Rainbow are you all right?" Asked Fluttershy.

"No, she isn't," the voice said again, startling everypony and causing them to surround Rainbow.

"Who said that? Who's there?" Applejack asked the voice.

"Oh I should probably reveal myself but I'm you'll all probably be really confused on what I am, or try to hurt me, now if you'll let me finish, she isn't fine. Three broken ribs, a broken leg, and a concussion, and it's all my fault...unintentionally of course." Stated the voice.

"Wait, what do you mean we'll be confused on what you are?" Pinkie asked. Then a sort of shimmering behind them happened and Aldric revealed himself.

"What in tarnation is that?" asked Applejack.

"Not a what, a who. Now, do you want me heal your friend or not?" Aldric asked them.

"What?!? Never! For all we know you could be some kind of trick by Nightmare Moon!" Rarity said.

"Nightmare Moon? Umm...I have no idea who that is, or what that is, so if you could just let me through." Aldric said, which was a half lie, walking forward. They all got into some kind of defensive position around Rainbow. Aldric sighed. "If you don't let me through, she won't be able to continue and the bones would have to heal themselves." They stilled looked uneasy but they let him through.

Aldric stood up and they all gasped, probably because of his height....or his sword. Aldric stopped, did something you should never do, and took of his sword and threw it to the side, impaling a tree. They all relaxed a little but they were still on edge. They made a gap and let him through. He knelt down next to Rainbow and made his hands glow blue. "This might hurt...a lot." Then he started, making her cry out in pain. They all turned around and charged, only to be met with a bubble. They kept hitting until the screams stopped, then they hit so hard his shield broke. He was already done when they tackled him to the ground, which was good, because if he was still going all of Rainbow's bone would've gone through her skin.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!?!" screamed Fluttershy which shocked them all, even Aldric. 'Wow...she actually has a backbone.' Remembering he was asked a question, he put on a sly smile and said, "Fixed her."

"I KNEW YOU WERE EV-....wait what?" asked Pinkie.

"H-he's right, I feel awesome!" yelled Rainbow while flying into the air. They were all relieved to see their friend okay. Aldric then tried to slip away but was caught by a telekinesis field.

"Where do you think you're going?" questioned Twilight.

"Ummm..." he would've had a clever comeback and broke free of the spell and ran, but he didn't. "Nowhere, I guess." Twilight set him down and used her magic to tie him up.

"There....that should hold you." He moved a bit and broke free. Aldric looked at the magic that he just destroyed.

"Huh, guess not." Twilight jaw was literally on the ground.

"Wha..but how.....did you?" Then all of the other ponies started to laugh, while Aldric had a smug smile on.

"Umm excuse me, I have a question to ask...if it isn't too much harm." asked Fluttershy.

"I don't see why not, unless your words can hurt, then no." They were all confused this by this weird statement but not Aldric, to many tussles with vampires who tried to control him with their words.

"Okay, well umm...what are you?" Aldric wasn't prepared for this because he was never asked this before, probably because he's from another plane of existence.

"Well, I'm a human, a very dangerous one at that, from another plane." He answered matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean, plane?" asked Twilight. Aldric looked at her.

"What do you mean, plane? The Aether?" Twilight cocked her head.

"The Aether? Never heard of it before." Twilight answered

"Huh....I guess that means only my plane knows about it....makes sense." Aldric mumbled, too low for them to hear.

"What was that sugarcube?" Applejack asked him.

"What? Oh, nothing." He didn't want to explain all of this to them right now. "What about those Elements of....whatever you were trying to find?" He asked them, trying to divert attention from himself. He never liked being questioned, mostly because he never got caught in his life.

"Oh yeah! Come on let's get back to finding them and beating Nightmare Moon!" Twilight stated excited. They all said right and began moving back to the castle. Rarity stopped and turned around.

"Aren't you coming?" Aldric was surprised by this and wanted to say yes, really badly, because he hasn't seen any action for 3 days besides some 'combat' with a manticore. "I guess," was all he said and went to the tree with his sword in it and pulled it out. "Are you sure you need that dear?" Rarity asked him,a tinge of fear in her voice. "Yes, yes I do." Was all he said, sheathing the blade.

They arrived in front of the castle and Twilight tried to open the door but couldn't. "I can't open it, its magically locked." Aldric moved forward and placed his hand on the door. "What are you doing," asked Twilight, "I already said it's magically locked."

"Stand back, now."

"What?"

