Horns, Hooves, and Fur

Chapters

II - A Present From The Shaman
III - Slayed the Beast... But Scolded For Saving the Fair Maiden
IV - Let Insanity Reign
V - A Savior, Songs, And A Sacrifice
VI - A Prisoner Seeking An Escape
VII - The Human, The Reaper, And The Raver
VIII - Planning A Concert
IX - Get Down With The Sickness
XI - The Fastest Flier's Favor
XII - Toying With Weapons
XIII - Belly Of The Beast
XIV - Creature Of The Night
XV - A Day In The Life
XVI - The Trek (Return To Canterlot: Part I)
XVII - A Chat With Royalty (Return To Canterlot: Part II)
XVIII - The Plan (Jace Arc: Part I)
XIX - Quite A Bombshell (Jace Arc: Part II)
XX - No Brakes (Jace Arc: Part III - Final Part [READ A/N FIRST])
XXI - Painful Bonding (Praxis Arc: Part I)
XXIII - If Ya Can't Take The Heat.... (Slightly Revised)
XXIV - A Night To Remember
XXV - Encores and Rants
XXVI - Potential Parenthood
XXVII - The Truth-Telling in Tartarus
XXVIII - Resurrection
XXIX - The Price That Victory Comes With
Epilogue: Letters and Final Farewells
I - Take The Plunge
X - Through The Fire And Flames
XXII - Here... Was Where My Troubles Began (Praxis Arc: Part II - Final Part)
Author's Note

II - A Present From The Shaman

"Sweet, merciful God up in Heaven! WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!"

Adam wanted to know the answers to questions that would probably take almost eons to answer properly. He tried standing up and running away from it all. Sadly, he tripped over his own hoof and took another tumble to the ground, confirming the reality of it all. The four ponies laughed raucously at Adam's misfortune: his face was flushed red with the mortification he was suffering.

"Well, heheh... you're not a pony, that's all I'VE gotta say," Carrot Top finally replied after her fit of laughter ceased.

"YOU DON'T SAY?" he said sarcastically as he steadily got up. He towered over them by about two or three feet, Lyra's horn could only reach his under his chest, which bore a moderately-sized tuft of black/brown hair that was styled in an upside-down and jagged-triangle fashion. Everypony else reached his hips. "How did I become... THIS... to begin with?"

"Who knows?" Lyra answered. "Maybe it was from that little portal you came through?"

"Portal? You mean the water that was sparkling and whatnot?" She nodded proudly.

"In a way, it can act as an overlarge scrying glass and speaker, allowing me and anypony around me to see and hear whatever I want and wherever I want, but not whoever I want, when we look into it. Twilight helped me learn it, and I think I did pretty good during the spell, especially over this huge pond and despite how much mana it drained me of. Maybe I did TOO good, if it resulted in bringing you here and altering your form."

"Hmm... can there be something going on that can disrupt what you see and hear?" He asked, curious to see how she couldn't see him if she was looking through a powerful scrying glass. She nodded again, the pride taken away from this nod.

"Yeah, and the disruption can take form of anything. Bustling crowds of civilians, bad weather, anything that generates a distraction of some sorts on one side or another."

"Hmm... I guess I understand now why you couldn't see and hear me earlier, but I could see and hear you."

"Huh? Whadaya mean?" Carrot Top asked.

"Well, I was literally standing over the edge of the water where you all appeared. I think because there wasn't any distractions afoot- I mean, ahoof - on this end of the scrying glass, I could see you as clear as daylight, but it wasn't like that for you four because there was a huge thunderstorm going on on my end."

"Ohhhh... that kind of explains it," Bon-Bon said, previously bemused about it all.

"Eeyup."

"Oy... I barely understood that at all, guys. So where're ya from, Mister... er...." Derpy let her sentence hang there. She didn't know what to all this creature.

"What?" he asked.

"Sorry about that. Heheh... you never told us your name."

"And if I recall, none of you told me yours. I think we got off on the wrong foo - er, hoof - when it came to introductions, don'tcha think?" He slowly walked over to them, making sure he didn't fall over again. He already knew who they were, but he didn't he didn't want to reveal that, lest they see him as even more of a weird freak of nature. "Um..." He didn't know where to start. He wasn't good with introductions, seeing as how he liked to isolate himself from others back on Earth.

"What's the matter, mister? You didn't forget your name, did ya?" Bon-Bon teased.

"N-no!" he mumbled, blushing a deep shade of scarlet once more. God, he was feeling like Fluttershy, the way he just stuttered and flushed red again. "Um..." He was visited with a little fun fact he came across while reading a Greek Mythology book. He had read that satyrs had two names: their human names, and the title they are christened when they discover what they are. That's when the idea for a new name - that he got from a video game he had played - popped into his head. "You can just call me... Praxis, the satyr." He stuck out his hand towards Carrot Top first, as she was the one who was first in line starting from right to left.

"Wow," the gardener said. "That's not a bad name there, Praxis!" The other four mares nodded in agreement. She took his hand in her hoof and shook it. "I'm Carrot Top. Nice to meet you." He then moved on to Lyra, who was next in line. The green unicorn stared at the rechristened Praxis's fingers as her hoof was grabbed by them.

"I'm Lyra Heartstrings," the lyre-player introduced, shaking his hand. "Call me Lyra, though." Onto the next one.

"I'm Bon-Bon," the cream-colored candymaker said, shaking hoof-in-hand with him and introduced herself. Last but not least....

"And I'm Derpy!" The gray mailmare concluded happily, extending her hoof out to Praxis. Unfortunately, her hoof-eye coordination was shot to shit. Instead of going into Praxis's outstretched hand, it hit him hard in the lower ribs. He doubled over and did another goat-bleat in pain. "Oops! Heehee, sorry, Praxis!" she apologized, the others giggling at her accidental, yet good-natured blunder.

"Urgh.... Don't worry 'bout it, Derpy." He stood up straight and rubbed the spot where the clumsy Pegasus had struck him. He decided to grab her hoof himself and shake it, before she accidentally hits him again. 'After all, she is the queen of bad luck... and muffins,' he mused to himself.

*RRRRRRRRRR* Praxis clutched his abdomen, his face searing red in embarrassment.

"Heheh... I guess my stomach is angry at me for skipping breakfast this morning," he said, chuckling weakly.

"Hey, you wanna head to the town and grab a bite to eat? It's only about half of a mile from here," Carrot Top suggested. Praxis's stomach (figuratively) got on its hind legs and started panting like a dog at the idea. He nodded, his ears flopping from the back and forth motion. "Super! This way!" They trekked off towards the town, which Praxis's brony instinct could only tell him was Ponyville, in search for something to snack on.

For some weird reason, the satyr felt like devouring some apples and tin cans once the gang got into the town. 'Maybe it's because of my iron stomach of a goat,' he wondered. 'That, or my newly-altered taste buds and cravings.'

"Adam! I'm back!" Osama said, carrying the grilled cod in some aluminum foil that a couple of campers had given him. He noticed the fishing rods laying on the dirt, their lines still cast out to the river.

"Adam?!" He was getting angry as he stared at the rods, thinking that that boy had run off somewhere and abandoned his post. He was going to go look for him and eventually kick his ass for not listening to him...

He WAS... until he spotted a pair of damp, black-framed glasses laying lopsided on the dirt. The lenses were violently cracked, dried blood on the bridge of the nosepiece and in the inner corners of the shattered glass lenses.

"Oh, God...." He dropped the fish and ran to the spot to pick up the glasses. "No... nononononoNO!" Tears were streaming down his face as the recognition of who these visual aids belonged to dawned on him.

They were his little brother's.

"A MONSTERRRR!!!!!!!" a familiar pink pony with a hot pink poofy mane and tail shouted to the civilians as she spotted the satyr going into town. An air siren sounded, like a bomb was about to be dropped on the town, and the many pedestrians on the streets rushed into whatever hiding place they could find. "RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIIVES!"

In less than ten seconds flat, the streets of Ponyville were completely vacant. Stallions, mares, colts, fillies, and foals have been cleared out of the streets at the warning. All the doors were shut and locked, all the blinds and shutters were sealed shut. A tumbleweed rolled across the dirt path, but that was it. Praxis, Derpy, Lyra, Carrot, and Bon-Bon were deathly alone in this immediate ghost town.

"What the hay was that all about?" Lyra asked.

"I just don't know," Derpy responded. "Maybe 'cause Pinkie warned everypony that a monster was on the loose?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... they don't think the monster is me... do they?" the satyr asked fearfully, his tail tucking between his legs. He couldn't believe this. He thought Ponyville was about acceptance, friendship, and all that spectacular jazz. Now? Those were all out the window and into the Dumpster.

"I think they do, Prax," Bon-Bon said morbidly as she turned to him and looked at him sympathetically. "They're not used to... rare creatures... being here."

"Yeesh..." They continued walking, trying to ignore the loneliness that suffocated them, more Praxis than the others.

"Why would anypony want to think Praxis is a monster?" Carrot pondered as they walked through the town in the hopes that at least one store was still open. "He can't be that bad...."

A certain somepony with a cyan coat and a rainbow-colored mane and tail stood above Praxis on a cloud with a white vase in her hoof. The Pegasus took this opportunity to chuck the vase at the satyr. The vase arced through the air and hit the satyr square on the back of the head, shattering into dozens of pieces on impact. Some of the ceramic shards embedded themselves into the flesh as they dispersed. Blood poured from the puncture wounds.

"OW!!!!" he bellowed in agony, furiously ripping out the shards and clutching his new lacerations with both hands afterwords. "MOTHERFFFFU-!" He stopped in mid-swear when he turned around and analyzed who had hit him; he felt his heart plummet like a rock into his stomach at the sight of Rainbow Dash, a look of hatred on her face as she glared at him with constricted magenta eyes.

"GO BACK TO TARTARUS, YOU BUCKING FREAK!" the speed demon roared in her scratchy voice before taking off to the skies and into her cloud palace, leaving a rainbow colored streak behind her. It nearly crushed his heart to mere dust to see that Rainbow, who he was a massive fan of, had treated him with such belligerence and spite.

"Praxis! Are you OK?" Lyra said in concern. She saw his crimson bodily fluids trickling down his neck and along his back. He turned to her; she gasped and put a hoof to her mouth, heartbroken and saddened at the sight of him: their were tears accumulating in the corners of his eyes, which were glazed over with moistness. He was biting his lower lip to prevent from losing control and sobbing out loud.

"Y-yeah. I'll be f-fine," he said, his voice hoarse-sounding when he spoke. He turned away, sniffling quietly as he applied the already ruined remains of his shirt to staunch the blood from his injury, then used whatever dry portion of the cloth that remained to wipe his eyes, preventing his sorrow from being seen any further.

Nopony else remained in the streets, nor did they skulk behind the windows of their homes or hide behind their cloud covers in the hopes that they wouldn't be seen by him. All the alleyways were draped in shadows, and not a single soul lingered in the darkness that the alleys held within them. Once again, they were drowning in their loneliness.

Now... being here reminded him of the torment he suffered back home. All the bullying, beatings, lies, and thievery that were demonstrated upon him by those he once called peers. This time, however, the sharpness and pain of it all was increased by a hundred fold.

The four ponies and one satyr were in a desolate town of neglectful and arrogant equines. Nopony else who was compassionate remained.

Nopony else... save for one.

"You poor, strange creature, I pity the pain you feel. Please let me give you something to help your wounds heal," said a native, yet feminine and familiar voice from the shadows of an alleyway.

The five characters whipped around to the source of the rhythmic voice that spoke. From out of the shadows emerged a zebra pony draped in a dark brown cloak. She was decorated with black stripes all along on her white coat. She removed the hood of her cloak from her head, revealing her black-and-white Mohawk of a mane and the many golden accessories that around her neck and on her ears.

"I an see why that mare tossed that vase. But they should know that violence is no answer to this case," Zecora said, casting a look of spite at the many houses in the vicinity. "I am Zecora, the shaman and medicine mare of Ponyville. The brews and treatments that I make strengthen the weak and fix the ill."

"Hello, Zecora. I'm Praxis. It's a pleasure to meet you," he greeted, extending his hand out to her. She slowly worked her hoof forward until it was in his palm, and then he wrapped my fingers around it and shook it twice before releasing it.

His stomach rumbled again, this time resonating well across the empty town.

"I can see that you wish your belly held food," she chuckled, hiding her muzzle behind her hoof as she gave her hearty laugh. Praxis couldn't help but nod heartily. He desperately needed the comfort that the shaman was providing. She went to her saddlebags filled with mysterious scrolls and ingredients and she burrowed around until she found what she wanted: a large, red, shiny apple. The stem of it was in her mouth as she pulled it out and dropped in his hand. "Try this apple: I assure you that it tastes-" She didn't even end her rhyme before he took an immense bite out of the extremely flavorful fruit. "...very good."

"'Very good' is an understatement, Zecora!" said Praxis after he swallowed what was in his mouth. "This tastes amazing! Thank you!" She could only nod her "you're welcome" and laugh again before rhyming, this time with a more stern, but soothing voice.

"Now you must stand still, Praxis, please. Doing so will let me heal your injury with ease." She dug into her saddleback and pulled out a gauze pad, surgical tape, and some unusual liquid in a vial. She placed two strips of tape on one side of the pad in an "X" formation, then poured some of the strange concoction onto the other side and placed it tenderly upon the bleeding laceration the vase had left upon his cranium. It started to sting the wound on contact, cleaning out any infection and siphoning up all the blood. She flattened out the tape and made sure it stuck to his head. "I understand what it is to be abhorred. But never have they thrown things at me before. That cruelty and prejudice they displayed was brash and unkind: once they see past your... appearance, they won't expect what they'll find."

"Which is?"

"You possess a genuine heart of solid gold, my good sir. That's why I and these four befriended you, despite your horns and fur."

"Um... thank you," he said meekly.

"But before we forget what we must do, forgive me for asking but... what are you?"

"He's a satyr," answered Derpy cheerily. He confirmed the statement with a nod before the klutzy mailmare did something Praxis never guessed would've happened in years: she asked him a good question. "Uh... what's a satyr, Praxis?"

He already had the response within milliseconds after the question was asked, but he paused for dramatic effect and so as to not look like a show-off... like a certain somepony with a blue coat and white mane and tail. "Hmm... a satyr is a Greek mythological creature, formed of half of a human and half of a goat. They have abilities to control nature and life and even entertain or lull others to sleep through their reed pipes or flutes that they play. They're actually very benign creatures!" He said those last words to the houses that the civilians of Ponyville had hold themselves up inside of.

"Hmm... Did you say that satyrs can play the reed pipes and flute?" Zecora began, riffling through her saddlebags. "If so, then let me see if I have one in my bags of loot." She finally pulled out what she was looking for. In her mouth was a silver-wrought flute, played in the same way a recorder would be played. It was designed with tribal-looking markings carved into the metal. Tied around a little groove underneath the lip plate was a thick loop of string, making the instrument double as a necklace. She lifted up a forehoof and waved it down twice: she wanted him to bend down. He obliged, the shaman slipping the string over his horns and head and letting it rest around his neck. "I think that this is yours now, O ye of nature. I have no need of it: not now, nor in the future."

"Wait, you're giving this to me?" he said in disbelief as he sat on his hindquarters in the dirt with his legs crossed, taking the flute into his hands and feeling the ornate and curling grooves engraved in its surface.

"Of course I am, my horned ally. Go give your flute playing a try!" said Zecora happily.

"Come on, Prax! You can do it!" cheered Lyra.

"Yeah! Let's hear it!" Derpy said excitedly.

"Let 'er rip!" added Carrot Top.

"Go on! It might sound good!" Bon-Bon concluded.

Praxis rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath. His palms were sweating a bit at how nervous he was getting as he cracked his fingers. He never played a flute before in his life.

"Here goes nothing," he huffed before he put his mouth on the lip plate, closed his eyes, and breathed in from his nose one more time. He commenced playing one of his many favorite songs that came to the top of his head: Puddle of Mudd's "Blurry".

He didn't skip a beat: his fingers flew from hole to hole with breathtaking grace, each controlled breath he exhaled into the flute coming out as a harmonious melody. He was rocking back and forth slowly as he played, every oscillation keeping with the metronome of the song.

The magic energy that he had became evident after a few seconds of playing. The grass and the leaves on the trees were emanating a brighter green than before; the small closed buds of the flowers were spreading their petals ajar as their sweet essence escaped them into the air; baby vegetable and fruit crops were growing at an astronomical rate, the carrots, tomatoes, grapes, strawberries became 150% more than their regular size; the chirping of the birds was intensifying in volume with every passing second. The five mares ooh'd and aah'd as they observed the magic that was improving the flora and fauna of the town . Two sky-blue mockingbirds gently perched themselves on Praxis's shoulders and released their heartwarming song, mimicking the notes that the satyr was eloquently playing.

When the song ended, the five mares were stomping their forelegs on the ground, the Equestrian way of applauding. He let go of his flute and let it lay upon his chest as he stuck out his finger to the mockingbirds and let them climb onto it. He open up his brown eyes again and brought the songbirds up to his face.

"Go, and soar above the highest clouds. Let thy marvelous song be heard," he told them. They chirped, and with that, he stuck out his hand, sending the mockingbirds to take to the sky. The Sun was placed high up into the air, signalling noon time, as he let the warm breeze gently blow his hair and fleece in its general direction. He gave the air a sniff, the smell of apples and flowers strong in his nostrils.

Lyra, Bon-Bon, Carrot Top, and Derpy returned to their homes in Ponyville after Praxis's musical performance. Zecora returned to the Everfree Forest to get home to her hut and forage some important herbs along the way. Praxis decided to follow her, but veered away when they were clear of the town, heading into the forest in a different direction. He found a tall and supple yew tree a couple of yards into the forest.

'This wouldn't be a bad place for an afternoon nap,' he mused. He squatted down low and kicked off of the earth, catching twenty feet of air before landing rather nimbly on the tree's high branches. He repeated this method until he was about sixty feet above the ground. He sat down cautiously on the branch and leaned against the tree, one satyr leg crossed over the other.

'Today wasn't too bad... but it wasn't too good, either,' he thought, giving his flute's engravings another little stroke. He finally decided to succumb to the drowsiness that slowly fell upon him. The warmth of the Sun was only adding to his sleepiness....

And so he dozed off, giving off little bleats with every time he exhaled from his snores. He would've given anything to just lay there and sleep for all eternity... never to be disturbed again....

*RAAAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRR! THUNK!*

He awoke suddenly to a bloodcurdling roar and a violent tremor that almost made him fall out of his tree. He glanced down at the disturbance and his pupils shrunk in fear at the horror below him.

A manticore was gazing up at him, getting onto its hind legs and planting his front paws upon the tree again. It licked its lion chops hungrily at the thought of what goats must taste like.

III - Slayed the Beast... But Scolded For Saving the Fair Maiden

III - Defeated the Beast... But Scolded For Saving the Fair Maiden

"Oh, come ON!" Praxis yelled at the manticore from up in his monolithic yew tree. "You're freaking kidding me, right?!"

His rhetorical question was answered with another roar and a swipe of the scorpion tail from the manticore. It got on its hind paws and slammed its forelegs on the tree. It shook horrendously, like the land was caught in a bone-jarring tremor. The satyr was stunned from the vibration of the wood and nearly fell out of the tree and into the manticore's watering maw. Luckily, he regained his bearings before he made his next move.

'This is going to be the stupidest goddamn thing I will ever do,' he thought before he secured his messenger bag of tools and jumped off of the branch towards a nearby oak tree.

Time seemed to slow down during Praxis's descent towards the oak tree as adrenaline pumped through his veins in generous amounts, fueling him with new found energy and tremendous speed and strength. Fear of injury and death was null and void as he soared through the air, his hearing and eyesight heightening drastically. He could hear his own heart pounding frantically against his rib cage like a blacksmith's hammer upon molten ingot.

Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump....

*RAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!*

He heard the manticore's rage when it realized its dinner was getting away. He continued jumping and swinging off of tree branches at every opportunity, the bat-winged and poison-tailed lion chasing him with malice.

"Goddamn, fuzzball! For a fat ass, you're pretty quick!" He shouted behind him to the beast. It wasn't happy that it got insulted, and in retaliation, it jabbed its tail at Praxis. He saw this coming and backflipped after swinging off of another branch, moving forward while somersaulting in the reverse fashion. He landed on the next tree branch elegantly and climbed to the very top of his temporary safe place, pondering his next move and how to execute it.

'Thank God all thoses months of practicing parkour paid off, otherwise my head would have cracked like an egg by now,' he mused gratefully. He gave a chuckle at his luck. 'That tail, though.... I wonder... could I get that manticore to stab himself with it...?

'Only one way to find out.' He jumped off of the tree and landed on the ground behind the monster.

"Hey, ugly!" he shouted. The manticore whipped around at the insult and bared its teeth, long and sharp like the blades of steak knifes. "You want dinner, big boy? You gotta catch it first!" He pulled down his left lower eyelid and stuck out his tongue, one of his favorite way of taunting someone, before he charged at the manticore, giving off an anxious gulp as he went.

He really hoped that his plan would work.

He veered to the left when he reached the beast and began running circles around the manticore as fast as he could.

But his fastest... proved to be much faster than he thought.

Praxis looked down at his hooves and went wide-eyed in shock: his hooves were a massive blur and he was picking up much more acceleration than he thought he could muster. The wind roared in his ears and the environment was also an immense blur.

"W...WHAT?!" He blurted out. While his intentions were to get the manticore as dizzy as possible, he never expected such results. After assuming this sudden change of speed was also from Lyra's magic, Praxis risked a glance at the creature. Sure enough, the beast's eyes started swirling in its head as it sat down on his haunches.

'Phase one complete,' he thought. 'Let Phase two begin... Now!' He stopped running in circles just long enough to hop onto the manticore's head. It saw him through its wonky eyes, raising its scorpion tail as it prepared to strike.

'3....'

The tail was coming down at frightening speeds....

'2....'

It was getting much closer....

'...1!'

Praxis kicked off of the manticore's head at the last millisecond before the tail skewered him like a wild boar. The tail had pierced through the beast's thick skull, causing blood and an ominous-looking green liquid to torrent from the impaled area. The manticore screeched in agony, the sound of his screech echoing through the Everfree Forest and beyond it, the vocal force of it nearly blasting the satyr off of his hooves and into a tree. The beast slumped to the floor, dead for the poison that had rapidly reached his heart. Praxis could feel the adrenaline rush fading from him.

"That's right, bitches!" He boasted to nopony in particular, pointing at the slain manticore with a cocky grin on his face. "THAT'S how it's done!"

As a memento - and as a form of celebration - to his victory over a murderous mythological creature, Praxis walked over to the manticore's carcass with caution: he wanted to make sure it was really dead first, and that this wasn't a mere act. He put two of his fingers onto the beast's throat, where the jugular vein rested. Sure enough, there was no pulse: the damn thing had kicked the bucket. Glad that this death wasn't feigned, he grabbed a small yet sturdy stick next to him and opened the manticore's mouth. He almost retched from the scent that came from the beast's open maw.

"Hoo! Fuzzball, you've got some SERIOUS Dragon Breath goin' on there," he said in disgust as he placed the stick inside the beast's mouth to hold it open. Its breath smelled of rotten meat and centuries of not brushing and flossing. "Let's see if this will work," he hummed. He placed his hands around two of the longest fangs out of the bunch and pulled as hard as he could, his hooves on the monster's face for extra support. Large beads of sweat rolled down his face as the fangs started turning loose from their sockets. He relaxed his muscles and took in a deep breath before yanking at the fangs again, veins jutting out of his muscles as he gritted his teeth and pulled harder. At long last, they were ripped out of their gums, a little bit of blood trickling from them. He wiped his newly acquired fangs on his enemy's fur and placed them into the zipper pocket of his messenger bag. He was going to go back to his tree and play his flute more until he took notice of a dirt path that looked like it led to Zecora's hut.

"Hmm... maybe she can fashion these fangs into earrings for me...?" he pondered aloud. With that, he walked down the road as quickly as he could: Princess Celestia's radiant Sun was almost at the horizon, and in this forest, the danger will be doubled. His stomach growled again, signaling that it wants to be fed. "Heheh... and maybe I'll forage for some berries on the way there and back."

"Come on, Fluttershy! You promised me that you'd help me with the weather tonight!" Rainbow called to her yellow Pegasus friend.

"O-okay, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said timidly, fluttering over to her cyan companion who was several hundred feet in the air.

"Good. Now, here's the plan: we gotta assemble these clouds over Ponyville because there's to be rain scheduled tonight."

"A-alright." Fluttershy slowly ascended into the sky towards Rainbow.

'I'm having really bad thoughts about this already,' Fluttershy thought to herself. 'But... Rainbow is my friend... and I did promise her I would help her.'

The two Pegasi were gathering up clouds as fast as their wings and hooves would allow them; by that, Fluttershy was taking her time girding the clouds over the town, while Rainbow Dash was blazing through her work at destructive speeds.

'Hmm... this isn't so bad,' Fluttershy thought to herself as she rounded up one of the last clouds. 'Everything seems to have gone perfectly swell.'

It would've... if Rainbow hadn't decided to pull a little prank on her friend.

*BOOOOM*

She grabbed one of the storm clouds and sneaked up behind Fluttershy, giving it a little stomp and causing it to shoot out a lightning bolt. Fluttershy jumped in fear from the lightning and thunder. Her wings snapped shut at the sound, her heart hammering wildly in her chest as she began plummeting towards the pond beneath them. Rainbow was on her back, guffawing so loud and heartily that she neither heard nor saw her friend shrieking as she free-fell to the ground. The ringing in the rainbow-maned athlete's ears from the thunder didn't help her in hearing one bit.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Fluttershy, flapping her forelegs in an attempt to regain flight, but with no positive results.

"Thank the Lord for anesthetics, or else I'd've been blubbering like a baby back there!" Praxis said as he rubbed his face and his pointy ears, the latter bearing a manticore fang that dangled on each lobe. Zecora was deeply impressed that he had defeated an extremely dangerous monster on his first day in a new universe. To reward him - and in exchange of the many berries he had foraged on his way to her, she forced the tip of the fangs inside small silver bands that were connected to chains with a clasp at the end. The inside of the bands were lined with a really powerful adhesive she had made herself, so there was no way that the fangs would ever come out. She eventually wanted to tattoo his face with some of the black ink she had, but he decided against it... at first.

"Another time, Zecora," he had told her. His mind was set on that idea... until she pulled out a little blueprint of what she was going to create on his face: A single spike curving inwards towards the corners of his lips, the base of the spikes coming out from the outer corners of each eye. That caught his attention and made him change his mind. After many minutes of the torture known as facial modification, and lots of anesthetics, the tattooing was complete. He thanked her with more berries and some medicinal herbs, which she gladly accepted.

Now (pain)fully pimped out with his new earrings and tattoos, Praxis had reached his tree and hopped effortlessly to the top of the 100-foot yew; while outrunning that manticore had made him sore, it threw some muscle onto his legs and arms, making him more powerful than he previously was. He hung his messenger bag at the end of the supple branch above him and laid back on his own tree limb. Soaking in the orange light of Celestia's sinking sun and the light drizzle of today's forecast, Praxis tossed some blackberries into his mouth. After swallowing, he put his flute to his lips and played simple, yet random, notes. The spontaneous notes soon became the beginning of a new song.

Or so he would like to believe.

His euphoria for his instrument came to a screeching halt when he was interrupted by a boom of thunder and a soft scream ion the distance that followed it, all of this being picked up by his finely tuned sense of hearing. He looked for the disturbance and swallowed hard. His pupils shrunk to the size of peas as his heart sunk into his stomach again, much like the yellow Pegasus that was plummeting towards the very pond he emerged from this very morning.

Fluttershy was falling at terminal velocity, flapping her forelegs in that same helpless-chicken demostration he did. He stood up, stretching his legs and arms. If he wanted to save her, he had to time it just right, or it will all be for naught, and she'll have already taken the plunge. He got into a starting position and watched her like a hawk.

"Come on..." he muttered. She was at 350 feet.

"Almooost...." 230 feet.

"NOW!" He bellowed this word, right when Fluttershy was 150 feet from the pond. He started towards the edge of the branch and jumped onto the very tip of it. It sprung back like an extremely flexible diving board. He kicked off of it right when it sprung back and he rocketed across the sky towards his target. He turned in mid-air, his back to the ground as the tiny raindrops dotted his face, torso, and fleeced legs. He bent his right leg and outstretched his arms, catching Fluttershy and holding her securely to his chest with both arms and one right upper knee

"Gotcha!" he said ecstatically. Fluttershy removed her muzzle from the patch of hair that rested upon the fleshy and furless torso and looked up into the eyes of her savior, her own widening in fear. This strange creature... who was rumored to be a monster... had saved her? No way: the horns, the pointy ears adorned with the fanged earrings, the tats, the overall appearance was just simply too much for her.

This all made her curl into a ball and hide behind her rosy locks of hair.

'HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!' Praxis thought, trying his best not to squeeze the adorable pony ion top of him. As he began his descent to the moist earth, he backflipped and touched down spectacularly, using his hooves and one of his hands as a braking system to stop him from skidding backwards across the damp grass. Once he had stopped set her down upon the ground and got down on one leg, hand resting on the other.

"Are you alright?" he asked the timid Pegasus, who was still hiding behind her pink mane. She gave a short nod and got back up on her four hooves.

"T-thank you," she said quietly.

"Um... forgive me for asking, but what's your name?" He already knew what it was, but again, he didn't want to appear like an all-knowing monstrosity.

"Um... I'm... Fluttershy," she answered. She had spoken her name so quietly that it would've been like she had never said it at all, but Praxis caught her name with his extreme sense of hearing.

"Nice to meet you, Fluttershy." He stuck out his hand. She flinched, yet emerged from her pink mane to inspect the hand and its phalanges more. "I'm Praxis, the satyr."

"H-hi, Praxis," she said meekly, finally daring to stick out her hoof and placed it into his palm. He grasped it softly and gave it a shake. "Um... Praxis? What's a satyr? That is... if you don't mind me asking...." She hid behind her rosy curls once more.

He would've happily given her the answer... if Rainbow hadn't screwed it up again. The speed demon had seen the scene, rage filling her again at the sight of the creature.

'What's that monster doing with Fluttershy?!' she thought furiously. 'I'd better stop it before it hurts her!' With that, she beat her wings and charged at Praxis. She collided with him and tackled him to the ground. The both of them rolled and tumbled down the small hill behind him until they came to a stop. Praxis tried to get up and push away the thing that had charged at him, only to be whipped with a rainbow-hued tail and be forced to sneeze away from it. He tried getting up again and his eyes widened in surprise when he faced forward: Rainbow's powder blue flank was mere millimeters from his nose. Rainbow wasn't so lucky either, as her muzzle was just in between his legs as well.

'While this IS really tempting and all... no,' he thought as he pushed her off of him and got up, dusting off his legs and back. Rainbow's cyan cheeks were tinged with an embarrassing pink as she arose.

"Geez, honey, we could've at LEAST gone for some dinner and dancing first," he said suavely, clicking his tongue at Dash and giving her the double-eyebrow-raise trick. Rainbow blushed so much that her face was nothing but bright red.

'Holy fuck, I am smooth,' he mused.

"Sh-shut up! What do you think you're doing with Fluttershy, demon!?" she roared at the creature, all the pink from her face fading away as her words progressed.

"Well, after I saved your friend here from becoming food for the fishes, I merely introduced myself to her. I WAS gonna tell her what I was and where I came from... until you showed up," he stated nonchalantly as he examined his nails, though inside him, wrath was bubbling like a pot of water above a blazing fire.

"You weren't gonna save her! You looked like you were gonna eat her!" Fluttershy cringed at those last words.

"Eat her? That's harsh. I don't think you realize that I'm part goat: I can only eat plant life."

"Then how does that explain those freak earrings of yours, huh? Those don't look like a veggie eater's!"

"You're quite right, my friend. These belong to a manticore." That got the two Pegasi's attentions: Rainbow was flabbergasted, Fluttershy was deathly afraid. "With enough cunning and proper timing, I made it kill itself with its own tail."

"W-what!?" The both of them blurted.

"You k-killed o-one?" Fluttershy asked nervously. Praxis nodded, confirming the timid pony's fears and making her shrink in a ball again.

"It's true," said the satyr before turning to Dash.

"What a load of horsefeathers!"

"Now why is it that you hate me again?" His tone was harsh and cold when the question escaped his lips.

"Because you're a -!" She was cut off by Praxis's sudden burst of molten rage.

"Lemme guess: A monster?! A demon?! A FREAK?!" Rainbow Dash was caught off guard by this spontaneous display of anger. She backed away from him as she gazed into his eyes. Their usual brown hue that displayed kindness and altruism had been reduced to black slits, reflecting nothing but fury and hatred. "Well, let me tell you this, you egotistical prick! I am NO such thing! I'm sick and tired of all of you all running away from me, calling me names, and THROWING THINGS AT ME!" He had raised his voice to an earsplitting bellow, his volume almost matching that of the Royal Canterlot Voice. "YOU'VE BEEN MAKING THIS NEW LIFE OF MINE A LIVING HELL SINCE I GOT HERE! I CAN'T EVEN SET ONE GODDAMN FUCKING FOOT - I MEAN, HOOF - INTO TOWN WITHOUT EVERYPONY EVACUATING LIKE A BOMB WAS ABOUT TO GO OFF!" Dash looked like she was going to cry, biting her hoof to prevent that from happening. Fluttershy was already past that point: tears were shooting out of her eyes like waterfalls as she sobbed quietly.

"You wanna know something, you brash and pathetic little shit?! I used to think you were cool... that you were the most badass Pegasus in Equestria. I used to want be LIKE you a while ago. But now? Well, If anypony EVER suggested that we should be friends, I would rather rip off my earrings and plunge the fangs into my neck before that would happen! Why?! Not only because I'll never EVER acknowledge as a friend, but also because you're FUCKING DEAD TO ME!" With that, he stomped away towards the Everfree forest, turning his back on the bawling Fluttershy and the angry yet emotionally scarred Rainbow Dash. "And unless you're going to apologize or you have a death wish, then don't even bother trying to look for me!" he roared back at her as he jumped up into the yew tree and grabbed his messenger bag from the top branch, disappearing into the thick foliage afterwards and into an entirely different, yet equally tall tree, this one an unknown type.

'Good riddance,' he thought angrily as he sat there, flicking off a tear that had escaped from its ducts.

"Yeah, well, FINE, you jerk!" Rainbow had shouted at the satyr in retaliation. She had stopped herself from getting all sappy, but she was still hurt by the creature's words. She turned towards Fluttershy, who was still weeping, the tears mixing with the raindrops as they fell to the soil below. "C'mon, Fluttershy. Let's go."

But the yellow Pegasus wouldn't budge.

"Come on!" Rainbow commanded. She got close to Fluttershy and gave her a nudge with her foreleg.

*SMACK!*

It wasn't that it hurt her physically; Fluttershy was too much of a softy to leave any damage. But still, Dash felt like a worthless mound of dung the second that Fluttershy's hoof had come in contact with her muzzle. She couldn't believe that the feud with Praxis could've driven her friend into slapping her across the face, tears still leaking in the craven Pegasus's eyes.

"How c-could you?!" she interrogated, choking back the evidence of the melancholy that still cascaded down her cheeks. "Why couldn't y-you unders-stand what he was g-going through?!"

"What do you mean?"

"I s-saw it in his eyes! He may h-have a smile on his f-face, but his eyes tell it all: that s-satyr suffered from the other p-ponies who always m-mocked him, always r-ridiculed for w-what he was!"

"But I-"

"No 'b-buts'! That was very r-rude of you! He s-saved me from drowning, all b-because you were c-crazy enough to pull such a h-horrible p-prank on me!"

"What?" Dash put her forehoof to her mouth, stunned by the epiphany that was brought forth to her at the speed of a raging locomotive.

"Y-yeah!" Fluttershy continued in her angry and upset tone of voice. "B-but you insisted on t-treated him like he was some weird freak! You HAVE to apologize!"

"What?! No way in Tartarus!"

"...Then you leave me no choice." She wiped her eyes and walked away from Dash, heading towards her cottage. "And by the way? YOU'RE the jerk, Rainbow Dash!" she hollered behind her as she disappeared behind the hill

Rainbow sighed deeply, her head low as she fell to her haunches onto the mud and sobbed quietly into her hooves. Fluttershy would never do that in a million years. Why she chose to do it now was an utter enigma. But she was right. She had done nothing but insult, hurt, and despise that poor creature, when he had done nothing wrong. Now she had paid the price: the one animate being here that wasn't a pony had stopped idolizing her and her best friend from fillyhood didn't want to talk to her until she made up for her prejudiced actions.

"What have I done?" she said quietly, weeping into her hooves more.

'Funny...' she thought sorrowfully. 'The rain feel heavier than before... just like my heart.'

IV - Let Insanity Reign

The Next Day

"And stay out!" the book store owner shouted to Lyra, pushing her out the door and slamming it behind her.

"Sheesh, what's with everypony today?" She questioned, rubbing the spot where her flank was hit by the door. "This is the third time today!"

"What's with us," said a passing-by mare vehemently, "is that monster you hang out with." Other ponies who were nearby were nodding in agreement.

"Who, Praxis?" Lyra asked.

"Oh, so you gave the freak a name, huh?" hollered a stalllion in the small crowd that had begun to accumulate. The other ponies that weren't in the crowd didn't really care about the heated arguments going on, but the seven or eight others who were brave enough to want to do something had created the little semicircle around Lyra.

"What? He's not a freak! Word is is that he saved Fluttershy from drowning! He even made the grass and the crops grow while he was here! Now is that a something a freak would do?" The lyre-playing unicorn couldn't believe the arrogance that her so-called "friends" were displaying. It was sick and hurtful of them.

"Yeah! Leave Praxis alone, everypony! What did he ever do to hurt you all?" Bon-Bon butted in.

"Put a hoof in it, candy flank!" shouted the mare who started the group, which had gained about two or three more followers. "There's a rumor of another monster on the loose! Another monster that that thing you're all defending could be working for!"

"Leave Bon-Bon alone, you jerks, and get your bucking muzzles out of the Gabby Gums!" Carrot Top had gotten next to the two oppressed mares. "There's no such thing as a monster! That Praxis guy is no pony, but he's a hundred times better than you can ever hope to be!"

"Uh-huh!" Derpy had made her way to the crowd. "He isn't the monster! YOU are, ALL of you! How could say that about somepony who saved another somepony from falling into a lake?"

"Shut it, you klutz!" bellowed another stallion.

"Please... stop it! What did he ever do to deserve the lonliness you're giving him?!" bursted Lyra, her eyes glazed over with the tears she might not be able to hold back.

Unfortunately, one of the mares in the semicircle witnessed it and knew what to do. "Look, everypony! It seems like Lyra has some feelings for the monster!" she said to her allies, who all laughed raucously as they chanted in a mocking chorus.

"Lyra's in love with the de-mon! Lyra's in love with the de-mon!"

"NO, I'M NOT!" she cried angrily, all of her fighting back the tears being all for naught. "JUST LEAVE ME ALO-HO-HONE!" she galloped away from the taunting mares and stallions. She was covering unusually high amounts of terrain, leaving the town of Ponyville and heading to the open fields outside the town. She didn't care to see where she was going, let alone where to go. All she knew was that she wanted to get as far away from her oppressors as ponily possible.

"Oh, no! LYRA, COME BACK!" Bon-Bon shouted for her best friend, hurrying along after her.

"You foals make me SICK!" Carrot Top said to the semicircle of stallions and mares, who were laughing at how successful their taunting had worked. She ran off after Bon-Bon, who looked like an ant with how fast she was chasing after Lyra.

"Yeah! You guys are mean! As a matter of fact, I was gonna give you these," Derpy withdrew a small basket of muffins from her saddlebags and held it up in front the crowd of haters, who stopped their cackling and stared at the tantalizing basket with watering, open mouths. "But I guess I changed my mind!" With that, she threw the basket of muffins as far as she could towards a nearby wastebasket. Once again, with her hoof-eye coordination below poor, the basket missed its intended target by a couple yards, but landed in the gushing water fountain next to it. "Aw, close enough!" She took off and flew as fast as she could in her silly bob-up-and-down fashion towards her friends.

"'Hey, look, Mr. Satyr Guy, I'm sorry.' No, that won't work! *gasp* I know! Um...'Mr. Satyr, I'm really sorry that I did and said all those mean things to you, can you please forgive me?'... Argh, that won't work either!"

Rainbow Dash was trying to work up an exceptional apology with no good results. She'd been at this ever since Fluttershy had given her the non-painful pimp-hoof and demanded that she give him an apology. She had been walking to Praxis's home in the Everfree Forest, and she was near the tree line that was the barrier between safety and danger.

'Ugh, it's no use. I'll never find the right words to say to that guy. Besides, he may never forgive me after what I've done.

'But that might not be the case. He might forgive, but might not. I can't just sit here and not find out; better to take the leap of faith than to regret it for the rest of my life.'

With newly found courage, Rainbow gulped down whatever saliva she had in her mouth down her dry throat and opened her wings, ready to fly in the forest and scan for the satyr who deserves an apology.

Praxis was awoken on his new tree, which he had recognized as oak after his blind rage had ended and he was close to falling asleep on its tallest branch. He stretched his limbs and cracked them, along with his back and his neck, all of which were slightly lethargic from sleeping on a narrow tree limb without tossing and turning.

He regretted his outburst, the very thing that had made Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash cry. He regretted all those words he had thrown in the tomboyish pony's face. He sat there in deep thought, his bearded chin resting on his palms.

'Maybe it was a bad idea that I had done that. Maybe it would've been better if I hadn't come here and stayed as that dorky little kid named Adam. That way, nopony would be scared for their lives, nopony would be forced to hide in their homes, armed with furniture items or somethings in case I got close.' He gave a weak chuckle and rubbed the back of his head where Rainbow Dash had chucked that vase. The wound had fleshed over and began to heal, but like the damage done to his spirit during the incident, the wound was a scar; sure, it would heal in time and the pain will die, but it will never be forgotten, it will be a reminder of what happened for all eternity.

'Yeah... that would be loads better.'

He sighed deeply and laid down again, trying to get some more sleep while he could.

Canterlot Castle

Princess Celestia was walking back down off of the balcony after raising her Equestrian sun to signal morning. She had made her way down to her throne room and into her remarkably plush and comfortable chair, sorting through the mail that other ponies had sent her from across the land.

Needless to say, she found the entire task to be utterly tedious. Until she came across a letter from her star pupil, Twilight Sparkle.

Dear Princess Celestia,

There's been a strange visit from Ponyville by a monstrous creature, along with a breach of peace in the middle of the town square over said creature. Legends of the monster seemed to have become reality, seeing as how it had come to town early this morning. Judging from Lyra Heartstrings' experience with the creature, who goes by the mysterious name of Praxis, is a satyr: a half-human and half-goat hybrid with abilities of altering nature and life through the playing of reed pipes or flutes. We don't know how it got here or why it's here, but I have the faintest inkling that Lyra might have accidentally brought it here.

I'm also unsure if this creature is benign or thirsty for blood, but since Lyra, her friend Bon-Bon, Derpy Hooves the mailmare, Zecora the Zebra shaman, and Carrot Top the gardener are unscathed when they met it, I can only assume that it is the former choice other than the latter, especially since word of it saving Fluttershy from falling into a pond and drowning (Rainbow Dash pulled a prank on her) has spread like wildfire. However, that doesn't mean that Ponyville is out of the woods. If you could oblige to my next small favor, it would set all our hearts at ease: could you send a squad of your finest Pegasi guards to the Everfree Forest, where Praxis is rumored to inhabit, and get them to investigate more?

Thank you very much.

Your faithful (and fearful) student,

~Twilight Sparkle

"Hmm... a benign monster? Unusual, but I guess it's not unheard of," she mused aloud to herself. "Maybe Lyra wasn't crazy when she first discovered humans." She gave a little chuckle at her and everypony who knew Lyra eating their own words.