"Stand back, now." His tone made no one question him, they all began running behind some trees and waited. His hands started swirling with magic.

BOOM

A massive, high pitched explosion, happened, knocking Aldric back. Then the shockwave hit, blowing all of the leaves off of the trees. When the dust settled, the ponies came out from behind the trees. They all gasped when they saw the door gone, and a massive hole where it used to be. Some coughing happened behind them and they turned, only to see Aldric, with cuts and burns and a massive shards of rocks in his arm, leg, shoulder, and ankle. They all looked like they lost their appetite.

"Oh my Celestia, are you alright?" asked Rarity.

"Just.....peachy." he said, coughing up some blood. They rushed towards him, only to be met with another barrier. "Don't you worry, I can heal myself." He said yanking out the shards.

"What are you talking? Nopony has that much healing power...." Twilight couldn't finish the sentence, in awe of what was happening before her. Aldric was bathed a dark blue aura, his marks disappearing like they never happened. When it was over, he appeared good as new. His left eye was shut however.

"Something wrong with your eye?" asked Fluttershy.

"No....it's fine." He pulled the cowl over his head. He never let anyone see it unless he wanted them to see it.

They walked through the 'doors' and continued. They stopped when they saw five orbs on top of a pedestal. "Their they are! The Elements of Harmony," stated Twilight, "I need some room to concentrate." She finished sitting down.

"You heard her, everypony out." stated Applejack. Aldric stayed still however. "You too....you know, we never caught your name, what was it?" Still he stayed still. He knew something was about to happen. Then a dark mist entered the room, swirling around Twilight. 'Gotcha.' He ran forward, missing it by milliseconds, causing him to slide and almost fall.

"Damnit!" He shouted, looking around to see where she went. The other ponies ran back in, startled.

"What happened? Where's Twilight!" Pinkie Pie asked, concerned.

"Look! Up there!" Stated Rarity, looking out a window. They all ran to it except for Aldric, who was already running to the tower.

He was already inside the tower, going up the stairs when the others began to go towards it. He stopped in front of the door and peaked in and saw a massive pony, possibly a horse, with an ethereal mane, armor, and was monologuing. He hated villains who monologue, if he was a villain he would just straight up attack the hero. He braced his foot against the door, pulled it back, and slammed into it. The results were as to be expected, at least by his standards, and the door flew off and slammed into a wall. Both ponies look at where the door stood, stunned, and saw a blur go by, punching the ethereal pony in the face, making her slam into a wall. The pony got up from the wall and looked at what hit her. She didn't expect to see a 6'2 bipedal creature in black armor to be their.

"How dare you hit me! I am the Night! I am Nightmare Moon!" She yelled with enough force to knock a tree down. It just stood there, unflinching.

"I don't care." It said rushing forwards. Nightmare Moon teleported barely in time. His fist hit the wall, putting a hole in it. He pulled it out and moved his hand to his sword.

The two stood off, not moving. Nightmare Moon then made the first move, charging up her horn and firing. "There that shou-WHAT!" Nightmare Moon yelled. The shot just glanced off his sword, blowing up a wall. "How is this possible! That should have knocked you out!" She yelled, her patience running thin. He just looked at her, making her shiver. 'How is it so powerful...more powerful than Luna.' She then turned his head and fired a shot off to Twilight. It moved and took the hit for her and knocking it out.

Aldric laid on the floor, unmoving. 'She probably thinks she got me, dumb animal.' He thought. He waited for Twilight to fight now but she didn't, instead she started saying something about the Magic of Friendship, which in Aldric's opinion, is complete bullshit. Then the other ponies came into the room, and she named them off but it was still to boring to listen to. Aldric then got up and saw a rainbow beam go flying at Nightmare Moon. Then the room shines bright and blinded him for a few seconds.

The ponies came to but Aldric was already stalking towards Nightmare Moon, or what was left of her. She looked like a baby, but he never took chances. She looked up and started to back away, whimpering. He lifted her by her throat.

"Please...please don't hurt me." Aldric looked at her, searching for something in her.

"Damnit!" He yelled, throwing her across the floor. Then an orb of light came into the room and revealed another massive pony.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight said, nuzzling her.

"Hello my student." Celestia said in a very motherly tone. 'Wait.....two princesses? Then that must mean.....oh fuck' Aldric thought.

"Oh Tia! Make the scary monster go away!" The little filly asked.

"What monster Luna?" Celestia asked, confused.

"The one over there." She pointed towards Aldric who still had his sword drawn.