"Princess!" called a chestnut-coated Pegasus guard in royal armor, charging through the gates with a nervous look plastered to his face. He cleared his throat before speaking again. "Princess Celestia, there's-"

"An unknown creature in the Everfree Forest, who, by the sound of it, is terrorizing Ponyville in an indirect manner?" the Sun Goddess completed nonchalantly.

"Y-yes. You already knew?"

"Indeed I did, good admiral. I got a letter informing me about the situation. Your next mission is to find this unknown creature and bring... him to me. I must ask him serious questions."

"Yes, Princess." He turned to his crew of Pegasi guards. "Alright, gentlemen. We've got a monster to catch! Let's roll!" They turned to the balcony that veered to the right of the throne room and jumped off of the ledge, their wings opening after five seconds of freefalling and taking to the sky towards the Everfree.

"I love it when they do that," the Sun Goddess giggled to herself before reluctantly returning to the unopened stack of letter scrolls that awaited her.

Praxis was dreaming.

There was something strange, though. His usual dreams, consisting of swimming pools filled with chocolate, superpowers, and/or all the hot women he could ever want, had been replaced by... nothing. Just plain old whiteness as far as the eye could see.

"This is... awkward. What the hell am I gonna do here? Where are the superpowers, the chocolate, the HOES? Man, this is definitely not one of my greatest dreams."

"That is absolutely correct," said a deep, cold, and deadly voice.

Praxis whipped around as fast as a bullet and saw the most horrid sight he could've ever witnessed.

A big black... something was floating towards him like an evil spectre. Its eyes were glowing red, black wisps snaking out of it as it advanced. It smiled a devilish smile, its mouth full to the brim with yellow, rotting fangs, each tip barely touching the black gums that smelled of rotting death. A big red glow pulsated from the beast's chest, beating at an deathly slow rate like E.T.'s failing heart. The horns on its head were monolithic for their size, rising to a staggering five to six feet.

"Meep!" Praxis squeaked quietly, his long ears flopping down in fear. "W-who are you?" He tried his best to not sound afraid, but too little too late: the creature was laughing at his demise, its satanic cackles ringing in his ears as it reverberated across the all-white landscape.

"Who am I? Well, you know that monster that hides under the bed every night and haunts you when you go to sleep? Let us just simply state that the...Insanity... wasn't all that had...sent you to bed...." He ended his last four words in a murderous tone before sticking a long, clawed hand out to the side at a lengthwise fashion, gathering up tendrils of darkness into his palm. The tendrils soon took the form of a gargantuan sword, a slitted eyeball resting in the center of the hilt. He raised himself high up into the air and spun the sword until it was held in a backhanded style.

The effect was instantaneous.

Praxis fell to his knees and grabbed his head in pain, like his cranium had been rammed into a ginormous anvil. He bit his lip to resist screaming in pain.

"What are you doing here in my head?!" the satyr shouted at the black figure in the sky.

"Don't you realize, you fool? You spawned me out of the most hateful and disturbing of memories and emotions, giving me enough power to take this godlike form. Oh, and how delicious they all were to view. While I would continue to feast upon them some more... I must depart... but not with giving you a parting gift... Ta-ta...and remember: tefached. Be afraid...." He cocked his arm back, laughing evilly. He threw his massive sword into the white floor Praxis stood upon. The floor cracked from the blade entering it. Soon, the effected area began to lose its brightness, the fading of white into black contaminating the whole dream domain. The white soon became ash gray, then charcoal, pencil lead, and finally black. He was surrounded in darkness, falling to the floor as voices began filling his head, ghostly and ominous figures emerging from the blackness. One charged at him, long blades replacing its hands. The smell of its rotting flesh became more potent as it got closer. It brought its blades upon the satyr's head, only to vanish a millisecond before the edges could leave an incision upon his eyes, which were reduced to slits. The other figures in the darkness charged as well, the same process of near-murderous actions being performed over and over again. They wouldn't let up, like the satyr was caught in a vicious thunderstorm of razors.

Praxis clutched his head and dug the nails in until he felt a sharp pain from both sides of his cranium. His security, his safety, his very sanity was crumbling to nothing but rubble as he stared at his hands, tainted with his blood. He began chuckling weakly, the laughter growing in volume as time passed. Before long, he was laughing so loudly and so violently, he would've had a heart attack if this wasn't a dream....

But was it?

Somewhere in Praxis's roars of mad and insane delight, a cold, malicious, and deep voice remained disguised when it was spoken.

"The world will soon be my asylum... and all those that inhabit it will be my... patients...."

Wow, I don't really do these author's notes often. But I'll give it a whirl.

First, a recap: Princess Celestia sent some of her guards to capture Praxis, who still deserves and owes Rainbow Dash an apology. Lyra, Bon-Bon, Derpy, Carrot Top, and Zecora are seen as accomplices to Praxis, whose was visited and tortured by his worst nightmare, whom I will call Insanity. Insanity had escaped from Praxis and will unleash havoc.

Second: you can go ahead and call me out on any OPing, but Insanity is exactly how I would picture him, so... *Pbbbt!*

Um... I presume that that's it. This is ShadowWeaver, signing off for the night. Remember these three rules while you cower under thy covers: Be alert... be armed... and be afraid....

Night-night, fillies and gentlecolts....

V - A Savior, Songs, And A Sacrifice

"Oof! Hey, will you watch whe- Rainbow? What are you doing here?" Lyra, who was being chased by C-Top, Derpy, and Bon-Bon, had trudged through the Everfree Forest to search for Praxis, who she had not seen in a day and had wondered what he's up to. She also needed his comfort: the mares and stallions that bullied her during the fiasco had wielded words and taunts about her and her friends that hurt more than broken bones. Because she hadn't seen where she was going, she had charged head-on into Rainbow Dash.

"Oh. Hey, Lyra," said Rainbow, scratching the back of her head and looking away. "I was just looking for your... friend. Fleshy, kinda skinny, and furless torso, goat legs and horns, beard. Y'know who I'm talkin' about, right?"

"Oh, Praxis?" Lyra asked. Rainbow nodded twice, eyes closed. "Why, whaddaya need to talk to him about?"

"Well... I need to apologize to him, because I did something... unthinkable to him."

"What?!" the lyre-player bursted, her shock soon evolving into anger. "What did you do?!"

"N-nothing!" the athlete answered nervously as she backed away from Lyra. "I swear! I just... wanna say sorry to him. I tackled him and got in a... REALLY awkward position with him, I threw stuff at him, I yelled names at him, and I wanted him gone. But I never saw what he was going through, never saw life through his eyes." She rubbed the spot where Fluttershy had struck her and sighed. "It took somepony else to get me to stop acting like... like... like such a feather brain!"

"Oh... alright, then." Lyra sighed, getting rid of all that unexplainable fury that had gotten the best of her.

"Sheesh, you might want to relax a bit, Lyra. The way you reacted, you must seem to like the guy," Dash teased.

"W-what? Nuh-uh!" It was no good: her cheeks were red as beets as she shook her head violently. Rainbow, despite not being one for reading a girl's emotions, took notice to Lyra's response and gasped in surprise.

"You DO like him! Oh, this is just pure GO-" Dash's words were brought to an abrupt end by Lyra's hoof in her mouth to silence her.

"SHHHH!" Lyra glanced left and right, biting her lip in anxiety before speaking in a hushed tone. "You better not tell ANYPONY this, because not only will I deny it, but I will hunt you down and rip out all your wing feathers!" Dash winced and glanced at her wings. "*Sigh*... But I guess I do like him." She removed her hoof from Dash's muzzle and wiped the saliva on a nearby fern. Dash wiped her mouth and spat in the dirt; Lyra's hoof wasn't exactly flavorful.

"Well, what is it about that guy that makes you like him?" Dash wanted to know why the lyre player was crushing on this unusual creature. "You only knew him for one day!"

"I know, but..." Lyra rubbed her chin as she pondered on what attributes Praxis had. "There're some things about him... he's kind, he's smart... strong... funny... fast... magical…." She dreamily sighed at the last word, making Rainbow raise her eyebrows.

"Wait, what? MAGICAL? FAST!? Pfft! NOpony's faster than me!" The athlete raised a hoof to her chest with pride.

"Suuuuuure... noPONY is faster than you," bantered Lyra, giggling at Rainbow gritting her teeth at the joke. Carrot Top, Derpy, and Bon-Bon had finally caught up to Lyra, panting heavier than dogs in heat.

"Jeez Louise, Lyra *puff*, did you *cough* used to run *pant* track or something?!" Carrot Top wheezed, wiping the sweat accumulating on her forehead.

"Yeah! *pant* My chest *wheeze* burns like *pant* crazy!" huffed Bon-Bon, clutching her chest and sitting down.

"No more! *puff* PLEASE!" wailed Derpy as she stopped flying and landed on her belly, legs spread out across the dirt.

Just then, a bone-chilling sound reverberated across the Everfree Forest. It was laughter. Loud, maniacal, and painful-sounding laughter, shortly followed by the sound of a body hitting wood multiple times and ending with a splash.

"What was that?" Lyra said, looking hither and thither for the noise's source.

"It came from over there!" Rainbow answered, pointing towards the east.

"Well, c'mon!" Bon-Bon said, charging to where Dash had pointed. The others followed suit, venturing deeper into the foliage.

After almost three minutes of reluctant galloping (everypony was tired from all the running, and Dash and Derpy couldn't use their wings in the thick underbrush of the forest), they had reached a clearing, sunlight pouring through a gap of leaves above. They looked around for the source of the sound and witnessed a sight that all made them gasp in shock: Praxis was laying spread-eagle in a shallow river, his fleeced livestock legs and hair flowing with the current. He had fallen out of his massive oak tree and crashed through some of the lower branches on the way down, rendering him unconscious. No bubbles of air rose from his nose nor his mouth as he laid there in the drink, a huge tree branch lay atop him. Even if he was conscious, he would have been too battered and beaten to remove it.

"Oh, no. PRAXIS!!!" cried Lyra, running to the satyr and removed the tree branch before levitating him out of the water and onto his back on the land with her magic. She placed a hoof in front of his mouth and her fears were confirmed: he wasn't breathing.

"NonononoNO! PRAXIIIIS!!! PLEASE BREATHE!!! PLEEEEAAASE!!!" She got onto her knees and pushed his flute away from his chest before pushing on it rhythmically, fresh tears freely streaming down her face and falling onto his torso with soft *plink*s as she bit her lip in apprehension. She had no choice: this form of CPR wasn't effective enough. She put her mouth on his and breathed heavily into it, her tears dripping off of her eyelashes and onto his temple and right cheek. She cherished the feel of his lips on hers, the sweet smell and taste of wild berries that his tongue wielded inebriating her slightly. She separated herself from him and resumed pressing his chest again.

"BREATHE, DAMN YOU!!!!!!! BREEEEEEEAAAAAATHE!" Rainbow, C-Top, Derpy, and Bon-Bon had lost it: the first two were trying to stifle the tears with almost no success, but the others were already letting the waterworks loose proudly, crying onto one another's shoulders. Lyra gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation again, removing herself from him again and applying more pressure to his chest.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!" she screamed loudly, her eyes shut tight as she pushed harder and harder. "WAKE UUUUUUP!" All was lost... he wouldn't exhale, not once. Her pushing got weaker and slower in pace. She finally gave up and let Praxis resign to his fate. She rested her cheek on his left tattooed one and hugged him by the neck, weeping. "You're not dead!... you're not dead... Praxis... please wake up...." she whispered, her voice cracking as she kissed his cheek and nuzzled up to it again. "Please don't go...."

"Come on, Lyra, *sniffle*... let's go get Zecora," suggested Carrot Top sorrowfully as she walked over and placed a hoof on the heartbroken unicorn's shoulder. "She'll know what to do with the bod- er... him." The gardener closed her eyes and shed another tear. Rainbow sniffled as well, wiping away tears from her magenta hued eyes. Bon-Bon and Derpy were still crying, their new friend being greedily claimed by Death drastically plaguing them.

"NOOOOOO!" Lyra suddenly bellowed in remorse and rage, bringing herself up back up onto her knees. "LIVE, DAMN IT! LIVE!" She swung her forehooves high up into the air before bringing them down onto the satyr's chest with enough force to snap wood. She did it again, and again, and again, until....

*COUGH!* Lyra looked down at where the sound had come from and her amber eyes lit up.

Water expelled itself from Praxis's mouth and had dribbled down his chin. He coughed and sputtered painfully as his eyes feebly fluttered ajar. He turned his head to see the teary-eyed, yet smiling Lyra. All the other ponies were blocked from view as he stared at his savior through hazy vision.

"L...Lyra?" he said weakly before slowly turning his head and coughing out another torrent of water. He rotated towards her again and squinted a little. "Is... is that really you?"

"Yes, Praxis," the lyre player responded before scooping him up into her forelegs and hugging him. He slowly, yet surely returned the embrace. Her coat and mane smelled precisely like the mint color they took, the scent intoxicating to him.

"Wow... talk about déjà vu, eh?" he murmured. She chuckled a bit at his joke, holding him even tighter. Just then the four other mares had charged at the two of them into an affectionate pony-pile, hugging them with the strength of pythons.

"I like the look," complemented Lyra quietly under the burial of equines, blushing ever so slightly. "I think it makes you look fierce... but on the inside, you're still just a big softy like always." He chuckled as a sign of saying "You're welcome". She looked down at his stomach and her eyebrows raised. "Uh, Prax? There's something here," she breathed into his ear as she pointed a hoof in the direction of his navel. Once the crowd removed themselves from the unicorn and the satyr, he glanced at the spot she indicated and his pupils constricted: laying there, almost emblazoned onto his skin, were three objects: a black star inside a pentagon inside a circle, the shapes turned upside-down onto their heads.

"Lyra... how did I get here on the ground?"

"I don't know... I heard laughter while we were looking for you. When we traced it back, we found you in the pond."

"I must depart... but not with giving you a parting gift.... " Insanity's words still rung in his ears.

'It wasn't a dream... it was real. It was so horrifyingly real...'

"I'm so sorry, Praxis... will you ever forgive me?" whispered a scratchy sounding voice in his ear. The satyr removed himself from his deep thought to look up at who had spoken. He felt his heart swell and ache simultaneously at the sight of Rainbow Dash, hooves crossed over the other as she glanced away. Before he could think of a logical answer, he scooped her up into a massive bear hug, despite his being in pain.

"Of course I will, Dashie," he replied happily. "But the question is, will YOU ever forgive ME?"

"Huh? Why?"

Praxis sighed, letting her go and looking her in the eyes. "Well, I should've held my tongue yesterday. All those things I shouted to you were really horrible and unnecessary, and Fluttershy-" he stopped, guilt racking him at the mention of the name. "Oh, Lord, not Fluttershy! She must see me an even worse light than before! Hoh, man...." He hung his head in shame.

"Don't worry about it, Praxie-" Dash was reassuring.

'PRAXIE? Oh, hell no,' thought he, cringing at the over-milked nickname.

"Fluttershy doesn't see you as an even bigger monster. She told me about the hell you've been through, and the one Ponyville gave you, something about how 'your eyes tell it all'." She said the five words in a Gypsy's accent, making her and everypony chuckle. "And don't worry: I accept your apology as well. Besides, I think I had that coming."

"Yyyyyeah, ya kinda did," he stated blandly, arms crossed. A little more laughter from the small audience.

"Hey, um, Dash, can you please bring me my messenger bag from up in that tree?" he asked, looking at the oak tree with spite. "I don't think I trust that evil column of wood anymore."

"Hehe, sure thing, Prax," Rainbow giggled before flying up to the top of the tree and grabbing the bag by the strap in her mouth. 'THAT'S more like it... Wait a minute....' He commenced the temporary brain fart.

*Loading...*

*Still loading...*

*Done.*

'Rainbow Dash GIGGLED? She? Rainbow Dash? Giggled?... Seriously? What. The. HELL.' This slowly-processed thought made him cringe once more.

"Thanks," he said when she flew back down and placed the bag in his lap. He unflipped the bag's flap and looked through the contents. Inside were two spare shirts, two pairs of jeans, his laptop, his water bottle, a turquoise towel, an ace bandage he idiotically colored black with a Sharpie when he was 8, and a black hooded cloak decorated with red trimming, leather shoulder padding, and The Hunger Games' flaming-mockingjay-pin insignia expertly welded onto the back of the cloth. He withdrew the towel, the ace bandage, a solid green shirt, and the cloak, placing all but the former item upon the messenger bag he had set down when he got up. He thoroughly shook his left leg of all the water it had trapped, and did likewise with the other, unintentionally sprinkling the ponies that were nearby. He wiped up the rest of his body with the towel before hanging the damp cloth on a low-hanging branch of a different tree. After he dried himself, he put on the shirt and the cloak, the latter billowing behind him in the soft breeze. He wrapped the extensive ace bandage around the lower half of his face and his neck, letting some of it trail behind him like a scarf and flutter alongside the cloak in the gentle wind. He pulled out his flute-necklace from under his shirt and let it rest upon the green clothing. Afterwords, he picked up a ridiculously sharp rock and carefully cut holes in the hood for his horns and ears, then slipped the hood over his head. The uniform in general was quite a nice effect.

It would've been nicer if the five mares hadn't been watching him in his process of changing like it was all an intriguing TV program.

"Is that what humans wear?" Lyra asked, fascinated by the idea of clothes.

"Somewhat. Since humans don't have fur, scales, or feathers, they gotta cover up their... reproductive organs." He paused for a second, trying to find the right words. The five mares got the message immediately. "But I'm a goat from the waist down, and they obviously don't wear pants, so it's all good."

"Hmm... not bad. Rarity would go nuts at it, thinking it's some horror to fashion. But I think it's cool. Not as cool as me though, but still pretty cool," Rainbow Dash said, giving her wings a flap now that they were not swarmed with low-hanging tree limbs.

"Oh, your modesty is so charming," he deadpanned sarcastically, eyebrows raised, eyes half-shut, and arms crossed again, a little smirk on his face. Dash blushed in embarrassment as the other ponies laughed.

"Say, what's this?" said Derpy, pulling out his laptop and showing it to Praxis and the others. "Is this a glass book or something?"

"Er.. kinda," answered Praxis, immediately grabbing the laptop from the Pegasus' clumsy hooves and slowly sitting down with legs crossed. "It's called a laptop. It runs on electricity and is capable of storing thousands and thousands of these little digital libraries and databases. You can watch films, listen to music, make art, and even chat with friends on these bad boys." He put more emphasis to this fact by flipping it open and pressing the "ON" button. Despite him popping out of the pond last morning, the laptop wasn't damaged in the slightest. The screen lit up and emitted its "Welcome" theme song. "Ooh"s and "Ahh"s were emitted from the five equines as he clicked on his account's picture and signed in, bringing him to the desktop. He clicked on the bass note and blue circle combination known as iTunes and played the newly downloaded album of Bone Thug-n-Harmony's "E. 1999 Eternal". Before long, the forest was filled with chill hip-hop beats and absurdly fast lyrics being unleashed.

"Whoa!" Carrot Top exclaimed, beaming at the laptop. "This is AWESOME!"

"Glad you like it. I also have more than just hip-hop. I have rock," said the satyr, changing the song and putting on EarlyRise. a combination of orchestral and hard rock replaced the hip-hop. Rainbow and Lyra couldn't help but grin at the laptop as well. Derpy seemed to like it also.

"Techno, house, trance, etc.," He clicked on Kaskade, letting the electronic music flood their surroundings. Bon-Bon, Rainbow, and Derpy nodded their heads along with the beat.

"Even Japanese." The theme song to "Clannad" soon filled the air. Everyone thought the beat, the Japanese lyrics, and the ambiance it held was extremely soothing, and they couldn't help but fall in love with Japanese music.

'I don't blame them. I think it's pretty badass, in all honesty,' he mused. His eyes got wide 'Wait another minute, if I'm listening to Clannad's theme song and there are six of us - 1 male and 5 females- like in the anime....'

*Loading again...*

*Loading...*

*Ding!*

'*GASP* Aha! Oh, Fate, how spectacular, yet asshole-ish, you are. So... if I take the place of Tomoya, then Lyra's Nagisa without a doubt, Dash should be Tomoyo, Derpy's probably Fuko, C-Top might be Kotomi, and Bon-Bon's Kyou! BRILLIANT! A-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaw, dear GOD, I have no life.' He was nearly tempted into pulling the "Forever Alone" meme face before he realized that he would appear VERY awkward to the others.

*SNAP!*

Praxis gasped, his ears twitching for the sound to repeat itself again. "Shh!" He shut off the laptop and stowed it into his bag before standing up quickly. "Did you hear that?" he whispered. He scanned the borders of the clearing. A flash of gold and a streak of white caught his eye and made him breathe a swear. "Aw, shit!"

A long metal spear had shot out from one side of the clearing, the tip dulled to a round stub to prevent impalement. Praxis barely sidestepped it, the rod passing by his arm and sending a tingling feeling that raised the hair on his arms.

'Those bastards charged their spears with electricity to paralyze the enemy. In this case, me.' The others were freaking out at the sudden ambush. He glanced at them, fury overwhelming him. 'No! I won't let them get hurt because of me!'

"AMBUUUUSH! RUN! NOW!" the satyr shouted to the five mares. Derpy and Rainbow Dash crouched low, ready to carry the others and fly over the Forest away from the attackers. "LYRA, TAKE MY BAG AND HIDE IT!" The mint-green unicorn nodded solemnly as he tossed the messenger bag and the strap was caught around her neck. She dashed over to Derpy and jumped on her back. The two Pegasi took off through the clearing's small opening of leaves and flew away as fast as they could from the scene.

"Alright, no more Mr. Nice Guy," Praxis hissed, picking up a fallen branch one and a half times his height and breaking it in two across his knee. "Come on out, you cowards!"

Another blunt spear whizzed out from the thick foliage, this time to the right of him. He heard the *whoosh* of it and instinctively shoulder-rolled away from it. He got into a defense position, holding the broken branches like swords. A white Pegasus in gold guard armor emerged from the left of the clearing and flew at Praxis at vicious speeds. He turned and swung his left branch in a diagonal uppercut, hitting the Pegasus and veering him off-course into a boulder. Another shot out, holding a stun spear like a lance. Praxis crossed the branches in an "X" formation. Like a pair of scissors, he closed the branches right when the stun spear was inches from his face. He could feel the electricity sizzling his nose and beard. He leaned back and brought the ensnared spear out of the Pegasus' hooves and hitting another guard who was trying to sneak up behind him. He kicked the perplexed guard in front of him, his hoof catching him in his armored chest and knocking him twelve feet away from him onto the forest floor.

*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZT*

With the satyr's heart pounding in his ears, he wasn't able to hear or see the next spear hit him in the back and shocked him. He fell to his knees at the blow, twitching at the electrical jolts. He slumped to the floor and tried crawling away, only to have a weight pressed onto his back. He turned his head and saw out of the corner of his eyes an ash-gray stallion guard standing on him with one hoof. A wicked grin was etched onto his face as he raised his free foreleg.

"Nighty-night, freak." He brought his hoof down on Praxis's face hard.

All was black and quiet.

Author's Note: Oh, not another dislike. *Facewall* Oh, and why? Because a mere facepalm cannot explain my frustration. Oh, and look, I left a hole in the wall where my face had been. Damn it....

Anyways, for those anime junkies who've watched the show Clannad and understood my rather idiotic and possibly non-corresponding similarities, good for you. For those of you who haven't seen it, go search for it. It's a really good anime series, and I have a suspicion you'll like it.

P.S.: here's the link for the show's theme song.Enjoy.

Well, I believe it's time for me to leave... for now. Fret not, everypony. Like always, I shall return. But no more writing for tonight, maybe tomorrow....

In the meantime... I'm going to watch more anime... like the dork I am. :P

ShadowWeaver... signing out.

VI - A Prisoner Seeking An Escape

Ponyville; Mane Street

"Guys, I just received a letter from Princess Celestia." Twilight, levitating a scroll with her magic, was discussing the contents of the letter with Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Pinkie Pie in a private corner of Mane Street. "They've got the creature, Praxis, but he didn't go down without a fight. Word is, he took down three Pegasi guards before he was brought down by Admiral Charcoal."

"Ah jus' don't understand," AJ interjected, adjusting her Stetson hat more firmly upon her golden mane. "Ah mean, that Praxis guy's jest tryin' to improve lahfe here. It jest ain't rahght, ta take 'im away when he don't mean no harm. Besides, he helped make the apples Ah've been sellin' larger, sweeter, and juicier than b'fore! Sales were astromali-... astronolim-, REALLY REALLY high!"

"I agree, Applejack, but that doesn't mean we can't be careful." retorted Twilight. "Besides, he might be dangerous for all we know."

"Yeah! Did you see how scary-looking he was when he came to town? With his furry goat legs and horns, he looked like a really big mean meanie pants!" trilled Pinkie, standing on her hind legs with forelegs raised to add dramatic effect to her words.

"C'mon, now, girls," intervened Spike. "He can't be THAT bad, now can he? After all, he saved Fluttershy! Doesn't that count for something?"

"T..that's right," Fluttershy mumbled. "He's not a bad satyr at all." Pinkie fell back on all fours again and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you saying, darlings?" exclaimed Rarity, appearing aghast to Fluttershy's and Spike's opinions. "By the looks of him, he appears dreadful. ESPECIALLY the outfit that Rainbow described to us earlier: green and black is a ghastly combination, if you ask me."

'Nopony asked you,' Rainbow thought angrily. 'How could some of them just up and go think that he's a bad guy? It's just... so wrong!'

"That's not the point, Rarity," persisted Twilight. "Besides, Princess Celestia explained in this note that we should come to Canterlot Castle to see the interrogation. Who knows what we can learn about him?"

"But we can't just stare at him and learn about him like he's some animal in a zoo!" outbursted Rainbow Dash. The others looked at her concernedly, like she was on the brink of losing her mind.

"I know... but still. The Princess requested it, and we can't let her down."

"*Sigh* Oh, fine..." Dash grumbled.

"Well, when's the next train gon' be?" Applejack questioned.

"Five minutes," Twilight answered.

"Then let's go, everypony!" Pinkie said cheerily.

"Yes, let's," concluded Rarity. With that, Spike and the Mane Six walked over to the train station.

'There's just no way that this is acceptable,' thought Rainbow. Fluttershy glanced over and saw the look of worry on her rainbow-maned friend's face.

'This is just so... wrong. All of it,' the bashful, butter-yellow Pegasus thought, sighing as she walked along.

Everfree Forest; The Clearing

Zecora was galloping at full speed where the laughter, the screaming, and the yelling of a certain someone had emitted in the forest. Her heart was thrashing in her chest as she picked up the pace, panting and huffing with every stride. At long last, after tiring herself, she had reached her destination. Her eyes were raised as she carefully scanned the scene. She took notice to the broken limbs of the huge oak tree littering the earth. All around her, hoofprints were pounded into the dirt.

"Something horrid here has just occurred prior. At this scene, it must have been something dire," she rhymed, advancing towards the stream where a huge imprint was left into it. Her eyes raised even higher as she recognized who it could belong to. She looked up at the oak tree's broken limbs.

"Poor Praxis had fallen from his oak, and in this stream, he did more than choke." She turned around and saw hoofprints so thin, they would've been invisible. There was a small spatter of blood on a boulder, and some more on the forest earth. "And if my tracking skills serve right, more ponies - perhaps Pegasi, by these tracks - have picked a fight."

*FLOOMP*

"ARGH! What trap has ensnared me? Release and let me be free!" Zecora was taken by surprise when something had covered her eyes, letting her only see through bright blue light. She rolled around to the floor and finally removed what had blinded her momentarily, pinning it down to the floor.

"AHA! Uh.. wha?" She seemed a little confused that it wasn't a trap that had covered her eyes: it was a turquoise towel. She gave it a small whiff, trying to see who it could have belonged to: monsters certainly didn't own towels. She gasped when she pulled away, her eyes shrinking to the size of pinheads.

"The scent of Praxis is in this cloth, and still looms. If that's the case and he's not here... then he has met his doom." She folded the towel and placed it in her left saddlebag, then ran to town as fast as she could to Lyra, Bon-Bon, Carrot Top, and Derpy. They must not know that he had been kidnapped, otherwise they would have called for the help that would have undoubtedly been turned down.

Praxis' Dream Realm; Libyan Revolution A Year Ago

"Adam! ADAM! Wake up, now!" a voice in Arabic shouted as the owner of it pushed the sleeping boy. Adam's eyes shot open as he bolted up and got off the futon. `Emad, who had been the one who shouted, threw Adam a jacket, his running shoes, and a pistol.

"Yalla," `Emad began as he grabbed his own pistol and cocked it. Hurry. "We must leave. NOW!"

"Why?" Adam said slightly groggily, rubbing his eyes and putting the shoes on first. A missile eagerly answered his question as it exploded on impact with the wall, leaving a huge gaping hole where the 99 names of Allah and many ornate vases had rested.

"That. Now COME ON!" Emad grabbed Adam's wrist with his free hand and pulled him towards the back gates of the house. Gunfire could be heard for miles around, bombs going off occasionally to deaden the sounds of firearms. Adam andEmad were stealthily running through the streets, pistols held tightly in their palms as they crept through the alleys of Benghazi.

"We have to get to the airport! That's where all the revolutionaries are fighting!" `Emad informed. A Qaddafi soldier was passing by when they exited one alley, and the two ducked behind a Dumpster for remain hidden. As the soldier got closer and raised his Kalashnikov, Adam saw a metallic plating on the wall adjacent from him and aimed his pistol there, using as much of his precision skills as possible into this shot. He fired twice, the bullets ricocheting off of the plate and piercing through the soldier's chest.

"Nice shot!" cheered `Emad, patting Adam on the back. When they checked that the coast is clear, Adam grabbed the soldier's AK47 and gave it to his companion. They continued to the Airport of Benghazi, doing their best to remain in the shadows and firing at any Qaddafi loyalists that stand between them and their destination.

'Thank God Ahmed and Karima are safe in Dubai... or this would be so much worse,' Adam thought as they were almost at the airport where the freedom fighters were held up and making their last stand. He didn't want his brother and sister-in-law to be victims of the bloodshed in the streets. The two realized that the airport was their only sanctuary in this hellish cesspool.

What they didn't realize was that a soldier was right behind them, Kalashnikov pointed at the two boys.

"ALLAH, MUAMMAR, AND LIBYA ONLY!" the soldier shouted, before opening fire upon Adam's cousin and friend first. The seemingly endless magazine of the assault rifle had turned the boy's body into a mockery of Swiss cheese, blood cascading from the holes asEmad fell to his knees upon the asphalt. He was dead before he hit the floor.

Adam, in rage and vengeance, spun around and saw the culprit, proceeding to empty the entire clip of the Beretta into the soldier, yelling as he rapidly squeezed the trigger and sent the bullets flying.

"`EMAD!" he had shouted once the Beretta did nothing but click. He knelt down and carried the body in a fireman's hold. "Don't worry, buddy, we'll win this... for us! I PROMISE!" He felt the tears run down his cheeks, hot and stinging as they fell from his face and landed in the small puddle of blood. He reluctantly got up and continued running through the streets to the airport, which soon bloomed into view.

"DIE, YOU GODDAMN GREENIES!!! He roared. '"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!" With his free arm, he viciously gunned down every Qaddafi loyalist that popped into view. His glasses and face were soon speckled with enemy blood, his feet pounding as he ran closer to the goal. The rebel army was firing behind makeshift cover, like sandbags, marble columns, and more Dumpsters. Two Libyan men were rushing to the boy and his dead friend, a stretcher in their arms.

*PKOW!*

He felt the sniper rifle bullet enter his waist and come out on the other side.

Canterlot Castle; Dungeons

"D'AAAAH!" Praxis awoke abruptly, eyes constricted in fear as he panted heavily, the coldest of sweat drenching his face. He raised a hand to rub the spot where the gray stallion had curb-stomped him, only to be stopped. He looked at his hands and gulped: there were cufflinks around his wrists as he hung from a wall by chains. He glanced at his hooves and saw that they were cuffed and chained as well, yet they were in contact with the floor from how tall he was. He scanned the room he was contained in and couldn't help by grimace. It was plain, no furniture, no torches, no paintings, just... bland. Only a window to let in fresh air stood out, the sound of a roaring waterfall pouring in the room through it. He couldn't exactly move his jaw freely, but by how cool the air felt, he discovered his black ace bandage mask was lowered to resemble a scarf and reveal himself. The left side of his face felt rather painful, like some buff guy smacked him there with a brick. His left eye had been swollen shut from the blow, leaving him unable to see out of it. A gust of wind blew in from the open window and smacked him straight in the chest, leaving him shivering. He looked down and saw that he had been stripped of all but his flute and his bandage, the guards deeming that they didn't contain any dangerous properties.

'This nightmare... I've had it countless times before. But now it was so... intense. Like I had undergone some serious lucid dreaming. I guess with Insanity let loose, there's nothing much I can do about that... especially since I'm stuck in here....'

"Glad to see you're awake," said a soothing, yet serious voice. He raised his head and his eyes widened at the breathtaking awe that stood before him.

Princess Celestia, with her flowing cerulean, pink, and green mane and tail, had walked through the prison bars' door. The royal alicorn's white coat was practically shining, lighting up the rather dim room. On both sides of her stood a guard, stun spears in their hooves. He recognized the one on the left with a black mane and tail as the ash-gray one who knock him out cold in the forest. The stallion grinned wickedly at him, like he was going to enjoy what would come next.

'Holy crap, she's as tall as me. That's pretty intimidating... and unfair! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE BIG MAN!' he mentally complained, envious of the princess and her height.

"What's with the guards and the chains?" he asked. The two Pegasi guards grimaced as they gripped their spears harder, the bone of their forelegs practically showing through the fur and skin.

"Extra precaution. I'm sorry about Admiral Charcoal doing that to you, but he tells me you wouldn't want to go peacefully." She pointed at the gray stallion when she mention him. He flinched at the gold slipper on her hoof as it jerked at him. Apparently, she had given him a very serious scolding before coming here.

'Note to self: I PROBABLY shouldn't piss Celestia off,' thought the satyr.

"But that left side of your face doesn't look good at all. Allow me to help you." She walked closer and brought her horn upon his face. The tip of the horn glowed a pure white as she used her magic to heal the wound. Almost at once, the injury seemed and felt less irritated and painful, the swelling going down. He regained the sight in his left eye and couldn't help but smile and nod at the princess. "Thank you."

"It was no problem. But I wonder why you wouldn't just let the guards bring you here. Why did you fight back?" She tilted her head to the side, curiosity gazing at his brown eyes through her elegant pink ones. They lowered upon the combination of black shapes on his navel. "And pray tell... what is that there on your belly?" She gave it a little prod with her gold slipper-encased hoof. A jolt of pain shot up from the spot and spread throughout his body, making him exhale from it all.

"Nnnngh... please don't touch that. And to answer your other questions...well, when you snatch someone from their home and lock them in this 'armpit' of the castle, what would you expect, Celestia?"

"How do you know my name... and not only that, but how did you know I hate formalities?" Her eyes were squinted in suspicion.

'Aw, crap! Not good! NOT GOOD! Think, Praxis, think!'

"Erm, you're very well-known where I'm from," he finally said.

"Oh... I see...."

'Whew.'

"And where is that?"

'...DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!' he mentally roared before sighing in resignation, defeated by the princess who hadn't even lifted a foreleg in the attempt to get him to spill the beans.

"I guess I better tell you the truth, then. Well, for starters, I wasn't always a satyr to begin wit-"

"Yes, I already know where you're from and what you were previously. You were a human, and you came from the planet Earth, which lays in another galaxy very far away from here."

'You are one buckmothering troll....' he thought vehemently.

"Well, if you knew where I came from and what I was, than why did you ask such rhetorical questions?"

"I just wanted to fool around with you and... what do you say? What is that thing that you humans say sometimes... Ah! 'Rustle your jimmies'."

Praxis's eyes dilated. 'So she's also been watching humans with interest, and she knows about memes... if I wasn't chained in a dungeon - and if she wasn't an all-powerful goddess who was protected by guards and could vaporize me without batting an eyelash, I'd hug her so hard that her face'd go blue.'

He squinted and let a wry smile escape his lips. "I see what you did there. But now that you mention it, my jimmies still remain unrustled, Celestia." The princess was simply gave a short laugh at his antics, but the white Pegasus raised an eyebrow, not getting the joke. Charcoal was pissed, though. He wasn't used to strange creatures talking to royalty on a first-name basis.

"Don't refer to the princess by that casual name again, vile creature!" seethed Charcoal, bringing his spear close to the satyr.

"First off, blow it out your flank, you belligerent prick. You were bottle-fed, huh?" The white Royal Guard and Celestia suppressed their laughter at Charcoal's expense as best as they could. "And second, don't call me something like that. I obviously have a name, and it's Praxis." he retorted in a bored tone, examining his nails from afar and blowing a nonexistent speck of dust off of them while paying no mind to the aggravated gray Royal Guard, aggravating him further in the process of ignoring him. The admiral, however, was seeing nothing but red and raised his spear to strike him, only to be stopped by the princess's magic.

"Calm down, Charcoal. Besides, despite that he might not be welcome here, I'm beginning to like him a bit," the princess reassured the furious guard. Charcoal came back down on both hooves and stepped back, pulling a silent hissy-fit behind the alicorn. "Now... why is it that you're here?" She was slightly taken aback, yet her poker face stayed as resilient as ever, as Praxis began laughing quietly.

"I think you already know, don't you, being an omniscient and omnipotent entity and all," he stated plainly once he was finished.

"...Oh, you're good. I'll give you that." Celestia said, squinted her eyes and pointing at Praxis with a smirk on her muzzle. "But.. I have something serious to discuss with you." She soon appeared solemn at she spoke. "A problem has arose, and it's not Discord. Something terrible has happened. A new... monstrosity... has struck Equestria. I hope that you understand that it's not you, but...."

"Lemme guess... some huge black entity who goes by the name of Insanity has come across Equestria, and is striking fear and madness into the very hearts of all those who inhabit it." Celestia was flabbergasted at how a newcomer could know, Charcoal grew more and more suspicious by the second, and the white Royal Guard nearly defecated himself. "Aaaaand by the looks on all your faces, I seemed to have hit the nail on the head with that guess. Look, that doesn't really matter. Please continue with what you were saying."

"Unfortunately, your arrival had nearly thrown off the balance of order and chaos, and nearly caused Discord to reawaken. And because we can't risk it again... I'm afraid you must return to Earth."

"W-what!? No way! I'm not going back to that cesspool of hate, lies, and false intentions! Besides, how on Earth are you going to defeat Insanity without my help!"

"What do you mean?" She got suspicious again.

'Here we go again....'

"Let's just say that... he was a piece of me." She and the two Royal Guards dropped their jaws. "Not that he possessed me or something! But... apparently, all the malevolence, the rage, the melancholy that was bottled up inside me back on Earth have given him his ghastly form in Equestria. Perhaps because the magic that's oozing from everything in this world has aided him in becoming animate and real."

"Oh my... this... this is bad." She was pacing the room, biting her lower lip. "This is very very VERY bad. We need the Elements of Harmony NOW."

"Look, Celestia, I doubt that will help."

"Why not?!" the alicorn was angry that her suggestion wasn't good enough.

"*Sigh* If I was free, I would face-palm myself so hard that I'd give myself another swelling." He sighed again before continuing. "Ok, the Elements of Harmony are these magically powerful artifacts that nullify and eradicate all that is chaotic and disharmonious. Correct?" She nodded. "Yeah, Insanity isn't necessarily what you'd call disharmonious. He's... well, insanity incarnate. He relishes and bathes in the madness and senility of others. With everybody... er, everyPONY off their rockers, he'll only grow in strength and size, making him practically immune to the Elements of Harmony, maybe even you and Princess Luna for all we know. Besides, this guy makes Discord look like a first-time girl scout. Who knows what poor victim has fallen prey to him now?"

*THUNK!*

Charcoal, in all of his pent-up anger, had pressed the uncharged butt of his spear against Praxis' throat. "Alas, demon! You seem to know fully well of this Insanity's plans. Mind telling me how you know?!" He stared into the satyr's eyes with malice.

"Princess... how did this dumbass get into the Royal Guard in the first place?" Praxis choked through a half-shut windpipe.

"SHUT UP, YOU!"

"Charcoal, stop it! Now!" Celestia was shocked at the admiral's actions.

"No, Princess! This monster must be eradicated at ONCE! He could be working with Insanity for all we know!"

"Do you dare defy your princess?" the alicorn questioned coldly.

"Listen up... you either get this spear out of my face, or I beat you into so much of a bloody pulp that nopony will RECOGNIZE you when I'm done." Praxis said this in so low of a voice and so deadly of a tone that he could detect a flicker of fear in Charcoal's eyes.

(Author: listen to this song for an extra bad-ass feeling... that is... if you don't mind too much.)

"JUST SHUT UP AND DIE, FREAK!!!" Charcoal bellowed as he flipped a switch on his spear, the charged end of it releasing bolts of lightning that arced around it. He brought it up about his head, preparing to bring it down upon Praxis' head...

Time felt like it was slowing down....

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as the spear made its treacherous descent, gritting his teeth....

The spear was inches from his face. Charcoal was glad that this... thing... was about to die. Any punishment from Celestia would be worth it to see this creature suffer.

Praxis was drowning in rage, like an ocean in a storm....

The circle-pentagon-star marking on his navel pulsated a bit, giving off some sort of black glow....

*CLINK!*

A hand, now bearing nine-inch nails that were blacker than the night and still cuffed with a now-broken chain, had grabbed Charcoal by the throat and lifted him up a couple of inches into the air. The stun spear clattered as it fell to the stone floor. The white Royal Guard and Celestia stepped back from this new sight, eyes wide with fear and shock as Praxis looked up at them. Their hearts almost stopped.

The brown hue of his legs and hooves had become as dark as his talon-like nails, the hair on his head, beard, and chest, now whiter than snow, were slightly longer and disturbingly unruly, the former sticking up in several different places. His horns had elongated, the tips of them curving upward rather than down. His muscles seemed to have grown larger, bulging out of his arms and abdomen as he strained against the other cuff around his arm and finally broke free of the chain binding him to the wall. Strange black tendrils has erupted from the symbol on his navel and spun around his upper body, giving him the appearance of the victim of a very artistic tattooer. The three ponies real fears were the eyes. The whites of the satyr's eyes had been exchanged into a pure pitch black, the brown irises a gradient shade of orange and red, the color of fire, the round pupils were reduced to slits so paper-thin, they practically appeared nonexistent. With enough exertion, he snapped the cuffs around his legs like toothpicks, cracking his neck and smiling widely, showing sharp, pearl-white fangs instead of flat teeth.

"How many times... have I told you... NOT TO CALL ME THAT!?!?" The laid-back and kind voice that was Praxis' was no longer there as he punched Charcoal so hard that the Royal Guard flew out of his grasp and busting open the closed door; Replacing his voice was one of deepness, coldness, satanism, and hatred. His smile still stood, his right eye twitching as he tilted his head to the side and looked at the two ponies that still stood. The white Pegasus belted out a high-pitch scream and ran out of the room as fast as he could; Princess Celestia gasped and backed away, only to hit the corner of the wall and sink onto her haunches, her eyes practically the size of dust specs.

'This satyr is not just evil or angry... he's purely mad!" thought the royal alicorn apprehensively.

"H...how did you break out? Those chains were reinforced with ancient magic!" she finally managed to say. He chuckled loudly, the sound echoing across the halls and making her gulp nervously.

"Well, Celly... let's say that I'm rather... Corrupted." He devilishly beamed wider, a bead of sweat dripping down the Princess' temple. "Remember that whenever you speak of me, please refer to me as that..." Praxis slowly walked to the entrance of the prison bars and leaned down upon Charcoal's unconscious body laying against the hallway walls. He mutilated the equine's face: some teeth had fallen out, both eyes were swollen shut, the nose and mouth leaking blood. "I told you I'd do it," he whispered in the stallion's ears.

"Anywho, Princess, I must depart. Ta-ta!" With that, Praxis fixed the ace bandage around his face and waved before bolting down the hallway at lightning-fast speeds. She gasped at how fast he had vanished, before waves of fury swept over her.

"STOOOOOP HIIIIIIM!" she screeched in the Royal Canterlot Voice, teleporting on the spot.

'Must... ESCAPE!' Praxis thought furiously, swimming through the labyrinth of hallways and spiraling staircases. Even after busting through the most tightly-locked of doors, evading the most dangerous of guard barricades, and decimating the most resilient of walls to find shortcuts, everything he passed resembled nothing but a blur as he could feel a mach cone forming around him. That feeling didn't live long: another wave of well-armored guards stood before him as he turned the corner, their crossbows at the ready.

"My, my... this is getting tedious, is it not?" He sighed, and took off towards the Royal Guards, none of them being prepared for the massive display of speed. Praxis ran along the walls and ceiling in a spiraling corkscrew motion, evading the guards' crossbow bolts that soon filled the halls. He saw a huge set of double doors in front of him and jumped, his hoof cocked back before he swung it forward violently, giving the gates an almighty kick. The doors busted ajar and almost became unhinged as he landed.

He could almost taste freedom.

"STOP, BEAST!"

He turned on his heel and saw Princess Celestia by the entrance of the castle. She was angry as hell, her mane and tail a gargantuan blaze. Behind her was Princess Luna, her teeth bared, her mane and tail resembling the starry-night sky; Behind the Moon Goddess were Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike, all seven of them cravenly hiding behind the two goddesses.

'Oh, Celestia... this is horrible! We're done for!' the seven thought fearfully.

"THOU SHALT SUBMIT! RETURN TO THY PLANET, AND NEVER RETREAT HERE, YE ANIMAL!" Luna had shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"Failure to do so will result in painful consequences, Praxis!" Celestia seethed.

"Now, now, you mustn't be like that, Celly and Lu-Lu: anger doesn't suit you two well," Praxis said in feigned concern, flexing his fingers. He could feel his talons practically cutting the air into thin sheets with every flex. Luna stuck out her tongue at the nickname, while Celestia paid no mind to hers.

"Then you leave me no choice...." The Sun Goddess closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip in concentration, the tip of her horn beginning to sprout a small sphere of fire. The sphere grew larger with every passing second, solar flares bursting out of it occasionally. "YOU MUST PERISH!" She bellowed as she unleashed the miniature Sun towards him.

'Have to think... and fast!'

Instinctively, he extended his hands forward to the incoming ball of fire, fingers spread apart, yet bent slightly.

'He doesn't think he'll catch it, does he?' The two goddesses pondered rather apprehensively.

*SHIINK*

Everypony gasped as the compact Sun was slowly losing velocity on contact, the maddened satyr skidding backwards at the force of the impact. Slowly, Praxis regained his footing and lifted the ball high above his heads, his talons dug deep into the ball. The sphere of fire was scorching his hands, but his anger at how foolish the Goddesses were made him pay the burning ball of gas no mind.

'He... he did. What IS he?!' thought Celestia and Luna simultaneously, backing away slowly.

"Did you honestly think... THAT WOULD WORK?!?!" he roared, spinning around twice before viciously throwing the small Sun into an adjacent wall.

*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

The miniature ball of burning gas had crashed into the wall, erupting on impact and blasting the effected area of the wall to pieces. The flames it released swept across the Foyer and beyond outside. The Princesses had barely raised up force fields to protect themselves from the blaze. Praxis had to hide behind a column to prevent getting burnt to a crisp. When the flames had finally ceased, he stepped out from behind the column and saw that all eight ponies and the dragon were racked with fear that made their knees quake, their eyes wide, and their mouths open. Fluttershy was on the verge of tears, Twilight and the Princesses were incredulous, and everyone else was just horrified.

"But... HOW!?" The two princesses outbursted.

"I told you before, Celestia: I'm QUITE a Corrupted little bastard...."

'Hmm... Time to have a bit of fun before I leave....' he thought. He inhaled as much air as his lungs would allow him, and roared one mere word.

"BOO!"

All nine of them screamed in horror and shock, jumping back or scooting away as far as possible. Praxis quietly chuckled. He gave them a wink and jumped out the massive crater at near sonic speeds, almost like he had vanished from the spot.

'Whoa... Lyra wasn't kidding,' thought Rainbow, her jaw dropping at the spontaneous burst of acceleration. 'This guy IS fast.'

"Sister, do you suppose we should go after him?" Luna inquired.

"No need, Luna," Celestia answered as she walked over to the gaping hole in the wall. "We're tens of thousands of feet high... there's a VERY slim chance that he'll survive."

Free-falling Down Canterlot's Mountain

'Wowwwww, I should've thought this one through....' Praxis mentally kicked himself as he plummeted down the mountainside, his ace bandage flapping behind him like some weak little flag.

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" His roar of frustration could be heard from all across Canterlot, the civilians looking up with upset grimaces at how anypony could speak such profanity.

'Damn, this mountain is tall as hell! How am I gonna survive THIS one!?' He looked down at the sodden earth that felt thousands of feet away from him, and he looked at his claws.

*Loading...*

*DING!*

'Wait a minute... talons as sharp as stilettos, I'm falling at terminal velocity, soft dirt from yesterday's downpour... GOT IT!'

Praxis spun as he fell, his black talons stretched out as he turned and turned in midair. He was laying as stiff as a board, accelerating towards the dirt at the base of the mountain as he fell. The ground got closer at an eerie pace. He gritted his fangs and shut his eyes, the airborne twisting making him nauseous.

'If this doesn't work... Well, I hear Hell has some really nice bedrooms, and the service doesn't seem so bad either.'

He sunk through the earth, his talons acting like a drill as he burrowed thirty feet into the soggy dirt. With eyes still shut, he tried to act as a swimmer and pulled upwards out of the soil. He shot out like a cork in water and landed in a heap next to the two holes he had created.

"Urgh... I feel like crap." His last words wasn't as deep as before, his black claws returning to regular-sized, normal colored nails. His fleece and hooves reverted to being brown, and white hair, beard, and chest hair has shifted back to black. The tendrils that snaked around him had retracted and disappeared into the emblem on his navel. His prodded his mouth with his tongue and felt no fangs: they had returned to normal, humane teeth. A sharp stinging pain in his horns told him that they had retracted slightly. Judging by the power and strength leaving him, he was no longer Corrupted. His eyes were reduced to their normal shade of regular whites, round pupils, and brown irises. He wearily got up from the ground and dusted himself off, only to double over and vomit onto the grass. By the looks of the Sun's position, the regurgitation consisting of stinking bile, and his empty stomach, he could only assume that he was unconscious for several hours. He had to return to the Everfree Forest, but not to his original clearing. There was no rest for the wicked, especially when the wicked involved only him.

Sadly for him, that rest couldn't wait. As he tried walking towards the forest that felt so far away, he slumped to the floor again, wiped out from the Corruption that had physically, mentally, and magically pushed him to his limits. He curled up into a ball and let the sinking evening Sun bathe him in its warmth and light. His eyes were drooping as he got comfortable on the soft earth. Soon, sleep had washed over him, his quiet bleating snores the only thing to be heard for what like possibly miles around.

Unbeknown to him, three shadows towered over the resting satyr.

"Well, whaddaya know. A satyr in Equestrian," said a rough masculine voice.

"My word, this creature looks like death," another male voice, this one slightly more elegant than the one prior it interjected. "...or me. Both work either way."

"Very funny, Zeke, but what could he be doing here?" A third, chill feminine voice asked. This one was cool, laid-back, and chill. "Jace, do you have any ideas?"

"Sorry, Vi, but... nnnope," the first voice said stoically. "But I guess it wouldn't hurt to try and ask him. But when he wakes up."

Yyyyyyeah, I just OP'd the living shit out of Praxis. But that's 'cause Insanity unknowingly lended a helping hand in the breakout.

Congrats, CraimerX (Guy I'm collaborating with): your characters are now included! Now Praxis will probably see how the Calling Card works, or something along those lines.

And MAN, are my joints sore. I had to blaze through the rest of this chapter for five hours; that's probably why this one chapter looks pretty shoddy and OP'd.

Let the controlled criticism... BEGIN!

~S.W.

VII - The Human, The Reaper, And The Raver

"Alright, that's it!" Jace the human finally blurted after 30 agonizing minutes of waiting; he, Zeke (AKA the Grim Reaper), and Vinyl Scratch have been passing the time by playing Catch with a rock, 20 Questions, admiring or making fun of the satyr's appearance, and even telling Knock-Knock jokes. However, the satyr was still killing daylight with his peaceful slumber, and it irritated Jace. A lot. "This fluffy bastard needs to wake up!"

"OWW... Loud much?" Vinyl groaned, rubbing her temples with her hooves and shutting her eyes tightly.

"Well, dear, you got far too plastered at that party less than a week ago, so whose fault is that?" Zeke the Reaper merely stated, rubbing his skeletal thumb along the blade of his scythe tediously.

"Hey, I had to celebrate, alright?" protested the DJ, settling her shades on her horn and glaring at Zeke with brilliant scarlet eyes. "It was Winter Wrap-up, and my new record album was released in stores afterwords. What do you expect?"

"Chugging a mixture of vodka, tequila, whiskey, and rum at the most vulgar rave party in Equestria is NOT a proper way to celebrate events, Vinyl. Seriously, you're putting Berry Punch to shame with your catastrophic alcohol intake. How your internal organs haven't been liquidated yet is a complete and total enigma."

"Will you two be quiet? If we startle him, he'll start running. Besides, I hear rumors about satyrs being ridiculously fast," Jace seethed. A glint of metal caught his eye, and he looked down at the satyr's wrists: two steel cuffs, trailing broken chains were slapped onto his wrists.

'Huh... by the look of things, he had escaped from prison. Good for him,' mused Jace. Another glint of metal came from the satyr again. An ornately-designed silver flute laid on his chest, shining in the sinking sunlight. It must have been worth quite a lot of bits. "Hmm... I wonder if it's real..." He outstretched his hand to try and grab the metal instrument, only to be stopped by a vicious slap on the wrist from the creature. He looked into the eyes of the now awakened satyr, who had backed away with an angry expression on his face.

"Touch my flute and I will rip out your heartstrings and use them for dental floss," he warned as he got up, teeth bared.

"Well, damn, no need to be a killjoy," said Jace, raising his hands defensively as Vinyl gave a little giggle at the threat. "Besides, I just wanted to see it."

"That's what they all say..." Praxis rolled his eyes. They widened three seconds later in sudden realization.

*Loading...*

*STILL loading...*

*Ding!*

"Sweet baby Jesus watching Telly-Tubbies, you're a human."

"Well, duh," sighed Jace, arms crossed and an interested look on his face. Praxis turned to the two others behind the human and his jaw dropped. Twice.

"Death in all of his glory? The most badass DJ in Equestria?" The human nodded, a proud smirk emerging. "Did I die and go to Heaven, Mr... um..." Praxis didn't know the human's name, and hesitated.

"Oh, pardon us," the skeletal figure in black robes apologized sincerely when he caught on to the satyr's pause. "Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am the Grim Reaper, but you may refer to me as Zeke, you apparently know miss Vinyl Scratch, and the human goes by the name of Jace. 'Tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Zeke stuck out his bony hand towards the satyr, who had to unwrap his ace bandage from off of his face and wrapped it securely around his hand, then shaking it.

"Sorry about this," Praxis began. "But I know what happens when the Grim Reaper makes physical contact with flesh. So..." Even though Zeke's face was a skull and was shrouded by his black hood, Praxis could practically feel sadness emanating from the reaper of souls at the mention of his handicap. "But anywho, I'm Praxis, and it's nice to make your acquaintance as well."

"Yo, Prax. DJ P0n-3's the name, droppin' vicious beats's my game." The white unicorn with her iconic electric-blue-and-cyan mane and tail, reflective purple shades, and two beamed crotchets for a Cutie Mark had shook Praxis' hand whilst making herself known. "But that's my stage name. Call me Vinyl."

"Uh... Alright, then, Vinyl," said Praxis, remaining as calm and collected as he could on the outside while his brony side wreaked utter and joyful havoc on the inside; how often does one get to meet the greatest - yet only - DJ in the world?

"So hold up one minute," Jace intervened. "How did you even get here? Last time I checked, satyrs didn't exist in Equestria up until now. What's up with that?"

"Let's just say that a malfunction with a scrying-glass-slash-portal was involved in this miraculous transformation," the satyr answered in a bored tone of voice.

"Ah."

"Indeed. But how did YOU get here? Humans don't exist at ALL in Equestria."

"...Portals?"

"...Sure. Let's just assume that it's portals for now." Praxis extended his hand towards Jace, who shook it gratefully. His eyes shot up wide again as he doubled over and roared in agony. His arm felt like it was smashed by two red-hot, spiked sledgehammers simultaneously. He let go of Jace's hand and fell to the ground, rolling in the dirt as he clutched his hand with the other. "HOOOOOOOOOLYYYYYYYYSSSSSHHHHIT, THAT HURTS! GOD-FREAKING-DAMNIT! AAAAARRRGGHHH!"

"Yo, Jace, what's up with him?" Vinyl asked the human, who was laughing raucously at the satyr's reaction. "He ain't crazy or something, right?"

"Indeed not, Vinyl Scratch," Zeke answered in Jace's place, who was still guffawing idiotically at Praxis' expense. "You see, Jace had bested me one time when I had shook his hand. Instead of killing him, a sharp pang of pain only effected him. So you see, he... BECAME Death itself, in one form or another. And don't ask me how that works, because that's just how it is."

"Oh... then why isn't Prax dead?"

"I think because Jace wasn't driven to kill him: he was benign at the time. Besides, something tells me that it's not this poor satyr's time anyways."

"Huh... while I barely got that at all from my raging migraine, I'm just gonna nod and pretend that I understood that." Zeke sighed, disappointed at Vinyl's less than inadequate statement, no matter how honest it was.

"Ay, caramba, that hurt like crazy," Praxis mumbled as he slowly got up again and rubbed his arm. His stomach rumbled noisily, making Jace, Scratch, and (figuratively) Zeke raise an eyebrow.

"I guess you're hungry, aren't ya?" Jace questioned, receiving a nod from the creature in response. Jace smiled shrewdly, planning his next words carefully. "Now that I think about it, I'm getting kinda peckish..." he gave Praxis a feigned look of evil. "I wonder... do you taste like lamb?"

"*Gasp!* You wouldn't!"

"Oh, I would."

"Well, then come at me, bro!" Praxis spread his arms. a sign that he welcomed whatever Jace was going to throw at him. The human backed up before getting on all fours like a gorilla and charged at a very slow and ape-like pace towards the saytr, saying, "I'm comin' at you, bro!" Praxis fell over laughing, Jace following suit almost at once.

"Well then..." the human had finished laughing, and had slowly gotten up. "If you're hungry, then I have a question for you."

"Shoot," Praxis said.

Jace had a wide smile splayed on his face when he asked, "Do you like mmmm bananas?"

Praxis gasped. 'Holy crap... he's a brony as well!' he thought before he mimed the same crafty smile that the human adopted. "Well, I know where you can go bananas," he retorted cunningly. Jace's eyes widened in realization. They both breathed in deeply before they shouted the four greatest words in the world.

"ONNNNNNNN THE MOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNAH!!!!! BEEEEYYYAAAAATCH!!!!!"

"SHUT! THE BUCK! UP! AAARRRGHH!" Vinyl wailed, clamping her hooves tight over her ears and shutting her eyes as tight as she could, her massive headache getting the best of her. Zeke, muttering something like "Great, another dork...", simply face-palmed, the sound of bone striking bone resonating slightly across the field and throughout the now dark sky. Jace and Praxis were laughing heartily, their chortles and roars of delight flooding the night sky.

But because all good things must come to an end, their laughter slowly died down until only mere idiotic giggles came out of them at random intervals.

"Anywho, I think I know where we can get some food," said Jace, pulling out a strange object from underneath his shirt. It was a miniature hourglass swinging on a chain. Sand seemed to flow endlessly through it, almost as if it would never deplete, mainly because once the upper half of the hourglass was emptied, the lower half that was filled with sand flew back up into the upper half, like the time was reversing itself.

"Whoa, what's that?" Praxis wondered aloud, staring at the object with curiosity.

"This, my boy, is a Calling Card. With this contraption, we can be able to access the Dream World at my instant command. All of our surreal visions become reality with this bad boy," answered Jace, removing the hourglass from around his neck and setting it on the grass. A weird cone of blinding white light emanated from the center of the Calling Card. Jace, Zeke, and Vinyl hopped into the light, vanishing instantly. "What're ya waiting for?!" Jace shouted, his voice echoing across the atmosphere, which was beautifully painted with Princess Luna's stars and waxing gibbous moon.

"Well, here goes nothing," sighed Praxis, jumping into the light and vanishing with them. The light from the Calling Card stopped shining, and dissipated into nothingness.

Ponyville, Lyra and Bon-Bon's Apartment

"Did you hide the bag, Lyra?" Bon-Bon asked her roommate, who was in the attic. Lyra was busy locking up the messenger bag in a massive chest. When she clicked the lock and left the dusty and cluttered chamber, she looked at Bon-Bon and nodded. "Alright." The two made their way to the living room of their moderately-sized apartment doom; Carrot Top and Derpy were sitting on the couch, and Zecora, who had warned the four mares of Praxis's capture, was balancing on her favorite bamboo staff with her head, hooves positioned in a stance of meditation and eyes closed as she breathed in via nose and out via mouth.

"Oh, what am I gonna do," Lyra wondered, pacing in a circle around the coffee table. "He was already arrested an hour after the... the incident." She shuddered at the word 'incident', avoiding to say the proper term. She shut her eyes as tight as she could and clenched her teeth, not wanting to visualize Praxis' near-death experience.

"Lyra, stop pacing: you're going to leave a trench in the floorboards, and you know how grouchy that old mare below us is," informed Bon-Bon as she put a foreleg out in front of the worrying Lyra to stop her. She guided the mint-green unicorn to a vacant spot on the couch between Carrot and Derpy, and sat her there. The sweets-maker took a seat on the lone armchair and curled up into a comfortable position. "Anyways, what can we do? Nopony will help us because we've befriended their worst nightmare."

"Indeed, a creature so rare had given them quite the scare," rhymed Zecora wisely.

"'A creature so rare'?" Carrot Top reiterated.

"Correct; satyrs did not exist here until now. What I must know is when, why, and how?"

"You've got Lyra to thank for that!" Derpy exclaimed. "Y'see, we were at a pond and Lyra was just stalking humans as usual-"

"I do not STALK them," Lyra interrupted, upset that the mailmare had used that term to describe her hobby. "I simply research them."

"Suuuuure," Carrot said in an unconvinced tone at the lyre player's poor replacement of what she did in her free time. "Anyways, continue, Derpy."

"Ok... now where was I... Oh yeah! Lyra was using her looking glass portal to find a human, and out popped one, only he wasn't a human when he came out. She used too much magic on the pond, and it kinda changed him into a satyr."

"Hmm... I see. So that explains this mystery," said Zecora, getting off of the bamboo staff and looking out the window of the second-floor room. Some ponies who were walking back to their homes for the evening were giving cold, brief glares at the apartment, scowling and muttering curses at the five ponies on the second floor. Zecora sighed, thinking that all the pedestrians are sick in the heads with how much prejudice they carried in their hearts. A Royal Guard flying into town caught her eye as he walked up to a nearby tree and plastered a flier to it. She leaned in forward and narrowed her eyes, gasping in shock at what she saw and read.

The poster had a photograph of Praxis, only he didn't look like his usual self. Instead, he had a maniacal look in his eyes, his hair white as snow, longer, and extremely unkempt. The whites of his eyes were pitch-black, he had fiery-looking irises, and slits for pupils, his teeth were now fanged and sharp as daggers. Beneath the photograph, in bold Equestrian hieroglyphs, were: WANTED: PRAXIS THE SATYR. ESCAPED FROM CANTERLOT DUNGEON AND DESTROYED CASTLE PROPERTY. UNARMED, YET ASTRONOMICALLY DANGEROUS; 3000 BITS AWARDED TO THE PONY WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS CAPTURE.

Alright, I've fixed up whatever typos that anypony pointed out. Luckily, I might have got them all. Anyways, I've also made revisions about the Calling Card's description: it was an hourglass, not an actual card. Silly me, I jump to far too many conclusions in my writing.

Anyways, because my computer is on the Fritz, I have to use the Kindle Fire to get the job done. Sorry about my slow pace in this chapter, everypony; I had tons of schoolwork to get done.

This is ShadowWeaver, signing out for now. I may appear online, but I ain't writing jack shit until after tomorrow. Brotha gotta unwind, right?

VIII - Planning A Concert

The Dream Realm

"Well, damn! This place is awesome!" exclaimed Praxis, examining his surroundings and beaming at what he saw. He, Jace, Vinyl, and Zeke were in the most grandeur of dining rooms: Red velvet curtains decorated the four ten-foot tall windows in the room, which was about fifteen yards in length, eight in width. The table stretched from one end of the room to the other, red cushions on the backs and the seats of the twelve pushed-in chairs. The room was illuminated by two massive chandeliers, giving off warmth as well as light. Praxis advanced a step forwards, his hoof making contact with the warm Persian rug, intricately woven and beautifully decorated with a pair of beamed musical crotchets in each of the corners, hourglasses running along the trim of the enormous rug, and in the center was a skull with red eyes. The skull rested on a very familar-looking emblem: a black star inside a pentagon, with short lines coming out of each corner of the pentagon's vertices to meet with a circle that had spines running along the outside and the inside of it. All those shapes were turned on their heads.

'The beamed crotchets... they're Vinyl's, while the hourglasses... those are Jace's, I think. The skull is obviously Zeke... but that means.. that emblem...' Praxis looked down at his navel, and saw the exact same symbol that was on the rug. His eyes widened when the epiphany hit him like a raging locomotive. 'Is that... me?'

It was the Curse Seal of Insanity.

((May I help you with something?))

Praxis whipped around, along with Zeke, Vinyl, and Jace. All four of them went slack-jawed at the sight of who had asked in that kind voice.

Another satyr had walked in, looking almost precisely like Praxis. The only things that were off were the clothes, the eyes, and the fur on his legs. His clothes consisted of pure-white prayer robes with a gold vest and black prayer beads adorning this new satyr's neck, his fur was black, but with streaks of gold here and there. The eyes, rather than being brown irises, were a gradient transition of red to yellow, yet there were no slits for pupils, no black vitreous fluid that substituted the white. Praxis couldn't help but shudder: they were rather like the eyes that he himself inherited whenever his Corruption had taken over and he became that... evil rendition of himself.

"Uh, Prax, what did he say?" Vinyl turned to the satyr, curious of what the other one had said. "I can't understand him at ALL."

"He's speaking Arabic, and he asked us if he can help us out with anything," answered Praxis.

"Wait, you can understand him?" questioned Jace, receiving a nod from the original satyr in reply. "I thought only me and Zeke were omni-lingual. Pretty impressive, Prax."

"Thanks, man. Anywho...." He turned to his doppleganger and spoke in the native tongue they knew all too well. ((Well, I guess you can help us. Can you please tell me who you are? See, my equine friend doesn't speak our language, and I don't know if you speak English, so....))

((Ah, rather good question, especially since you're new here. You see, because you have entered the Dream Realm, you have what we would call a Dream Personality. Your human friend there has one, and so does that unicorn. I am Aflatoon, YOUR Dream Personality.))

((Hmm… very interesting.))

((And I DON'T speak English; I'm completely inept at it.))

((Oof. Tough luck, 'Toon,)) Jace sympathized for Aflatoon, who raised an eyebrow at the nickname.

((However, the god of this Realm, this boy's Dream Personality, was kind enough to speak to me in MY language instead of me studying his.))

((Really? Who's the god here?)) Praxis asked.

((That would be me.))

The quartet of creatures spun around again to see who had spoken at a booming volume: a muscular man of 7'5" with a pale complexion walking through the doubled doors at the other end. Donned in luxurious robes of black silk with red trimming, he made his way toward the five others, his pure-white hair and Van Dyke beard practically shining in the luminosity of the chandeliers' candlelight. His pale face bore orange cracks, which were more accumulated around his piercing red eyes that glowed with benevolence. Next to him was another Vinyl Scratch, who looked more elegant than the other; she wore one of those velvet robes that only wealthy ponies could wear, a small goblet of wine in her magical grip. ((You, satyr; welcome to my humble abode. My name is Aksheal, and it is nice to meet you.))

'Holy shit, he's taller than me, like Zeke. I feel a midget next to him for some reason; my 7'1" ain't got nothing on him.' He shrugged it off as he thought about it. It wasn't worth complaining about at all.

((The feeling is mutual,)) Praxis finally said, extending his hand out to the god of the Dream Realm. Aksheal brought his large hand into the satyr's other and grasped firmly before shaking it. "Please, call me Praxis. So... how long has Aflatoon been here?" he inquired in English. "Since I came to Equestria? Or since I became a part of the Dream Realm?"

"Now that you ask that, I presume that he HAS always been in you, but he actually became animate and real in this Dream Realm when you came to Equestria. But Aflatoon appeared about... what, two or three days ago?" wondered Aksheal, rubbing his chin. "Yes, that was rather it. He came here the same time you did, and so I took him in, shall we say. He IS an interesting addition to the Realm, seeing as how he is an extremely rare specimen, and because he is only capable of speaking Arabic, Persian, Urdu; whatever languages that originated in the Middle East and Far East, you can bet he'll try and master it. English isn't so successful; many new words and unintelligible slang does that to him, so he just left it alone." The smell of curry, meats, steamed vegetables, and freshly baked bread filled the air, the intoxicating aroma almost lifting all of them off of their feet or hooves.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaa...." moaned Praxis, eyes drooping slightly from how powerful the scent of food was. His stomach rumbled audibly, putting the volume of the Royal Canterlot Voice to shame with how loud his belly growled. He chuckled nervously, blushing in embarrassment. The others laughed, Aksheal snapping his fingers after the laughter died down. The snap echoed across the whole room, and enough food to feed a family of twenty appeared on the table. "Dig in."

"Don't mind if I do!" Praxis wailed, jumping into the pile of food in a diving position, mouth open as wide as he could get it.

Aksheal's Manor; Den

"Dear Lord, how am I still alive?" Praxis verbally pondered, rubbing his now bulging stomach, Insanity's Curse Seal stretched across the navel. The food he had gorged himself on was making him drowsy. He did his best to stay awake, to prevent the snakelike tendrils of sleep from enveloping him and pulling him under. The real Vinyl caught on to this and grabbed a cup of ice water with her telekinetic magic. She hovered it over Praxis' head before tipping it over, spilling the contents over his face. He shot up, the sudden change from hot to cold making his teeth clatter as the two Vinyls, Jace, Aksheal, Aflatoon, and Zeke all guffawed idiotically and raucously.

"Well, screw you, too," the satyr grumbled, wiping his sopping face dry with a nearby handkerchief.

"Sorry, Prax, but MAN, was that funny!" Vinyl chortled.

"*Sigh*... Alright, I admit it; that was a good one." Once he finished being soaked, Praxis leaned back in the leather chair and bathed in the heat of the roaring blaze in the fireplace. 'Man, it feels good to be here,' he mused gratefully, putting his hooves on the Ottoman of his chair. 'Now if only Ponyville could be like these guys....'

*IDEA FORMULATING: Loading...*

*Still loading...*

*Ding!*

"Hey, Jace? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh, sure," the human said.

"Cool. Can you bring Zeke and the real Vinyl along as well?" He got up and walked out of the den to the hallway. It was adorned with a long runner, and torches lit up the entire hall. Zeke, Vinyl, and Jace followed him out. He turned to them and hesitated for a while, trying to morph his train of thought into actual, audible words. "I need your help with something. Can I trust you three?" They nodded, smiling earnestly at him. "Excellent. Listen... I have a huge problem with Ponyville. Y'see... the townsfolk hate me. Like absolutely LOATH me, all because of what I am. I want to gain their trust and friendship, but... I can't go anywhere without everypony running away from me. Or throwing things."

"Alright, Fluffy. We'll help you, but do we have to do?" Vinyl said.

"Simple: we play a concert in Ponyville."

"A concert, eh? Y'know, that's actually not a bad idea. You may have struck gold, Praxis," Zeke complemented. The satyr beamed widely, letting off a *Squee*.

"Holy crap, I didn't know I could do that," he said ecstatically. He smiled again, and again, and again: *Squeesqueesqueesqueesqueesq-*

"Stop it!" Vinyl exclaimed in protest, standing on her hind legs and clamping both fore hooves on Praxis' face, contorting into a male human rendition of Rainbow Dash's kissy face from Season 1, Episode 4.

"Err.. right. Sorry," he apologized, his speech slightly stifled from the DJ's hooves squeezing his face. She let go and he wiggled his jaw around to get the feeling back into it. "Anyways, I think a concert might work. And I even know what song to play."

"I would hope so," Jace said. "What genre? Dubstep? House?"

"Er, I was leaning more in the direction of metal and hard rock."

"Hmm... metal doesn't sound too bad," Zeke admitted.

"Indeed it doesn't. But in order to make an effect, we're gonna have to throw some badassery into this... Vinyl?"

"Yeah?" The white unicorn turned to Praxis.

"Can you play a bass guitar?"

"Err... I guess so. It ain't a DJ's turntable, but since it's bass...sure. Why not?"

"Can you also do a spell where a non-Pegasus can sit on clouds?"

"Um... I think I'll have to work on that one."

"That's OK, you take all the time you need." He gave Vinyl's mane a friendly tousle, messing up her already slightly shaggy mane, which felt like velvet under his hand. He then turned to Jace and asked him, "Can you play electric guitar?"

"Sure thing, man. Even though I'm a DJ, I was a freak for heavy metal and all that when I was still in my teenage years... Speaking of age, how old are you?"

"Erm... I WAS 17... but from what I read from a Percy Jackson book about satyrs aging half as fast as humans, I can safely assume that I'm 17 in satyr years and 34 in human years."

"You son of a... I'm only in my early twenties! What the hell?"

"You seem angry; why you mad, brah?" Praxis created the greatest troll face he could summon in the direction of the miffed DJ. He turned to Zeke and asked, "Do you think you can play the drums, Zeke?"

"Well, I could try. What, with 2000 years of existing, I might've played percussion at one of those times. I'll give it a whirl," he answered.

"Perfect...."

Ponyville; Twilight's Library

"G'ah!"

Twilight Sparkle, who had decided to host another slumber party with her friends when they returned from Canterlot, awoke with a start, panting like she had just run two consecutive marathons. She was drenched in cold sweat, her eyes the size of pinpricks. The horrific nightmare she endured still clung to her like glitter on superglue: she had seen the satyr Praxis standing in front of a decimated and burning Canterlot Castle, the heads of the Royal Princesses in his hands as they swung in his grip. He let out an evil laugh, one that reverberated across all of Equestria for everypony to hear. The Mane Six were there, quivering with fear at the sight of him. He glanced in their direction and smiled, showing his white fangs. He turned to them and kicked his lips hungrily, deadly whispering, "You're next...." He had dropped the heads and let them tumble unceremoniously down the road before charging at full speed towards the six of them, talons bared. Twilight had awoken abruptly the second she felt his black nails penerate her flesh and sever her jugular vein.

Her exclamation of surprise had awoken three out of the six sleeping creatures: Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy jumped up at the purple unicorn's brief shriek, while Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike were still sleeping, only jerking slightly at the sound.

"Are you alrahght, sugarcube?" asked Applejack, rubbing her eyes of all the sleep.

"I h-heard s-screaming. I-is there a g-ghost?" Fluttershy stuttered, curling up into a ball with fear at the prospect of a specter haunting them.

"No, no, it's not that... it was just a nightmare," Twilight answered sheepishly.

"Well, you must tell us, darling!" Rarity whisper-cried, removing her eye mask with her magic. "This could be something of importance!"

"*Sigh*... alright, gather around, everypony...."

She reiterated her surreal vision as calmly as possible, a difficult task to accomplish with how violently she was shaking under her covers. When she had finished, the three others adopted her exact same look of apprehension.

"I just hope that he doesn't come back...." Twilight mumbled, hiding under her covers. "Go back to sleep, everypony. It was all just a dream..."

"At least... I hope so...."

IX - Get Down With The Sickness

Author's note: Apparently, because of how the website only allows me to have a maximum of five characters, I obviously can't add anymore. For everypony's well-being, please insinuate that Vinyl Scratch is in this, as well as the Mane Six, and possibly the Princesses.

Thank you. I'm terribly sorry if even an ounce of confusion was created. Please enjoy this chapter of HHaF!

IX - Get Down With The Sickness

Praxis, Jace, Zeke, and Vinyl had exited the Dream Realm the next morning in high spirits that the former's plan would succeed. Aksheal, taking pity upon how clothes-less Praxis was, had snapped his fingers once more, and strange black clothes wrapped themselves around his torso. The clothes looked a lot like a marching band jacket, with how crisp, smooth, and sleek it was. There were even small silver pauldrons on the shoulders, a flap of cloth around his neck that served as a mask (due to how charred his ace bandage was from Celestia's solar flare), pockets, and silver buttons to accommodate the jacket.

After returning to the Everfree Forest and back to the immense yew tree that was once the satyr's original home, the four of them decided to... decorate it. With his scythe, Zeke cut a big section of wood out of the wide truck of the tree and used his Touch of Death to slowly decay the inside of it, hollowing it out to about fifty feet up; the only object that didn't decompose was a spiral staircase that ran along the inside of the tree to a platform halfway to the top. Praxis went swimming through the thick underbrush of the forest until he came across huge stalks of grass that shot up six feet high. He ripped several handfuls of the tall grass and brought them back to the hollow yew, where he began weaving the grass into mats. After several failed attempts at getting a proper knot, followed by many minutes of intense swearing, he finally managed to get the grass stalks into reasonably comfortable mats. Vinyl had gone into town and bought nails and lots of rope; when she came back, Praxis intricately weaved the ropes into a hammock, and Jace proceeded to hammer the nails into the wood of the tree on the second floor and hang the ends of the hammock onto them before going to Ponyville to plan for the concert, which would take place at 7:00 at night, and to buy furniture for the satyr's new home, taking Vinyl with him; the white unicorn had to practice the Walk-On-Clouds charm anyways. Zeke, having cut windows into the walls of both floors for ventilation, and Praxis had left the tree to examine their handiwork, and they couldn't help but grin at their masterpiece. It was a very exceptional dwelling that fitted the saytr quite well; spacious, well-ventilated, and welcoming.

"Hey, Praxis?" Zeke began, lowering his hood to show himself clearly in the now-afternoon light of Celestia's Equestrian Sun. There was a '666' scratched onto his forehead, and his eyes glowed red, but Praxis wasn't afraid of Zeke's appearance: ever since he played "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" back on Earth, he had seen even more disturbing and unsettling things than the Reaper's looks.

"Hmm?" answered Praxis, who had picked up a stone and carved "Home, Sweet Home" in Arabic into the wood above the door.

"May I see your jacket? I have this... weird suspicion about it."

"Um... sure." He obliged by unbuttoning his jacket and removing it, leaving him in nothing but a black undershirt that Aksheal had also magically given him. He handed the jacket to the Reaper.

"Excellent. Thank you," Zeke mumbled. He laid it down flat along the forest floor and raised his scythe. Praxis gasped as the scythe made its descent and pierced the front of the jacket. The sound of cloth being ripped could be heard all around.

"Zeke! 'The fuck, brah?!" the satyr outbursted, hands balled up into fists as he stared at the Reaper.

"Relax, Fluffy," Zeke reassured, beckoning Praxis over to examine the jacket. "Take a look." Praxis came closer to his clothes, muttering words of anger at Zeke. He bent over to examine the jacket and went slack-jawed at what he saw.

The gaping hole that Zeke's scythe had created was gradually repairing itself. Each severed string seem to become sentient as they whipped towards their partners, melding into one another on contact and becoming one whole string. After a few seconds, the tear had vanished, like it had never existed at all.

"Whoa... what the hell?" Praxis was flabbergasted at his jacket's self-reparation. He tenderly picked it up and reequiped it, rubbing the area where the tear had closed itself up.

"Hmm... my thoughts exactly," mused Zeke philosophically as he gazed at the spot where his scythe had cut the cloth.

"Wait, whadaya mean?"

"It appears that Aksheal had given you a jacket and muscle shirt of the rarest and most wanted material in all of Equestria, known as 'Shadow Fiber'. It is said that this material, formed from the purified and magically altered hide of changelings, is impervious to anything mundane and harmful: fire, acid, wear-and-tear, dirt; you name it, it nullifies the damage done by it. Legends say that Shadow Fiber actually GROWS with the wearer, ensuring that no discomfort is brought unto him or her as he or she ages. I must say, you are one lucky little bastard. Do you know how many ponies would KILL for cloth like this?"

"Whoa... that's amazing. I didn't know that such a thing existed in Equestria," Praxis said with wonder in his eyes. "But wait, if Shadow Fiber is extremely rare, how come changelings' hides is the prime ingredient in it when tons of changelings exist?"

"Well, changelings are very dangerous, ruthless creatures that attack their prey in swarms, due to their belief of strength lying in numbers. Only the toughest of ponies are capable of overcoming them. Their hide, which had been banned from stores by the Equestrian Peace Act eight year ago, is now and still worth a fortune on the black market," explained Zeke as he mentally commanded his scythe to vanish. It dissipated into black mist and swirled as it got smaller, vanishing with a little pop.

"We're back!" Jace and Vinyl called to the two others simultaneously. The two of them were carrying a one-man desk, two love-seats, a swivel chair, and a coffee table, all but the love-seats and the chair being crafted of mahogany and oak. Jace had placed the two love-seats in the center of the first floor, which would be the living room, while Vinyl used her telekinetic magic to place the coffee table in between the two love-seats, then hauling the desk and the chair up to the second floor, which would serve as the bedroom. The two DJs walked out of the treehouse and took a seat on the forest floor, sweat cascading down their foreheads and chests.

"Dear Celestia, this was a long day," Vinyl huffed, wiping her forehead with her foreleg and flicking the collected sweat away. "But at least we're done for today!"

"You can say that again," wheezed Jace as he mopped his face with his Skrillex T-shirt. He stood back up and stretched his limbs, Vinyl following his example. When they both finished up with their activity, Vinyl used her magic to levitate a small cirrus cloud over to them. She then shut her eyes behind her purple sunshades and aimed her horn at Praxis. A sparkling, bright-blue aura appearing around the satyr. The aura dissipated into nothingness after five seconds. Understanding her motives, he cautiously placed a hoof on the cloud. He let out a breath he didn't know he held in when he discovered that his hoof didn't sink into the cloud. Instead, it felt incredibly soft to him, yet sturdy enough to not let him fall through. He placed his other hoof on the cloud, receiving a likewise result.

"Excellent work, Vi!" Praxis congratulated, extending his fist out for a brohoof. Vinyl walked over and bumped her hoof on his fist.

"Heheh, thanks, Prax," the equine DJ said. "But it'll only last for a few hours, so we'd better head to Ponyville. Luckily, we perform in one hour, so the spell should hold until afterwards." With that, she lifted the cloud high above their heads as they walked back to the town. Praxis, hidden snugly in the cloud, was beginning to get rather nervous. If this plan failed....

Sweet Apple Acres; Barn

'It appears that nopony is around,' Insanity mused evilly as his form of black smoke flew in through an open window. He took an alicorn form of his regular self and scanned the room. His thought was proven folly when he noticed three little fillies snoozing in a bale of hay; Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.

'My, my, my... this is going to be fun.' He chuckled coldly, scraping his hoof across the ground. Sparks flew, and a little fire came to life at his hoof tip. He flicked the minuscule ball of flame at a wooden post that supported the barn.

'Perfect....' The entity of dementia became a wisp of black smoke once more and flew back out of the window as the base of the post begin to catch fire, cackling like a madman as he left.

Ponyville Square; Stage

"PONYVIIIIILLE!" Jace hollered into the microphone. He had an electric guitar in his arms, while Zeke twirled the drumsticks in his skeletal fingers and Vinyl tuned her bass guitar to her liking. "ARE YOU READY.... TO ROOOOOOOOOOOOOCK?!" The massive crowd or Ponyvillians went ballistic, getting on their back hooves and shouting their approval, whistling or screaming like fangirls.

'Well, here goes nothing,' Praxis thought darkly from up in his cirrus cloud. The effects of the Walk-On-Clouds charm was slowly beginning to dwindle: his hooves were now deeper into the cloud than they were an hour ago.

"Well let's give it up to a new friend of mine. Let's hear it for the one... the only... PRRRRRRAXIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!"

The audience gasped as the name was called. They couldn't believe it... they didn't want to.

But when Praxis leapt off of his cloud and landed directly behind the microphone stand, they had to. They could only watch in shock and awe as the creature grabbed the microphone from off of its stand.

"Thanks for that warm welcome, Jace," the satyr muttered into the microphone in the most sinister voice he could muster. "Zeke? Hit it!"

"With pleasure!" replied Zeke, hitting the drums and commencing the song. Some of them were actually bumping their heads to the beat of the drums.

"Can you feel that?" Praxis whispered darkly into the microphone. Most of the crowd nodded in fear as the bass notes of Vinyl's guitar rang out like gunshots in the night.

"Ah shit!"

Jace started strumming the guitar, smiling smugly that he could still play as the notes of the guitar synchronized harmoniously with Vinyl's bass.

"OH-WAH-AH-AH-AH!"

Some of the members in the audience were wailing their approval when the beat dropped and became more hardcore. Some were indifferent, while the many others still wore a look of anxiety on their faces.

"OH-WAH-AH-AH-AH!"

"He did it again!" shouted a stallion in the audience before as the archaic grunt went off again. He whooped it up, some of the more appreciative ponies following his example

"OH OH! OH OH! OH OH!

"Drowning deep in my sea of loathing,

"Broken, your servant, I kneel,

"Will you give in to me?

"It seems what's left of my human side is slowly changiiiing... inn meee,

"Will you give in to me?!

"Looking at my own reflection,

"When suddenly it changes!

"Violently it changes!

"OH NO! There is no turning back now, you've woken up the deemooon... INN MEEEEEE!

"Get up, come on, get down with the sickness!

"Open up your hate, and let it flow into me!

"Get up, come on, get down with the sickness!

"You mother, get up, come on, get down with the sickness!

"You fucker, get up, come on, get down with the sickness!

"Madness is the gift that has been given to me!"

Half the crowd was now on their back hooves, roaring in ecstasy when the chorus ended. Praxis cleared his throat again before going back at singing.

"I can see inside you, the sickness is rising,

"Dont try to deny what you feel,

"Will you give in to me?

"It seems that all that was good has died,

"And is decayiiiiiiing... inn meeeee...

"Will you give in to me?!

"It seems you're having some trouble,

"In dealing with these changes!

"Living with these changes!

"AHH, NOW the world is a scary place,

"Now that you've woken up the deemooon... INN MEEEEEE!

"Get up, come on, get down with the sickness!

"Open up your hate, and let it flow into me!

"Get up, come on get down with the sickness!

"You mother, get up, come on, get down with the sickness!

"You fucker, get up, come on, get down with the sickness!

"Madness is the gift that has been given to me!"

"And when I dream..." the satyr whispered at first.

"And when I dream..." The whisper became slighty louder.

"And when I dream..." A little louder....

"AND WHEN I DREAM!!!!" It came out as a bellow of false rage.

"No mommy, don't do it again! Don't do it again!

"I'll be a good boy! I'LL BE A GOOD BOY!

"I PROMISE!

"NO, MOMMY, DON'T HIT ME!

"OW! Why do you have to hit me like that, mommy?!

"Don't! Do it! You're hurting me! OW-HOW! Why did you have to be such a bitch?!

"Why don't you,

"Why don't you fuck off and DIE?!

"Why can't you just fuck off and DIE?!

"Why can't you just leave here and DIE?!