"What? Me, a monster? Ehhhh.....I've still been called worse." Aldric said. Princess Celestia stepped forward.

"Did you hurt my sister?!" She asked, with a hint of anger. The other ponies gasped.

"I mean sure, I punched her in the face, but that was when she was evil so you can't blame me. You're lucky I didn't kill her." This statement drew another gasp out of all of the ponies present, besides the princess

"K-kill her? But that's mu-murder." Said Fluttershy, backing away from him.

"Murder! She was evil! I had every right to kill her if I wanted to!" Celestia stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"If you are going to harm-"

"Now let me stop you right there," Aldric says, interrupting her, "where I come from if someone hurts someone, we are allowed to hurt them. No matter how bad we hurt them. I'm also not going to harm your subjects unless they hurt me." Celestia walked toward Aldric, looking him over.

"Fine." She said.

"Look," Pinkie said, "I know this is super serious and all, but can we atleast celebrate?" Celestia nods and begins to light up her horn.

"Wait! Are you going to teleport?" Aldric asked.

"Umm...yes?" Celestia answered.

"Well do you really think teleporting me into a town of ponies is really a good idea?" Aldric said.

"Oh.....I suppose not. But don't you want to celebrate?" Aldric shrugged.

"Just teleport outside of town and I'll hide until the party's over, I hate partying." Pinkie Pie gasped at this.

"You hate parties? But they're like the super-duper-most-amazingest-thing EVER! How can you not like them?" Aldric sighed.

"Long story. And I mean a really long story." Pinkie Pie hair deflated, unhappy that her new friend wouldn't be at the party to celebrate. Aldric was thinking, 'Woah. Did her hair just deflate?'

Soon they were all in a small town, except for Aldric. They celebrated until Celestia raised the sun and soon retired to bed. All except for the Elements, Luna, and Celestia who were all inside of the Golden Oaks Library.

"So," Applejack started, "can we trust him?" They all looked at her.

"Trust who?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I think we all know who's she's talking about." Celestia started. They all looked at her, confused, then they understood.

"Oh him." Twilight said.

"I think he's pretty cool. Not as cool as me of course, but pretty cool." Rainbow said.

"You know," Pinkie started' "we never even got his name."

"It's Aldric." A voice said. They all yelped and turned around. "I'm in the middle of the room." He stated. They turned to him and there he was.

"How did you...."

" I unlocked the door." Celestia looked at him.

"The question still stands, can we trust you?" Aldric looked up.

"I don't know, my old habits might pop up here and then." Then Spike walked downstairs.

"Can you guys keep it down I'm trying to sleep he-." He stopped, eyes bulging at Aldric. "M-m-m-m-monster!" He yelled running upstairs. Twilight sighed.

"I'll go get him." Celestia turned back to him.

"Anyways, what are you habits?" Aldric began thinking.

"Well there's....wait why do you need to know? Can't you just send me back home? I have business to take care of there." Celestia looked uneasy.

"Yes about that....you can't." Aldric looked at her and if looks could kill, she would have been dead.

"What? What do you mean I can't go back? I NEED TO GO BACK, I HAVE BUSINESS TO DO TH-GAAAAAAH." He yelled, falling onto the floor.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked. All he did was continue to twitch, his hair turning ethereal silver and growing claws.

"Wh-what's happening to him?" Fluttershy asked, hiding.

"Its....the Nightmare. It's taking him over." Celestia answered, worried. They all looked at her.

"But we beat the Nightmare remember? With Princess Luna." Rarity answered. Then Luna spoke up, the first time since they got back.

"The Nightmare is its own being, some of it must have manifested inside of him." Aldric stopped twitching, all eyes on him.

"Aldric, sugarcube, you there?" Applejack asked. He turned to look at her and stared. Then he snarled and leapt at her almost as fast as lightning. Nopony was able to react quick enough to the sudden movement. Applejack braced herself, preparing for the worst. Nightmare Aldric then got hit with something. He flew out the wall and into the square, all the ponies looking at the beast. It looked up to see a figure in golden armor, holding a massive sword. It seemed to be resonating some kind of aura.