"Never stick your hand in my face again, bitch!

"FUUUUCK YOOUU!

"I don't need this shit!

"You stupid, sadistic, abusive, fucking whore!

"Would you like to see how it feels, mommy?!

"Here it comes, get ready to DIIEE!"

The whole crowd was taken aback as the satyr viciously threw the microphone down onto the floor of the stage at the last word. The instrument shattered into little pieces on contact, dispersing across the stage.

'Time to give them a night they won't forget....' he mused.

He didn't need the microphone. He knew what to do. He sucked in as much breath as he could and yelled the final words.

"OH-WAH-AH-AH-AH!

"GET UP, COME ON, GET DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS!

"OPEN UP YOUR HATE, AND LET IT FLOW INTO ME!

"GET UP, GET DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS!

"YOU MOTHER, GET UP, COME ON, GET DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS!

"YOU FUCKER, GET UP, COME ON, GET DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS!

"MADNESS HAS NOW COME OVER ME!"

Almost at once, the majority of the crowd had gone wild, roaring with delight as they applauded raucously. Some of them had thrown roses of red and white at the four performers, while a few of the more hardcore ones threw panties; a flurry of red, blue, yellow, green, and all the other colors of the rainbow began to mix in with the red and the white of the roses.

'What the hell?' the satyr mentally said in disgust and surprise. 'PANTIES? So much for innocence....' He had barely caught a white rose in his mouth, giving the audience a low bow that they deserved as he properly positioned the flower in his mouth with his jaw and tongue.

"Thank you!" he said to the crowd after removing the rose and pinning it into a buttonhole on his jacket. "Thank you all so much!" The Ponyvillians got a lot louder at his mention of appreciation. For the first time here, he was being accepted. he was being loved... he had never felt so elated with joy in his whole life here.

The feeling was short-lived, however. Over all the cheering and the photographs of him, Vinyl, Zeke, and Jace being taken. He could faintly hear screams. Not of delight, or elation...

They were screams of fear, begging for help.

With his heightened sense of hearing, Praxis turned to where the source of the screams were coming from. His heart dropped and his pupils constricted into pinpricks.

Against the night sky, in Sweet Apple Acres, a bright red and orange glow stood out, illuminating the trees in its presence. Black smoke billowed from the source of the glow. The scent of burning wood and hay was rather weak, but he could smell it, alright. He knew what the situation was now... why those screams were emitted....

The barn of Sweet Apple Acres was ablaze.

XI - The Fastest Flier's Favor

"I have seen your heart... and it is mine."

Praxis spun around to face who had spoken in so malicious, gruff, and deep of a voice and went wide-eyed. The hideous sword with the eye that Insanity had launched into the now-black ground of his mind was the only thing that seemed available in this otherwise vacant place.

"W-what do you mean?" Praxis questioned fearfully.

"Every single memory and emotion you experience is witnessed by me, fueling me... making me more and more powerful by the night, when you rest your pathetic little head," the blade rambled on, the slit for a pupil contracting and dilating as it spoke. "But recently, I'm beginning to feel some sort of... powerful buildup. It's unusual. Unhealthy, even, like plaque in the arteries."

"Aaaaaand why are you telling me this?" Praxis asked, trying to sound braver than he really was. In truth, he was terrified out of his wits at what the scheming blade had in store for him. The sword cackled its demonic cackle, obviously relishing in its host's despair.

"Well, seeing as how you are the only thing that is in my path... why not take some from me?"

Praxis shook his head "No" in such a violent way, he was surprised he didn't get whiplash. The sword only gave a laugh at how ridiculous the satyr looked as he declined its offer.

"No? You dare defy me, you fool? That insolence only infuriates me!" The slit contracted in anger as a bolt of black lightning shot out from the eye and hit the satyr squarely in the chest. He fell to his knees in the excruciating torture that ensued. He could feel his insides twist and writhe, like he had swallowed live snakes. His heart was now hammering at a tremendous rate as he shut his eyes and roared in agony. He could feel his teeth become sharper, black talons growing as the brown fur became black, his hair becoming white. His tan skin became decorated in black tribal markings, the Curse Seal on his navel pulsating as fast as his heart. His brain felt like it was on fire as the pain progressed. The lightning stopped, ending with a small explosion and blowing Praxis several yards away from the sword, rolling and tumbling farther from his parasite. He was too battered and beaten to get up as the transformation undid itself as quickly as it began. The sword just laughed in satanic delight.

"Do you not understand, whelp?" it said evilly. "No one EVER says no to me... in this realm, I call the shots... I am the one who controls you, like a puppeteer and his marionette...." And with that, the sword shot another bolt of dark magic at the ground before Praxis when he arose. The solid surface became as thick as molasses, still retaining its tar-like hue. Praxis felt his hooves sink slowly into the ground, like he was in the middle of an onyx-colored pool of quicksand. His knees went in, his livestock ankles almost snapping in a twig-like manner from the unnkaturally powerful pressure of his subterranean tomb. He was down to his midriff, his ankles finally shattering like glass, his screams of pain reverberating across the realm. As his knees broke from the pressure, Praxis was already at his neck in the "quicksand", its pressure crushing his chest and making it near impossible to breathe. He almost passed out from the unendurable agony and his earsplitting screams, Insanity's sword laughing maniacally the whole time.

His head went under.

"*Gasp!*"

Praxis awoke abruptly, the golden light of Celestia's rising sun sinking into his room through the makeshift window, striking him directly in his eyes.

'Really? Even in this world, the sun still had to be some godforsaken alarm clock of douchebaggery?'

He tried to rise and wipe his forehead of the chilly perspiration that had accumulated there, only to be stopped in the attempt, a heavy yet comfortable weight pressing down on his stomach and legs. He raised his head to look at what was obstructing him, and was taken aback at the sight before him. Applejack, who seemed to have gotten cold in the middle of the night, had suddenly decided to sleep with him, her head resting directly on his chest, giving off minuscule snores as she squirmed slowly into him in an attempt to receive both warmth and comfort. She had even brought her blanket with her, draping the both of them in what little warmth it could provide.

'Don'twakeupdon'twakeupdon'twakeupdon'twakeup-' he mentally pleaded as he slowly slipped out of the hammock from under her. She seemed a little distraught when he finally came free, like she was a puppy dog separated from her companion, silently grunting as she squirmed a little bit more. He gave her mane a small stroke and, stealthily, gave her a brief kiss on her temple. The fidgets and grunts of anxiety began waning as soon as his lips pecked her fur, a small smile of contention escaping her mouth as she slept on. She was oblivious to the sound of Praxis' hooves quietly clopping on the wood of the stairs and floor as he went downstairs.

'Huh? He's gone?' Praxis mused, almost overlooking the love-seat behind him. He turned to see that Jace, who obviously spent the night, had vacated the two-pony chair. Praxis went over to the love-seat and saw that Jace had left him a note on the coffee table adjacent him.

Dear Praxis,

Went to go get some exercise. Probably gonna go visit Vinyl Scratch later and make more music. Gotta make a living somehow, right? See ya later on in the day.

~Jace.

P.S.: I saw Applejack's empty love-seat when I woke up. Bow-chicka-wow-wow...

Praxis face-palmed as he read the postscript, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Damn it, Jace," he hissed, putting the note back on the table. He stepped through the grass curtains that served as his doorway and out into the crisp, sharp air of dawn that filled his nostrils and cleansed his mind of the nightmare he witnessed. This reason was not the only one that explained why he escaped from his bed and sojourned into this temporary outdoor cloister of his.

No, no, no... there was another explanation at hoof....

Applejack....

That enigmatic display of affection she and him had been made a part of....

'That's weird... she doesn't have feelings for me, does she?' he pondered as he took a seat next to Big Macintosh's grave. He proceeded to mentally beat himself, attempting to convince himself that an idea like that was ludicrous. 'She only came up and slept in my bed because it was cold, Praxis. That's it. In her eyes, you're just a friend.' The success of his self-convincing was salt in an open wound. He sighed, the exhalation being one of minor sadness.'A friend... and nothing more.'

"I need a bath...."

He closed his eyes for a brief period of time, listening for some sort of flowing body of water nearby. His left ear twitched slightly several seconds later as he picked a splashing sound about a minute's walk away to his left. He got up and walked towards the destination. The sparkling surface of a quaint river stood before him a couple yards away, the shade of the trees darkening the scene. He removed his jacket and undershirt and tossed them onto a small boulder. He ran towards the edge and jumped in, diving through the cold surface of the water. He reemerged a couple of seconds later, shaking water out of his ears. He swam back and forth through the water in an effort to wash all the grime, ash, and dirt that blanketed his body. After thoroughly washing his hair and fur, he stepped out of the makeshift bathtub and furiously shook the water out of his fur, ensuring that his lower half was dry. He wiped his face and torso with his undershirt and paused at a rather peculiar fact. He gave his undershirt a whiff and raised an eyebrow: it didn't smell bad in the slightest. Praxis wasn't even sure what it smelled like. It seemed to smell like...

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

He donned the undershirt and jacket once more, eyebrow still raised at this bizarre fact. Once he was redressed, he followed the path back to his house. He walked back to the door and went to pass through the split grass curtains... only to be stopped. His intentions were to go back to sleep.

Strange... he didn't feel tired at all. That little dip in the river seemed to have blown new-found energy into him. He withdrew his hand from the evergreen shroud and walked away in the other direction, towards that great, grassy, green plain that stretched out as far as the eye could see.

"Guess it's time for a little bit of exercise," he told himself, taking a leaf out of Jace's book. He stepped out onto the plain and basked in the early morning sunlight. He took a deep breath, got in a starting position down the length of the field, and ran.

He started off rather sluggishly, almost tripping over his hooves, but was gradually picking up speed as he dashed through the field, the wind stinging his eyes as he got faster and faster, arms behind him as he leaned forward to get more acceleration. His hooves were only a blur as a small clutter of boulders started to come into view. He dodged, spun around, and leapt over them, all the while trying to regain the velocity he had lost in his attempts to evade the stone obstacles. He slowed down after a couple minutes, his hooves unsettling the dirt as he skidded across the grass. He turned around and started retreating to the spot where he began.

"Perhaps a little bit of a challenge?" He inquired, jumping on each boulder and hopping from one to the other, throwing a few flips and spins here and there, only stopping when he nearly crashed into one of them. He leapt through the air, hooves lazily revolving in a windmill motion as he made his descent to the grass. He picked up speed again, the landscape only resembling a mere blur, the adrenaline causing him to pay no mind to the resistance that slowly increased as he accelerated more and more, as if some sort of wall was barricading him.

And then-

*BOOOOOOOOM*

'Whoa! Either I have REALLY bad gas, or....' Praxis looked behind him and hollered in delight at what he saw.

A large black and brown ring of clouds had appeared in the middle of the field, rapidly stretching outwards and fading away as it expanded. Praxis noticed that he was trailing a streak of brown and black behind him. He had just shredded the sound barrier to pieces and was moving at sonic speeds across the field.

"WHOOOOOOOOOOO! WHOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOO!" cheered Praxis, shooting through the field at wind-shattering speeds. After a moment or two of joyous sprinting, he was contemplating on ending it. He tried to slow down by sticking out a hoof as a braking system.

Not that smart of an idea.

The second he put his hoof down, a massive and impregnable wall of air had halted him in his tracks. He plowed into it and fell hard on his back onto the grass. That crash with the air wall had hurt a bit, rendering him slightly worn out. He lay spread-eagled in the luscious green foliage and plucked a blade of it from the soil it grew from, curiosity coursing through his veins. That's when it hit him: he hadn't eaten in almost twenty-four hours, ever since he got back from the Dream Domain - which Jace had told him was known as Markarth, he had been too nervous to eat before the performance in Ponyville, and he was too caught up with burying Big Mac's corpse to even bother with fixing himself some food. He gave it a skeptical stare before dropping it into his open mouth. He was shocked when he discovered that the grass blade tasted rather like a potato chip, yet so much healthier than the actual thing.

In his ravenous stupor, he got on his hands and knees and orally attacked the grass, scooping up large amounts of it into his mouth. Oh, how magnificent it was as it sent pangs of satisfaction onto his tongue and into his empty belly! He could eat it all day if he wanted to, like some sort of strange and animate lawnmower, plucking every single blade of grass from this field!

But alas, he had to bring it to a halt, lest he go insane from his gluttony and actually destroy the whole field. He got back up onto his hooves and swallowed the large wad of grass in his mouth before he cracked his back, neck, fingers, and elbows. He brought his flute to his lips and playing a bar or two of Beethoven's "Für Elise". The large brown patch of earth where he had ripped out yesterday's lunch, dinner, and today's breakfast was slowly becoming green again as the bars progressed. When Praxis ended his last bar, he glanced down at the patch of earth and was glad to see that it had reverted to bearing grass. It was as if it was good as new, almost as if he hadn't inhaled all that foliage in the first place.

"Whoa-ho-ho! That. Was impressive!"

Praxis spun around and saw a particular cyan Pegasus pony fly down from her cloud palace and land a few feet behind him. Rainbow Dash, while looking rather hungover from sleep, disguised all that with awe and a rub of her eyes.

"You really think so?" said Praxis.

"Hehe, yeah! Didn't think you could be that quick, Prax," the athlete told him. He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his scalp and grinning widely.

"Heh. Thanks, RD. I'm pretty fast, but... I didn't think I was fast enough to ACTUALLY pull off a Sonic Goatboom like that," he said, not paying enough attention to his words and how they sounded when his imagination took over and said them for him.

"Sonic... Goatboom?" Dash brought a hoof to her mouth at the ridiculous word, stifling a fit of oncoming laughter. Sadly, her efforts failed. She fell to the ground, guffawing raucously as she rolled to and fro upon the grass. Praxis began to snicker a bit at how silly his made-up word was as well. The snicker soon evolved into loud laughter as he too collapsed to the ground and laughed with the Pegasus pony.

It had been a few moments until their laughter had died down. They got up off of the earth and brushed away the dirt that had clung to their fur.

"You, uh... Y'got any free time today?" asked Praxis, hoping that he could become more acquainted with the mare for a couple of hours or so.

"Um... Nah. Not really. I have to help round up more water for Cloudsdale later on today: they've almost ran out, so we gotta take care of it before they DO run out," she answered, miffed that her schedule was filled up.

But then an idea struck her like lightning.

"Say... a couple of the Pegasi are down with the feather flu, so I guess we don't have the wingpower to get the water up to Cloudsdale. But... do you think you can help us?"

At that offer, Praxis wanted to explode with delight. He wanted to just tackle her in the biggest hug he could give her and accept her favor with great gusto. But reality - or as real as this world could get at the moment - was calling, and it was for him.

"I... but wait. Don't I have to be a PEGASUS to do it? Last time I checked, I'm wingless," he informed her, turning around and pointing at his back, obviously void of any appendages of flight whatsoever. "I'm more flightless than Scootaloo."

"Heheh," she giggled. "Forgot about that, hehe... Sorry... hold on a minute, you're bucking fast! You can run over the water like it's nothing... can't you?"

"Hmm... I dunno... it's worth a shot, though. Do you wanna test-run that theory?"

"Sure! Follow me!" And Rainbow rocketed away without another word.

"H-hey! Wait up!" Praxis called to her as he went in hot pursuit, catching up with her in a matter of seconds.

"OK, now that's just weird! NOpony is supposed to keep up with me, but you did!" Dash told Praxis when he materialized next to her. The two were zooming across the landscape at high speeds, the trees of the Everfree and the clouds up above resembling nothing but blurs again.

"Allow me to rephrase that for you!" Praxis called, his patented 'Grammar Nazi Mode' activating at her unintentional usage of unexceptional grammar. "It WAS nopony! Now it's noBODY!"

"Oh, whatever, you egghead!" she retorted with a wry smile, going even faster than before in an attempt to outrun him.

'Oh, two can play at THAT game!' At that thought, Praxis willed himself to accelerate, his hooves kicking up dust as he picked up speed again. After a few seconds, a vast lake loomed into view, the rippling surface of it shining in the light of the sun. 'Alright... here goes nothing!' He shut his eyes and looked away, all the while running head-on into the lake.

After a few moments, Praxis decided to open an eye and looked down, only to receive a couple sprinkles of water into his eye. He glanced at his hooves and almost went giddy at the sight. They were a blur once more, moving at such speeds that they didn't seem to sink into the depths of the cool drink below. He whooped again at his achievement, arms thrust in the air in victory as he finally got off of the monolithic lake's surface.

"Aww yeah!" Dash hollered, flying alongside him and admiring his accomplishment. "THAT'S what I call awesome!"

They arrived at their destination: a large dirt track path like a track field in the outskirts of Ponyville, right next to an immense reservior, which resided under a massive cloud facility high above all of them. Only about ten or twenty Pegasi had gathered in the field to stretch their limbs, or discover their current wingpower.

But to Praxis' dismay and fury, a certain unicorn was there to measure the cumulative wingpower of the other Pegasi. A unicorn with an amethyst coat, indigo mane and tail with hot pink and purple highlights, and a sextet of six-sided starbursts for a Cutie Mark. Twilight Sparkle took notice to Praxis and tried to make herself as small as possible next to her assistant Spike.

'I can't believe her,' he mentally seethed, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was balling up his fists. 'If it hadn't been for her... none of this would've happened.'

Rainbow Dash picked up on his anger and lead him away from Twilight. The two speed demons traipsed through the somewhat small group of Pegasi. Many of them waved hello to Dash, and a fortunate few hoofbumped with her. Almost everypony got antsy in Praxis' presence, due to that musical performance he, Jace, Zeke, and Vinyl Scratch performed. They said hello, waved at him, and gave him either hoofshakes or hoofbumps.

"Hey, um, Mr. Praxis?" a voice said to him from behind. He turned around and spotted a rather familiar mare. She had a light lilac coat and a very pale sky-blue mane and tail - the former tied up in a pink hair bow, and her Cutie Mark, a trio of gray-bodied dragonflies implanted upon her flank.

"Yeah?" he told Flitter, his anger fading away at the sight of her as she crossed one foreleg over the other in bashfulness.

"Um... Hi. I'm Flitter. Me and my friend Cloud Chaser were at that concert last night. You were VERY good, you and your friends, and Cloud Chaser REALLY loved your performance. She really wanted to see you, but she's got a bad bout of the feather flu today," said Flitter.

"Oh. My condolences. I hope she gets better," said Praxis, getting onto one knee and patting Flitter's shoulder. The lilac Pegasus had a grin spreading across her face, like his touch was golden.

"I hope so, too. Anyways, the real reason was because I wanted to ask you something," continued Flitter.

"Shoot."

"Can I... can I please get an autograph for me and for Cloud Chaser?" she hastily and hopefully asked.

"Um... sure, I guess. Why not?" Flitter's eyes lit up at his agreement, and she immediately pulled out two slips of paper and a pen from some sort of pocket on her left flank and handed them to Praxis. He placed the slips on Flitter's side and signed his alias in graffiti-like handwriting on each one. When he finished, he handed the slips to Flitter, who beamed widely as she examined them.

"Praxis... Moradov? That's your last name?" she inquired as his surname caught her eye, her question being answered with a nod from the satyr. "That's pretty cool. Sounds Imaneian, or Hoofghanistani." Then her excitement returned. "I can't WAIT to get this to Cloud Chaser! She's gonna FLIP! Thank you!" And she "pocketed" the papers before walking away to practice her stretching.

"Hey, Praxis! Catch!" Rainbow Dash called to him, throwing him a pair of goggles from a cardboard box adjacent from her. The strap got caught on his right horn, like it and the goggles were tools for a game of Horseshoes.

"Ten points!" he called to Dash, who gave a chuckle at his joke. He cleaned the goggles's lenses onto his permanently-clean jacket and equipped them, the light of the sun - which was now a little higher in the sky than before - played with his retinas through his thick glass protection.

Two Pegasi caught his eye (Author: yes, my rhyming skills are freaking ill. You see what I did there?) One had a yellow coat the hue of butter, with a rose-pink mane and tail; the other had an storm-gray coat with a blonde mane and tail.

"PRAXIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!" cried Derpy, who bolted at him and tackled him to the ground in the biggest hugs she could give him, giving the loudest bleat he could exhale as he hit the dirt. "YOU MADE IT!"

Unbeknownst to her, she was unintentionally throttling him with how tightly she was embracing him.

"Can't... breathe!" Praxis wheezed painfully, struggling in the attempt to come free. He finally detached the wall-eyed pony from off of him and got up, breathing heavily to regain the sweet oxygen he missed dearly in that span time of forty seconds. Fluttershy glided over to the trio.

"H-hi, Praxis," Fluttershy greeted sheepishly, helping Praxis onto his hooves. "It's nice that you could come."

"Thanks, 'Shy," Praxis thanked, rubbing the spot on his chest where Derpy had charged into him as if she were a battering ram. "I'm glad I can be a part of it, actually."

"A-a part of it?" the bashful Pegasus asked. "What do you mean? That is... if you don't mind me asking."

'She said it! HNNNNNNNNG!' He mentally squealed, resisting another squeeze-Fluttershy-as-tightly-as-possible fit.

"Well, a couple of the Pegasi are out with the feather flu, so I'm here to help with getting the water to help."

"Whoa, you can do that?" Derpy asked, fascinated by how the satyr will do it.

"Well, yeah! Just who the hell do you think I am?" he answered with a question as he prodded his chest with his thumb in pride.

Rainbow Dash agreed with him on that claim by adding, "Heck yeah! He's pretty darn fast. But not as fast as me." She stuck her chest out with pride at her boasting. Praxis looked at her through uninterested eyes, arms crossed and left hoof tapping the ground in impatience.

"Try me," he dared.

"Oh, so you think YOU'RE faster than ME?" Dash said, obviously annoyed by Praxis' antics.

"Oh, honey, I don't THINK. I KNOW."

"Oh, it is SO on!"

"No, it's NOT on. Because I don't need physical proof for that claim."

"Huh?" Now Rainbow was bemused, curious as to what Praxis meant by that.

"Lemme explain: when you perform the Sonic Rainboom, which is when you break the sound barrier and move at sonic speeds, you are going at about... what, 790 miles per hour? Maybe more or less, depending on the air pressure created by the temperature." The Pegasi, which had now increased in number, was accumulating near the scene of the arguing mare and satyr. "But, you can only perform the Sonic Rainboom when you're flying at a downwards angle, letting gravity provide acceleration for you. Flying upwards would drastically take a hit on your speed, so that would be out of the question. I performed a sonic boom without WINGS. I RAN... and I broke the sound barrier. So not only is your argument extremely bucked, but in the end, I become the victor."

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped, the crowd of Pegasi bluntly "ooh"ing at his solid fact. She was incredulous, not because of Praxis' extensive vocabulary, but because he struck a valid point: she could only perform a Sonic Rainboom when she was flying downwards, with gravity assisting her in the attempt. Any other method of it would be rather futile.

"Aw, ponyfeathers."

"Oh, quit'cho fussin'," deadpanned Praxis, patting Rainbow Dash on the shoulder. "You're still the fastest flier. I'm just the fastest runner, is all."

"*sigh* Let's just get this water up to Cloudsdale."

"Sure thing, lemme just get my wingpower determined." And he reluctantly walked to the starting line of the track, right next to Twilight and Spike, the former with the wingpower-measuring windmill, and the latter carrying a long scroll of paper, no doubt it being a list of all the Pegasi who have their wingpower already determined.

"Let's just get this over with," Twilight mumbled gloomily. Praxis responded with a grunt as he got into a starting position again. "Go."

He took off down the path, wind whistling in his ears as he turned and drifted along the curb, kicking up dust as he skidded, using his left hand to keep himself from falling. He picked up more speed as he travled down the path, slowing down to drift once more along the massive curb. He pulled out of his drift and bolted full speed ahead, the mach cone from earlier forming around him again.

*WHOOSH~*

Praxis whizzed by the minuscule windmill, whose fan blades revolved out of control and shot out from its companion like a shuriken from a slingshot. The blades spun viciously as it flew into a nearby willow tree, and taking Spike's scroll with it as the fan broke into little pieces on a willow, a sharp wooden shard embedding itself and the scroll into the tree.

"T-twenty-three point eight!" wailed Twilight, who had rolled out of the way to avoid the fan blades' wrath. She checked the meter, just to make sure. "Praxis got twenty-three point eight wingpower!" Spike waddle-ran to his scroll to scribble Praxis' head and write his wingpower.

"What?"

"No way!"

"How is that even possible?"

"YEEAAH!"

The murmurs of doubt spread like wildfire, and Praxis was the match that had started it. The question stood before them like a giant stone wall: how can a wingless creature get that much wingpower, and in one run, no less?

"Hold up, hold up, hold up!" Dash interrupted, holding up two front hooves to quiet the crowd. "It's cool! Only four Pegasi are out with the flu, and he easily covers all four of them! Plus, we've improved in our wingpower, and he can run on WATER. So what's the big deal?"

"How do YOU know he runs on water, huh?" an ash-gray stallion questioned from the large audience.

"Duh, yeah! How DO you know?" another stallion, this one orange, added stupidly.

"Because I've SEEN him do it, Score and Hoops! Now zip it!" Rainbow spat viciously.

"Enough!" Praxis bellowed, holding up his hands this time to silence the audience. "Can we just get this over with?" The crowd gave him their undivided attention, curious as to what he had to say. "Now listen up, everypony. You know the drill: 800 wingpower. No giving up, no goofing off, and no doubting yourself halfway through, because if you do, I swear that I will belt the pony responsible, alright?" He punctuated this serious promise by launching his fist into his open palm. The message seemed to have gotten through to the ponies, as they gulped and nodded nervously at the sound of his fist striking his hand. "Now get into positions, everypony. Cloudsdale's got rain to make." He began cracking his neck again, a few of the ponies wincing at the sound of bones popping into place.

"Dear God, it is hot out here," he murmured, the sun's heat beating down on him like ten thousand fists. He removed his jacket and hanging it up on a nearby tree branch. His flute glistened in the bright rays of the sun's light upon his pitch-black undershirt.

"O-oh my," Fluttershy mumbled, blushing as red as a beet.

"W-what?" Praxis asked self-consciously. "I don't have a scar or something, do I?"

"N-no!" the timid Pegasus had burst a little louder than usual. She took notice to her blunder and shook her head. "I-it's not that. It's just...."

"That you're RIPPED!" Dash finished.

"What the hell are you tal-?" He stopped in mid-sentence, looking down at his figure. He went slack-jawed at the sight.

His usually scrawny arms were void of their stringiness, replacing that attribute with large bicep, tricep, and forearm muscles. He lifted his undershirt up a bit and looked at his abdomen, eyes raised in glee as he witnessed six quadrilateral lumps on his belly. He gave one of them a prod with his finger and felt the toughness of stone on them. He removed his undershirt entirely and saw that his pectoral muscles had grown larger.

"Whoa. Ho...ly...crap, I am buff," he said, giving a whistle at his new body. He looked over at the three Pegasi: Fluttershy was still blushing as red as a radish, glancing away when she felt his eyes on her; Dash was slightly awestruck; Derpy was pressing her hoof onto her nose, a little bit of blood trickling from her nostril and tainting her gray fur with scarlet. 'Hmm... I wonder....' He looked down at his chest and concentrated on it, giving it the longest stares he had ever given anything or anyone. Sure enough, after several minutes of concentration, his left pectoral jumped up a couple centimeters. Then the right one. Left, right, left, right, a paradigmatic scene of bizarre motions and slight eroticism.

"Coooool!" he said before he giggled idiotically at this new and immaturely-frivolous discovery. "If only my gym teacher were here, man!"

"Eep!" Fluttershy squeaked, tumbling to the floor in a statue-like stance as her entire face shone crimson.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang," drawled Dash, her jaw descending lower with every second that passed by.

"BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" cried Derpy, the blood flowing from her nose was now gushing out like a severed fire hydrant. The spray of blood only lasted a couple of seconds, ending when she plowed her head into the ground like a frightened ostrich. A couple of the ponies couldn't help but laugh at Derpy's silly act, a few wiping away a tear or two of joy.

'Um... since when the hell did my life become a manga?'

That's when he was painfully brought to mind a horrific twenty words.

"Well, seeing as how you are the only thing that is in my path... why not take some from me?"

He looked down at his stomach again and saw something that didn't mean good news in the slightest. The Curse Seal, which was just three shapes on their heads, were adorned with strange markings that had seeped out of it. The markings seemed tribal-like, swirling, jutting, and curving at random angles.

The Corruption was spreading.

"Uh oh...."

"Everypony ready!?" Rainbow Dash announced to the crowd of Pegasi and Praxis, all of whom had gotten into seven massive lines right in front of the reservoir, which had an even larger windmill than before to calculate their cumulative wingpower. They all roared their concurrence. Spike blew an immense wooden horn to signal the start.

*BOOOOOOOOM*

"Whoa! Already?!" Dash said in awe. Praxis had gone at sonic speeds only seconds after the sound of the horn, and he was already swirling around the reservoir's surface at a dizzying rate before the Pegasi ponies could even go at their full speed. He pulled his mask over his face to shield it from catching any water. He looked to his left and saw water droplets rising from the surface and into the air.

'No holding back. No giving up. Give it all you've got, man!'

"YEEAAH!" a voice yelled from above. Praxis looked up and caught a glimpse of the ever-hilarious and muscular form of Heavyweight, his puny wings giving him enough propulsion to join him and the other Pegasi. Praxis held back the urge to laugh and pushed himself to go faster. The ascending water, which had only consisted of droplets, was now a thick stream as he glanced around him and saw a flurry Pegasi on all sides, swimming around him like he was caught in a technicolor blizzard.

"475 WINGPOWER!" Praxis could hear Twilight scream to the Pegasi.

'C'mon, guys... c'mon!' he mentally willed the crowd.

A problem arose, however, when the upward flow of the reservoir's water was ebbing away and was sinking back into the reservoir. Somepony wasn't giving their all.

Then the impending inevitable happened.

One of the Pegasi had collided with another, and like the dreadful domino effect, all the other flying ponies toppled to the ground, a rather unfortunate few plummeting into the drink below. Praxis got out of the reservoir and shook his hooves dry, livid at who could be the culprit.

"Alright, who's the Celestia-forsaken moron who did it?" he asked, doing his best to keep his voice level.

"It was that one!" A black stallion called out, pointing at a tall silver Pegasus with a shock of yellow in his red mane and tail and a shooting star for a Cutie Mark. "He flew into me and knocked me down!" Praxis calmly walked over to the perpetrator.

"What's your name?" he inquired.

"N-Nova," the stallion replied shakily.

"Nova? Let's see you grit those teeth."

"Huh? Whaddaya me-?" Nova didn't even have time to finish his sentence before Praxis cocked his fist back and plowed it directly into his cheek in the span time of a second. The crowd gasped in shock as they watched the silver Pegasus skyrocket into the air and spin out of control before landing in a heap a couple yards away. Praxis' hand was almost hot enough to emit steam from the speed he had launched his fist at, the knuckles slightly bleeding from the blow to Inferno's face.

"W...why would you do that, you bucking moron!?" he shouted as he got up, spitting out a loose tooth onto the ground.

"I told you, didn't I? I swore that if any of you gave up, goofed off, or just started having doubts about yourselves, I'd personally hit the pony responsible,'" he reiterated. "Ya snapped out of it yet?" Nova nodded. "Good. Now come on, young one. We've got water to deliver."

"OK, try again," Rainbow Dash announced to the crowd. In no time, the crowd had gotten into their seven lines and began once more to raise the water. Praxis didn't bother to create another sonic boom again: two was already one too many, and what would the ponyfolk think when a third one went off?

In a matter of minutes, the Pegasi and the satyr had lifted all of the reservoir's water into the sky, shooting up into the enormous fortress of Cloudsdale like some aquatic tornado into the air and sloshing into a large cloud basin on the edge of the city. The participants had slowed down and cleared out of the now-empty reservoir, cheering and celebrating uproariously. Praxis climbed up out of the ditch and laid on the ground next to it, breathing heavily, coated in a thin sheen of perspiration. He felt a heavy object thud upon his belly and looked up at it.

Jace and Vinyl Scratch were standing next to him, the former having dropped Praxis' messenger bag on him.

"Nap time's over, P," said Jace, pulling the Calling Card out from underneath his hoodie and giving it a tap on its thick glass with his fingernail. "A god wants you to pay him a visit."

Author's Note: Shout out to Frees for wanting to draw the upcoming sequel's cover art! And because he has decided to turn down the reward (he doesn't like OC ponies), that reward is still up for grabs. The first person to find the two Gurren Lagann references or the Disturbed reference win!

Aaaaaand GO!

XII - Toying With Weapons

Author's Note: Yep, CramierX lended me a helping hoof in the production of this chapter. And because I decided to change the rules a bit about finding the chapter references (because none of you could find the Disturbed reference), congratulations, Tablex! Your OC pony will be cameo'd in the sequel! Send me a PM about it, and you can bet it will be there.

And now for the twelfth chapter of HHaF!

XII - Toying With Weapons

"Why does Aksheal want me to see him?" asked Praxis as he reequipped his undershirt and jacket and adjusted his messenger bag into a more comfortable position upon his right pauldron. The two had walked into town and into a secluded alley to go to the Dream Realm, because the town's residents didn't really know this extraordinary fact about the three of them.

"Beats me, dude," said Vinyl, pushing her shades back up her muzzle with a hoof. "But I think it's something pretty important."

"Indeed it is," agreed Jace. "Now come on: we don't have all day." With that, he brought the Calling Card to his lips and whispered into it: "Zeke, come on out, man."

Only two seconds after the command was made, a torrent of black shot out from the middle of the hourglass and soared into the air before turning around and colliding into the ground. The black torrent soon took the from of a very familiar reaper, holding a very familiar scythe.

But they were visited with a very unfamiliar greeting.

"Haaay~," gushed Zeke in a metrosexual tone. This entrance was rewarded with a laugh from the others. He returned to being solemn by saying, "You rang, Jace?"

"Mm-hmm. We gotta visit Aksheal--" began Jace.

"--Like I don't already know that--"

"And we would like you to watch over the Calling Card. Is that alright?"

"Alright, then. Hurry up, though. I hate being the center of attention, what with being seven-and-a-half feet tall and comprised of bones and all."

"Welcome to my world. Please enjoy your stay here," deadpanned Praxis.

Jace set the Calling Card upon the soil of the alley. The skull on the hourglass's top gave off its light cone, and Jace, Praxis, Vinyl entered the Dream Realm Markarth, while Zeke remained in the outside world to look after the Calling Card. Otherwise, somepony could foolishly pick it up and do Celestia-knows-what to it.

Zeke let out a sigh. "Dear Celestia, I am now bored out of my mind...."

Aksheal turned and closed the book he was reading. He saw the three materialize before him. He pulled down the hood he was wearing and saw the three fall on top of each other like they usually do when they enter. "Still haven't gotten use to materialization..." He huffed, keeping a straight face as he put the book down and walked around the table he had been standing behind. He waved his hand for them to follow, and they all obliged with neither questions nor hesitation.

After many flights of stairs they came to a large open room with chest lining the walls. There was a pentagram in the center of the room and weapon racks stood next to the chests.

"Jeez, man, ever thought of adding some elevators?" Praxis wheezed as he sat on the floor and rubbed his tired legs. They were twelve stories below where they were.

"Aww, I'm sorry, does the goat need a tin can to regain his energy?" Aksheal mused cruelly. Praxis shot him a menacing look, but was interrupted by the red glow in Aksheal's hand. "I wouldn't look at me that way if I were you."

"Ba-a-a-a!" Praxis bleated in fright at what Aksheal would do. Instead, Aksheal turned his open palm towards one of the weapons racks and waved his hand toward himself. The rack slid across the floor and stopped in front of Praxis.

"For saving the CMC and trying to help Big Mac in the fire, you may choose one out of three weapons for your reward," Aksheal said as he moved his hand over the weapons on the rack. Vinyl lifted her glasses above her eyes, staring wondrously at a pair of white-and-blue gloves on the rack with diamonds on the back of the hands. Praxis eyed over all the weapons: the gloves, a weapon that looked like a pair of silver knuckle dusters, yet with glowing red gems above each finger hole, and a four-foot long Oriental scimitar. He settled on the scimitar that had caught his eye last. He picked up the sword by its gold and leather-bound hilt and examined it carefully, taking interest to a soft green Chinese dragon that was ornately painted on the blade and the three golfball-sized, forest green gems that were encased in the shiny material it was made out of.

"Ahh, Typhoon. A fine choice..." Aksheal complimented as he slid the rack back into place and took the sword into his hands. "Now, this blade was found in the old times of Markarth. Made of a silver dragon's scale and wrought with pure gold, it is as durable as titanium and sharp enough to cut obsidian. The gems of the blade are called Tempest Jades, magical gems that the wizard Marrin had put into the blade during its construction. He put an enchantment in the gems, making them act as... leeches, if you will, because when the blade spills the blood of your enemies at least three times, the gem at the hilt will glow, and the power of the blade increases. After the ninth kill has been dealt by the blade, the dragon shines like the sun and - if willed by the user - can send out deadly magical winds that slash through the toughest of metal." Aksheal turned heel and stared at the pentagram. He held his hand up and the red glow shined for a few seconds before a small group of demons rose from the pentagram. While their arms were replaced with long and sharp blades, they didn't move an inch, due to the fact that they were simply docile test dummies that Aksheal used for training. Aksheal walked up to one of the hideous creatures and sliced the head off of it. It fell to the ground, spurting a black liquid from where its head once was. A white smoke came from the body and was absorbed in the Tempest Jade at the hilt of the sword. As Praxis leaned in to get a closer look at it, he noticed that the smoke from earlier was swirling around inside the jade at the hilt.

"One..." Aksheal counted as he walked to the next demon. Repeating the same thing, the white mist flew into the same gem, accumulating and swimming around with the essence inside. "Two..." He did it once more, and when the demon's essence was absorbed by the same gem, it seemed to become illuminated, making its jewel prison shimmer a bright and vibrant green. "Three. The first jade is powered." He went through the next three swiftly and the gem inside the dragon's underbelly glowed the same bright green as its sibling. "Six. Now the second gem is powered..." The next three went down without difficulty and the last gem in the dragon's mouth had glowed green. "Nine. The third jade is now powered." As the jewel glowed, the scimitar's dragon soon glowed the same color as the gems it harbored. "Now, observe...." He walked in the center of the pentagram. "Stand back please..." The three did as they were instructed before what seemed to be an entire armada of demons arose from the pentagram and surrounded Aksheal on all sides. Aksheal stood calmly as he raised the blade and swung it in a horizontal fashion, spinning around one time.

"Hurricane of Razors!" He bellowed as the blade slashed through the air and made it whistle slightly. An eruption of winds came from the blade as the slash went through the environment and revolved around Aksheal. The razor-sharp gusts of wind sounded like a vicious tornado as they made their way towards the army of demons. Vinyl turned away when they made contact, the winds dicing the army to bits without any problems. The gems' glow faded as Aksheal flicked the blade to the ground, the blood flinging off of the sword and splattering upon the floor. He then looked towards Praxis. "That, is the power of this blade."

"Whoa.... Nice choice, Praxis!" Vinyl congratulated as she patted Praxis on the back. Aksheal, with another crimson glow of his hands, had summoned a black scabbard for Typhoon. The scabbard was wide enough to hold the scimitar, and was magnificently decorated with a similar soft-green Chinese dragon spiraling from the bottom of the scabbard all the way to the top of it.

"No kidding," added Jace. "That blade AND that scabbard look pretty swanky. But... what's with the dragon being on the scabbard and the sword?"

"Well, the weapon was named after the dragon. It was known as Táifēng in ancient China, and legends say that it usually dwells in high mountain regions, where the winds are strong and the skies are clear," answered Aksheal as he sheathed Typhoon and hovered it over to Praxis. He took the scabbard's belt strap and buckled it securely around his waist. He buckled and tightened a second strap in the middle of the scabbard above his left knee so that the sword wouldn't bounce on his leg when he was on the move. Praxis was at a loss of words, eyes wide from it all. He was unsure of what to do, or how to thank the god of Markarth for his clothes and his new sword. So he did the one thing that he thought would appease Aksheal the best.

He got down to one knee, bowing his head low and placing a fist upon his chest to show his gratitude. "Thank you, Aksheal."

"Get up, you fool," the deity simply replied.

"I- wait, what?"

"You heard me, Praxis. You bow to no one, understand?"

Praxis got up from the ground of the training room, complete mortification etched into his face at his blunder. "Yyyeah, I'm an idiot."

"Aw, don't worry about it," Aksheal said, waving his hand to dismiss the problem. "You didn't really know, so it isn't really your fault." He then turned towards Jace and Vinyl. "And I'd hate to see you two leave empty-handed. You may take your pick of any of the weapons here."

Vinyl make a beeline for the gloves the second the words escaped Aksheal's mouth. Jace went to walk around the training room, looking for the right weapon. Vinyl used her magic to don her new tools of combat, and gave them a look of reverence as the tubes for the fingers receded into the gloves. The hoofwear actually became fitted for hooves rather than for the hands of humans.

"Ah, so you like the Chaos Gloves, don't you, Vinyl?" Aksheal asked. The DJ gave a vigorous nod.

"Yes, hoh my gosh!" Vinyl exclaimed.

"Good. It's another excellent choice. With the Chaos Gloves, anything you think of becomes reality."

"Whoa... that reminds me of all those Magic Lantern comics from fillyhood." All of those days reading about the Pegasus pony with the superpowered bracelet and his adventures to fight aliens had sent waves of nostalgia crashing into Vinyl.

"And with good reason, too: they are capable of doing the things that Magic Lantern's bracelet could do. Marrin, who also created these Gloves, infused their Shadow Fiber with the ichor of a draconnequis... who was not Discord!" Aksheal reassured Vinyl when he saw her look of worry and fear at the mention of a draconnequis. "But it was a draconnequis nonetheless. Now that I think of it, there are a few draconnequi dwelling in the kingdom of Markarth. They are mostly benign, of course, but... thousands of years ago, there was an army of them, and they wreaked disharmony and chaosat a destructive level. That was when everyone - ponies, humans, griffins, dragons - EVERYone decided to take up arms and fight them before Markarth became an exact replica of Tartarus. The jewels on the Gloves are known as Havoc Diamonds - also created by Marrin - and they act like Praxis' Tempest Jades, yet each Diamond only requires two kills to be charged. And because draconneqi are creatures of chaos, their ichor, their golden blood, were perfect for enchanting things and strengthening them, like clothes and weapons.

"Speaking of weapons, it's time to be practical." Aksheal's fist was shrouded in a crimson aura once more as his pointed his hand to the pentagram. Five demon dummies had risen from the floor, standing motionless as they gazed off into space. "Try to imagine hitting them with, say... a bow and arrow."

"Alright!" exclaimed Vinyl. She pointed her right front hoof towards the dummy on the far left. The hoof-encasing glove glowed golden as she narrowed her eyes in concentration, and a shimmering golden mirage of a composite bow had appeared, unimaginably sharp arrow pulled back along the bowstring. Vinyl willed the bow to fire its projectile. The arrow was launched through the air and impaled itself into the skull of the inanimate demon. The dummy fell to the floor, its black blood squirting out of the exit wound. She shot another one that stood next to its fallen ally and killed it, but something seemed a little wrong when the arrow and the bow vanished. Vinyl was panting rather heavily, chest rising and falling with each labored breath. She watched the demons' white essence flow into each of the Havoc Diamonds, which glowed slightly brighter than before they slaughtered their victims.

"Alright, Vinyl!" Jace cheered from the other side of the room. Praxis gave a small round of applause, amazed at what he saw.

"Wh... what gives, Aksheal? How the hell... am I tired... after the second shot?" Vinyl asked between pants before shaking her head.

"Hmm... " Aksheal gave his bearded chin a rub as he pondered the reason for this peculiarity. "Well," he finally answered. "Not only are you tired from how much mana the Chaos Gloves can sap out of you, but because your magical endurance isn't exactly..." he hesitated, trying to find the right words to say. "...up to par." He then turned to Praxis. "Wanna give Typhoon a test run?" Aksheal gave the satyr a bit of a challenge by enchanting the demon on the far right to attack him, rather than being still.

Praxis set down his bag and drew his sword. "With pleasure!" he answered. Praxis ran to the demon and parried a slash from the blade-arm of his opponent. The demon sent a stab that Praxis spun on his heel to sidestep. At the end of his spin, Praxis punched the dummy's face with his free left hand, making his foe back away from the blow. The demon charged, blade-arm cocked back to deliver another stab. Praxis sidestepped again and swung Typhoon upward, slicing off the demon's blade-arm. He then rushed the dummy, stabbing it in the stomach. He gave it a hoof to the chest and kicked it away. He flicked the blade to the ground and let the blood fling off of it. The white smoke from the demon had flown into the jewel at the hilt as Praxis sheathed Typhoon and slung his bag over his shoulder again. He stepped out of the pentagram and took a seat next to Vinyl.

"Pretty good for a first-timer," she said.

"First-timer? I took fencing classes when I was 12," he told her. She scratched the back of her neck, going red at her foolishness.

"MY TURN!" shouted Jace giddily, holding a massive scythe. The haft of it it was about two yards long, the serrated blade of it half that length and a foot in width. At the top of the haft, where the blade exited, was a big black skull, its mouth open wide enough to expel the blade. A shiny black jewel the size of a baseball was embedded in each of the skull's eye sockets. Jace, holding the scythe in an upside-down style, swung it upwards into the demon in the middle. The dummy was lifted up into the air as the blade entered his belly and exited out his back, black blood streaking the blade. As Praxis leaned in closer he saw that the sharp points that serrated the scythe seemed a shade darker than the actual blade... almost like it had been melded there.

"Time to die!" yelled Jace as his hands glowed the same shade of red as Aksheal's. The sharp points soon began to move along the blade, ripping the enemy's abdomen as it traversed down the blade, sharply turning at the scythe's tip to travel along the top of it, into the top of the scythe's skull's mouth, and out the bottom of it, revolving along the blade like it was a chainsaw. The points were tearing the demon to pieces. Jace swung upwards and arced the scythe through the air, halving the demon from the stomach all the way to the head. The dummy fell to the floor, the white essence escaping its mutilated body and floating into the jewel in the scythe's skull's right eye socket.

"Oh-ho-ho!" Aksheal said. "It seems he's spotted the Chain Scythe." Vinyl's and Praxis' looks of confusions made him pursue in explaining the weapon's origin. "Allow me to clarify: the Death Jets at the skull's eye sockets were also founded and enchanted by Marrin, but they need five kills for a Jet to be charged. Aflatoon got bored one day and created the Chain Scythe. Being a satyr, he can work at lightning speeds and resist getting tired easily until he overworks himself. He spent a whole day and night making it. The haft and skull were made from sagewood, which is a very durable form of wood enchanted by the female druid, Gyaxala, because she focused more on nature and life than anything else. The blade is created from beryllium, and the serrating barbs are actually titanium barb wires melted into the blade. I helped enchant the blade and the barbs so that the two act as a chainsaw. What's more is that the Chain Scythe is collapsible, meaning that the skull and half of the haft can be folded up, allowing it to be more versatile."

"Yep, it's official. Jace won the 'Pick The Best Weapon' Competition. Do you agree, Vi?" said Praxis.

"Yep. I agree," Vinyl said.

"Alright, Jace, fun's over," announced Aksheal, banishing the demons and the large puddles of their blood with a snap of his fingers.

"Awww," groaned Jace as he folded the entire weapon into thirds: he apparently figured out how it worked while Vinyl and Praxis were dueling the dummies. "I was having fun, too... say, Aksheal, do you have something that'll carry this big-ass thing?"

"Why, certainly," Aksheal said. His hand glowed red again as he hovered a pair of crossed belts over to him. As Jace walked over to see it, he spotted that the belts had a thin bar on the back, right below where the neck meets the shoulders. On that bar was a small rounded rectangle, with clasps on its top and bottom. Jace slipped the belts on, and placed the collapsed scythe through the top clasp. It rested on the bottom clasp, which didn't open to let the scythe fall. Jace tugged the scythe down, and the bottom clasp was flung ajar as the Chain Scythe came loose of its holster. He put it back in.

"Niiiiice," Jace said. "Is that all, Aksheal?"

"Mm-hmm," Aksheal replied. "You can leave now, you three. And enjoy your new 'toys'!"

With that, the three of them began to glow brighter and brighter as they left the Dream Realm. They vanished with a small pop. Aksheal left the training room and ascended the many staircases.

"Son of a bitch, that satyr had a point. I need an elevator...."

XIII - Belly Of The Beast

Author's Note: Hey all! Craimer here for HhaF. I wanted to try my hand at a chapter in this epic freaking story. Shadow is doing an amazing job with Jace and how he acts. His writing puts me to shame! Seriously, this guy needs way more followers! Anyway, onto the chapter, written by CraimerX and made better by ShadowWeaver.

OTHER Author's Note: Top of the evening, everypony! ShadowWeaver and my pal CraimerX here, ready to nuke your asses with another chapter of HHaF. Like I said, this is a collaboration with Craimer's "What If: My Second Life", which he collaborated with none other than the notorious Coal Buck. Go check them out, and like them. LIKE. THEM. HARD.

AND NOW FOR THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF HHaF!

XIII - Belly Of The Beast

"My God, these new weapons are kick-ass!" said Jace with a grin as he gave the Chain Scythe a stroke along the folded haft. Now that he, Praxis, and Vinyl had exited Markarth, while Zeke -- who had given them a piece of his mind for them wasting "a precious" three hours in the Dream Domain -- flew back into the hourglass and awaited to be called upon at a moment's notice, they were walking around the quaint town of Ponyville, subtly showing off their arsenal and letting Praxis explore the area better: the roads and streets winded, turned, and twisted, and could have led the satyr to utter confusion had he tried to go alone. Yet all the while, as they traipsed through the town, the trio of brawlers were receiving rather... awkward stares from the ponies at their weaponry. Some were in curiosity, some in awe, while most?

Most were spawned of... a smidgen of fear.

Yes, that was it. Praxis could see it. He could practically smell it emanating from them. That, and many more mixed emotions swam in them. Being a satyr seemed to have blessed him with... a strange ability to read emotions. And right now, he was reading a melting pot of them wherever he turned around.

But it was something he also passed off as a thing that satyrs could only do, thanks to Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books.

"No kidding. But that white stuff we collected--" Vinyl began urgently.

"Hehe, you said 'white stuff'," interjected Praxis as he snapped out of his phiosophical stupor and giggled immaturely.

"Oh, shut up, you," she snapped. "But still, that... smoke... that can't be their... their souls, can’t they?" Vinyl asked the two of them.

"Hmm... maybe," answered Jace, ceasing his incessant stroking of his weapon and pondering on the matter for a moment or two. "That COULD be their souls... that is, if demons had souls and didn't feed on those of others. But still, they're dummies, and became sentient. Therefore, they seem to have souls."

"So that's what these gems do?" inquired Praxis as he rubbed his thumb along the Tempest Jade at Typhoon's hilt. "When imbibed by a weapon, they simply... take souls of the enemies and use them for power?" He let out a low whistle. "No wonder Aksheal said that the gems acted as leeches."

"Well, what do you expect from the great wizard Marrin?" asked Jace rhetorically. "That man makes Pinkie Pie's fourth wall-breaking look like a joke... which is saying something. She does it every other second."

"Does what every other second?" A peculiar and bubbly voice said from the depths of Praxis' messenger bag. He, Jace and Vinyl stared at the bag in surprise as Pinkie Pie popped headfirst out of it, causing some of the lighter contents to disperse. Praxis jumped in surprise as the all-pink mare landed on her hooves and beamed at them.

"Case in point," Jace said in a bored tone.

"Baa-aa-aa-aa!" the satyr exclaimed in shock. Pinke blinked before giving a giggle at his bleating.

"Omigosh, Mr. Goat-Man--" she began.

'Mr. Goat-Man? What the hell?' Jace and Vinyl thought in unbeknownst unison, making sure that they had stifled their laughter.

"--No need to be so..." Pinkie paused for a second as she spontaneously retrieved a pair of sunglasses and put them on. "baa-aa-aa-aashful."

A moment of silence.

"Aw, what gives? I was expecting somepony to scream really loud as a rock song came on," she complained as she removed her sunglasses.

"The world is a strange place, ain't it?" Vinyl told Pinkie.

"No kidding!" the party pony concurred. "First there were humans, then there's goat-men--"

"First off, I'm not a 'goat-man', and there's only one of me. I'm a satyr, and I'm called Praxis Moradov," the speaker told Pinkie as he put his belongings back in his bag.

"Hi, Praxis, I'm Pinkie Pie and it's nice to meet you and welcome to Ponyville! You're new here, huh? Are ya? Are ya? Are ya? Of course you are, because I don't know you and I know EVERYpony in Ponyville! Well, technically, it SHOULDN'T be everypony because you and Jace aren't ponies!" the pink mare said in one breath. How she wasn't pausing for air for her next sentence is an enigma to everyone there. "*GAAAASP*! I know! If you're new here, you must not have friends, and if you don't have any friends, you must be all lonely, and that won't fly for Pinkie Pie! No sirree! In fact, I'm gonna throw you the biggest party I've ever thrown anypon- er, anyBODY! I'm really sorry that I caused you trouble here in Ponyville, y'know, with everypony running and hiding and Then Rainbow Dash throwing... that... vase on your head...." she looked down at the ground, the sound of a balloon slowly and quietly deflating resonating from her. Her poofy, hot-pink mane was gradually deflating.

'Uh-oh, bad news!' Praxis thought urgently. "Hey, hey, hey, why the long face?" He asked her in concern.

"Umm...." Pinkie mumbled. "It's just that Rainbow Dash wasn't very nice to you. In fact... nopony was nice to you. So why are you being nice to us? Shouldn't you get angry or something?"

Praxis sighed. "Silly Pinkie," he said, patting her on the head. "That isn't how I work. I think that... everything deserves kindness. And in turn, kindness is returned to the sender. Love, brotherhood, friendship, wisdom, assistance: these are pillars that hold up the vast temple of unity. Tear them down, even unsettle one of them, and we'll all be buried in the ruins, arguing amongst one another when we could be repairing what we have destroyed."

"Whoa..." said Jace. "That's pretty deep, Prax."

"No kidding," agreed Vinyl. "That's... poetic, even."

“Yeah, I’ve had a knack for that kind of stuff...” He smiled a bit as he removed his hand from the depths of her now-reinflated mane.

"Dude, I'm bored out of my wits," Jace said, sighing loudly.

"Ugh... I know that feel," Vinyl grumbled, beating her hoof on the dirt road. "Hey, Prax, Jace, you wanna go to the Everfree and train a little?"

"The Everfree?" Praxis scoffed. "Mare, please, I LIVE there and I'm alive. How do you think I got these babies?" He flicked the manticore fang earrings to indicate their presence.

“Yeah, yeah, quit your gloating, fluffy.” She rolled her eyes and walked away.

"H-hey!" Jace called out to her. "Where are you going?"

"If some pointy-earred goat bastard doesn't wanna go to the Everfree, then we have no other option. Froggy Bottom Bog is our next stop!" she replied as she got smaller and smaller in the distance.

"Pointy-earred go--? Aw, hell no," hissed Praxis.

"Well, come on, dude," Jace told him. He darted after his marefriend before she would assume he was chicken.

"Ooh, ooh, can I come? Please?" Pinkie asked Praxis.

"Err..." the satyr hesitated. "I dunno. It isn't safe."

"Awww, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaase?" She was now begging him, hooves wrapped around his legs as she gave him a set of large, sad eyes.

"Oh, not the puppy-dog eyes! That's foul play!" He exclaimed, his remark rewarding him with Pinkie jutting her lower lip slightly. "O-oh, God, no pouting! Stop pouting!" She tilted her head and let her ears droop, breaking him down in one fell swoop of D'aww.

He sighed, defeated by the cuteness of it all. "Fine, fine, fine!" He turned around as she relinquished her grip on him. He bent down, telling her to get on his back. "Get on, it'll be much faster."

"Oh boy!" she cried as she hopped on his back. She landed, Praxis giving a grunt from the impact. He stood up and locked Pinkie's hind legs in the crooks of his arms. She wrapped her forelegs around his neck and looked over his shoulder. She gasped at the sight. She didn't think being tall was exactly beneficial.

"Hold on!" He said. He took off down the street, kicking up dust as he accelerated.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Pinkie cried at the top of her lungs, making Praxis wince from how loud she was. He folded his ears down. While Pinkie's screams of joy were still audible, at least they weren't deafening.

He had slowed down when he had reached Vinyl and Jace, who were sprinting as quickly as possible.

"Did you try ditching me?" He asked them as he started running backwards. Pinkie was giggling loudly as they turned around.

"NOO, WE WERE JUST RACING THERE!" Vinyl shouted sarcastically, pushing her sunshades back up on her nose with her magic. She was panting heavily from her running. She slowed down to a jog. Jace and Praxis followed her example, the latter turning around again to run normally.

"Why did Pinkie come along?" inquired Jace, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Puppy-dog eyes. Pouting. Clinging. 'Nuff said," Praxis explained dully.

"Oh. Pinkie, don't give us too much trouble while we train, alright?"

"Okie-dokie-lokie!" Pinkie said.

"Alright!" Vinyl said. "Let's go!"

Jace looked over at a sweating Praxis. “Hey, Prax!" he said to the worn out satyr. "Check out my new little move...” Prax turned from his hardcore training session, giving the human his undivided attention. Jace held the Chain Scythe in his hands and they glowed a dark red. The magic moved along the handle to the blade, which started to glow the same color as the magic that shrouded it. He smirked and swung the blade into the ground, dragging it across as fluidly and swiftly as a knife through butter. A fiery rift opened up, and another armada of demons started to claw their way through the burning fissure. They stood at attention, ready for orders. “A little demon army should help us out at some points...” He smirked as the rift closed. “Now, to kill them all.” He revved up the chainsaw portion of his scythe and started to go to town on the stable demons. He twirled the scythe like a baton, letting it reach high before he released the blade, letting it spin towards the demons and chopping them up in an instant. He called his trusty wrapon back with his magic, still spinning. It came back to him like a deadly boomerang, slicing the heads off the rest that he missed. “Whoo! I love this thing!”

The flood of Souls flowed into the skull's two Death Jets and began to glow as it got full power. “Awwww boy! Let’s see what my power is!” He used his magic to get the instructions of how to expel the magic in the skull. He smirked as he took the butt of the weapon and smashed it on the ground, a black shockwave being expelled from the handle. The black hit Jace’s legs, his shoes turning a jet black. His eyes glowed red as his body was blanketed in all black. There was a scream from Pinkie, who cowered in fear at this phenomenon.

"Well... shit," Praxis said, eyes wide.

“Cooooool!” was Vinyl’s response to all of this. Even though her boyfriend was getting encased by Celestia-knows-what, she’s seen him do worse. Much, much worse.

The blackness fully encased his body as he closed his eyes. A long breath of air could be heard as he slowly opened his eyes and grinned a sharp toothed grin.

“Chaos Reaper...I think I could get used to this,” he murmured darkly. It sounded like his voice was being shared by something else in his body. Like many different people talking at once.

He looked down at his now clawed hand and gripped the Chain scythe, the entire weapon the same black as him, save for the red skull on top. The sagewood looked like it had rotted away, and replacing it was a spinal cord, acting as a shaft for the Chain Scythe instead. “They don’t call this a Chain Scythe just for the chainsaw...” He let out a laugh when he started to swing the weapon around, the spine behaving like the chain of a flail. He moved it in a figure eight before throwing it out a tree and having the long blade get caught within the trunk. He yanked hard, uprroting the tree as it flew towards him. Praxis closed his eyes before sounds of a chainsaw cutting through wood could be heard. He opened them slowly to see the tree was vertically cut in half, Jace still standing in the middle of the two halves. The blackness had started to dissipate from his body and the scythe’s spinal cord haft slowly materialized back into sagewood.

Jace just stood there for the longest time before he fell onto his knees and then right onto his face. “JACE!” Before Praxis could react, Pinkie and Vinyl were rushing over to him to see if he was still alive and well.

They never even noticed an enormous shadow looming over them.

"Jace, wake up, dude!" Praxis implored, giving the fallen form of his friend a vicious shake in the hopes that he would awake. He checked his pulse by placing his ear on his chest, and breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered he was still alive. It appears that somepony had provided him with a dollop of water, because a clear fluid had splashed on Jace's face, sprinkling the others in it.

'Wait a damn second... THAT'S NOT WATER.'

Praxis turned around to see who was the culprit.

He almost ran out of there, screaming at the top of his lungs.

A massive leviathan as black as pitch stood above them all, towering to a staggering forty-two feet. Its spade-shaped head, no, THREE heads, were oscillating to and fro as it opened their trio of maws, saliva dangling off of their jaws. The three heads roared as loud as they could, making the floor tremor.

It was...

"A HYDRAAAAAA!" Pinkie wailed.

"PINKIE!" Vinyl shouted, getting out of the hydra's shadow. "Take Jace and GET SOMEWHERE SAFE!" Pinkie grabbed Jace by his shirt collar and zipped away to a treeline in the bogs, surprisingly unaffected by her burden's weight. "Praxis, you're with me!" Her Chaos Gloves had a golden aura around them as she thought of what to use against it.

"Finally!" He exclaimed as he threw off his jacket and drew Typhoon, holding it in an offensive stance. "A REAL fight, and not some dummies!"

"Wh... when did you get muscles!?" Vinyl lowered her shades to gawk more clearly at the satyr's well-built arms.

"Less asking, more killing!" He charged ahead and made to swing his sword upward, only to have the hydra smack him out of the way with its gargantuan tail. Praxis fell into a nearby swamp, breaking through the horrendous, stagnant water. Vinyl hopped aside to dodge a huge hydra foot. and summoned a large golden ax. She willed it to attack the leviathan's leg. A few of the black scales became dislodged, causing the hydra to roar in rage and pain, yet there wasn't any sign of severe damage.

"Damn it all!" Vinyl swore, morphing her ax mirage into a bow and arrow. She fired the arrow where she removed the scales, yet the hydra was too fast. It swung its tail to block the attack. She felt herself get tired a bit before fury washed over her like she was caught in a storm while out at sea. "That's it, I'm pissed!" She backed off to a safe distance used her magic to find out what her special ability for the Chaos Gloves were, and grinned wickedly when she saw that both Havoc Diamonds were shining like the radiant sun setting behind them. Praxis emerged from the swamp and spat out the disgusting water. He drew Typhoon and adopted the exact demonic grin as Vinyl did when he noticed the dragon Táifēng glowing brightly along with its Tempest Jades.

"SONIC...CLAP!" bellowed Vinyl, sucking in as much breath before viciously slamming her front hooves together. The sound of her hooves contacting were amplified a thousand fold by her technique as white rings began emerging from her front hooves and expanded forward, making the ground shake twice as harder than the hydra did before. The leviathan groaned in pain as it tried to stuff its head in the swamp waters to deaden the sound. The two fighters felt like they were winning.

But on the verge of success, Fate must always turn the tables.

Vinyl, exhausted from how much mana she distributed from her insufficient magic wells, went cross-eyed a little, panting fervently as she fell to the floor.

To the hydra, the apple was right for the picking as it lowered one of its heads to feast upon their supper.

But to Praxis, this spelled impending doom.

"Shit! VINYL!" He cried, taking off for the exhausted pony. He grabbed her and picked her up in a heartbeat, dodging the leviathan's severely enraged heads and tail. With enough strength, he threw Vinyl towards Pinkie and Jace at their safe spot at the treeline: Jace was awake, yet was exhausted from his Chaos Reaper technique. Pinkie caught Vinyl on her back and set her next to Jace.

"Alright, she's safe... but now I have to deal with tall, dark, and hideous over here," Praxis said, dodging and countering the black leviathan's heads, tail, and huge feet. "Hey!" he shouted to the hydra. "Guess what? I'm gonna fucking kill you!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWRRR!!!!!"

'Note to self: buy every monster in Equestria a breath mint.'

The hydra swatted him in his brief stupor and sent him flying into a miscellaneous boulder. Praxis' spine was on the verge of snapping like a twig. He slumped to the dirt and regained his footing. He tasted a metalltic flavor in his mouth and spat on the ground. Blood was infused inside his saliva.

"That's it! No more Mr. Nice Guy!" he bellowed. He charged at the hydra and leapt into the air. "HURRICANE OF RAZORS!" He swung his blade in a horizontal circle, following Aksheal's example. The massive gusts of wind raced around him at head-spinning speeds, expanding rapidly like a raindrop in a pond. Through the deafening noise of the wind, he thought he heard a dragon give a roar. As the winds died down, Praxis saw the destruction of his attack. Several swamp cat-tails, trees, and boulders received numerous slashes from the highly concentrated winds and all but the boulders were lopped off as clean as dandelion heads. Many of the enormous hydra's scales were clipped off and it was bleeding a little in places, but it was still standing.

And it was more infuriated than before.

"D...damn it," he huffed, shaking his head from how much mana the technique siphoned from him. He fell to one knee in exhaustion -- both magical and physical -- and tried to regain his dwindled energy. He struggled in getting up, his knees knocking together as he wiped her brow of sweat.

"PRAXIIIS! LOOK OOOUUUT!" Jace, Pinkie, and Vinyl wailed in unison.

He looked up and saw a hydra's open mouth quickly descending upon him.

XIV - Creature Of The Night

Chapter XIV: Creature Of The Night

Canterlot Castle

Princess Luna, having escaped her overprotective guards from leading her somewhere once more, had flown into her sister’s bedroom, a rolled-up newspaper in her magical grip. Princess Celestia, who had been bombarded with the monotonous suffering of today’s council meeting, was recuperating with a few Daring Do books and a cup of warm Darjeeling tea by her bedside.

“Dearest sister?” Luna began, landing quietly in front of Celestia, who was buried in her current novel, Daring Do and The Cursed Amulet. The Sun Goddess jumped at her younger sibling’s silent entry and sudden speaking, almost spilling her tea upon the sheets.

“Please let me know you’re there, Luna. In case you can't see it, I’m holding in my magical grasp, a cup of tea that is the temperature of the Sun,” Celestia responded curtly. She sat up in her bed and closed her book. She gave her steaming tea a small and cautious sip.

“Forgive me, Celestia,” apologized Luna. “But I thinketh that thy tea must wait....”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, please taketh a glance at today’s newspaper. Page four.” Luna hovered the newspaper over to Celestia, who replaced the blue aura of her younger sister’s magic with her own golden aura. Interest piqued, she unfurled the newspaper and turned to the aforementioned page number. She raised her eyebrows at its contents. Other than the article written entirely in both English and Equestrian, there was a colored photograph of a burning barn. On its right were two cropped pictures that Celestia knew all too well. On the top picture was Jace Romero, giving a small grin with arms crossed. On the bottom was none other than Praxis Moradov, winking and giving a toothy smirk like he wanted his snapshot taken that way.

It was a bad time to take another sip of tea as Celestia read the article.

REVERED HUMAN AND ABHORRED SATYR SAVE FILLIES FROM FIRE

She spat out her hot tea in surprise.

“Celestia! Wouldst thou be more careful?” said Luna, wincing as the expelled fluid sprinkled her front. She removed the tea with her magic. She looked into the mirror and grinned a little at how her coat was now untainted with the combination of both Celestia’s drink and spittle.

“Eheheh, sorry, Luna,” said Celestia, smiling reassuringly and going a little red with embarrassment. “This is all just... shocking.”

“Yes, I knoweth. Readeth on, please. I have not had time to do so, for the minute I saw it, I had to rusheth it over to you.”

Celestia cleared her throat and began reading.

“A raging barn fire had occurred in Sweet Apple Acres on the twenty-third of April, 18:00. Three fillies, who are known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders: Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom, were locked inside of said barn before the fire began. Praxis Moradov, Vinyl Scratch, and Jace Romero, AKA Craimer Xegen, were performing a concert in the hopes to raise the former’s renown. Unfortunately, the concert had begun to spell disaster when Praxis and Jace fled the scene towards the flaming barn. Once they had gone inside to rescue the fillies, Jace immediately set to extinguishing the flames.”

“I wonder how he did it?” Luna interrupted, pondering on Jace’s method.

“I don’t know either, Luna. It might be magic, for all we know,” Celestia said. She
continued on with the article.

“While three lives were saved, one was not. Big Macintosh, a hardworking owner of Sweet Apple Acres, had passed away that night from a fallen support beam to the back, splintering his ribs and spine and puncturing his lungs. Jace and Praxis proceeded to carry the body into the Everfree Forest.”

“Poor Macintosh,” she added, giving a hefty sigh of melancholy.

“I know. I simply hopeth that he is in a happy place,’ Luna concurred in equal sadness.

“‘When we got to the forest,’ Jace Romero said as reporters stopped him in the middle of his morning jog, “I wanted to use a faster way to dig Big Mac’s grave, but Praxis? No, he wanted to do it all by hand. Literally. Out of pity and frustration at his stubbornness, I helped him. But he sent me to bed inside his house about fifteen minutes later, I think.’

“When reporters asked if Praxis is still a dangerous creature, Jace gave a short bark of laughter. ‘No,’ he told them, ‘I don’t think he’s dangerous or evil in the slightest. He’s just simply misunderstood and mistaken by everypony, that’s all. Me and Vinyl think that he’s a pretty good guy.’

“Rumors say that he had assisted in lifting Cloudsdale’s supply of rain with the other Pegasai, due to the two sonic booms that rang throughout the vicinity, both of which not belonging to Equestria’s fastest flier, miss Rainbow Dash. But nopony knows what became of the heroic satyr as he vanished from the scene once more.”

“What?” asked Luna incredulously. “The satyr is capable of FLYING?”

“No, silly,” chuckled Celestia at her sister’s remark. “He’s apparently fast enough to run across water. Though I’m wondering if he vomited from how fast he was spinning around that reservoir.” She gave another hearty chuckle at the thought of a nauseous Praxis, clutching his stomach as if his life depended on it.

“Wait... all this time... we were thinking that he was evil... and we were WRONG?” Luna was even more shellshocked.

“I... I guess so.” Celestia was baffled. She was almost never wrong, and she counted on her streak of being correct to keep her from being wrong. She was stunned when she realized her opinions of Praxis were false. “Who knew? I think we owe him an apology?”

“*Sigh* Alright. Let us go.”

The two sisters came to the balcony and immediately took off to the sky, looking back to see if the Royal Guards were following them, to insist that they stay within the safe barriers of the castle walls.

“There is nopony in sight, Celestia!” said Luna audibly over the sound of the wind whipping them.

“Good! I assume he’s still in Ponyville?” asked Celestia.

“Yes!”

“Well, let’s hurry!” With that, the two goddesses flew down the mountain, doing their best to stay under Mach 1. They didn’t want to alarm Canterlot’s residents and blow their cover, but they didn't want to wait until morning for them to talk to the satyr.

In a matter of minutes, they reached their destination. They flew up into a high cloud to hide from the citizens of Ponyville. They scanned the area for the satyr, only to see that he wasn’t there.

“Strange,” Luna said. “This IS where the infamous satyr is rumored to reside... correct?”

“Hmm... Let’s check the Everfree Forest, or Froggy Bottom Bog,” Celestia told her.

“Very well,” the other said. They kicked off of their cloud and went to check on the Everfree Forest first.

"No, he's not there either," Celestia grumbled. Her Detection Charm picked up nothing but her, Luna, and the many animals in the forest, but no Praxis.

"If Praxis could survive the Everfree Forest," started Luna, "surely he’d be bored by now from all the creatures that dwell there."

"Hmm... good point. Froggy Bottom Bog?"

"Froggy Bottom Bog."

They reached their other location and landed precariously upon a cliff. “Oh, pony feathers! I nearly forgot to raise the moon!” exclaimed Luna. She was so surprised by how her duty had slipped her by, she had forsook the Equestrian Old Speak.

The qualms about her moon’s orbital period were dispelled instantly by a monstrous roar, followed by three voices shouting the same thing.

“PRAXIIIS! LOOK OOOUUUT!”

“Sister, what was that?!” Luna said, looking around for the source of cacophonous noises. The moon was raised into full position, reflecting the sun’s light and shining down upon all of Equestria.

“I think it was Jace Romero, Pinkie Pie, and Vinyl Scratch!” Celesta answered, remembering who owned those voices as she located what and who had emitted those sounds. She nudged her sister and informed her of the noises' source. They gasped when they saw it.

Jace, Vinyl Scratch, and Pinkie Pie were at a treeline, staring at a massive black hydra that had engulfed Praxis with one of its heads.

“NOOO!” Luna and Celestia shouted in unison.

“Dear God... no... NO! PRAXIIIS!!!”

“Jace! There’s no point!” Vinyl told her boyfriend. Jace arose to try and fight the hydra long enough to get it to regurgitate his friend, but was pulled back by Vinyl’s magic. Pinkie Pie, whose mane and tail were now long and straight, was weeping loudly, her waterfall of tears making the dirt sopping wet. “He’s gone!” Vinyl shut her eyes and bit her lip, resisting the urge to cry alongside the pink companion.

“Fuck that! I did this kind of shit for Coal, and I can DO IT AGAIN!” He got up and let out a cry as his scythe revved up. “Come at me, you hentai reject!”

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWRRRRR!” it wailed, swinging its tail at Jace, who bent over backwards to dodge the large limb.

“That the fuckin’ best you got?” Jace’s mouth morphed and his lips rotted away. His teeth grew out to razor sharp points. The teeth were jagged and bloodied. His eyes blacked out and it looked like he didn’t have eyes anymore. “RAWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRR!” His screech was five times louder than the Hydra’s. “Let’s. Fucking. PLAY.” His voice was distorted and sounded demonic, giving Pinkie Pie and the Princesses (their presence unbeknownst to any of the others) a violent shudder.

He raised his Chain Scythe high above his head and brought it back down to the ground, sinking the blade in the earth. He ferociously yanked back his weapon along the ground. The serrated blade had ripped another blazing seam in the soil. A small army of the horrendous demons from earlier that afternoon had reappeared again. They climbed and hookshot out of their fiery grave with their detachable blade-arms and their adjacent clawed hands. On Jace’s demonic “Fetch!”, the Lost Souls began to attack the hydra to the best of their abilities.

Their efforts were futile, however, when the monstrous leviathan started to smack the demons with its tail, crushing them with its heads, and stomping them with its massive feet. The hydra had vanquished its attackers in a matter of minutes.

“Oh, Goddamnit,” swore Jace. “If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself.” He channeled the necessary magic to activate the titanium barbed-wire’s revolutions. The jagged edges began to move again. Jace smiled wickedly before getting ready to assault the hydra.

That’s when he witnessed the hydra’s chest beginning to move a bit. The leviathan began growling and grimacing in pain. Jace look closer at its chest... only to receive a large dollop of the hydra’s blood in his face.

“OK, that’s not cool,” he mumbled, wiping his face of the blood. He saw five long black talons tear through the flesh of the monster’s chest. The hydra roared in pain as the talons carved a quintet of jagged, bleeding lines in its belly. A certain someone’s head emerged from the gory seams he had made. Jace went wide-eyed at the escapee's transformation.

The white vitreous fluid of his eyes were black, the brown irises being replaced with a fiery gradience of red, orange, and yellow, the pupils reduced to paper-thin slits. The skin was pale, yet was adorned with bizarre, black tribal markings that dotted him. His horns curved upward at the tips. His black hair, eyebrows, and beard were pure white, but were tinted red in many places from the hydra’s blood. His sharp-toothed grin of madness was replaced with a fanged grimace of fury. He launched out of the hole he made in the monster’s belly and landed in front of Jace, back turned to him. The hydra was still standing, yet was enraged that its meal had narrowly escaped.

“Ya miss me?” Praxis told Jace, turning his head to see the altered human become more... humane as the powers of Death stopped affecting him. Jace raised an eyebrow at Praxis’ voice. It was deeper, colder, gruffer, and rather satanic.

“Ho...how did you-?” Jace asked him, his voice returning to normal. But he was cut off.

“I’ll explain later,” was Praxis’ answer. He turned back to face the bleeding hydra. He walked up to it, leapt up to meet it face to face, and swung his right fist at its middle head. It was sent back a couple of paces from the terrifying strength of the punch.

“I--” Another left punch, this one to the left head’s neck as he went down. “--didn’t--” He jumped again to attack the right head, only to give a roundhouse kick to the left head that tried to bite him. “--come this far--” He swiped a right hand at the right head of the now dazed leviathan, slicing its eyes out and blinding it before landing. “--to be--” He leapt into the air, high above the monster’s heads, frontflipping in a cannonball position. “--DINNER!!!” He punctuated the word with a double ax-kick to the middle head. He could feel its skull crack underneath his hooves as the head plummeted sharply to the ground and landing with a vicious thud. Praxis landed in front of the fallen head and smirked.

“Now... to end this.” He leaned back and sucked in as much breath as he could before he let it all out in one tremendous wail.

If Jace’s roar bested the hydra’s by fivefold, then Praxis’ had bested Jace’s by twice the volume and power. Black sonar rings seem to erupt from his mouth and expand outwards and forwards as he wailed. The goggles that Praxis forgot to return to Rainbow Dash and Vinyl Scratch’s sunglasses had broken from the sheer strength of the Demon’s Scream. Trees lost their leaves from the blow and were almost uprooted. Insects were blasted away and were either smashed upon a boulder or forced to drown in the swamp. Murky swamp water was viciously turned-up in a brown and slushy tsunami. The hydra’s limp middle head was flapping in the blow of the Demon’s Scream, the other two fighting to not get their necks broken. The strength of the Scream was lifting the gargantuan monster off of its large, flat feet and into the depths of the Bog’s thick jungle. It landed in the depths of another massive swamp, causing a tidal wave of murky brown water.

Pinkie, who had stopped crying and returned her mane and tail to being incredibly poofy, was slack-jawed at this. She was feeling an onslaught of different emotions: happiness that Praxis is alive, fear that he is beating up that hydra, curiosity at how he transformed, the seemingly endless list of Pinkie Pie’s goes on.

Jace's jaw was in danger of falling to the floor, arms slack, back hunched, and knees bent. He resembled a shocked, modern-day neanderthal. “Hooooooooolyyyyyyyy shit,” he droned monotonously.

Vinyl Scratch’s eyes were the size of dinner plates, her now broken shades falling off of her face and landing in the soggy earth, which was caused by Pinkie Pie’s crying. “No fucking way....” she whispered.

Princesses Luna and Celestia were all of the above. They were both glad that Praxis was alive, but terrified that he had defeated a hydra. They could tell that he was getting stronger as the days passed. Their eyes were constricted, appearing like mere pinpricks in the whites. “Did... did you see that?” Celestia inquired in a surprisingly calm voice to her sister.

“Indeed,” Luna replied in that same tone. “What happened?”

“It appears that the infamous monster Insanity has given him a blessing and a curse.”

“Oh. Dost thou careth to explain?”

“Do you remember that bizarre emblem upon his belly? You know, when he,” Celestia gulped and exhaled a heavy sigh. “destroyed the wall of the Royal Foyer?”

“Ahh... THAT emblem. I merely thought ‘twas a tattoo. Thou dost know how artistic Zecora can be in her free time,” remarked Luna.

“I thought so too, until he cringed when I touched it. It pulsated and transformed him when,” she sighed again, trying to suppress a sudden surge of anger, “when Admiral Charcoal blatantly disobeyed me and tried to kill him.”

“Hmm... what didst thou do with thy admiral?” Luna asked.

“Luna, knock it off with the old Equestrian Speak. This is today, and nopony other than me and a few ancient ponies are gonna understand ‘thou’, or ‘didst’, or ‘thy’.”

“Sorry.” The Moon Goddess ditched her incessant habit of speaking once more with a small frown. “So what’d you do to Charcoal?”

“Much better. I sentenced him to four years in prison. It doesn’t matter if you want an alienated creature dead, if the princess wants him alive, then there should be no arguments. He let his prejudice and hotheadedness get the best of him.”

“I also remember you telling me about that. Now that I think about it, I agree with Praxis: how in the hay did Charcoal get into the Royal GUARD, let alone become an ADMIRAL?”

“He was pretty good when it came to setting booby-traps and coming up with effective strategies. That’s why his Cutie Mark was a lit bomb with a compass rose on it.”

“You memorized his Cutie Mark, Celly?” Luna’s question was rewarded with a look of annoyance at the nickname. “Er, sorry,” the younger sister apologized.

“That’s not important, Lu-Lu.” It was Luna’s turn to shoot a look of annoyance to her elder sister. “What’s important is how he transformed. It either happens when his life depends on it, or when something else occurs... rather routinely, as a matter of fact.”

“What do you mean?” Luna was curious at what her sister had to say.

“He changed the moment the moon came up, correctly?”

“Yeah, but... you don’t mean...”

“I’m afraid I do. When the sun goes down, Praxis will morph into that horrendous version of himself. He will be doomed to forever walk Gaia as a creature of the night. A Weresatyr,” said Celestia darkly.

Luna was a little perturbed by the name. What kind of all-powerful princess with ubiquitous eyes and ears gives a dangerous being the absurd name of “Weresatyr”?

“...Celestia, I TOLD you that Stephanie Mare’s books are utter garbage.” She was unamused.

“You honestly think I’m joking about this?” Celestia cocked an eyebrow to her sister again.

“I don’t think, I know.”

"Well, I'm not. I've done some research on Insanity when I heard about him. On one occasion, he enters somepony's dream and infects them, leaving them with his mark, the Curse Seal. His sword, Dementia, is an evil parasite who poisons the mind of its host."

"And this means?"

"This means... that Dementia is in Praxis' head right now."

"But he hasn't become..." Luna pursed her lips at the thought of saying it. "the Weresatyr last night!"

"Hmm... maybe Dementia had triggered something in Praxis' mind."

"Triggered something, my plot."

“Fine, then. Fifty Bits says he transforms back to normal by tomorrow morning, and reverts back to the Weresatyr by the following evening.”

“Fifty Bits? You’re on, sis.”

“G...good riddance,” he coughed. The Demon’s Scream had nearly slain him. Several parts of his body were cut and bruised from his tremendous exertions. He fell to his knees and began crawling to the swamp to cleanse his face. A sudden rush of nausea began filling him. Almost against his will, said rush began to intensify, leaving Praxis no choice but to vomit to the side. The smell of putrid bile plagued his nose, leaving him temporarily inept at breathing the fresh air he had missed.

His consciousness was waning. His vision faded in and out, his hearing becoming distorted. He fought hard to stay away as the blood from his spontaneous wounds were absorbed by the sponge-like earth.

The last thing he remembers was falling to the floor with a thud, seeing Jace and the two mares coming up to see if he was alright, and seeing two large equine silhouettes take to the skies.

He wished that he wouldn’t stay as this monstrous form permanently. He prayed that he could just simply revert to being a normal satyr again

But his wish wasn't granted. His prayers remain unanswered.

XV - A Day In The Life

"Damn you, Praxis. Damn you to hell."

The hydra's fallen body sunk to the bottom of its watery grave. As it hit the muddy floor with a thud, its jet-black scales slowly fading to a sickly tan as a black smoke exited its three nostrils, its shiny all-black eyes returned to their normal yellow hue.

"How can such a fearsome creature lose to a goat?" Insanity fumed as he took his true form. The bestial monster emerged from the swamp. "And that human... I think he would've made a fine collection to my army...." he brought two claws to his lipless mouth and whistled. The sound was deep, ringing through the night like a low-pitched gunshot.

At the sound of his whistle, shadows cast by the trees began to bend, shift, and blur. Soon, the shadows began to detach themselves from their creators, and take form of the most terrifying creatures. Wolves, bears, small dragons, manticores, cockatrices, and several other beasts were transfigured from the shadows, glowing yellow eyes standing out amongst their black shapes.

“Shadowlings! This plan of driving everypony mad is a terrible idea! That damn trio of do-gooders constantly muddle with my plans! I shall have a new plan: DESTROY EVERYTHING ON THE FACE OF EQUESTRIA!” Insanity said to his battalion of Shadowlings. “But at the moment, neither Ponyville nor Canterlot are worth wiping out! Not with that infernal satyr, his bizarre human friend, and that blue-maned alcoholic running around! Instead, we shall take out other towns that surround those two pathetic groups of hovels! Stalliongrad, Trottingham, Bitsburg, Metropony! When we plunder them and cut them off from assisting Canterlot, we shall DESTROY it! And when we obliterate the town of Ponyville to rubble... we will flourish in a dark and desolate wasteland! WE WILL BE THE NEW RULERS OF EQUESTRIA!!!”

Roars, screeches, and howls of approval and rejoice boomed through the Bog. The Shadowlings were antsy at the inevitable destruction they will cause.

“Now.......let us depart!” Insanity shot up towards the sky, his Shadowlings becoming a mass of sentient black fog and following their master.

“THIS. Is going to be FUN.”

Jace shot upright as he awoke. His eyes scanned the room he was in and his memory rushed back to him. He had brought Praxis to the hospital to get his cuts and wounds tended to. Jace rubbed his face and his bloodshot eyes. He had been running on of one night of sleep and it had been over 24 hours by now.

He let out a long sigh as he stood and walked around the waiting room he was in. “Fucking hydra,” he whispered silently, “If that fucking thing wouldn’t have shown its ugly faces, we would be home right now, asleep...” Another sigh rang out.

He went to look inside of Praxis’ recovery room and was rather upset when he saw his friend had not shifted back to himself. The transformed satyr was breathing slowly into the resuscitator that Doctor Stable had placed over his mouth. The numerous cuts and bruises he sustained were gingerly tended to with many white bandages that were tinged red with blood. The hydra's blood had been wiped clean from his body before he had been treated, leaving his snow-white hair shining in the solitary lamp's light.

“You can go home now,” Doctor Stable said. He had been sitting next to Praxis, examining him and recording his progress. “He’ll be out of here in three or four days, but until then, he must stay here and let his wounds heal.”

“You sure he’ll be out in a few days?” Jace inquired hopefully.

“We’re believe so. You know, he seems to be healing a bit faster than a normal... erm, satyr, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, since this is Equestria’s first satyr, I don’t know anything about them. But I presume his skin cells and blood cells are indeed that of a human AND a goat, yet something about HIM in general is healing his afflictions a little more rapidly than normal.”

“Huh... so he WILL be out in a few days?”

“Indeed he will be. Though with this strange transformation you told me about... it’s gonna be hard to get rid of the cause of his suffering. We’ve scanned him and tried to find a cure, but the source of this mess is all but psychological. His mind has been... tampered with, so to speak. Every time he tries to sleep, his usually calm dreams become intense and vivid nightmares, which MIGHT link to this weird metamorphosis. The magically enhanced gas in the resuscitator will prevent him from those nightmares.”

“Oh. I just hope he gets better.”

“Oh, don’t worry!” Stable said cheerily, waving a hoof to dismiss the current issue. “He’ll be fine. Now go along home. You can visit your friend Mr. Moradov in the morning.”

‘Maybe I should just go home...Vinyl is probably asleep.’ A quick look at his I-Pod told him that it was a quarter past one in the morning. Replacing it safely in his pocket, he stood and walked towards the exit. ‘Hope Prax doesn’t think I’m abandoning the poor guy.’

“Bye, Prax! Bye, Doc!” Jace called out to the two, even though Praxis was incapable of responding at the moment. With that, Jace walked out of the hospital and into the darkness of the night and the radiance of Princess Luna’s moon.

‘I’m gonna take a bath... I smell like shit.’

He traipsed through the town of Ponyville, enjoying the calm of the town's barren streets. He stared at the night sky canvas that Luna had painted with breathtaking beauty and wonder. The full moon bathed the town in its serene light.

Jace took in a deep breath of the night air as he walked into the cozy mansion that he and Vinyl resided in.

“Need some company?”

Jace stopped and turned, seeing nothing.