The Nightmare was dumbfounded, their was another one! It was nearly as powerful as the one it was controlling, but it still could wreak destruction. It then unfurled what looked to be wings, made up of golden light. Nightmare Aldric shrieked, causing everything around him to clutch their ears. Still, it stood their. He then snarled and ran on four legs. It began to walk slowly and then run. It raised its sword when Aldric leaped at it. Nightmare fell onto the blade and wailed like a banshee, shattering glass. It looked down to see no blood coming from the wound. It drew the blade out, slowly. Nightmare fell to the ground, clutching its wound. It towered over him, raising its sword. It plunged it into the ground. It looked around to see where it went when Nightmare slashed its back. It turned around, slashing and hitting Nightmare in the arm. The Nightmare kicked the sword out of its hand when it tried slashing again. Nightmare had a smug look on his face, which lasted about three seconds. Spears made out of light surrounded Nightmare, points inches away. He tried one ditch effort but it was no use, they plunged into him, making him shrill and wail. The spears disappeared, as well as the figure. Nightmare laid on the floor. Then Aldric woke gasping for breath.

Aldric got up. "There we go, much better." He said, dusting himself off. He looked forward at the wall he just broke through and saw everypony staring at him.

"Woah...." Rainbow said, "that....was.....AWESOME!" She finished, flying towards Aldric's face. "You were all like, "WAM" and he was all like, "AAAAAAAH!"....that was by far, the second coolest thing I have ever seen." Aldric smiled.

"Let me guess, you're the coolest?" Rainbow grinned.

"Well duuuh! I'm the most awesomest and fastest pony around!" She said, flipping in the air.

"What exactly was that....figure, that came and brought you back?" Asked Twilight, clearly interested.

"Huh? Oooooh you must mean my guardian. Yeah he helps me whenever I need it."  Celestia stepped forward.

"Excuse me, Aldric?" Aldric looked at her. "Could you come with me for a moment?" He shrugged and nodded, walking towards her.

"So....what do you want to ask me?" Aldric asked, curious. He then saw he was in a bedroom, and Celestia was placing a sound-blocking spell on the room and she was locking the door. "Woah woah woah," Aldric said, stepping back. "What are you doing?" Celestia looked at him.

"Not what you're thinking, that's what." She stated. Aldric sighed, relieved. He wasn't going to have sex with a horse any time soon. "No, I'm going to ask you to be the official Guardian of the Elements of Harmony." If Aldric had some water he would've spit it out.

"What? No! I'm notting going to be their guardian! I need to find a way back home!" Celestia sighed.

"I have already told you, you can't. And even if you could why? What is so important you must get back?"

"Family. I need to see my family." Aldric said, sure that she would beli-

"You're lying." Celestia said, interrupting his thoughts.

"What? I am not. I have two beautiful daught-oh what's the point." Aldric sighed, pinching his nose bridge. "Revenge, I want to go back for revenge." Celestia turned her head.

"What has this....person done to deserve revenge?" Aldric's rage went to a boiling point.

"What has he done? HE KILLED MY FAMILY AND MY GIRLFRIEND!" He yelled, furious.

"I'm.....sorry to hear that, but why hunt somepony down if he can't hurt you anymore?" Aldric was about to yell again but he thought upon these words. He then began one of his inner debates with his subconscious.

'She has a point,' began his rational side, 'why do we need to continue?' His primal rage then lashed out. 'Why? Have you forgotten WHAT HE HAS DONE TO US?' Then Aldric spoke, internally. 'I still have to side with rage here, he has caused us so much pain. He must die.' 'He will die anyway, of old age. Why does he have to die now?' Rational spoke. 'It would be better at our hands.' Rage spoke, with bloodlust. 'And what of his heirs? What would they do? If they go the same route as their father, they will continue to hurt people.' Celestia interrupted his debate.

"Aldric? You there?" Aldric blinked his eyes.

"Huh? Wha? Oh.....right. Sorry. Look, I just can't do this. I need to go back. I need to make sure he doesn't hurt more people." Celestia then asked one of the most stupidest things she could've said to Aldric.

"A......girlfriend doesn't sound so bad as family to keep a grudge over, it doesn't even seem important." Aldric looked at her, fists clenched.

"What did you just say? SHE WAS EVERYTHING TO ME! AND HE KILLED HER! AND IF YOU DON'T THINK THIS IS A BIG DEAL OVER THEN YOU CAN GO FUCK OFF!" He yelled, walking towards the door. Meanwhile Celestia was stunned, never before has anypony lashed out at her like that.

"Wait I didn't mean it." She said, but he was already gone.

Outside the door the ponies were huddled around Aldric when he came out. "So, what did she say?" Asked Rarity, who he payed no mind to and went to get his stuff. "You know it's never polite to not answer a lady." Rarity said, offended.

"Hey, what happened in there?" Asked Twilight.

"None of your fucking business, that's what." All of them looked shocked to see their friend get put down like that. Of course, Rainbow was the first one to react.

"Hey what's your deal? You were so cool earlier, what happened in their?" She said, floating in front of his face.

"Move." Rainbow didn't budge.

"No, not until you tell us what happened in there!" Aldric then proceeded to grab her mane and throw her to a wall.

"I already said, none of your business." He said, finished with his gear collecting and began moving towards the door.

"Hey! You aren't leaving until you apologize to RD for hurting her!" Applejack said.

"I'm fine, girls." Rainbow said, trying to mask the pain. He continued moving, so Applejack went up to him and bucked him in the back. Applejack's legs felt like they had shattered.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She screamed, writhing in pain. Aldric opened up the door.

"Suck it up, they aren't broken." Aldric said, closing the door.

As soon as Aldric opened up the door, all eyes were on him. The ponies watched his every move. Some even began to follow him. He stopped and turned around.

"WHAT!?!" He yelled at them, making them stumble backwards. He continued back to the forest where he was lost. 'What was this place called again? Everfree or something?' He thought, walking into it. He walked until he came across where he first arrived here. Their was his imprint on the mountain, scorch marks from the portal, and chunks of sliced wood. He made a campfire, using the branches from the wood wolves. He then created a shield around him with a small smoke hole. With the fire ready he needed some food. 'Food, food. Where am I going to get some food?' And like it was on cue, growling happened. He turned his to see what it was and it was another manticore. This one was definitely male. Possibly the mate of the one he killed earlier. 'Perfect.' He said, lips curling into a smile. He drew his sword which made the beast rethink its strategy. Nothing smaller than a manticore would ever challenge one, so that must mean it is equally powerful. It charged him, only to get met with the barrier. He ran towards the barrier and opened a small slit, straight into its heart. He pushed the sword through and it died, instantly. He dropped the barrier and proceeded to drag it to the fire, skin it, cook it, and eat it.

Back at the library Celestia walked out to see Applejack and Rainbow to have ice packs on them. "What happened?" She asked Twilight.

"He grabbed Rainbow and threw her at a wall and when Applejack tried to buck him in the back and he didn't even flinch. Applejack said it was like hitting a boulder. I can't believe he did that! He seemed so nice." Celestia looked ashamed.

"It was....it was my fault. I pushed him over the edge with the questions." Twilight nuzzled her.

"Its okay Princess, you didn't know he would do that." Celestia smiled and nuzzled her back.

"Thank you, Twilight." Celestia felt a tap on her side. She looked to see one of her royal guards.

"Excuse me, your majesty, but we must return to Canterlot." Celestia nodded and turned back.

"Find him, will you Twilight?" Twilight nodded, eager to help.

"Of course princess"

A while later Celestia, Luna, and the royal guards were on a chariot back to Canterlot. "So," began Rainbow, "when are we gonna find Aldric so I can kick his flank!" She ended with a hoof bump.

"I don't know. Maybe we should ask around to see where he went." They all nodded and went to talk to the town ponies. Soon, Applejack waved them over.

"Apparently," Applejack started, "he went back to the Everfree." Fluttershy gasped.

"The Ev-everfree Forest? He went back to that dreaded place?" Applejack nodded.

"Afraid so  sugarcube." Twilight began to walk towards the forest.

"Come on, let's find him." They all galloped back to the forest.

"Wow, who would've guessed manticore would taste so good." Aldric said, while picking his teeth. He was surrounded by his barrier so nothing could get in. 'Do you think you might have overreacted back there?' Asked his rational side. "I don't know. Its just so hard to talk about that son of a bitch without wanting to murder everything in a two-mile radius." Replied Aldric. 'It isn't just Frederick.' Stated rationality. Aldric huffed. "I already said, I'm over her." 'Apparently not.' "Shut the fuck up brain." Rationality stopped talking. "I swear I'm inching towards insanity more and more." He finished, laying down. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.

"Nonononono....ARYA!" Aldric yelled, busting down the door. The house was ransacked. Tables flipped, furniture destroyed, and Arya was on the floor in a puddle of blood. "NO!" He yelled, sliding next to her side. He grabbed her hand. "Come on Arya, stay with me." Arya opened her eyes.

"Aldric? Is that you?" She asked. He nodded furiously.

"Shhh...don't talk. I'll heal you and we can leave." She coughed up some blood.

"It's.....all your fault." She said, going limp.