“Uhhh, hello?” He looked around the foyer, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. “Vinyl?”

“No, laddy! It’s Gold!” Jace facepalmed at his stupidity. The voice was inside of his head. One would think that having Aksheal residing in his head for three years would assume that he would have gotten used to talking to himself using his thoughts.

‘Right, sorry Gold. Yeah, I would like that. Get Aksheal to get you out here and we can walk home.’ He continued on his path to home while still staring at Luna’s moon. It was so fascinating, though he didn’t know why. The moon on Earth was the same in every way shape and form but this one just had something special about it.

A feeling of nausea surged through his body and he swallowed back the bile that had formed in his mouth. A form pushed from his body and was spliced apart from him, taking on the shape of a pony with a golden yellow coat, two ruby-red eyes, and an alternating black and yellow tail. The tail was divided in three parts, each ending in a spike. It shimmered in the moonlight, evidence that the hair was being kept together with ridiculous amounts of gel. The pony’s black mane was cut short in back and in front with a single streak of yellow down the middle. Large, mechanical, yellow wings jutted out of its side, giving the Pegasus pony a steampunkish appearance. It smiled up at Jace. “Good ta’ see ya’ again, boyo!”

“Hey, Black Gold...” Jace spit on the ground to get the taste of puke out of his mouth. “I will never get used to the splitting. Can’t Aksheal find a different way to get you out?”

“NOT ENOUGH MANA,” Was the response from the yellow pony.

“Quit watching my memories of when I played Diablo, you fruit...” A hearty laugh bellowed in his mind before an apology came and then silence. “Anyway, welcome back out, Gold. Been a while but, I’m pretty sure you know why.” A nod came from the Scoltish pony as he walked next to Jace.

“I do. You’ve been busy with Vinyl. How’s she holding up with the pregnancy?”

“Well, it’s been two months and she’s doing fine. Some morning sickness here and there, but nothing too bad.”

“That’s good ta’ hear...” Gold sniffed the air and covered his nose with his hooves, gagging on the disgusting stench that wafted through the air. “Agh! Who left the haggis out too late?!”

“That’s me, smartplot. I haven’t taken a shower since last night and I’ve been up for over a day. Last time I checked, I was in the fucking swamps trying to fight off a hydra.”

“Fight it with what?! Your B.O.?” Gold smirked as he looked up at Jace, who had unfolded the scythe that was on his back and revved it up a couple times before returning the smirk.

“No, I used this. Though this thing can make a ravine to the depth of Hell, it can’t penetrate a hydra’s scales...Maybe needs to be sharpened...” His hand glowed a dark red and he put the blade into his hand and revved it up slowly so it wouldn’t make much noise and few sparks would fly off of the serrated blade as he used his magic-encased hand like a grinding stone.

Gold watched in interest before shaking his head out of the trance he was in. “Uhm, right. Anyway, how’s Nutmeg been doin’?” Nutmeg was the waitress at a local cafe in the town. She got to one of Gold’s performances a long time ago and he decided to stop at the cafe for lunch the next day. They’ve been together ever since.

“Well, she misses you.... a lot. I had to tell her that you were on a business trip to get your music out into the world.” He pulled the blade away from his hand and tested the sharpness of each spike. “You can see her tomorrow if you wish.”

“Alrighty, boyo!” said Gold, who was walking towards the door. “I’ll see ya tomorrow! Get a swell night’s sleep, ya understand?” With that, Black Gold made his departure.

“Meh. I understand. G’night,” Jace said. He pressed a little too hard on the blade and cut the pad of his index finger. He sucked the blood from it as he ascended up the stairs to his bedroom. He gave a smile when he saw Vinyl Scratch sleeping in their massive four-poster bed. He stepped into the bathroom and gladly removed his clothes before hopping into the shower and adjusting the temperature so that it would be nice and warm.

Jace turned off the luxurious waters of the shower a few moments later before getting out and getting into the black and red-striped pajamas that dangled on a clothes hook next to the door. (Author’s note: Yes, Jace is a man who wears pajamas because men who wear PJs are badasses.) He stepped out of the steamy bathroom and walked over to his marefriend. She groaned when he slipped under the covers, a sign that she was awakened.

“Hey, hon,” she said to him, kissing him for a few seconds. “How is he?”

“I got back from the hospital a few minutes ago. He’s doing fine, and we can go see him in the morning. Until then, he has to get some rest,” he answered when they broke away. “But there’s something up...”

“What is it?”

“Well, the doc said he has these really freaky nightmares, and that might be responsible for his weird transformation. I think this kind of thing will only happen at night, when Dark magic is at its strongest.”

She sighed and moved closer to Jace to hold onto him. “This must be really hard for you Jace...I remember what you told me about friends back on Earth and I know you don’t want it to happen again.”

“Coal is the last one that will be in my head... he was like a brother to me. But, that day came for him to move on... and I was there to help him move on.” His vision creeped over to the scythe that sat forebodingly next to the bed.

“I know...I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, Vi. You didn’t do anything but bring me happiness all these years.” He pulled her into a warm embrace, and gently kissed her lips.

The sweet kiss lasted for what seemed like mere moments, until their lips separated from each other and Jace cradled Vinyl close to his chest. Thoughts raced through his mind about what could have happened when Coal was still around. He could have saved him, if only he had the power that he had today. His eyes narrowed as he blamed himself for his friend’s death and blaming himself for what he got Praxis caught up in.

“Jace...” Vinyl’s calm voice snapped him back into reality. “I know what you’re thinking. Ten years with a human can teach you a lot about their body language.” She looked up at him with her piercing red eyes.

A sigh escaped his lips, and he gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Vinyl. It’s just, what if I could have done something to prevent all of this from happening? Not the coming to Equestria thing, that was one of the greatest things in my entire life, just... everything with Coal... I mean that guy was the closest thing I had to family around here and now... he’s just gone. While I live eternally, I’m going to have to see you go as well.” A warm kiss was planted on his cheek.

“That’s not until a very, very, long time. I’m young, I’ll live to be at least 50! Though, reducing my alcohol intake would make that statement more true.” A weak smile played on her lips at the mention of her remark. “All I’m saying is that I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here with you, Zeke, Aksheal, and Praxis...” Another kiss and she moved so her head was right underneath his chin. “Goodnight...I love you, Jace...”

“I love you more, sweetheart...” With a single kiss on the head, Jace closed his eyes only to reopen them with an eyeful of red paint and markings. “Uhh, Aksheal? Dude?” Jace looked around the room he was in and walked to one of the walls, touching it with his finger. The appendage went through and Jace pulled back fast. “Oh, I see...” His hand glowed red and he swiped his hand across the wall, the image fading away and being replaced with the smiling face of Aksheal.

“Good work! Faster than I thought you would have guessed it. Next time, I add spikes to the room.” Jace rolled his eyes.

“Ha ha, very funny. Seen Vinyl?”

“Last time I saw her, she was with Lyniv...” Aksheal walked to his desk and picked up a book he had been reading, evident by the bookmark in a certain page. “They’re probably enjoying some wine and cheese. Go on, I have research to do on how to make it less painful for you and Gold to split.” Jace nodded and walked towards the stairs that were in the center of the room. He started his descent into the party room where they would sit around, drink, and talk. Not much of a party room, more of a sitting room to be completely honest.

The voices of what seemed like two Vinyls echoed through the room. Upon entering the room, Jace saw that there were indeed two Vinyls, but one was clothed in royal attire. That, was Lyniv, the dream personality of Vinyl.

((So, I see you’re back...)) Jace jumped and almost fell off the stairs as he turned to see Aflatoon standing behind him. ((My apologies, I did not mean to scare.))

((No! It’s completely fine, Aflatoon. If you’re wondering where Praxis is, he’s recovering at the hospital for the next few days so, It’s just me and Vinyl here today.)) An understanding nod came from the satyr.

((I see... send him my regards next time you see him. I need to be off. I have to help farmers with crops this year.)) A small bow was given and the satyr returned to going down the stairs.

As Jace watched, Vinyl smiled. “Quit checking his flank out and c’mon over here! You need to unwind, babe. Take a chill pill!” The thing in her hand was no pill, but a bottle of wine. “Y’know you want it~”

A smile crossed his face. “You know it!”

The next morning started off as normal as usual: Wake up with hangover, go and puke, check on Vinyl, put clothes on, go work out. That’s pretty much how this day started. Though it was nice that when you ate in Markarth, your belly was filled in your realm. Doesn’t help that when you pass out drunk in Markarth, you awake to a giant migraine.

But, through perseverance and a small immunity to alcohol, Jace got over it relatively fast. Vinyl wasn’t so lucky. Through half the day, he had to get her to a point where she wouldn’t puke her own guts up. That point eventually came, and Jace was out and jogging in ten seconds flat.

His earbuds rested comfortably in his ears as a song from his huge array of dubstep played loudly to keep him going at the pace he was going. The pace he was going at didn’t match to the other times he would go out for runs, but it would have to do.

The Chain Scythe wasn’t on his back, it was on his leg. In his time in Markarth last night, he found a way to make the scythe look like a brace for a shin so it wouldn’t be noticed. A simple pulse of magic showed the blade’s true form, and Jace could kill anything he pleased. It was quite the upgrade from having to carry the infernal contraption like a backpack.

An hour through his extensive workout, Jace paused and made a little sojourn to Mane Street’s water fountain. He plunged his sweaty head into the cool, soothing drink, gulping it down once he magically filtered it. He pulled his head out, cooled off and refreshed.

“Maybe Praxis is up and awake,” he said hopefully. With that, he took off once more down the road to Ponyville General. He reached the landmark and opened the door, seeing Lyra, Bon-Bon, Derpy Hooves, Carrot Top, Vinyl Scratch, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack waiting by the bedridden satyr’s room.

“What’re you all doing here?” Jace asked, raising an eyebrow at Praxis’ mild crowd of friends.

“We heard that Praxis was injured, so we came over when we woke up,” Rainbow answered, her response backed up by nods and hums of assent from the others.

“Mm-hmm,” said Lyra. “I went to see him eariler, but he was out like a light. I think he might be awake now, though.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too,” Jace added. “Well? Shall we go see him?”

“Sure thing, sugarcube,” concurred Applejack, who opened the door and walked in. The nine others followed suit and soon filled the rather small room.

“Oh my, such a cramped room,” said Fluttershy, flying above the land-imprisoned ponies with Rainbow and Derpy.

“Why the HAY is this place smaller than a broom cupboard?!” Bon-Bon ranted, squirming in between Pinkie and Carrot Top to get more comfortable in the cramped room.

“My sentiments EXACTLY!”

The ten smushed ponies/person whipped around to see a heavily bandaged and normal Praxis sitting up in his bed, his hooves dangling over the edge of it. He was eating a daisy sandwich and downing it with orange juice. He took a gulp of his drink before beaming at them.

“Honestly, I am one of the TALLEST motherbuckers you have seen,” he told them, giving his hooves a wiggle. “I feel like a bug in a glass jar.”

“Hi, Praxis!” the nine mares said in unison before giving him the largest group hug in pony history, save for Fluttershy, who merely hovered over to softly hug him rather than bombard him with her embrace.

“OUCH! Hey, everypony! It’s GREAT to see you again!” Praxis said, doing his best to wrap his long arms around them all. They moved away from him a few moments later. He saw Jace standing in the doorway, a wide smile on his face. “Hey, Jace! What’s up?”

“PRAXIS!” he cried, charging him with a bear hug when his guard was down.

“OW! Jace! Get off! Bandages, remember?” Praxis raised his voice a little to let himself be heard.

“Sorry!” Jace apologized over the giggles of the mares as he got off and stood stockstill, hands behind his back as he smiled with embarrassment.

“D’oh, it’s not your fault, man.”

“So how’re ya feelin’, sugarcube?” inquired Applejack.

“Well, despite the fact that a hydra thought I was very delicious, I’m fantastic,” he said wryly. The group gave another hearty guffaw at his remark. “So what’s been going on?”

“I’m still trying to get in the Wonderbolts! I’ve been training for two years, and now I think I can finally get accepted by them with how awesome I’ve gotten!” Rainbow said with glee, going starry-eyed at the possibilities of performing stunts with her idols from fillyhood.

“Um, Rainbow Dash?” Jace asked.

“Yeah?” Dash was instantly snapped out of her euphoric stupor.

“You DO realize that you can sign up for them? They don’t have to select you, you just have to sign up,” he told her bluntly. Rainbow went slack, hooves dangling limply in the air as she still beat her wings.

“Aw, HORSEAPPLES!” she cursed. “Why didn’t anypony tell me sooner?! I’m gonna sign up right now!” With that, before exiting out the room. The rather smaller crowd of ponies, satyr, and human laughed once more.

“Anything new, AJ?” Jace asked.

“Ah got back t’ work at Sweet Apple Acres yesterday,” Applejack began. “It’s a shame that... that Big Mac ain't around to help us.” She bowed her head low in sorrow. The others followed suit, taking a moment of silence for the fallen cowpony.

“Don’t worry about it,” Carrot Top told them. “He lived a good life, he did.” She wrapped a foreleg around Applejack’s neck. The cowpony seemed calmed by the affectionate one-leg hug and returned it gladly.

“Yeah,” Praxis said. “When I get out, me and Jace are gonna help you on the farm. I promise.”

“Thank ya kindly, Praxis,” Applejack said, giving him a hug and nuzzling him. “That’s mahghty sweet an’ helpful o’ you.”

“Eh, what would you expect?” he told her, hoping against hope that his face wasn’t burning visibly underneath his tattoos. “I’m just your little helper. Helping along. And what about you, Lyra?”

“Well, anyway, me and Octavia saw each other at the cafe yesterday, and she wants me to perform with her at the Grand Galloping Gala in three months!” Lyra said. “I told her about you, and she might get tickets for us!”

Little did they know, Vinyl made a gesture of vomiting at the mention of Octavia. Jace and Praxis saw it and suppressed the oncoming fit of laughter that ensued.

“That’s great, Lyra!” Praxis finally said, receiving another tender hug from the lyre player. She squee’d as the two tightened their grip.

'HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!'

“Thanks, Prax,” she told him as she finally let go.

“Not a problem. What’s new, Derpy?”

“I’ve got the day off! Postal Stamp is covering my shift today, so that means I can pick up my daughter Dinky from school rather than having her walk home!” exclaimed Derpy.

“That’s good news, Derpy,” Jace said. “Tell Dinky I said ‘Hi’.” Derpy nodded and mm-hmm’d. She departed and went to go get some air, but not without knocking over a peach-colored vase filled with daisies.

“Thank Celestia. That vase was dreadful,” Praxis said as he took another bite of his sandwich. More laughter from the waning group. “So, anything new, Fluttershy?”

“U-um, I’ve been saving up get a bigger space for all the animals at my home,” began Fluttershy.

“I’m excited,” Praxis said eagerly. “I can’t wait to see the little buggers.”

“Ditto, man,” Jace agreed. “Which reminds me, check out the Chain Scythe.” He lifted his leg to show the jet-black shin guard on his leg.

“You got it enchanted?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Niiiice. Anyway, what’s new with you, Vi?”

“Got plastered yesterday in Markarth,” Vinyl said, rubbing her temples with her hooves. When the mares raised an eyebrow at the mention of Markarth, she simply said, “Magical land in Jace’s hourglass. Only accessible by his will. Don’t ask questions.”

“Great job being subtle, Vi,” Jace huffed. “So, C-Top, what’s up?”

“I’ve got some new seeds for my garden!” Carrot Top chirped, smiling widely. “I got DATE seeds, and I hear the fruit is VERY good!”

“Date seeds, huh?” Praxis said, rubbing a bandaged hand along his bearded chin. “That gives me an idea... but maybe when I get outta here. Bon-Bon?”

“Me and Pinkie have been working together on making this sweet for Sugarcube Corner,” Bon-Bon said, Pinkie nodding.

“Yuppers!” Pinkie said. “Me and Bonners made this really yummy treat for everypony to enjoy! It’s called a Moonpie! It’s got marshmallows inside of this little cake covered in chocolate! We made it because Princesses Luna and Celestia are gonna be coming over in a week! Try it!” She pulled out said delicacy from her hot-pink poofy mane and shoved it in Praxis’s mouth. The satyr put his sandwich on its plate and bit the portion of the Moonpie that was launched into his maw. He chewed it. Swallowed it. His eyes went wide as he stared at the remaining Moonpie.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE, O KING OF SWEET FOODS?!” He loaded the rest of the Moonpie into his mouth and swallowed the remainder of it. He swallowed it too early and started to choke. The mares started to panic. Fluttershy was about to be on the verge of tears. Bon-Bon squirmed out of the small group of ponies to find the doctor.

And Jace?

“SHIT!”

Jace, out of instinct, punched Praxis in the stomach. The air that was knocked out of his friend cleared his clogged airway, and he began to breathe normally.

Only that he was in some serious pain from the strike.

“OWWWWW! Goddamnit.... Thanks, Jace,” he said, coughing into his bandaged arm. Bon-Bon returned with Doctor Stable, who was wide-eyed with fear at the mention of a choking patient.

“Are you alright, Praxis?!” he asked hurriedly, chest rising and falling from having to sprint from one room to another.

“Thanks to Jace, I am now,” he answered, rubbing the spot where Jace had belted him.

“Oh... Good.” Stable went to turn around and almost stepped in the shattered vase’s remains. “Say, what happened here?”

“Erm... I broke it? I guess I got careless with a rubber ball,” Praxis fibbed quickly. He didn’t want Derpy to take the fall for breaking the ceramic furniture. That would be just plain rude.

“Hmm... alright then.” With that, Stable bid them a nonverbal adieu and left the room. “Can somepony clean that up?!” he shouted down the hall. The occupants of the room struggled to stifle their laughter.

“Well, I’m glad to see that you’re doing well, Prax,” said Jace. “Hey, ladies? Can me, Vi, and Prax talk for a second?”

“Um... alrighty then. Besides, we needed t' leave anyways: we all had somethin' planned,” Applejack said, leaving the room with the rest of the ponies. “Owowow!” She got caught in the doorway in between Lyra and Pinkie. “One at a tahme, everypony!” They backed out of the doorway and tried again, leaving the room in a single file line. Soon, it was just Jace, Praxis, and Vinyl Scratch.

“Alright, man, we need to ask you some questions,” Vinyl told Praxis.

“Shoot,” he replied.

“What was up with what happened last night?” Jace inquired.

Praxis let out a sigh. “It was this mark on my belly. I think it was caused by Insanity.”

“And who is he?”

“He... he was the thing I never wanted to create, yet did, unbeknownst to me. He’s this horrific entity that plans on annihilating all of Equestria with some psychological Holocaust on everypony.” Jace and Vinyl gasped at his answer. “I received this info from the first time I saw him... he escaped the Dream Prison he was held in and is now roaming Equestria.”

“We have to stop him!” Vinyl exclaimed. She shut her eyes and gritted her teeth from her loud verbal burst. Just because she wasn’t in agony from her total hangover doesn’t mean that it was gone.

“How can we? That thing is unpredictable, and who knows where he is now?” Praxis said.

“Damn it,” Jace seethed. “So what does that have to do with you... transforming like that?”

Praxis, in order to answer his friend’s question, gingerly lifted up the bandages around his stomach. Underneath the developing bruise from Jace’s punch and the cuts from last night, a huge symbol rested on the satyr’s navel. A pentagon-encased star inside of a spike-covered circle was shining black in the sunlight, with several native tribal markings erupting out of it. Praxis did another double-take at his stomach and sighed in relief. The markings that had covered his entire belly from yesterday morning had receded slightly, like the Corruption had been suppressed. “This is his mark,” he explained. “This is Insanity’s Curse Seal. Whenever I become that... monster, the markings begin to expand and go out, causing the Corruption to spread. But when I fight back, it seems like the Corruption goes back. Not too much, but enough to not overcome me.”

“Daaamn,” Jace said. “When the hell did you get as ripped as me?” Praxis only shrugged.

“But how did the Corruption even begin to spread?” Vinyl started. “Is THAT why we found you passed out in the outskirts of Canterlot? Because your monstrous self broke out of prison?”

“How did you know I broke out?” Praxis asked worriedly. Vinyl, with a bored look, answered this by lifting up Praxis’s arm, showing his iron shackle. He sighed again. “Well, Insanity threw this weird sword into the surface of my Dream Domain. I think it was a catalyst in the Corrupting process, but I’m not sure. And yes, I GUESS that’s why you found me passed out in that green field.”

“Well... shit,” Jace and Vinyl said.

“Yep,” Praxis huffed, struggling to get back up onto his feet.

“Whoa whoa whoa, what the fuck do you think you’re doing, dude?” Vinyl blurted out, putting her hooves on Praxis’s chest and pushing him back onto the bed.

“I wanna get the hell outta here!” Praxis protested, looking at the DJ.

“Ohhhh, hell no! You lay back down! You’re not going anywhere, Fluffy..” Vinyl moved him back to the hospital bed.

“I swear I feel fine!” Jace raised a brow.

“My Celestia! You’re more stubborn than Jace! Well, maybe not that bad to the point where you’d hurt yoursel- nevermind..” She rolled her eyes and got him back into the bed. “Trust me Prax, we got this. Jace is a damn Reaper! I think we’ll be just fine with the weapons and knowledge we have. We’ve survived ten years, haven’t we?”

Praxis shook his head and tried to get out, but a forceful hand pushed him down. “Praxis!” Jace glared at his satyr friend, his sharp gaze piercing him like a needle through cloth. “Listen to me, man! You do NOT want to go with us, trust me...I’ve been there..” Jace lifted his shirt to show a large scar that went from his navel to the start of his ribcage.

“Whoa... what the hell happened?” Praxis asked.

“Something that happened when I first came into Equestria... Big Mac thought Coal was hurting Applejack, I jumped in the way when he came charging at Coal. I took the full impact, broke a couple bones. After about a week into my recovery I got stubborn and wanted to work on the fields more... Overworking is a bitch, man. I do not want this to happen to you. Though Zecora’s healing potion got me back to my completely normal self, along with a hell of a lot of muscle as well. But because of my surgery due to the Calling Card’s contents crumbling down to the ground, this scar shall taint me for all eternity.”

“Well... I’m sorry, Jace. I never knew, dude,” Praxis apologized.

“Meh. Don’t sweat it, man. Besides, I don’t blame you for wanting to get outta here. This place looks gloomy as hell,” commented Jace.

“Great... now you’re giving me more incentive to leave this place.”

“Ha-ha-ha,” Vinyl sarcastically laughed. “Stay here, and try to get some more sleep. We’ll see you in the evening, before we go home.”

“Alright, you two,” Praxis said. “Get home safe, and take care.”

“Thanks, Prax,” Jace and Vinyl called back as they left the room. They walked out of the hospital and waited to get out of Praxis’s hearing range.

“Didn’t tell him that mating season is in four days?” Vinyl said, bumping Jace with her rump teasingly.

“Hell to the no.”

XVI - The Trek (Return To Canterlot: Part I)

Author’s Note: Craimer here... And this might get awkward while writing... Dear Lord Shadow, why do you come up with this stuff?

OTHER Author’s note: Shadow here. And to answer your question... I dunno. For awesomeness? *shrug* Anyway, let us continue on with the story, eh?

XVI - The Trek

Return To Canterlot: Part I

Sunset; Ponyville General

“Told ya we’d be back, Praxis,” Jace said to his friend when he and Vinyl returned to the hospital. Praxis, who was forced to be removed of his facial hair in the early afternoon, was walking around his room, taking slow steps as to not reopen his wounds.

“Why are you walking?” Vinyl asked icily. “We told you to get some rest.”

“Gee, you think I didn’t know that?” Praxis said sarcastically, the distance between him and a large glass of water on the table dwindling as he walked toward it. He picked up the glass and promptly sipped the chilled water. “I got out of my bed because I wanted to. ADHD is a pain in the ass, and when it kicks in, I need to be active. I need to be doing SOMEthing.”

“Well, do what I did when I had ADHD... Just tap on your legs to a song in your head. It burns calories too... That’s how I stayed skinny during high school while eating McDonald’s every other fucking day because I had to work there!” Jace advised.

“Umm... I’ve tried that. Didn’t exactly work too well. And McDonald’s? Dude, that is some serious diabetes-on-a-bun.” Praxis retorted dryly. He took another draught from the water.

“Hey man, it was the job I could get when I was fifteen, lay off.” Jace sighed and scratched his head. “Fine, walk around. Just, don’t push it or else you’ll end up with a giant scar like me. I mean, if you don’t move, your legs become useless, so walk around.” He shrugged and looked back at Vinyl.

“Alright, well, thanks, Jace,” Praxis told him, looking away from his friend so that he would’ve have to see the look on his face. He walked towards the side of his bed where his belongings were placed: Typhoon, his flute, his Shadow Fiber jacket and muscle shirt, and his messenger bag all all rested there. He put on the muscle shirt over his bandaged torso and equipped the flute. He gave it a feel, letting the native engravings be stroked by his fingertips.

Jace turned away from Praxis, looking at the door. “I’ve gotta go and check on some stuff real quick, Prax. C’mon, Vi...” Jace walked out the door without looking back at his friend.

Once out of hearing range, Jace smashed a fist against a wall, almost making a hole. “Fucking... Goddamn myself.” He rubbed his face and sighed hard. “Why do I get pissed at the smallest shit?!”

That was when they heard a sharp sound of something breaking.

“Oh, damn it,” Vinyl swore. “What did he do now?”

“Let’s go check,” Jace told her. The two returned to the room to find Praxis on the ground next to a puddle of water, shards of glass swimming in it. Praxis was twitching uncontrollably, convulsing and writhing to and fro upon the floor. He grit his teeth and grabbed his skull.

“Shit! DOCTOR! SOMEPONY! HELP!” Vinyl yelled out the door while Jace tried to help his friend stay down and stop moving. “HELP! SOMEPONY! ANYPONY!” Her cries got more and more frantic as doctors came rushing down the halls with needles and different tools for surgery and the like.

“SHIT! PRAXIS!” Jace bellowed at his friend, before going slack-jawed at what followed next. He witnessed Praxis’s usually flat teeth become as sharp as razors. The hands that clutched his head began to develop ten-inch talons as black as the night itself. Praxis’s hair went from being short and blackish-brown to long, extremely messy, and the purest of whites, the black horns on his head extending slightly as they curved upward at the tips. His brown fur darkened to black. When Praxis opened his eyes, brown irises did not greet Jace. Instead, the whites were pitch-black, and the irises a fiery color, slowly transitioning from yellow, to orange, to red. His tan skin was now as pale as his hair, the Curse Seal pulsating a dark and vibrant purple as his body was surrounded with black, pulsating markings again. He couldn’t bear the agony from his transformation and finally let out a bloodcurdling scream as it ended.

Jace backed off from his friend and grabbed the brace off of his calf. He crushed it with both hands and slid his hands across the entire length of the brace, the holes and such becoming one black mass as the sagewood took form. He ran his hand quick along the shaft and pulled off fast, having the rest of the shaft slide out of the existing half. He slammed the butt of the stick on the ground, causing the blade to slowly slide out from the narrow wooden staff. The skull slowly took form at at the back of the blade, the barbed wire-like chain taking form along with it.

“NO, JACE, STOP!” Praxis said in fear, his voice deepening and becoming gruffer from his metamorphism. “IT’S ME, I SWEAR IT!” He made his way to get up, only to fall back onto his knees and cough ferociously onto the floor. Blood was expunged with every cough he released. The doctors bolted out of the room, screaming their heads off that a monster had entered the hospital. Jace looked at the sky, which now bore Luna’s waning gibbous moon, and back at Praxis, who wiped his now-forked tongue on his bandaged forearm. Blood from his fit of coughing had tainted the white of the bandage.

“Praxis? Is that really you?” Vinyl said scaredly.

“Yeah... it is...”

Jace pointed the scythe at him and lifted his head slowly with the blade. “Praxis... What in the fuck are you?” His voice was strong and firm, almost mean. “Because I swear, if you do anything stupid, I won’t think twice about cutting your damn body in two.” His eyes had narrowed and were slowly changing from the emerald green to red. “ANSWER ME, PRAXIS!” His voice was somewhat morphed, deeper than before.

“DO I LOOK LIKE I FUCKING KNOW?!” Praxis roared at Jace. He was taken aback by this sudden outburst: he had thought that Praxis was not the kind of person to raise his voice in anger, only to make himself heard. “DO I?!” Vinyl backed away, tears welling in her eyes from how... different he had become. He stopped his vocal assaults for a second and tried cooling down. “I don’t know WHAT the hell happened to me, OR what I am! Insanity is behind this! He was the one that plagued me with this... this... NIGHTMARE! I TOLD you all about this earlier this morning.” He looked out at the moon that bathed the town in its light, then looked back at his claw-bearing hands. “So when the sun goes down... I turn into THIS?” He sighed. “It wasn’t like this before....”

Jace pulled the scythe away and his eyes reverted back to their natural color. “Jesus, Praxis... I didn’t know it was this bad man.” He sighed and dropped the scythe, the metal clanging on the ground as he turned to punch the wall, putting hole all over it. “Dammit! One fucking thing after A-FUCKING-NOTHER! WHY THE FUCK CAN’T I CATCH A GODDAMN BREAK?! FUCK!” He pulled back and hit the wall at full force, knocking the entire wall over to see the other room behind it. Jace was panting hard as he walked over and grabbed the scythe, running out of the doorway and sprinting down the hall. “INSANITY! I’M COMING FOR YOU.”

“Aw, fuckberries,” Praxis grumbled, chasing after Jace at top speeds. “JACE, STOP!” While his friend was fast, Praxis was by far faster. He hooked his talons on Jace’s collar and cautiously slowed him down by pulling him back. Jace came to a halt with Praxis, but turned on him, his eyes a blood-red once more.

“Get the fuck outta my way...” His voice was deep and demonic as his eyes slowly sunk into his skull, leaving the sockets as empty and bottomless as the ocean’s trenches. “I’m going to fucking end this, ONCE AND FOR ALL.” He used his telekinesis to grab Praxis, and throw him to the side. Once he was out of the way, Jace took off again at top speeds, the air around him turning red like his magic as he increased with speed.

“Oh, hell no,” Praxis hissed. “JACE!” He roared at his friend as he ran alongside him. “WE CAN’T FIND HIM! CAN’T YOU SEE THAT HE’S UNTRACKABLE?! IF WE FIND HIM, HE’LL JUST GET AWAY! TRUST ME!”

"THEN HOW THE FUCK DO WE BREAK YOUR CURSE?!” He kept up his pace in running, soon getting into the forest. “HOW, PRAXIS?!” He let the scythe fall behind him, blade pointed down, and stopped himself fast by burying it in the dirt..

Praxis stopped next to Jace. He hesitated with the answer, trying to find the right one. He went through the seemingly endless list of responses, and came upon one that not only would be substantial, but also something Praxis wanted to avoid, like his life depended on it.

“Twilight Sparkle,” he said with a grimace. After what happened back at Sweet Apple Acres, saying the scholarly unicorn’s name was similar to being force-fed poison.

“What?”

“Twilight Sparkle. We can go over to her library and look for the book that could help cure me... if the cure exists.”

“Cure? The only cure is to kill the one who put the curse upon you in the first place! Like a goddamn werewolf!”

“Werewolf...?” All the things that occurred came rushing back to Praxis. Transformations when the sun goes down and when the morning begins, his outer appearance when these transformations took place, how the victim will turn on anyone that would oppose it....

Like a goddamn werewolf.

“Let me rephrase that: a goddamn weresatyr!” Jace moved past Praxis, going back to the town. “We need to stop Insanity if you want to go back to normal.”

“Fine, that’s all good and dandy,” Praxis said as he walked with Jace back to town. “But where do we even BEGIN to look? I don’t think anypony even KNOWS if he exists, let alone where he is.”

Jace sighed heavily. “Very well, then. But can we at LEAST inform the princesses about it?”

“If they don’t threaten to banish me again, then... maybe.” Praxis knelt down in front of Jace. “Get on.”

“Uh... why?”

“Because I’m one of the fastest mother-effing things alive, that's why. I’ll cover much more distance like this. Now get on.”

Jace clambered aboard Praxis’s back. The weresatyr hooked Jace’s legs in the crooks of his arms. Jace grabbed Praxis’s meandered horns as an extra precaution.

“I swear to God AND Celestia, if you break off my horns, I’ll use your skin as a breakdancing mat,” Praxis solemnly told his human companion.

“Whatever, Fluffy,” Jace retorted. He rammed his heels into Praxis’s livestock thighs and said, “Giddyup!”

“OW!” the weresatyr shouted, before taking off towards the mountain. While Jace did slow him down a little bit, Praxis kept sprinting, whizzing past Ponyville. Minutes burned away as they finally made it to the train station, where the Friendship Express seemed to be making a stop at Stalliongrad. After they hid in the shadows of a kiosk, Praxis put Jace down.

“Hey man, I could have done that too... You see how fast I was going? I could’ve gone faster if I wanted too but, you stopped me.” By this time, Jace was back to his normal self. The scythe was on his calf again, disguised as the brace once again. “I don’t think I like this...Makes me run slow. I hate slow.” Jace quickly ripped off the brace and looked at it, studying its magical essence. It slowly morphed and changed into a walking stick that looked exactly like the shaft of the scythe. “Much better. Now I can whack people in the head with it.”

*WOOT-WOOOOOOOOOT*

“Damn it,” Praxis said. “That must be the train... if we can hop on, we could ditch it and then hitchhike to Canterlot.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Praxis... Being in Stalliongrad is not safe if we’re near the Zone...” Jace informed him.

“We don’t need to make an ACTUAL stop at Stalliongrad. We just need to ditch the train halfway and then walk the rest of the way. Besides, this Zone thing you mentioned sounds pretty bad."

“You have no idea... it’s radioactive, and I have reason to believe that zombies have sprouted up there.”

“ZOMBIES?” Praxis was appalled. “Whaaaaaaat theeeeeee fuck...."

“Yes, zombies. And Chimeras, Snorks, Bloodsuckers, mutated dogs, mutated boars, and many more things there that are dangerous. Oh, and don’t get me started on Anomalies. But, there are ponies who brave the area. They call themselves ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R.S.’ They find artifacts in these Anomalies to make money! I was thinking about joining, then heard about the dangers of the area. One of the things that made me pass was the fear of an Emission... Oh God, Emissions. They’re giant storms that will rain pure radiation in the area and will make you explode if you’re outside for long enough. Kills a good number of the ponies there.”

Praxis blinked before crazily saying, “Well, at least we don’t actually have to go there.” He became more serious when the train was almost out of the station. “Now come on! The train’s getting away!” He and Jace emerged from the shadows and bolted towards the accelerating locomotive. With enough effort, the duo managed to hop onto the top of the train, albeit they had to give chase to it for a little while.

“Hallelujah,” Jace wheezed. “Thank God the asthma is gone.”

“I kinda know that feel,” the weresatyr huffed, coughing heavily again as they stood back up. The Friendship Express was quickly covering ground, traversing across the green fields. In only minutes, the train was slithering next to the mountain that the regal city of Canterlot rested upon. “Okay, NOW!” They jumped off of the train and towards the ground. Jace broke his fall with his telekinesis, landing feet-first softly on the grass.

Praxis, on the other hand... he landed headfirst into the ground, his long horns impaling the soil. He tried to right himself by flailing his legs wildly, yet the blood flow to his head made it hard for him to even concentrate, let alone calm down long enough to think of a way to get out.

"Ahh! Shit!"

Fortunately, Jace “thought” of everything. With enough concentration, Jace had encased Praxis’s legs with his scarlet aura of telekinesis, lifting him up into the air. His horns were removed from the dirt as Praxis ascended.

“Thanks for the help, asshole,” he said in frustration. “You could’ve broken my fall, y'know.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to,” Jace replied, giving Praxis his best troll face. He did it pretty well, too, and the effect was instantaneous: the weresatyr was somewhat enraged.

“Son of a...” Praxis trailed off. “Let’s just go.” With that, he dashed up Canterlot’s incredibly humongous mountain and towards the Castle.

“Right behind ya, buddy!” Jace called back, running after Praxis at the same speed.

XVII - A Chat With Royalty (Return To Canterlot: Part II)

XVII - A Chat With Royalty

Return To Canterlot: Part II

Praxis and Jace had reached the base of Canterlot’s mountain. They stared up at the gargantuan landscape of stone, their eyes barely distinguishing the granitic structure of the Royal City.

“Last one there is a rotten Scootaloo’s egg?” Praxis told Jace.

“You’re on, Goat-Boy.” the human chuckled to the weresatyr. Jace used his magic abilities to transform his staff into the Chain Scythe. He pulled the skull down on the ground, the serrated blade digging slightly into the rock. “Ready?”

“Pfft. Let’s just get started, eh?” Jace nodded at Praxis’s sentence. “3...2...1!”

Jace planted his feet on both sides of the black skull and used more magic to rev the barbed wire of the scythe’s blade. The serrated edges revolved around the blade at rapid speeds as Jace shot up the mountain like a cork in water.

“Well, I never expected that,” Praxis groaned before bolting up the mountain, running on all fours as he used his talons to help him claw up the rocky obstruction. He was picking up speed, finally catching up to Jace when they were a quarter of the way up the mountain. The chainsaw sounds of the human’s weapon rang through the night sky, bits of rock getting dislodged as the blade ran over them.

“TONY HAWK CAN SUUUUUUCK MYYYYYYY DIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!!!” Jace shouted to him.

“TOO BAD VINYL’S ALREADY DOING THAT!!!” Praxis retorted, troll face at the ready.

“GO TO HELL!!!”

“THANKS, I’LL SAVE YOU A SPOT!!!”

“FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!!!”

Jace was extremely angry. Praxis’s expression was made evident to him in the moonlight as the weresatyr gave a hearty laugh.

‘Damn your troll face, you livestock sonuvabitch!’ Jace mentally roared. They were now two-thirds up the mountain.

“Hey, Jace! I’ve got a plan for when we meet the princesses!” Praxis called to him.

“What is it?” Jace replied a little too harshly. He was still rather infuriated that Praxis had been a smart-ass to him.

“I’ll tell ya when we get to the mountain!”

After several minutes of arguing over who had gotten to the top of the mountain first, Praxis gave Jace the information of his little plan.

“So will this work?” Jace asked. The duo had finally reached their goal of getting to the castle. They had gone over their plan that Praxis mentioned earlier.

“Hell yeah, man. This is going to be ‘LOL’-worthy,” he promised. “Believe it.”

“Alright, dude.” Jace was a little excited as he watched Praxis leapt high up into the air, turn upside-down at the peak of his jump, and rotate furiously, his claws giving him easy access to the underground world below them. “This is gonna be funny as hell,” Jace mused.

He traipsed up the stone pathway to Canterlot’s Castle, Praxis burrowing through the dirt and rock below him.

‘How are you even seeing where you’re going?’ Jace thought, more at Praxis than at anything else, even though the weresatyr could not hear him.

‘Holy shit, did I just hear you THINK?’

‘Praxis, is that you!?’

‘...NOO, I’M JUST YOUR AVERAGE MOTHERFUCKING MOLE, DIGGING ALONG!!!’ Praxis thought back sarcastically. ‘Now answer the question.’

‘I don’t know...’ Jace started, then he looked at his hands. The crimson aura of his magic had encased them without his knowing it. ‘Ohhh, it was my magic.’

‘Your magic allows telepathy?’ Praxis mentally asked. ‘MY MIND IS NOT SAFE ANYMORE.’

‘You mad, BROradov?’

‘Nope. I’m actually a little scared for you, BROmero.’

‘Now will you answer MY question?’

‘What, about me and watching where I’m going? I’m not SEEING, I’m LISTENING. I can hear your footfalls with my sensitive hearing, and I’m following it.’

‘Well, shit. Not bad.’

‘Eh. I feel as blind as a bat, though, and the taste of dirt sucks. Oh, and judging by the number of oncoming hoofsteps, we’re getting closer to the Princesses... and there’s an assload of guards dead ahead.’

‘Pfft, no way!’ They were now in the gardens of the Castle, the aroma of flowers teasing Jace’s nose.

“HALT!” A deep voice bellowed at Jace.

‘Told ya.’

“What are you doing here in the dead of night?” Jace whirled around to witness a hoard of Royal Guards, their gold armor glinting in the radiance of the descending moon, their long silver poles with knobs on the ends of them giving off little bits of electrical energy. Before long, the guards encircled him.

“What, a guy can’t go for an evening stroll?” Jace said innocently, clenching and unclenching the disguised scythe.

“No, especially when there could be more than one ‘guy’ here,” said the same deep voice. Jace gulped. He saw that the speaker was a stallion in the same armor, yet he was taller and had purple eyes. Like his comrades, he was holding a stun spear like them. “Jace Romero, you are under arrest for affiliating with the notorious weresatyr, Praxis Moradov. You can come out now, demon!” The stallion pounded the ground with his stun spear. Jace heard his friend grumble in pain.

‘OW! Not so loud!’ Praxis mentally bellowed, though it did no good. Only Jace could hear his thoughts.

‘Praxis, abort! Abort the mission!’

‘Hell no! I wanna hear you kick their asses! Besides, those bastards tried to shoot me and I wanna pull this prank!’

“What in blazes is going on?”

The Royal Guards and Jace rounded about to see two figures gliding down towards them. Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna, landed cleanly in front of Jace. He, and the guards gave a deep bow to the two.

“That is enough, all of you,” Celestia calmly said to them. They arose from the ground. “And you too, Praxis. You can come out now.”

After a few moments, nothing happened. Then they saw a lump of soil begin to rise up. Before long, Praxis’s head burst out of the soil... right underneath Luna’s belly.

“Heh, heh. Diggity diggity doo,” he chuckled, moving his head back and forth with every word, biting his lower lip afterwards. Jace fell over on the ground after two seconds, laughing loudly. Celestia gave little giggles at the antic, while Luna, who was taken by surprise, jumped up a foot in the air before preparing to unleash her almighty Royal Canterlot Voice upon him.The Royal Guards were merely confused; only a few let out a few weak chuckles.

“THAT WAS AWESOME, MAN!” Jace wailed through his laughter. He brohoofed Praxis once he had emerged entirely from the soil.

“That was planned?” Celestia said, her fit of giggling now ending. Jace and Praxis nodded earnestly.

“Erm, kinda,” Jace confessed. “We never expected the guards.”

“Speaking of which... Guards, you may leave.”

“But, Princess!” One of the guards complained. “The satyr could be up to something!”

“I think we have this under control,” Celestia said calmly. With that, the Royal Guards began to return to castle’s entrance.

“HOW DARETH THOU INVADETH THE LUNAR PRINCESS’S PRIVACY, CREATURE!” Luna bellowed once they were gone.

“Art thou mad, mine princess?” Praxis said, nudging Luna with an elbow. Luna was prepared to bitchslap him into oblivion... until she was taken aback by his words.

“Thou speaketh it?” she asked.

“Yes, indeed, I speaketh it.” he said, becoming suave and slick at not a moment’s hesitation.

“My goodness. And we- erm, I thought Celestia and I ‘twere the only ones capable of speaking Old Equestrian. That is quite the statistical anomaly. I seemed to have misjudgedeth thee.” Luna gazed at the black talons that curved dangerously, shining alongside his exotic black markings in the moonlight. “So THESE art how thou hath survived the fall?”

“Correct, milady.” He wrapped an arm around her neck, taking caution not to cut her. She tried to hide her blushing face, yet he still spotted it. “What’s with the blushing?” He snapped out of his Old Equestrian Speak trance.

“If I didn’t know any better,” Celestia began, “I would assume that little Lu-Lu here might have a little crush on one of Equestria’s FORMER most wanted creature.”

“N-no!” Luna exclaimed, immediately retracted from Praxis’s long and comforting arm. “Tia, how could you assume such a silly thing?”

“Don’t deny it, Lu-Lu~” Celestia sang. Then she was reminded of something. She looked back at the moon, then at Praxis. “Which reminds me, I win the bet. Fifty Bits. C’mon.” She stuck out her hoof, demanding the money to be paid upfront.