"What? No! I....I didn't mean for any of this! You know that? Arya? Ar-......no." He finished, backing away. She was dead, and it was all his fault. "NOOOOOOOO-"

"-OOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He screamed, waking up. His heart was pounding, he was sweating, and his eyes were bloodshot. "Huff.......huff." He felt like he was being watched. He looked that way and saw Twilight and her friends. They all were all looking at him, worried.....well four of them at least. Applejack and Rainbow were pissed. "How.....long have you been there?" He then remembered his barrier. "Hold on...." He snapped his fingers and it went down. "There we go much better." Rainbow flew forward and tackled him.

"WHAT WAS ALL THE STUFF FROM BEFORE HUH?" She yelled in his face.

"Rainbow! Get off him!" Twilight yelled. She looked over and then back at Aldric.

"This," she moved a hoof between them, "isn't over." She jumped off of him and walked back over. Aldric couldn't help make a joke.

"I kinda guessed she would be on top." They all blushed, except for Applejack, who fell over laughing. Rainbow moved her tail between her legs. Rarity sniffed the air.

"Ugh, what is that awful aroma?" Rarity asked, disgusted.

"Huh? Oh thaaaat....." Aldric said, sheepishly. "Now don't freak out," he asked them, "but it's a dead manticore." All of their pupils shrunk to pinpricks.

"A....de-dead.....manticore?" Fluttershy asked, almost about to cry.

"Look, it attacked me, and seeing how it attacked me, I defended myself. And don't worry, I didn't let it go to waste." They all looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked. He scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, well I'm an omnivore, so I ate it." They all looked nauseous. "Well, why are you all here?" Aldric asked, interested.

"Huh? Oh, well Celestia wanted to bring you back to Ponyville." Aldric deadpanned.

"She wants me to go back?" Twilight nodded. "I suppose I can go back." They all smiled.

They were just nearing the edge of Ponyville when, "So, who's Arya?" Pinkie asked. Aldric froze up.

"W-what?" He asked, weakly.

"Well, you were talking in your sleep for a while and you said Arya a couple of times then woke up. Wait! Is she your special somepony?" Soon all of the ponies were looking at Aldric, who was shaking.

"Is everything alright darling?" Rarity asked.

"Don't you EVER speak that name again." He hissed at Pinkie, who backed away.

"I'm....sorry." Rainbow went over to Pinkie.

"Hey! Stop scaring Pinkie!" Aldric sighed.

"I'm sorry, its just.....just don't say that name." Pinkie Pie nodded. Aldric looked at the others. "That goes for you all too." They nodded and continued to the library.

"Man I'm tired, anyone got a place where I can sleep?" Applejack answered the question.

"I s'pose you can sleep in the barn until you get a home." He nodded and got up.

"Wait," Twilight grabbed his hand with magic, "There's still someone here who you should meet." She went upstairs and in couple of minutes she was back down with a scaly lump on her back. "Spike, this is Aldric." The scaly lump shifted and opened an eye.

"Hey.....WAAAAH!" He woke up, screaming. Twilight grabbed him with her magic.

"SPIKE! Calm down! He won't hurt you." Spike stopped and looked at him.

"You sure?" Twilight nodded and set him down. Aldric sat down and extended his hand.

"Drak ce el." Spike cocked his head.

"Can he speak?" He asked.

"Oh, excuse me. I thought you knew dragon tongue, I said "Hello Drake."." Spike eyes opened.

"Dragon tongue? You've met dragons? What are they like!" Aldric was surprised, the little dragonling began to ask questions, completely forgetting his fright.

"Well, the dragons in my plane.....destroy cities, eat people, and devastate homes. However, those ones are evil. I have met a few nice dragons who have done many heroic things." Spike nodded, fascinated to hear about his own race.

After a few more questions, Aldric and Applejack left and headed to the farm. The town was deserted, most likely because of Aldric.

"So, Applejack, tell me about yourself?" Applejack smiled.

"Well, I'm a farm pony, as you can guess. The orchard has been in my family since Granny Smith came and settled here with her family. Now on the farm there's me, Big Mac my older brother, and Applebloom, my little sister. Oh and Granny lives here too." Aldric nodded, walking next to her. They continued walking in silence until they crested a hill. A massive orchard, one of the largest Aldric had ever seen, stood in front of him. Applejack waved a hoof over everything. "Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!"

"Get away from ma sister!" Feeling the ground rumble, he turned around, only to get his jaw kicked. He fell over, hearing voices but he was too tired to care.