“Hold up, hold up, hold up,” Praxis intervened. “FORMER? So... not only does Luna want me--”

“Do not!” Luna complained.

“Uh-huh. Sure,” he continued, unconvinced. “And not only did you two BET on me, but...I’m not wanted?”

“I don’t think so,” Celestia confessed. “The good you’ve done easily outweighs the bad. So... you’re scot free, Praxis.”

“Damnit... I was hoping I could turn mySELF in to get the 3000 bits.” The three others gave a small chuckle at his joke. “Aw well, can’t win ‘em all.”

“Speaking of NOT winning....” Celestia rounded on Luna again. “I’m waitiiiing~”

“Oh, horse apples,” Luna swore. She tried to reach into her “pockets”, yet there was no distinguishable and pleasant jingle of the bag of Bits that she required in them.

“Curses,” she finally said. “I seem to have misplaced them in my room.”

“I’ll get it!” Praxis volunteered. “Where’s your room?”

“The highest tower,” Luna informed him, pointing at the aforementioned location, which sat comfortably in the middle of the castle. Without a moment’s notice, Praxis took off towards the tower, using his curved talons once more to climb up one of them. The Princesses watched in awe as he hastily made it to the top of one tower, balancing on the flagpole. Praxis looked for something that would aid him in his endeavor. He spotted a long rope, bearing Canterlot banners. He smiled, took a deep breath and, with arms akimbo, he jumped, disappearing from view.

“That crazy bastard!” Jace shouted in despair. He and the Princesses (Celestia levitated him with her magic) had flown up to watch the weresatyr at work. Praxis was running along a thick length of rope like a ninja, the banners of the rope getting jostled as he hurried along it and made his way to Luna’s tower. “Uhm, Princess...” Jace began, witnessing Praxis climb the tower. “I don’t mean to be rude or anything but...” His hands were sheathed in his red magic and he pushed out of her magic hold, levitating himself with his own magic. “...I got this.”

Celestia looked at the now floating human, giving a nod to show that he indeed, ‘had this’. Looking back at the weresatyr that had scaled half the castle by now, Jace floating over to him, grabbing onto a loose brick. “Last one up’s a rotten Scootaloo egg!” He chuckled as he jumped off and floated himself, taking the staff and snapping it in half. He spun the halves around and hit the ends on the side of the castle, two scythe blades ejecting. He started to climb by putting one blade in after the other. He was almost as fast as Praxis.

“Glad to see you could make it, slowpoke!” Praxis said to him.

“Who knew that they were that skilled?” Luna remarked, going starry-eyed at them both. Celestia just shot her a glare.

“Allow me to remind you,” she said. She began waving her front hooves mystically around her horn, then pushing her hooves out. She turned around sharply, pretended to catch something, then threw it away to the side. She was acting out how Praxis had disposed of her almighty solar flare like an empty can. “Does that answer your question?”

“Oh,” the lunar princess said.

Jace couldn’t hear anything around him. The adrenaline pumping through his system blocked out his hearing to get the other senses sharpened. His eyes were focused on the climb ahead of him. Soon, he got to be faster and eventually pulled the blades from the walls and just let himself fall. He closed his eyes as he fell, getting a scare out of the princesses.

“Tia! Help him!” Luna wailed to her elder sister as Jace free-falled. Celestia got a spell ready, but as she was about to cast, a boom was heard from below her. She stopped charging and looked down to see Jace’s legs and arms enveloped in a black substance.

“FIVE SECOND HEAD START, FLUFFY!” he yelled up as he grabbed onto the side of the castle. “That’s all you get!” His red glow returned as he pulled himself up and his legs were sheathed in the red glow, making him stick to the side of the castle. “Five, four, three, two, one, ready or not! Heh, HERE I COME!” He took off at full speed up the castle, running as if he was on horizontal land. The flat surface made his running faster and faster as he soon caught up to Praxis again.

“Wussumatter Prax? Guess a weresatyr is no match for a reaper mage.” A soft chuckle was let out as his eyes were covered with a pair of what seemed to be shades. “Gotta jet.” He smirked and let his hands fall down under him, let out a glow, and propel him to go faster than Praxis.

“Oh, Goddamnit,” Praxis complained, giving himself one last pull removing his talons from the tower’s walls and copying Jace’s form of movement as he started to pick up more speed.

He was right next to Jace when--

*BOOOOOOOOOOM*

“HOLY SHIT!!!” Jace exclaimed, the wind of the black and brown sonic boom nearly veering him off course. He watched his sunglasses dislodged from his head and break as they landed on the cobblestone floor of the castle. “HOW IN THE HELL?!”

“BIIIIIIITCH!!!” Praxis called back as he shot up the tower and used his talons to swing into an open window and into the room of Princess Luna. Jace finally came in through the window a split second after Praxis, the former’s eyes shrinking to pinpoints. His fists were clenched around his sagewood staff and were shaking viciously.

“NOOOOOOOO! HOW COULD I HAVE LOST?!” Jace wailed in feigned despair. Praxis removed a pair of black sunglasses from Luna’s dresser and put them on.

“Deal with it.”

“Anyways... was that a fucking Sonic Darkboom?” Jace stared at Praxis as he walked over to him, who had to nod awkwardly. “‘Cause it fucked with my Sonic Mageboom. Original, I know.” Praxis raised a brow at the names of the speeds the two could reach. “Hey, it’s the only thing I can think of... when in reaper form, I do a Sonic Deathboom.”

“Would you shut your trap of your nonsense!?”

Jace shot Praxis his greatest troll-face.

“You mad, Prax?” he asked obnoxiously.

“I ain’t even mad, Jay,” he responded calmly. “Now where is that bag of Bits?” He glanced around left and right, searching for something that would hold the golden currency.

“I got this. I lose shit all the time. All I need is a Bit...” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of the shiny metal coins. “...and my magic will scope out the same object. Handy for when you lose your socks in a pile of pizza boxes and beer cans.” The coins started to have a crimson aura of magic surround them as Jace channeled his magic into them. Simultaneously, a faint light the same color of Jace’s magic began to emanate from underneath Luna’s bed.

“You gonna go get it?” Jace nudged Praxis in the ribs.

“Um, hell no. Hello?!” Praxis rubbed his ribs and shot a fiery-eyed glare at Jace. “That’s a disrespect of privacy. That is bad, and you should feel bad.”

“There might be some kinky things down there~”

That piqued Praxis’s curiosity. “This interests me....” Without further adieu, he got low to the floor and started looking for the Bits bag.

‘Hah, what a dumbass,’ mused Jace.

‘I heard that,’ Praxis thought.

“DAMN IT!” Jace stomped in frustration as he shouted this. “Why, why, WHY did I leave my magic on still!?” He dispelled the magic aura he had around his hands and the small mound of Bits that rested in his palm.

“Wow, you’re bad at this,” Praxis told him verbally

“Did you find it yet?” Jace was growing impatient. ‘At least I can actually do arcane magic..’

“All I see are old candy bar wrappers and a few Cosmarepolitans.”

“Is Fleur de Lis on there?” Jace was a little more hopeful, his impatience wiped away.

“Fuck yeah, dude... and she’s in a kinky saddle... with black stockings!”

“Ka-ching!”

“Yeah, I’m beginning to think Luna and Celestia read these things for MORE than the makeup sections... if you know what I mean.”

Jace tried to suppress the laughter that would ensue. “I know EXACTLY what you mean, man. And I don’t blame them.”

“Ooh, a can!” The sound of metal being devoured soon followed after that statement.

“Now is not snack time!” Jace almost threw his handful of Bits out the window from how apoplectic he had become.

“Screw you, you slave driver!” Praxis shouted, mouth full of aluminum.”*Gulp* oh hey, I found it!” Praxis crawled out of the midnight blue bed and stood up, proudly holding up a moderately sized pouch of Bits. He gave it a shake to confirm that there was indeed money in it. A satisfying jingle then followed.

“Nicely done,” Jace told him. “Guess we’d better head back.”

“Too right.”

“Ah, you’re back.” Celestia nodded at the duo of friends as they returned, handing the solar deity the bag of Bits she wanted. “I’m glad to see you that two haven’t killed each other.”

”Well, it was kinda hard not to,” Jace said sarcastically, giving Praxis another nudge in the ribs. The weresatyr gave a weak chuckle.

“Excellent.” Luna turned to Celestia. “Ready, sister?”

“Ready when you are, Luna.” She and Luna stood back to back (plot to plot?) and raised their heads, their spiraling horns elevated high into the air, ready to pierce the heavens. A blue magic aura encased Luna’s horn, a golden aura encased Celestia’s. By Luna’s will, the moon began to descend out of sight, ushering in the molten light of Celestia’s sun.

As the sun finally arose into view, bathing the world in its luminance, Praxis felt a gentle tug right behind his navel. The Curse Seal began to glow. Another glow, white and beginning at his chest, made itself evident as it encased him in its radiant light. Tendrils of pureness started to loosely shroud around him, yet they held him as a mother would its babe. He started to levitate into the air, knees bent as he clutched his head. The markings that covered his body were beginning to fade away. The long black talons that accented his hands were receding, turning back into blunt, clear nails. His white messy hair seemed to shoot back into his scalp as they turned back into brown. The horns on his head shot back into his skull along with his hair, no longer meandering as they became simple curves of black again. The fur on his legs and his cloven hooves returned to their usual brown hue. His sharp teeth became flat, his forked tongue became rounded, and his eyes returned to bearing white vitreous fluid, round pupils, and brown irises.

The strange light dissipated, specks of it floating away. The normal Praxis fell to the floor with a thud. His eyelids were heavy, his head was pounding, and his limbs were aching. The Princesses and Jace came to the temporarily fallen satyr’s aid.

“Ow...” Praxis groaned, rubbing his temples. “I feel like I got ran over by a speeding semi on the highway...” He looked down at his navel and gulped. While he had returned to normal, not all of the markings that tattooed him were gone: more of them still lingered, his entire abdomen now coated in them.

“Glad to see you’re normal now, Fluffy.” Jace gave his hand to help Praxis arise.

“Indeed,” Luna concurred. “‘Twas quite a sight, Praxis. And I thanketh both thee and thy companion Jace for bringing me mine currency.”

“Ah, ‘twas nothing, ma’am.” Praxis’s Shakespony ‘swag’ had returned as he crossed his arms in pride. Luna released a short burst of giggles.

“Very well, break it up, you too.” Celestia had on her best poker face, yet on the inside, she was bubbling with joy. Her sister Luna and the satyr were perfect bait for the giant fish of blackmail. “Now let me continue raising the sun ALL the way up first.”

Jace’s face didn’t change much through the process, just waiting for her to do what she needed to do. When finished, he stepped forward. “Dear Princesses, I am honestly humbled to have gone and done your little fetch quest but, I must know of a certain pony. A dear friend who has taken off for Stalliongrad and into the Zone...”

“The Zone, you say?” At the mention of the Goddess-forsaken land of radioactively-altered and undead ponies, Celestia’s poker face was a dropped egg, breaking into pieces and revealing her inner feeling: worry. “Oh, my. What was his name?”

“Paskov Lington, a friend that came from Stalliongrad. He actually got me to a point where I was thinking about becoming a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.” Celestia shook her head and looked at Jace with worry.

“I swear, Jason, if you do anything stupid, I wouldn’t be able to ever forgive myself. You and Coal were the first humans here in Equestria, and it devastated me when Coal died.”

“Yeah, I know... I miss the guy, I really do. But I’ve moved on after a while. Now, is it possible to track him, or am I going to have to go to Stalliongrad?” Celestia’s eyes widened a bit at the mention of Jace going there himself.

“Well... I’m afraid I can’t do that, Jace. I’m sorry, but... even I’m not that powerful.” Jace nodded in understanding at the solar deity’s words.

“Then I take my leave after the threat of Insanity is taken care of.” This got Praxis worried next.

“That reminds me of what we came for.” Praxis looked around to see if anypony was coming. When the coast was clear, he pressed on. “Insanity might be planning something big, like, end-of-the-world big. But I have a simple idea. Since he was the one who made me into the weresatyr, Jace presumes we have to destroy him in order to cure me.”

“But how?” Celestia was baffled at the very thought of slaying someone more powerful than her and Luna combined. “It is obviously easier said than done, Praxis.”

“Hey, I said it was simple, not easy.”

“Is... is this Shadow Fiber?” Luna, who was bored with the idea of fighting - despite there were countless battles and wars a thousand years prior - had scooped her hoof under Praxis’s muscle shirt and pulled it to her muzzle, examining it thoroughly.

“Erm... yes?” said the satyr, confused at the sudden change of topic.

“How in all of Equestria did you acquire such a rare thing?” asked Celestia. “It was banned eight years ago!”

“Let’s just say... me and Prax know a very good friend...” Jace told her.

“But that’s not important!” Praxis raised his hands to stop the irrelevant conversation at hand. “What’s important is that we get rid of Insanity before I start actually DYING from my Corruption... is that possible?”

“Allow me to examine.” Celestia told him. She placed the tip of her horn on his navel and closed her eyes, concentrating on the mysteries that the Curse Seal had barred access to. Jace and Luna passed the time by playing patty-cake, and Luna was winning by a long shot. Hooves were much harder than the flesh of hands, therefore they cause the bearer of the latter to wince in pain whenever the former came in contact with it.

Just as Celestia’s horn began to glow to solve the anomaly, she was interrupted by somepony shouting her and Luna’s royal titles.

“Princesses!”

Praxis, Jace, and the Princesses turned to see a white unicorn stallion galloping towards them. He was helmetless, his royal blue mane and tail, streaked with cyan, trailed in the wind. He was wearing a red sleeved shirt, smoothed and cleaned to resemble something that reminded Jace and Praxis of the shirt Prince William wore on ths Royal Wedding back on Earth. The stallion’s Cutie Mark, a purple shield with a hot pink six-sided starburst, was a metal put upon his chest. Shining Armor had sweat running down his face when he had received the news.

“Princesses!” Shining heaved, flicking the perspiration from off of his brow. “I have very bad news.” He took notice to Jace and nodded in a friendly manner to him. “Hello, Jace,” he said.

“‘Sup?” Jace responded. Praxis caught Shining’s eye, and quick as a whip, the stallion levitated the satyr abruptly and swiftly with his magic

“AH! DAMN IT! PUT ME DOWN!” Praxis was flipping and turning in midair, the rotations and revolutions making him nauseous. “STOP IT! I’M GETTING DIZZY, YOU CHEAPSHOT-TAKING MOTHERFU-”

“Shining Armor!” Luna interrupted Praxis before he could commence his profane rant. “Please... put our guest down.”

The captain of the Royal Guard stared at the lunar princess like she was crazy. Yet, unlike Admiral Charcoal, he obeyed her. The purple magical grip he had on Praxis had vanished. The satyr fell to the ground for a second time, landing face first.

“Mmkph, I RMMPHH hpmht emmtmmg dirmph,” he said in a muffled voice, his mouth half-full with the garden’s peat.

“What’d he say?” Shining Armor asked.

“I believe he said, ‘OK, I REALLY hate eating dirt’?” Celestia then shrugged at her guess. Praxis lifted his face out of the soil and spat it out. He dusted off his clothes and shook the dirt out of his fur.

“Princesses,” he began. “With all due respect, may I ask as to why you wanted me to release the satyr? Isn’t he wanted?”

“Not anymore,” Celestia told him.

“Oh....” Shining turned to Praxis. “Sorry about that.” He stuck out his hoof. “Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard and Twilight Sparkle’s brother.”

“Apology accepted, Mr. Armor.” Praxis grabbed Shining’s extended hoof and shook it firmly. “Name’s Praxis Moradov. Satyr, singer, and...” He glanced at Princess Luna. “Ladie’s man. Or, mare’s stallion. Whichever.”

“You’re in WAY over your head, Fluffy,” Luna told him icily, though she couldn’t conceal the faint blushing of her cheeks.

“Hey, hey, hey, ‘Fluffy’ is Vinyl and Jace’s schtick. Off limits to anypony else.”

“Hold on, our messenger hawk brought me important news to tell you all.” Shining took control of the board.

“WE’RE GOING TO DIDNEY WORL?!” Jace feigned his excitement, yet acted it out very well as he thrusted his fists into the air in celebration.

“...No,” Shining deadpanned. “No, we’re not.”

“B’aaww.”

“I have news, and it’s VERY bad. Apparently... Stalliongrad had been attacked. It’s a barren wasteland now, to nopony’s surprise, but... something’s off. Rather than the zombies staying IN the Zone, they seem to be moving OUT of it. Reports say that they were moving towards Baltimare... and Insanity is their ringleader.

“Ok, for one Shining, I can tell you right now that is complete bullcrap. I’ve done my research on the Zone. Much like an occurrence that took place in my world; Chernobyl, Ukraine. The blast radius of that Magical Reactor that made the Zone is the only thing keeping the mutants ALIVE. If you stray too far, they fall over from lack of radiation that keeps them going. If you are getting reports, then they’re probably some tourists or newcomers to the area.” Jace looked at Shining, who was wearing a shocked expression. “Yes, I did my homework on this. I have a friend in the Zone right now. If they did get out, then S.T.A.L.K.E.R.S. would be swarming the area to take care of the problem.”

“But I’m TELLING you, Jace, something is definitely up. These... THINGS... have a mind of their own, rather than before, when they would just wander around. If Insanity is their leader, and he is the overlord of both darkness and madness, then he did... SOMETHING... to make the zombies survive outside the Magical Reactor’s blast radius. Some of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.S were actually KILLED in action... one of them even reported to us that they were like machines. Ghostly, bloodthirsty machines. I have reason to suspect that Insanity put some sort of curse on them, making them nigh impervious to the damage done by the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.S.” Jace’s jaw dropped at Shining’s solid, albeit contradictory, fact. “Damn straight, son.”

“Oh, shit. Please let Paskov be alright...” He sighed and paced in a circle. “If he is making them stay alive OUTSIDE of the Zone, then he has to have some serious Magical Radiation to keep them going.”

“Either that,” Praxis started, “or Insanity has possessed them somehow... when I was dreaming one time, on the day I got the Seal, Insanity sent these... weird, ethereal monsters attacking me in my mind. It didn’t hurt, but... they’re what made me succumb to his Curse.”

“And don’t worry. Paskov is fine: he’s the one who sent me the messenger hawk, after all. He and the remaining S.T.A.L.K.E.R.S evacuated before things got out of hoof.” Shining waved a hoof to dismiss any worries created by the issues.

It didn’t quite work.

“Stalliongrad is GONE?” Luna moaned in despair. “But that’s where me and Tia import their vo-” She stopped herself before she said the word “vodka”.

“Um...” Celestia picked up the pieces for her sister. “Vo... various items! Yes, that’s it!” She and Luna shared the exact same nervous smile. Praxis narrowed his eyes at how ridiculous their faces appeared. Was it him, or could he possibly read the two princesses emotions? Did he sense guilt and anxiety?

“Alright, then.” The satyr was still unconvinced.

“Well, then. Better get back to my post.” Shining Armor dashed off towards the castle’s entrance without a moment’s notice.

As Jace contemplated on the subject of the zombies escaping the Zone, he saw the blades of his scythes sticking up from the ground. He walked over and picked them up, hitting the two broken ends together to make it whole again. His magic wrapped around the crack and patched it together again, like nothing happened. He spun the double bladed scythe around a bit and smirked. “Well on a lighter note... hey, Prax, check it out. I’m Darth Maul.” He started to do several dangerous and crazy stunts with the scythe, spinning it around and around with ease.

“Yeah, probably not the best time for that, Jace....” He stopped when he heard this and the blade on the bottom of the scythe retracted.

“Sorry....” Walking over to the wall, he leaned against it. An arm reached out of the shadows and put it over Jace’s mouth. “MMFH! MMMM! MMMMMMMMM!!!” His muffled cries were heard by Praxis, whose acute sense of hearing surpassed anyone else’s by ten fold.

“Jace!” He ran to his friend, grabbing onto his arm as he was sucked into the shadows of the wall. “Hang on, pal! I’ll getcha out of this!”

“MMMMMFHH! MMMMMMMMM!!!!” Came the response as several more arms reached out and pulled Jace deeper into the darkness’s depths. “MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!” Was the last cry Jace could muster as he was sucked into the black of the wall.

Praxis, who had still been grabbing onto his friend’s arm for his dear life, was forced to let go. He fell onto his arse when Jace was gone. “No! We need to get him back!” He pounded on the wall, trying to punch the creatures that were no longer there. “GIVE HIM BACK, YOU BASTARDS!”

XVIII - The Plan (Jace Arc: Part I)

Shadow’s Note: I’ve been thinking about tinkering with the P.O.V. a little bit for these arcs. There will be two of them: one of Jace, the other with Praxis. For the P.O.V of the arcs that focus on the character, I wanna do first person for them. Let the character’s feelings and thoughts simply... jump at you. Do you agree, Craimer?

Craimer’s Note: Well of course my esteemed colleague! I think that is a fantabulous idea. But, you do realize for most of the Jace arc, it will be written by myself since, he’s my character.

Shadow’s Note: Excellent. Because even though I know Jace a little bit, he is obviously YOUR character, so I won’t know how Jace thinks, feels, and reacts. So you shall take control of the board for this arc.

Craimer’s Note: WELL HELLO SHADOW, WE ARE IN THE SAME DOC ON GOOGLE. HOW ARE YOU TODAY?

Shadow’s Note: EXCELLENT, MY GOOD SIR CRAIMER. SHALL YOU BEGIN THE STORY, BOYO?

Craimer’s Note: WILL DO!

XVIII - The Plan

Jace Arc: Part I

Coldness.

Darkness.

Misery.

Right now, this was what I was feeling as my body was pulled into the black shadows. The arms grabbing my body were many, so there was no use of shaking them off. ‘I’m going to die here...’ I thought to myself as I just felt myself fall into nothing.

Air whipped past my face as I descended into the black abyss. The hands had long since went away and I was alone in this realm. Little dim balls of light just floated around, looking feeble as they try to brighten. I tried to touch one, yet before I could make contact with it, the light dissipated. I saw the small ball that held its luminance dim and become dark. It fell into the dark surface I walked on, never to arise again.

You know, it’s funny. I’ve had this experience before, long ago. When I was first in the beginning stages of Markarth, when it was my own little Purgatory.

“Welcome to the Graveyard of Dreams, Jace Romero, where everybody’s hopes and surreality come... to die.”

I spun around as quick as a bullet to see who had spoken. I saw something huge coming my way. Red eyes shone in its face, which bore teeth as long and sharp as daggers, the tips barely touching the obsidian-colored gums. It was trailing black wisps behind it as it advanced towards me. The horns on its head rivaled Praxis’s in both length and lethality. The thing was enormous, towering over me by twice my height.

I stared down the figure as it strode towards me. I could feel my own eyes slowly changing to their red hue, signaling anger or annoyance. I reach to my back to grab my scythe, but it’s not there. Returning my arm to my side, I stared down the figure. “You must be Insanity....”

“Indeed I am, kiddo,” the deity whose name wasn’t a misnomer told me. “So do you like this little land I’ve erected? Quite stunning, if you ask me.”

“I never asked you,” I retorted flatly.

“Well, too damn bad. I have news for you, your little goat bastard pal, Praxis, and your drunk raver slut of a marefriend, Vinyl--”

“DON’T TALK ABOUT VINYL LIKE THAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH!” I cocked my fist back to punch him in his stomach, yet it just... passed through him. He was intangible, his form shifting to leave a gaping hole where my fist would’ve struck him. Insanity just cackled maniacally at the scene. His laughs rang throughout the Graveyard of Dreams and shivers running viciously up my spine. I withdrew my fist before his dark figure could grasp it.

“You foolish human!” he choked through his demonic laughter.

“Human? I find that insulting.” Insanity stopped and turned to face me. I pointed to my glowing eyes with a smirk. “I thought you knew I was a reaper. Wow, where have you been?”

“Oh, simply planning the obliteration of Equestria.” Insanity swiped a clawed hand at the air on his left side. A small rift appeared to have opened where he slashed. He dug his hands into it and opened it widely. I nearly screamed at the sight.

Princess Luna’s moon was shown in the rift. Yet, there was something off. Unlike when the craters in the lunar surface of the giant, rocky orb were rearranged to resemble Nightmare Moon, there were no craters to depict the evil face that the moon now bore. The jagged-toothed, open mouth smile that it presented scared me, yet nothing was more frightful than the eyes. The blank, empty eyes, staring coldly at me, the gaze nearly piercing my soul. I watched it, a flaming ball of annihilation, descend into the surface of Equestria, destroying everything that stood before it. Every iota of me shrieked in fear. But I stood my emotional ground and refused to succumb to the terrifying sight that I was witnessed.

Alas, I only did HALF of a good job. A chuckle from Insanity was the thing that snapped me back into the black reality I was currently residing in. After a while, a thought arose in my head and I started to laugh like a maniac.

“Umm... why are you laughing, simpleton?” Insanity asked, slightly disturbed at how my laughter had begun, and it seemed like it wouldn’t stop.

My laughter subsided after a while as my hand reached into my shirt and I tore the Calling Card from my neck. With a senile look at Insanity, I placed it on the ground. “You’ve made a mistake, pal... Bringing me right to you.” A look of worry washed over Insanity’s face. I could only smirk. “Because with bringing me, you’ve brought three.”

“Do your worst. What could possibly go wrong?” At that statement, Insanity spread his hands out. Orange electricity crackled around his black arms as it struck the ground. The black surface rippled in a pond-like manner. Bubbles of the black, disgusting matter began to rise. The bubbles took form of some of the most monstrous creatures I’ve seen. Soon, a whole hoard of chimaeras, draconiqui, dragons, wolves, hydras, and many other horrendous animals and monsters stood behind Insanity. The creatures roared, howled, screeched, or cackles wickedly, their glowing yellow eyes shining with malice and evil at the decimation they will cause. Insanity snapped his fingers. The monsters and beasts sank back into the ground. I was painfully reminded of the evil witch at the end of the Wizard of Oz, except this time, there were about thousands of them, and they were all dangerous.

“Impressive...I can raise you one as equal.” My hands waved over the Card as my magic overtook the hourglass. The top opened and a sagewood staff arose from its demonic innards. “Come my pets, it’s time to wreak havoc...” I lifted the staff and then let the butt fall to the ground, letting out a red shockwave. From behind him, demons rose from the ground, standing at attention. “Oh, this is the start of my army.” The blade of the scythe quickly shot out and a smirk played at my lips. “Here comes the main course!” Revving the blade, I slammed it into the ground and ripped back, a fissure opening and letting in thousands and thousands of demon spawn.

Insanity let out a low whistle at the sight of my demonic armada. “What a BEAUTIFUL collection you have there!” he darkly complimented. “I hope you don’t mind if I... DESECRATE IT!” He pointed his open hand at my army of demons. Half of them resisted the orange, surging lightning, but the other half... they didn’t stand a chance. They started twisting and writhing, much like Praxis when he transformed into the weresaytr that everypony now despises so much. The demons affected by the lightning exploded. Their black gore dispersed across the Graveyard of Dreams.

“Trust me, dude, there’s more where that came from...” The fissure was still opened, and flooding out came more demons to replace the ones that had fallen. “Now tell me, what’s this about the Zone? Got bored and wanted to start the cliche zombie apocalypse?”

“Cliche? Oh my, you are quite dense, aren’t you? It would only be cliche if they were actually zombies. My Shadowlings are... overshadowing them, taking control of them from in the inside. Just like how I overshadowed that hydra that your friends slayed.”

“That was you?!” I was pissed. If Insanity wasn’t intangible, I would’ve pulled a Zeus and chop him into pieces with my scythe before casting him into Tartarus. “Right, well, that’s still a cliche. So many movies have done the whole demon apocalypse as well. Hell, I’m a fucking cliche. I’m Death!”

“Not yet, you aren’t...” The voice came from the Calling Card as it expelled a black cloaked figure into the Graveyard. “You still have ten years in the Card...” The figure turned to Insanity. “Ah, yes. You. I remember you. Demon High, 1098...”

“Oh, Zeke, I can’t believe you remember me! Honestly, I’m flattered!” Insanity’s “dreamy” tone soon morphed into one of boredom. “So what’ve you been up to, Bonehead?” Zeke still remembers that old nickname. Oh, how he hated it.

“What? Going back to your roots of being a giant dickface like in highschool? A thousand years and you haven’t changed a bit.” He shook his head, reaching out a skeletal hand and pointing to the Card. It let off the same glow as when Zeke was coming out and Aksheal’s form started to take shape next to Jace.

“Now, I’m one you do not know... Allow me to introduce myself.” Aksheal’s hands sheathed in red magic and formed into a pair of red swords. “Aksheal, God of Markarth. At your fucking service.”

“Nice to meet you, Aksheal. And it will be even nicer when I destroy Markarth WITH Equestria. If I recall, aren’t the two worlds interlinked through that boy’s little necklace? Which reminds me. Hourglasses? Really? Honestly, child, your taste in fashion is grotesque.”

“Speaking of things that are grotesque...” I was unamused at Insanity’s taunt. “What’s wrong with your fucking face? It looks like somebody took Slenderman, gave him some meat, and drew a face on him. Really, my SON can draw up something better than you, AND HE’S NOT EVEN BORN YET!”

“And what about YOU? A kid who just MAGICALLY came to Equestria because the tendrils of Death sucked you and Coal under? Bitch, please. That’s unbelievably cliche. At least your damn goat friend came here because Lyra was a sniveling and nosy mare, who apparently has the hots for that livestock freak of nature the day she met him.”

“Keep talking about Praxis, motherfucker.” I was livid. My fists were wringing the sagewood of my scythe. “I KNOW that he and I will be rid of you. I just know it.”

“Keep dreaming, whelp. It’ll still end up here, and rot for all eternity.” Insanity pointed two fingers at the figures of Aksheal and Zeke. Orange lightning shot from his fingers and struck the two figures in the chest. They both disappeared with a *pop*

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!?” I shouted.

“Oh... making sure no one helps you....” He advanced towards me again.

“Help? They barely help me at all...” My grip on the scythe had me feeling slivers in my hands. “I’m all the help I need.” My grip alone snapped the scythe in two, having the two halves fall to the ground. Since he wasn’t tangible, I couldn’t hit him, so what was the point of picking it up?

The same thought rang through my head, ‘I’m going to die here.’ It played over and over like a broken record player, soon finding a permanent spot in the back of my cerebellum. I stepped back from Insanity, eyes still planted on the floor.

“Ta-taaaa~” Insanity charged forward and gave me a little push. For such a tiny nudge, it had a ferocious force to it. I was tilting backwards, flailing my arms to regain balance. I was barely standing on the one solitary foot that made contact with the ground. Insanity dealt the final blow. Literally. He sucked in as much breath as he could before letting it all out in one, little puff of exhalation.

That did it, alright.

Before I knew it, I had lost my balance and had toppled backwards. What I thought was black ground was nothing but a never ending abyss. I was falling down into its greedy and bottomless maw, the blackness swirled around me. I wasn’t screaming, I wasn’t crying, I was just... falling. Tumbling down into the darkness that suffocated me, infecting me like the plague. I shut my eyes and succumbed to the darkness.

But something didn’t feel.... right wasn’t the correct word for this feeling. Something felt... inappropriate.

Yeah, that’s the right word... Inappropriate....

And I had proof to support that feeling. Was it me? Or did the blackness seemed to brighten as I kept falling?

It seemed so. I opened my eyes and gulped.

I was back in Equestria and out of the Graveyard of Dreams. I could see the castle of Canterlot gleaming in the still morning sunlight. I would’ve gasped at the captivating beauty of it all.

I would’ve... if it weren’t for the fact that I was falling at terminal velocity through the clouds. Straight towards the ground would be both my catcher... and my grave.

“Aw, shit.”

XIX - Quite A Bombshell (Jace Arc: Part II)

XIX - Quite A Bombshell

Jace Arc: Part II

I knew I was falling. The wind that whipped my hair, stung my eyes, and made my clothes billow in it told me so. I reached for my Chain Scythe, but couldn’t find it there. Instead, it was freefalling next to me, along with the Calling Card. The two items were spinning wildly, like out-of-control tops. I tried to channel my magic to levitate me and my objects. I stuck my hand out and concentrated...

...Only to have feeble crimson sparks shoot out of my palm.

‘Did Insanity temporarily take my powers away?!’ I thought furiously and worriedly. That push he gave me... it wasn’t just a push, was it? Did it REALLY stop me from channeling my magic and blocking my chakras? If I couldn’t perform magic, I couldn’t levitate myself. And if I couldn’t levitate myself....

Yep: Time to scream.

“FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!”

I roared as loud as I could, hoping that someone would hear me. The ground was getting eerily closer. I know how Praxis felt when he jumped out of the castle to escape.

As a matter of fact, screw him. He may have done a little bit of falling, but his fluffy ass was lucky that he didn’t have to fall from right outside the thermosphere.

The ground was now so close, I could make out the trees, the ant-sized ponies, and many other things.

I shut my eyes. I couldn’t believe it. Even if I died, I’d still be resurrected back in Markarth... right? But since my powers were briefly removed from me... I still had my doubts.

That’s when a Neighpanese bonsai tree, right in the middle of the garden, had grown to an astronomical height and caught me in its grandeur bush of pink leaves.

“Alright, it worked!” said a familiar voice. I looked up and saw Praxis holding his flute. Princess Luna had gone inside to get her bedrest before getting up to watch over the night, yet Princess Celestia had remained.

“Excellent work, Praxis,” she congratulated. “I didn’t think satyrs were capable of magic.”

“They are, but it only works with nature and life, not anything else,” he informed her as I hopped out of the bundle of leaves and slid precariously down the dark brown trunk of the now gargantuan bonsai tree.

Running over to Praxis, I hugged him like he was my life. “THANK. YOU.” It was a quick hug, but it was strong. He released a bleat in surprise from the embrace, but he got over it quickly. Hearing the familiar clang of metal on the ground next to me, I turned to find my scythe, still broken in half. “Ahhh, fuck. I can’t repair this...” I let out a sigh and tried my powers again, but to no avail. Only sparks were emitted. “DAMMIT!” I throw them at the ground, rubbing my temples.

“This is pissing me off...” Then, came the worst noise I’ve ever heard. The shattering of glass from behind me, and sound of tiny pieces of gravel shifting. “Oh...No...” Turning slowly, my eyes met the most horrible of scenes: my destroyed Calling Card. The glass and black sand were everywhere, a victim of a crash collision. “No, no, no, no, NO!” I ran to it, mind racing if I’ll be able to go to Markarth or see Zeke ever again.

I fell to my knees in front of the card, picking up the sand and trying furiously to get it back into the shattered hourglass. “No! No, you bastard! Stay in the glass!” Frantically trying to get the sand into the glass, I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Praxis staring at me with worry.

“Jace! What happened?!” I pushed him away, still trying to get the card together. “Jace! Stop! It’s broken!”

“IT CAN’T BE BROKEN!” I shot back, turning to the satyr. “It can’t! That’s the only thing keeping Markarth tied to Equestria!”

“HELLOOOO, WEAKLIIIIINGS!”

We looked up at the sky for what had boomed in that voice, and our hearts raced in our chests before they plummeted into our stomachs, dissolving in the acid.

Insanity’s face had appeared in the sky, lipless mouth formed in a wicked grin. His red glowing eyes leered at the ponies, griffins, dragons, and other creatures that dwell the land of Equestria. Celestia’s, Praxis’s, and my faces were contorted in rage as we stared up at the transparent image in the atmosphere.

“GET READY TO ENJOY THE LAST TWO MONTHS OF YOUR PETTY LIVES!” he bellowed at us all. “BECAUSE WHEN THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT COMES, ALL SHALL BE PURGED IN FIRE! THIS LAND... SHALL BE WREATHED IN FLAMES AS THE MOON WILL DESCEND UPON EQUESTRIA, DESTROYING EVERYTHING! ALL... WILL... DIE!”

The image faded away, yet the monster’s message still rang in my ears. “All... will... die.”

“This is not good,” Celestia muttered, pacing back and forth.

“Praxis, Celestia, how long was I out?” I was desperate, I wanted to know how long I had been gone for. What if Insanity was joshing us, and the three months had already passed?

“You’ve been gone for almost two days,” Praxis answered. When I saw his eyes, there was no shine. No joy. No hope. He knew that it would be inevitable.

“Praxis... two days?!” It just seemed impossible. “That’s bullshit, man!”

“Don’t believe me?” He lifted up his undershirt, where I gasped and almost shuddered from the sight. The satyr’s entire front torso was plagued with the black markings, stopping at his chest. I was filled with fury for the deity of madness and darkness almost immediately.

“It’s true,” Celestia told me. “Whenever he doesn’t shed any blood while being the weresatyr at night, the Corruption begins to get worse and worse, while any violence he performs quells the Corruption and causes it to fall back. Last night, I heard screams while I was sleeping. Me and Luna found him there on the ground in the gardens, right next to a tree that he had been sleeping in. He was screaming bloody murder, and was twitching uncontrollably. It took hours to quiet him down. Luna was nearly in tears from it all.”

“So why can’t you fix your staff?” Praxis asked me.

“Because of Insanity. He took me away from you guys and into the Graveyard of Dreams, where all hope dies. He pushed me away after revealing me his plans, and the push he gave seemed to have sapped me of my powers... but only temporarily... I hope.” Sure enough, I tried to pick up Praxis’s flute telekinetically, and a faint crimson aura shrouded it. I lifted it up for about seven seconds before the mental and magical strain.

“Dammit...” I released the magical hold on it and shook my head. “This is bad, Prax. Real bad. Without the card, I can’t do anything!”

“Are you so sure, Jason?” I turned around, expecting to see something but I didn’t. “You forget that I reside in your mind.”

“Oh, thank Celestia, Aksheal. You’re alright.” I let out a sigh of relief and listened to Aksheal.

“You’re welcome,” Celestia said wryly.

“Yes, but as of now, Markarth is in a state of panic. What ever happened in the Graveyard sapped my powers as well, but the Magic Well in my tower is helping me cope with not having any magic in my internal well. Your powers are going to come back to you in a day’s time. But in the meantime, conserve your energy. It will take longer if you keep using it in your current state. The Scythe will stay broken, but at least you will be able to pick it up and use the one with the blade. You still have Reaper magic in your blood, only a tiny amount, but enough to show that you’re a true Reaper.” I nodded in understanding as I picked the bladed half of the Scythe back up.

“Will I be able to collect souls with it?”

“Yes. That will never change about the scythe. The thing you cannot do, is use your Chaos Reaper power. Be aware of how many souls you collect, the more souls, the longer you stay in Chaos Reaper form.”

“Then, why would I have to worry?” I could feel the eyes on me as everyone just stared at me.

“Because when you do get your powers back, and decide to use the form, you will be using the souls stored in the Scythe. Have too many, and you’ll be stuck in the form for days, months even.”

“That, doesn’t sound so good. Is Markarth still accessible if I’m too wounded?”

“It will be. But I will be as weak as you since I’m linked to your body.”

“Well, that’s fan-fucking tastic.” I sighed again and kicked the giant bonsai tree. “Piece of shit, Insanity...” Another smirk played on my lips. “I know I’m more powerful than that piece of shit.” I whispered to myself with a slight chuckle. “I got a little trick up my sleeve. Praxis, come here. I need to tell you something.”

I dug around in my pocket, looking for just the right thing. At last, I found it. A small necklace, wrought from silver, was clenched in my hands. At the end of it, was a small pair of silver hands clutching an empty crystal ball.

“We could imprison Insanity in this,” I told him. “It’ll be simple. I know a small incantation that would trap him in this small glass ball, and it’ll act as his tiny prison forever.”

“Well, that’s all fine and dandy but, how do we get him weak enough to not be able to break out?”

I wave my scythe a bit and chuckled. “Chaos Reaper. You and Me.”

“...Are you fucking kidding me?” Praxis was incredulous to my answer.

“Nope. Chaos Reaper and Weresatyr will join together to stop the giant dickhead, Insanity. I think it might be a good idea.”

“Well, it’s easier said than done, dude.” Praxis just shrugged. “Aw, but why not? I wanna get back at that asshole for cursing me, and the monster he created is perfect for the plan.”

“Good! Now, here’s the plan. When my powers come back to me, I’ll fix the Card. You go in for a few days and Zeke will teach you what you need to do. The process will take a good three days, but it’ll be worth it in the end. You’ll become a Reaper like me and get your own scythe to be able to turn into a Chaos Weresatyr. With both of those powers together, you can stir up some serious badassery. I also found a little trick I could’ve done the first time I transformed. I’ll teach you later, but for now, we gotta sleep on it.” A thought then entered my mind. “How’s Vinyl doing?”

“She’s great, man. She’s waiting in the castle for you. The baby’s almost here...” The look on my face gave Praxis even more permission to continue. “What, you didn’t ACTUALLY think that equines develop foals for a whole nine months, did you?”

“I, uh... I kinda did.”

“Dude, even I know when horses have kids, and I NEVER paid attention in my biology class...come to think of it, I still don’t.”

“Indeed so,” Celestia interjected. “Ponies only breed for about usually one or two months, but your case is rare. What with human genes mixing with pony genes, the human time of birth is halved. So your little pony will be born in two-and-a-half months.”

“Two-and-a-half months?!” I was scared. That was about 15 days after the Moon of Destruction descends upon Equestria. I told her this.

“You think THAT’S bad?” Praxis said. “Princess Celestia? Do you care to break the news to our friend Jace?”

“Very well, but I hate being the bearer of bad news.” Celestia bit her lower lip and shut her eyes, emotions getting ready to break through her infamous poker face.

“Why, what’s going on?” I was curious and nervous as I tried to prepare myself for the inevitable.

“I analyzed the Curse Seal on Praxis this early morning. It's not good. It’s not good at all. I tried to analyze more of it, but when I tried to get deeper in the situation, the Seal just... deflected my magic! It’s as if the Seal caused by the parasite in Praxis’s brain is repelling any intruders!

“Whoa, parasite?” I was a little grossed out at the idea of Praxis having worms.

“Yes. Insanity’s sword, Dementia, is the parasite. It’s what’s been causing Praxis to become a monster at night. But I’m digressing. Before the Seal rejected me, I got a small amount of the Curse Seal’s intentions. No matter what Praxis does to stay alive, it will all be futile. The Corruption will eat away at him, getting stronger every day... until it’ll be too much.”

Praxis raised a hand up to silence the princess. Celestia shot him a look, but she obliged by keeping silent.

“Basically...” he started. “I’m going to die.”

XX - No Brakes (Jace Arc: Part III - Final Part [READ A/N FIRST])

Craimer’s Note: AUGH. IT’S FREAKING 8 IN THE MORNING AND I’VE BEEN UP ALL NIGHT TYPING THIS SHIT ON MY FRIEND’S LAPTOP. But, I don’t need sleep, I feel perfectly fine! Hew Shadow, you mind revising this piece of shit when you get on? Would really appreciate it, bro-chocho. Also, good news! I found a picture on how Jace looks when in Chaos Reaper form!

Shadow’s Note: That's what you get, you little insomniac. Mwahahaha... Anyways, I'm considering on altering the chapters so that the arcs actually go along, rather than them breaking. So I apologize greatly for the inconvenience when I saw that the next chapter will have to be Praxis's Arc. But y'all can skip it... if that's alright. And hallelujah for getting 75+ likes for this story! You guys are awesome!

Both Notes: AND NOW... ONTO THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER!!!

XX- No Brakes

Jace Arc: Part III (Final Part)

Well, getting home isn’t that much of a problem thankfully. Good thing I don’t need my magic to run fast, only to perform supersonic speeds. Getting home doesn’t require the feat of breaking the sound barrier. Just doing some parkour here and there will suffice.

I hope Vinyl’s fine... With the baby and everything, God I’m a fucking idiot. Never EVER lean against anything with any form of darkness covering it ever again! That shit was insane.

Looking down, I could see the remains of a broken Calling Card in my hand, the sand sometimes spilling from my hands. “Dammit! Stop spilling, you twat!” This was really starting to piss me off that my Scythe AND my only way to my healing realm are both destroyed with no way of getting them repaired until tomorrow. Do you fucking know what tomorrow will bring?!

“No clue, Jace.”

Fucking. Exactly. There’s my point, Aksheal. Honestly, I sometimes never wish I get caught up in these stupid adventures. Even though I’m immortal, I still feel as though my body is weakening with each stupid turn I make in this world. One of the worst being my slip-up with Coal...

“Hey! Don’t think about that now! I’m in the room to be able to talk with you, and it doubles as a theatre for your current thoughts. I don’t want any death i-” In my mind, Aksheal’s muscular and masculine was replaced with a feminine, more voluptuous frame. “Alright, now that’s just inappropriate, Jason...”

Ha! Gotcha with the Rule 63 again, didn’t I?

“That you did... But did it really have to be of ME?”

Ahh, c’mon, ‘Sheal! You look hot as a chick.

Aksheal shuddered. “...Now I’m going to go wash my ears. Excuse me.”

Right, now that he’s gone, I can think quietly to myself. One thing about my magic being gone is that I can’t accidentally share my thoughts with anyone!’ With a smile now planted on my face, I realized I was closer to my destination. ‘Well, I totally forgot about running and parkour and stuff. My thoughts are really entertaining sometimes... Wait...

“AHHHHHH!! LOUD DUBSTEP! IN NEW EARS!” Aksheal was back to being masculine, and he was blasted away by the vicious volume of Skrillex that I mentally conjured.

Ha...Haha....HAHAHAHAHA!!!

“MYAAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!” I burst out laughing from the reactions of my Dream Personality as I just walked into the outer city limits of Ponyville. Of course, the night dwellers were staring at me like I had gone mad. But, then again, I’m the only human that has his own realm and can choose if somebody lives or dies.

Come to think of it, I’m now the only human here.

But I’m digressing. We choose whether someone lives or dies because that’s what a Reaper does: we’re the middleman for the message if someone needs to get snuffed; we get the message if they are supposed to be given another chance because of a noble deed they have done in their lives or so; we get the message if they go to - in terms of human Christianity - Heaven, Hell, or the dreaded Purgatory. It’s not the killer who gets to decide these things for the victim. That’s our job. We can resurrect if given the order to. But ONLY if we’re given the order to do so. Anytime we try and do this for our own selfish gain, we get stripped of Reaper status and thrown into the darkest corners of Hell, or Tartarus in Equestria’s terminology.

In layman’s terms, don’t fuck up.

...

Well, thinking to myself always helped me pass the time. I’m already in the town square! Excellent! Only ten more minutes of walking and I’ll be home in no time! Wait, what time is it anyway?

“Uhm, a little past midnight.”

Thank you, Aksheal. Good thing you have a fucking watch on you for this realm. So... midnight, eh? Guess I could stop by a bar, grab a couple drinks...

Nah, what am I thinking? I gotta get home to Vinyl!

God-fucking-dammit. Sometimes, my mind just loves doing that to me: it just loves to push things in front that are so minor in my life, I end up pushing the important things to the back of my damn head. That place, is fucking no man’s land. Even Aksheal is afraid to go back there without anyone else with him!

“Dear Lord, Jason, if you could see the things you have pushed back there over the years, then you’d know why I don’t like going back there alone to grab important memories!”

Right, noted. In the back of my mind.

“...”

Aksheal, good sir, your silence brings me to the conclusion that you are most irritated.

“Yes... quite.”

Good, that’s what I was going for. Well, we’re home, and I’d like to think to myself for a bit. Goodnight, Aksheal. Now, back to myself.

Hello me!

Hello! How are you doing today?!

...

Sweet God, I am so fucking lonely now.

“Do you need some comp-”

NO.

“Alright, leaving.”

Jeez, man! I can’t even joke around in my own mind anymore. This just keeps getting better and better. It’s like, i’ll have Aksheal around to the point where NOTHING will be private anymore! He’s like that ex-girlfriend that stalks you and will get so into your personal life, NOTHING you do is safe from her!

“I heard that...”

GO TO BED, DAMN YOU. Agh! Seriously, man! You're killing me, Smalls!

“ALRIGHT. FUCK....”

...

Silence? At long last? YES! FINALLY!

Taking a quick look at where the hell I was going, I saw I was approaching the mansion. “Excellent. Hopefully no more bad news will arise.”

I walked to the front doors, knocked a couple times, and stepped back from the doors. “Please be awake, Vinyl...” Figuratively, I was crossing my fingers.

Good thing for me, she’s always awake when I’m away for anything. No joke, she’s sat awake in this house, for three days straight when I went off to go to Canterlot and be THOROUGHLY examined to learn my genetic code and all that good stuff. When I got back, she was hallucinating, telling me to come and sit down with the music she had just made. She had a couple drinks, thrown in with some RedMinotaurs here and there, and she was seriously tripping some major balls.

Well, sure enough, Vinyl answers the door, bloodshot eyes and all. God, she looks like a mess. Her mane is disheveled and she has bags under her eyes that stood out like a black eye on a ghost. She really looks sleep deprived out of her mind. But, does this stop her from tackling me to the ground and start hugging and kissing all over me?

Nnnnnope!

Man, this mare really freaking missed me! More than the time that I... Nevermind. No bad thoughts. “OH, MY GOD.”

Taking after your human husband, dear?

“I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!” Well, this is a pleasant surprise! Somepony who doesn’t have bad news when I see them after two da-

“I’ve got bad news...”

Shit. Well, it was nice while it lasted...

“More bad news? Well, what is it...” Irritation coated my voice on the matter and Vinyl raised a brow at this, obviously curious about what I had said earlier.

“Well...I checked in with the doctor...”

“Oh, Celestia... Please... Don’t let it be that-”

“The baby is fine, Jason.”

“Right, that’s good. Question, why is everyone calling me Jason? Is that what people call me when serious business is at han- er, hoof?” Vinyl shrugged.

“I dunno. But, you’re getting sidetracked.” I prepared myself physically and mentally for what I was about to hear. “Well... The baby is going to come sooner than expected.”

My eyes widened slightly. “H-How soon?” Inside me, I was OOZING with joy. At least my child won’t be here for just fifteen days!

“In about three weeks. We overshot the birth by a few months! Since, you’re the only human here that really has breeded-”

“Coal...”

“What?”

“You’re forgetting Coal did the same thing. They got curious and when they wanted to run tests, they didn’t hear about his passing.” A nod came from the white mare.

“Right, sorry about that. But they finally got results in and I should be due in a good three weeks. I hope this doesn’t upset you...”

“Vinyl.” My voice was strong, I think bit TOO strong. I could see the tension in Vinyl as she lifted her shades up to get more serious look into my eyes. Placing my hand on her cheek, I whispered slowly, “We only have about two months to live here if we don’t stop Insanity-”

*Thud*

“Ahhh, Christ. She’s passed out. Puts the icing on the fucking cake for today. Get told I’ve been away for two days, my magic is gone, I have no weapon, my best friend is dying, the end of the world is coming, AND my wife is passed out on the floor! WHAT ELSE CAN HAPPEN?!”

“Ohhh, the worst is just beginning, Jason.”

That voice... That FUCKING voice. Not in my house, near my wife. I have to fucking look.

Turning around, I see Insanity right behind me in the doorway to my mansion. I could feel my rage boiling over as I clenched my teeth and let my eyes go to red. “GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, YOU SUNNUVA BITCH! I’LL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM FUCKING LIMB IF YOU TOUCH ME OR HER!” My voice had gotten deeper and more demonic at this point but, wait. I thought my MAGIC did that. I don’t HAVE any magic in me to be doing this!

“Oh, really? Because I think you’re bluffing. You’ll find your efforts to be for naught as you find my body intangible again, just like in the Graveyard.” That fucking cocky-ass smirk... You think you’re so tough? C’mon motherfucker.

I raised to my feet from my kneeled position on the floor and looked up at Insanity who backed away from me a bit. “Alright, what in the nine circles of fucking HELL are YOU?!”

“What the fuck are you going on about, you idiot?” I looked at my body to realize a dark aura billowing around me. I looked back up at Insanity who was watching this in bewilderment. I let myself smile ear to ear. “Heh... Hehh... HA, HAHA, HAAAAHAHAHAHAAA! Idiot! You got rid of my MAGIC! But not the soul power that I possess in my blade.” I reached to my back to find the halves of the Chain Scythe still firmly placed on its holder.

I whipped the halves in front of me and put them together, magically binding the halves back together. “Ohhh, motherfucker.” I laughed maniacally again.

“YEAH, BITCH! YOU BETTER FUCKING RUN! BECAUSE YOUR FURRY ASS...” I pointed the scythe at him and the black aura engulfed the blade. I was looking down all this time for dramatic effect. It came into use when I looked up and saw Insanity back away even more. In the side mirror, I could see that my eyes were now pitch black, appearing to be sunken in. My skin, ghost white. My teeth had grown out to their sharp pointed, demonic fangs that were as black as Luna’s night. I looked like a proper fucking monster. “...is fucking mutton if you try and dance with me.” I smiled a big toothy smile, since that’s all I could do when I had no lips. “What’s wrong? Big, bad, Insanity hologram afraid of the Reaper?”

“Not what I’m afraid of... you’re... a fucking Gatekeeper. You stay away from here, Keeper. Or you will die like the rest." With that, the apparition of Insanity fadeded away, and I was utterly confused.

'Gatekeeper? What the hell is he talking about?!’ Looking back at the mirror, I saw myself back to normal, and looked back to the doorway.

Wait, WHAT. I had to do a double take, to see no trace of demonic aura or power on my body. I looked down, seeing the swirling mass of Chaos Essence that was circling my body just minutes ago, was now non-existent.

‘Right, Aksheal, care to explain to me what the fuck just happened?’ I leaned against a railing on the stairs and waited for the response.

“Well, simply put... Anger, Jason. Anger is one thing that drives the Chaos energy to build and then eventually release. After hearing everything that Insanity had to say in the Graveyard, seeing him here, and everything in between, it released and it decided to come out right at this moment. I can also sense your magic is no longer stunted. Hmm, quite interesting. I must retire to my study to read up on this matter.”

Well, this puts a bit of a good mood back into me. At first I was like, ‘fuck,’ then I was like, ‘FUCK,’ then I was like, ‘NO,’ and I scared away Insanity. Alright, then, I ain’t complaining about this shit.

Hold on just a cock-tickling second. Ohhhhh, well fuckle my buckle... Insanity doesn’t know what a Reaper truly IS. “Oh... my... Celestia. PRAXIS!”

I ran out the door, then stopped as my foot hit the road in front of the house. ‘Shit, better put Vinyl to bed. Poor girl.’

After successfully putting my sleep-deprived wife to bed, I’m back on the road, hauling ass to see Praxis. Man, feels good to have my powers unblocked, I’ll tell ya! Makes it a helluva lot faster to get from one place to the next.

This trip only lasted a swift five minutes compared to the hour it took me to get home just by running. Whooo! This feels nice to run at breakneck speeds again!

But, all is not fun and games with using magic. Because, I’m not looking where I’m going, and I’m heading straight for a tree.

That same bonsai tree that saved my ass.

WHAM.

*Thud*

“Jace?!”

XXI - Painful Bonding (Praxis Arc: Part I)

Shadow's Note: I completely apologize for the inconvenience. In my OCD stupor of having everything in order, I had to switch the chapters. If you've read this chapter, than skip it. If not, then read on, my dear reader.

XXI - Painful Bonding

Praxis Arc: Part I

The shock of my words were vicious hornets to Jace, stinging him with deadly speed and potency. Celestia’s old and healed wounds of emotion appeared to have reopened at the memory of the incident, and my words were salt in the incisions.

“Well, this only happens in the nighttime, right?” Jace asked me. I nodded in response “Then keep the sun up all the time. I know the panic that will ensue across Equestria, but if we don’t, the world will be destroyed. If it’s this bad already, think of what will happen in two months.”

“Pfft, too late.” I was skeptical as I continued. “The latest my death will happen will be a little bit before the Apocalypse, by maybe a couple of days. Earliest? Half of that. And if I don’t follow through with your plan, Jace, and we don’t stop him, then we can kiss our asses goodbye.”

“And besides, if I leave the sun up for far too long, ponds will evaporate, crops will die, and soon, everything will just die faster,” Celestia argued.

“Damnit....” I could read Jace’s emotions as he swore and muttered under his breath. I knew he was nervous. Scared. Frustrated. Infuriated. He was many things, a huge melting pot of innumerable polar emotions. I could barely decipher all of them. But I knew how he felt currently, for his troubles are like mine. He lost Coal, I lost `Emad. He was going to lose me, and I, him. Vinyl would lose us, and us, her. And on the day the Moon of Destruction comes, we were all going to lose... everything.

I gave off a yawn, covering my widely-opened mouth with my left hand. “I’m beat, man. I tried to sleep last night, but because I was a weresatyr, I don’t get tired. I don’t know why... ‘creature of the night’ status?”

“Indeed so.” Celestia walked back into her palace. “I believe that Praxis earned some sleep today.” She rounded on Jace. “Do you agree, Jace?”

“I... yeah. You go get some sleep. Tomorrow, when the Calling Card is fixed, Zeke will tutor you in the ways of the Reaper.”

I climbed into the huge bonsai tree that I had raised with biokinetic magic. I laid down into the huge bush of its pink leaves that saved Jace from an imminent death.

Death...huh. A funny concept, really. Simply an exhalation, a final heartbeat, a shut of the eyes, and then... what? You just drift away into the nothingness that welcomes you with open arms? And there, God simply decides whether you go to Heaven or Hell, depending on your deeds, good and bad. Even if one side is an atom’s weight more than the other, God would still decide your fate in the afterlife.

That’s kinda what I like about God the most. He’s fair in your judgement, making sure everything is accounted for. But I think He and his angels are gonna have one hell of a day when Insanity wipes us all out. The residents of Equestria and Markarth were lambs for the slaughter.

But that’s the thing about death. Normal people, or ponies, in this case, would be frightened out of their wits at the thought of dying so soon. Me? I’m an entirely different story. I feel so... indifferent. All my life, I was taught to not fear death, but to welcome it with open arms, like a brother of some sorts. I’m sure that death would’ve been a damn sight better sibling than the others that I was plagued with. The taunts, the ignorance, the arbitrary consequences... I could still hear them ringing in my ears, replaying over and over again, a single phonogram playing a broken record that no one had bothered to remove and replace.

I tentatively placed a hand on the spot where that sniper rifle bullet had ripped through the flesh of my hip back in the revolution. The actual wound had healed, of course, yet... like the wound that Rainbow Dash had inflicted upon my head, it is, has been, and will stay, a scar. It will never vanish entirely, but instead choosing to linger, forever to mar the surface of the unfortunate victim. Yet in all honesty, I don’t want these scars to fade. They are reminders. Reminders of the hate, prejudice, and greed that flows through everybody. Because whether one knows it or not, there’s always at least one of the three in someone, if not all of them.

I don’t know how long I laid there in my comfortable bush, but I had this weird inkling it had been several hours. I sat up to check the time and sure enough, the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, finishing its solar trek across the sky. Princess Luna came out of her monolithic bedroom tower and stepped onto the adjacent balcony. She pointed her horn at the sky, and the moon rose into view, shining brightly upon the land. I saw the Curse Seal beginning to pulsate again, and I became a weresatyr once more, a black and dark purple flame shrouding me from the prying eyes of somepony as I turned over. I grit my transfiguring teeth as they became sharp again. The flames faded away, the pink leaves uncharred from the eerie magical blaze. The process seemed to be less excruciating than before, not like when the first time had resulted in me acquiring the most tremendous of migraines and the sorest of muscles and joints. Maybe an immunity to the pain of turning over has developed. Maybe I’m far too numb from the discovery that I will die to even care about the pain. Or maybe this is just Insanity’s sword, Dementia, trying to give me mercy, or false hope that I will be alright in the end, that I won’t die, that Insanity won’t eradicate us.

I was so submersed in thought and a faux pas of philosophy, that I was unaware of my singing.

“White walls surround us...

“No light will touch your face again...

“Rain taps the window...

“As we sleep among the dead...

“Days go on forever...

“But I have not left your side...

”We can chase the dark together...

“If you go then, so will I...

“There is nothing left of you,

“I can see it in your eyes,

“Sing the anthem of the angels,

“And say the last goodbye....”

“‘Twas a beautiful melody, dear Praxis.”

I jumped at the noise. Of course the Old Equestrian Speak and the voice told me that it was Luna. Who else spoke the archaic tongue other than she and I? But she still took me by surprise, as I didn’t even hear her descend. Damn crickets... always have to be loud as humanly possible.

“We- erm, I am sorry to have startled you,” she apologized, her O.E.S - Old Equestrian Speak - abandoned as she converted to normal speech.

“You need not apologize, Princess,” I told her, turning around to face her as she landed on the soft, brightly colored leaves of the tree. She looked into my eyes, the irises as gradient and bright as fire, yet everything else doomed to be shrouded in cold blackness. She was staring deeply into the eyes of a monster. I gazed back at her eyes, instantly mesmerized by the blue irises that were as tranquil as a stream. Yet when enraged, they are as powerful and wrathful as a maelstrom-cast ocean. “And... thank you.”

“Praxis, my sister has informed me about what will happen,” she told me. “I am so sorry.” She nuzzled my cheek, her midnight blue fur stroking my heavily-marked flesh.

“Thank you for your sympathy, Princess--”

“Please, call me Luna.” She pulled away and sat down in a prone position next to me.

“Very well. Thank you for your sympathy, Luna. But there’s not enough sympathy in the world to stop this spiritual, physical, and mental decaying.” I looked away from her, a difficult task, to say the least. Something about those eyes just painfully reminded me of Fluttershy’s Stare, except her eyes didn’t expand and I didn’t feel every iota of me shrieking in fear. It took every fiber of my being to look away.

“I know. Which is why I wonder... why aren’t you scared?”

“Huh?” I was inwardly confused, yet I could tell by her tone that she was concerned and curious at how bland I was sounding about my death. I glanced back at her, raised eyebrow at the ready.

“I mean... aren’t you afraid to die?” Yeah, she was very concerned.

“Well, here's some food for thought... do you want a truth or a lie?”

“Huh?” It was Luna's turn to be confused.

“Do you wanna hear what you WANT to hear, or NEED to hear?”

“Is it not obvious?” she deadpanned. “I want the truth, Praxis.”

I let out a sigh before speaking, “I’m not afraid to die. I’ve seen so many people die, I knew that it would soon be my turn. There were times where I was actually PRAYING for death.”

“Why?” Luna put a hoof on my shoulder. “You should enjoy the very earth you walk upon, yet you wish to leave it. I don’t understand.”

“Oh, Luna.” I chuckled darkly. She didn't retracted her hoof from my shoulder, yet she seemed to be disturbed. “You don’t have to understand. You’re immortal, as is your sister. Not only that, but you two are powerful deities. If you saw my life through my own eyes, wouldn’t you want to end it all? Wouldn’t you want to do away with it if you were suffering from many prosecutors and under the rule of not one, but several older siblings?” Luna was about to retort until I cut her off. “Think about it. A flick of the knife. A little drop of poison. A spark near a gasoline pool. Only a few moments of pain and then... sweet oblivion.”

“Praxis...” Luna was past concerned and was now downright scared for me. “W...why?" I looked back into her eyes. A tear had begun welling up in her right, cornflower-blue orb.

“Believe me when I say that I know how you felt, Princess Luna, when your sister Celestia banished you to the moon for a millenium. Lonely, cold, perhaps even racked with guilt for what you’ve done. But she did it for your own good. She actually CARED for you when she did the deed. Me? Next to no one did jack shit whenever I got beaten, bullied, had things stolen from me, shot, chased, run over, aaand abused by almost all of my siblings for about half of my childhood.” Luna was appalled by how I was informing her of my misfortunes. “And that’s just the tip of the slowly growing iceberg.”

“Goodness....” Luna stared in fascination and sorrow for the creature before her. To her, history practically flowed through his veins and swam in his eyes. “Um... Praxis?”

“Hmm?”

“What would you like... I mean, you know... since you’ll... you know....”

It was not long after I started to hear sniffles from behind me that I realized something was wrong. I glanced back to see a silently crying lunar deity. Tears streaked the sides of her face, making her cheeks shine in the moonlight. I got up, and, as tenderly as I could without cutting her, gave her a hug. I held her head right underneath my neck, which was the highest her head could reach. Her horn gently nudged my fang earrings as she quietly sobbed into my chest, her tears softly landing onto her fleshy pillow. I sat down again, and she followed suit with me. She wrapped her forelegs around me. I could smell her ever-flowing mane. Black, rimmed with navy blue, containing millions of unformed constellations. It smelled pleasant... like the smell from a fully blossomed flower on the beginning of spring. “Why are you crying, Luna?”

“Why not?!” she snapped, pulling away from me as she got up. “You’re going to die soon! We befriended you, and you get taken away! Is that not true?!” I didn’t need to read her emotions to see that she was in detrimental emotional pain. She was angry, she was sad... she was like Jace, undecipherable emotions festering around inside of her.

“I try not to think about it... not now, anyways...."

"And... what you want?" She sat down again and buried her face into my chest.

"I dunno what I would like.... but... I’ve been thinking of this quaint little pagoda in Ponyville... exotic flowers on the entrance, paintings of my friends and I all around the walls... maybe a little portion of the roof above my grave being made of glass... so that no matter what time it is, the light will shine upon my grave. Let anypony that visits, even at night, know I’m there. I think it’d be nice if someone could sing at my funeral... a song with meaning, a song that will forever affect one’s heart for a long time.... If I could have something as nice as that... I don’t know how grateful I would be to the ponies responsible.”

Luna got awful close to me as she looked at me with a smile. "Consider it done," she whispered as she rested her head precariously on my shoulder, taking caution not to gore me with her horn. We gazed up at the moon. Already, a face had shown up. Wide and empty eyes, sharp-toothed and open mouth smile. This was the face that Jace told me about when he was taken to the Graveyard of Dreams.

“So... it begins,” I huffed. Luna grunted and nodded, her eyes leering at the abomination that Insanity had created in her beautiful lunar surface.

I begin to quiver as a gust of wind breezes by. Luna is lucky enough to have her fur. But I was fleshy...

And I was in a muscle shirt...

And it was nighttime.

Instinct told me to pull a SpongeBob and rip off her fur. Logic told me that if I so much as accidentally pluck one hair, the princess would vaporize me without warning.

Decisions, decisions....

Luna noticed me shivering. She inched closer to me again, radiating warmth and washing it over me like an electric blanket. “Would you like me to bring you something warm to wear, Praxis?” she finally asked.

“Yes, please. Thank you, Luna.” I stretched in my makeshift bed of pink leaves. Luna took to the skies towards her tower. I only had to wait a few minutes before she returned to the bonsai. In her magical grip was a small bundled pile of cloth. The actual fabrics were stacked in two rows, accompanied by a nice little black sash and a quartet of small black belts on the top. I examined it more closely in the moonlight. The top fold of fabric was also a shade of the dark and dusty tan, and the bottom cloth was black, trimmed with gold.

“I was rummaging through the old archives when I found these. You seem like such a dark creature, so I figured that this will suit you well, especially since it’s Shadow Fiber, like your jacket and muscle shirt.”

“But... how? Isn’t it supposed to be banned?”

“Not when it was created eleven hundred years ago~,” she said in a singsong voice. “It was for my old general for my assassination squad, the Silent Knife. He was, as you can guess, the silent type, for the group was named after him. He barely ever talked. He was always more of a thinker and an actor rather than an actual talker.” She shook her head from how intensely she was digressing. “Well, go on. Try it!” She levitated the cloth over to me. I caught it. But my brain was shouting something was really off about this world, not like what I usually saw in the cartoon.

I blinked. A millenium-plus old piece of cloth? I don’t care if it was the nigh-indestructible Shadow Fiber, it must’ve fed billions of moths in its lifetime. And I don’t want to begin on how much dust it collected. And assassination squads? That’s what sent my opinion of Equestria being an innocent land tumbling right into the incinerator.

“So let me get this straight: in the beautiful land of Equestria, where there’s supposed to be innocence, love, and tolerance, there’s...” I paused for dramatic effect (Thank you, Rainbow Dash!) before I started ticking off Equestria’s faults on my talons. “...alcohol, mares wearing panties, and prejudice. That’s easy to shrug off. An evil god that wants to annihilate all life in this world is gonna be hard to ignore... but ASSASSINATIONS SQUADS? And the Princesses importing COSMAREPOLITANS and VODKA?” Luna was red with mortification at the mention of the two items. I got up, and looked up at the sky, my back turned to Luna. “Dear God, something is horribly, horribly wrong.”

Luna only giggled. “Go ahead and try the robes, goat-boy.”

“Ooh, good one.”

“Just put them on.” She was laughing a bit harding, but I could detect a hint of annoyance in her tone.

“Alright, MOM. But turn around and don’t look.” She craned her head away from my general direction, giggling a little . I began removing my undershirt before my bandages. They were tinged with blood, which had dried and crusted over. A single stroke of a talon, and the bandages fell away from my body. They drifted in the wind, white long leaves tainted with brown fluttering in the breeze.

Now all I have to do is make sure that Luna doesn’t turn around and see the--

“What is that on your back?”

…

Fffffuckberries. So much for that plan.

“Nothing!” I fibbed nervously, using one of the robes to cover my rear side. Luna narrowed her eyes and encased me in her blue magical aura. She used her magic to shine just a little more light out of the moon, throwing my back into relief. She turned me around and moved my arm. She gasped at the sight before her.

“Praxis... what happened to you?”

Luna couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was terrifying.

Scars. Scars almost everywhere. They criss-crossed, ran in parallel lines, and curved. The faint, marred flesh was shining in the intensified moonlight. Only few spots on the skin were untainted by the hideous and healed incisions.

“Praxis... please answer me!” There was force in Luna’s command. I turned around. Tears were accumulating in her eyes. I’m not sure if she really cares about me, or if she’s emotionally sensitive. As much as the former option is an enticing thing to think about, the latter was the more appropriate choice.

I unfolded the robes that Luna had given to me. The dusty tan robe shifted and twisted, welding into a wearable material for me. A large, artistically frayed flap existed on the front of the robe. One long, left sleeve was available; the other one for the right arm was vacant. It was possibly designed that way. Catching on quickly, I wrap the sash around my waist, letting the loose tied ends dangle. Luna used her magic to place the small belts around my sleeved arm. She tightened them just properly before levitating the final garment over to me. The cloak had a chained clasp located in front of where the throat would be. Like the robe, the cloak shifted and bent until it reached a spot just above the second kneecaps. The cloak came with a large hood, pointed down the middle like Ezio’s assassin robes. I pulled the hood over my head. The Shadow Fiber seemed to melt away at the spots where my horns and pointy ears were located as I brought the rim of the hood towards them. When I had pulled the hood low enough, the fabric reconnected itself, leaving clean holes were the horns and half of my ears protruded. I looked into Luna’s shining eyes, my reflection rebounded off of their reflective surfaces. The hood seemed to have some sort of magic, because the top half of my face was covered in opaque shadows. Only my orange irises shown through the deep blackness.

Needless to say, I was a complete and utter badass.

But alas, I could not let this new fashion statement get to me. Luna wants to know what happened. I couldn’t keep a princess waiting for an answer.

“Do you really wanna know?”

Luna hesitated before she answered. “Yes,” she finally said, giving a gulp.”

“Please sit down. But are you sure you want to know? This tale is not for the oversensitive.”

“I know the risks. Please tell me.”

“Very well....”

I would've begun my tale to how I had survived the hellish planet known as Earth.

I would have told Luna the terrifying tale... if Jace hadn't plowed facefirst into the bonsai tree.

Not only was that a brilliant entrance, but I was grateful. It delayed me from having to tell scary sob-stories.

Wait a minute, Praxis. Think, damn you! Jace is hurt! Be concerned already!

"Jace?!" Yep, that'll work.

XXIII - If Ya Can't Take The Heat.... (Slightly Revised)

Craimer’s Note: Hey all! Craimer here reminding you to not try any of the stunts in this fic. They are done by trained profess-... Uhh... dumbasses that do this because we tell them too! So please, don’t try these. Also, I got a bit haywire with a Jace scene in this. Hopefully Shadow can fix it up, make it look pretty with a bow on top. I dunno. But, I needed to throw something epic in there. Been a bit too long since I got to write a good action scene with Jace in it, doing something awesome.

Shadow's Note: Too right, mate. I can already tell it’ll be awesome. LOLs and innuendos are guaranteed, as well as Doctor Whooves (for a while). Oh, and the reason why I decided to end Praxis's arc with two parts and Jace's with three parts is because of the amount of words each one had, which I presume is about 7K-7.5K words each. I don't do it by number of parts, I do it by amount of words. Seems fair, right?

Craimer’s Other Note: Damn fair. Oh, and sorry for the long wait and the huge chapter, everypony!

XXIII - If Ya Can't Take The Heat....

Jace’s eyes were red, but not as red when he was angry. He wiped away the tears from his eyes and regained his composure. “I’m just... gonna go some sleep now. I’ve had a long fucking day, man.” He shook his hair before he pushed it back to get the airflow to cool his sweaty forehead.

Praxis nodded and patted him on the back. "Yeah, you look like shit. Have a good night man. Sorry to have done this to you at this hour.” Jace shook his head.

“Nah, man, it’s totally fine. Goodnight, Prax; Goodnight, Princess Luna.” Jace hopped down from the tree and put his hands behind his head, walking off towards the town once again.

"I believe I shall retire as well," Luna confessed. She got up and stretched her limbs out. She leaned forward to Praxis, giving him a brief hug. "See you soon, sweet Praxis." She flew off without another word, eager to get to her bed. She was about to near her balcony when she heard crying.

It was coming from Celestia's tower.

Luna changed course, making way to her sister's tower. She landed on the balcony and gave a small gasp. Celestia's eyes were bloodshot and puffy, like she had been crying the whole night. The white alicorn was surrounded by used tissues. Celestia looked up at her sister of the moon. "Oh... hi, Luna," she croaked before dabbing her eyes with another tissue, the cotton-soft material absorbing her tears and running mascara.

"Sister," Luna began. "Are you okay?"

Celestia sighed heavily. “No, Luna. I’m not okay. I almost banished a creature back to his planet... and without even THINKING of what he’s been through there. I let the priority of protecting my subjects get to my head.”

“So... you listened in, huh?” A new voice said.

Celestia and Luna turned around. They watched as Praxis vaulted the balcony fence and dusted himself off. Celestia nodded.

“How did you get here? This is the second highest tower, and there were guards everywhere.” she asked.

“Simple. I used my flute to put the guards to sleep, then I ran up the wall to your tower,” he answered, lifting up his trusty silver instrument to verify his claim.

“What are you doing here, anyways?” Luna inquired.

“I just wanted y’all to know that I’m heading back to Ponyville. I’ve only been here three or four days and already I’ve been a burden on you all. Especially you, Celestia. I never meant for you to cr-”

He was cut off by Celestia hugging him tightly. She rested her head next to his, more tears threatening to become evident as time passed. She finally released herself from the satyr, and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Praxis,” she said reassuringly. “You were never a burden. You were actually better company than ever. I wish you could come to the Gala... but... it’ll be a month after... the Final Day... so....”

“Oh...” Praxis pondered on something that will remedy the situation. “Why not set the Gala to take place three weeks later instead of three months?”

“Hmm... I like that idea, ‘Tia,” Luna said. “Don’t you?”

“Indeed I do. I better announce it to the whole of Equestria later today... so you’re finally going back home?” Praxis nodded at the solar princess’s inquisition. “Well, then, I don’t have to remind you that your stuff is in the guest bedroom, correct?”

“Yep.”

“Alright. We’ll see you off in ten to fifteen minutes.”

“Very well.” Praxis left the bedroom. He closed the door behind him and slid down the hoof-rail of the spiraling staircase.

‘Good thing she got this thing waxed, otherwise my butt would be burnt to a crisp,’ he mused. He reached the bottom of the staircase and walked down the hall until he reached the four door on the left. He opened it and walked into the room, giving a sad smile as he gazed upon it for the last time. Duvet and bed slightly ruffled from his nights of sleeping here, half-eaten tin cans and apple cores filling the waste bin, a few books and music sheets from the shelves of the room’s private library. He grabbed his messenger bag that Luna had been kind enough to get one night from off of the desk. Typhoon was placed on his back, for Celestia and Luna had provided a shoulder strap, complete with silver ring, to hold the four-foot long scimitar.

“G’bye, temporary home,” he huffed. He vacated the room before closing the door. He looked back at it, smiling sadly again as he walked away, down towards the garden where the princesses would meet him.

“Sure am gonna miss this place,” he murmured to himself. Even after twenty seconds of walking, he still did not remove his gaze from it.

That came with a price. Since Praxis had paid no mind to where he was walking, he bumped into somepony down the hall. Praxis and the unlucky equine fell back onto their flanks from the collision.

“Oi! Walk where you’r-” Praxis looked up at who he had unintentionally plowed into. His heart dropped into his stomach. Twilight Sparkle was slowly getting up, and by the look on her face, she wasn’t as excited to see Praxis either. “Oh... hey, Twi,” he greeted morbidly.

“Hello, Praxis,” she said gloomily. “What brings you here?”

‘And so the dull conversation begins,’ he thought.

“Had to talk with the princesses. Apparently, the end of the world is coming.”

“You don’t say?”

He grunted in acknowledgement. “Indeed so. So why are you here?”

“Princess Celestia invited me over last night, and I stayed here. Speaking of which, where is she?”

“Upstairs, in her room.”

“How do you know that?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Just came back from there.”

“Oh. How is she?”

“Well, she was crying, so I gave her some comfort.”

“What? Why was she crying?”

“Because-” Praxis stopped himself, for he was about to tell her why she was indeed weeping. “I, um... I don’t think I can talk about it. I’m afraid you’ll have to go to the princess for that....” He looked down in the floor in shame.

A few minutes passed until....

“Praxis... I’m SO sorry.”

The satyr looked up to see a melancholic frown being worn by the lilac-hued protege of the princess. Now that he got a good look at her, Praxis deemed her unwell: there were bags under her eyes, and her mane was an utter mess. “I didn’t think at all when the fire happened--”

“Uh, Twilight--?” he tried to interrupt, yet she pressed on.

“--and I feel TERRIBLE. I haven’t slept at all since that day, and--”

“--Twiiiliiight...”

“--ever since then, I’ve just been so---”

“TWILIGHT!”

“Wait, what?” She snapped out of her reverie.

“I forgive you,” he told her.

“What... why?!” Twilight was incredulous at how quickly Praxis had forgiven her. “If I hadn’t stopped you, Big Mac would still be alive! How can you forgive me so fast?!”

“Because that’s me.” She raised an eyebrow at his answer. “While I COULD let you beat yourself up and ensure your mind slowly unhinges until you go nuts... I don’t want to. It just doesn’t seem right, because you don’t deserve it. A group of my old friends would always say to others, ‘Expect us to forgive and forget.’ So... congrats. You’ve just been forgiven for being a major fuck-up.”

“Oh... thanks,” she sighed. She yawned widely, trying to hide it with a purple hoof.

“Oh, dear... It seems that you’re tired, aren’t you?”

“...Noo, I’m as energetic as Pinkie Pie right now,” she replied snarkily. Praxis began to laugh, much to the sleepy unicorn’s surprise.

“It seems my smartass-ness is rubbing off on you. Excellent work, Twilight,” he chuckled as he wiped away a fake tear of mirth. “Now, come on. You need sleep.”

Praxis got up and helped Twilight up before leading her to the guest bedroom he previously used. Something felt strange in the air. He sniffed it, and a bizarre scent struck him. It was... sweet, for some reason. He looked back at Twilight, who might have been the source of the smell. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her. She was looking at him through half-lidded eyes, a little smile plastered on her face.

‘I don’t like the looks of this. I mean, she’s cute and all, but... this might not bode well,’ he pondered.

“Um... Twilight?” He began worriedly.

“Yeah?” she responded dreamily.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Oh... no reason.”

No reason, my ass!

‘Shut up, conscience.’

“Oookay, then,” he concluded. He opened the bedroom door, still wondering why Twilight was gazing intently at him. “Well, we can’t have you going to bed a mess.” He walked over to the desk and picked up a comb. He returned to the unicorn mare and knelt down before brushing her mane properly until it no longer resembled a bird’s nest. “There we are.”

“Thanks, Praxis....” she said. If the satyr didn’t know any better, it felt like Twilight was slowly starting to get closer and closer. Praxis soon began to feel uncomfortable with the invasion of space.

“Aaaaalrighty, then!” he exclaimed, jumping back onto his hooves before the situation intensified. “Well, then, I need to let you get some sleep! Gotta go!”

*SLAM*

The door to the hall was shut closed by a purple magic field. Praxis immediately felt himself get levitated by the same aura of magic. He was tossed onto the bed back first, and his clothes were removed from his being. Twilight advanced towards him, her horn glowing the same aura as she casted the clothes to the side. “You don’t have to go just yet~,” she crooned. She hopped onto the bed and looked deep into his eyes with her purple, half-closed ones.

‘Wait a damn minute... weird smells? Sensual looks? Affection? Aw shit, she’s in heat!’

“Twilight, this is not only unorthodox, but this is also SO wrong on SO many levels,” he nervously informed her.

“I know... but I don’t really care.” She hopped back up off of the bed, flicking him in the face with her indigo and pink-and-purple highlighted tail. “Maybe we can read something before we... get started?” She walked around the room, her flanks swishing back and forth provocatively as she traipsed back and forth in front of the bookshelf. Praxis smelled the air again, the pheromones both stimulating and nauseating to him. He tried to break the magical bonds on him, yet her magic was holding him down.

“It’s hopeless. My magic is far too strong for you to break. Besides, you’re not leaving yet until I finished up some... ‘business’,” she informed him. “Ah... the 'Poni Sutra’... this’ll be a nice read, and it’ll help keep my ‘abilities’ up to par.”

“...Not sure if gusta.” Praxis forcefully expelled a gust of air from his lungs when Twilight jumped back on the bed.

“Good, you’re not resisting.” She lightly smacked him on the cheek. “Goodness gracious, now that I look at it, you’re pretty buff.” She started to stroke his six-pack with a hoof before slowly starting to kiss and teasingly lick his body, from the neck, down to the chest, to the stomach. A sharp, warming sensation took place at the satyr’s crotch. “Now that I think of it, I don’t need the book. Buck it.” She threw the book to the side. She finally decided let up Praxis’s restraints. “I’ll let YOU do the work. I’ve seen you run... and you’re fast.”

“Uh... thanks?” Praxis was unaware of the magic binding him. She brought her head back up to meet with his. She leaned forward towards his ears.

“But how fast can you really go?” she whispered in my ear before giggling sultrily.

“Oh, dear,” he sighed.

Feeling and seeing that his restraints were gone, Praxis quickly pushed Twilight to the side before wrapping her securely in the duvet. He rolled off of the bed and got back onto his hooves on the floor.

“You can’t escape!” Twilight wailed as she flailed underneath the thick blanket. “YOU’RE GOING TO BUCK ME, YOU UNDERSTAND!?!?”

“Sweet baby Jesus,” he muttered. “Right now, she REALLY wants it....” He brought his flute to his lips and, praying that Twilight didn’t get up played the simplest lullaby that came to mind.

The melody filled the air, like the musical notes had come to life and was now swimming through the atmosphere. Twilight, who had broken free of her duvet prison, was unaffected by the magic that the music held within at first. Yet after several seconds, her eyelids began drooping as she curled up in a ball and laid on her side, a small smile on her face. Praxis’s fingers continued working their magic as they gracefully flew across the silver surface of the flute and plugged each appropriate hole. Twilight finally closed her eyes and squirmed deeper into the ground, trying to get as comfortable as possible. “Darn it... well played, Praxis....” She let slumber take over, her heavy breathing soon filling the room.

Praxis ended the song. He let go of his flute and closed the curtains before grabbing his clothes and leaving the room. Praxis let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. “Finally,” he said. He put on his clothes and items before bolting for the gardens, making up for the lost time he had on getting to the princesses.

Two minutes later, Celestia and Luna were waiting on the edge of the castle, hanging above the mountain. Praxis, his possessions kept in the messenger bag strapped to his shoulder, had shown up.

“Ready to go, Praxis?” Luna questioned.

“Mm-hmm.” Praxis pulled his hood up over his head, shrouding his eyes as he got ready to leave.

“Praxis... wait,” Celestia said. She slowly walked over to him. Praxis was shocked when she leaned forward, as he began to feel something soft make contact with his forehead for a few seconds. She pulled her face away from his. “From now on... you have my blessing, dear boy,” she added, backing away from the still stunned satyr. The spot where she had kissed him was balmy burning on his forehead.

“Thank you, Celestia,” he finally said, getting onto one knee as he placed his right fist above his heart and bowed his head. He stood back up, seeing that Luna had removed a chunk of the durable marble of the floor with her magic.

“You’re gonna need this,” she told him. He jumped onto it, slowly trying to get his balance.

“Um...” Praxis began as Luna levitated the chunk over the edge of the balcony. “Luna... Now that I think about it, I’m not sure that this is-”

She let go of her magical hold on the marble slab. Praxis and his ride fell like a stone in water.

“SAAAAAAFE!!!”

He slid down the extremely steep mountainside. The slab of marble, being resilient as steel, caused sparks to trail behind it as it and its rider skated down the mountain. Praxis had regretted on deciding this crazy way of departing instantly. He drew Typhoon and dug the dragon scale blade into the slab, holding onto it for dear life.

“Didn’t you give Jace and Coal your blessings as well, sister?” Luna asked.

“Correct,” Celestia answered honestly. “And I feel that that man is gonna need it.”

“Pfft.” Luna was a tad skeptical. “You just wanted an excuse to kiss him, what with mating season now here.”

Celestia shot a glare at her sister. “I’m not you, Luna. I don’t swoon over some dark and muscular creature with a sad past, like you did with Jace before.”

“You take that back!” Luna previously had feelings for Jace, yet with him being made unavailable due to his relationship with Vinyl Scratch, she gave up on him.

“Make me.” Celestia stuck out her tongue at her sister.

“Why, I oughta-!” With that, Luna gave chase to her alicorn sibling, who was laughing merrily at the lunar princess’s anger.

‘This day has just been stu-fucking-pendous. I have a visit from a fucking psychopath, my anger was let out, I got my powers taken away, and then I got myself into listening to the saddest fucking story in history.’ Shaking his head, Jace tried to clear his mind of today’s experiences.

‘I just want to go home, and go to bed with my wife. Is that too much to fucking ask?’

“JAAAAAACE!”

Jace released a sigh of frustration. ‘Yes. Apparently, it is.’

“Black Gold, what is your problem now? Do you know what kind of a day I’ve had?!”

“Sorry, laddy, but... this may not be so good but... uhhh...” Black Gold was trying to find the proper words to say.

“Spit it out, Goldie!” Black Gold blinked and looked at him. Jace never called him Goldie, since he knew the yellow and black pegasus loathed that nickname.

“Well, Nutmeg-”

“--is in labor,” the two finished in unison.

“Great. Just fan-fucking-tastic! Guess I’m going to have to run her flank over to the hospital to get your child born? God, DAMMIT! I cannot get a fucking break today!” Gold backed away from Jace, who was now holding onto his head to secure his own sanity.

“Alright, lad! Don’t bug out now! Cripes! I’ll do it myself, for Pete’s sake!”

“THANK YOU!” Jace turned and continued walking, but stopped a moment later. “Where is she?”

“Follow me! The baby will be here any minute!” Jace followed along, hoping that this last act of kindness will put his soul at rest and have fate stop bombarding his tired body with all these tasks in a very small timeframe. His body was sore, his mind was weak, but he had to do this last thing.

Getting to the house that Gold and Nutmeg lived in, he ran into the front door and ran to the bedroom where gasps and pants could be heard. As he got into the room, the form of a brown mare with her chest heaving and body shaking.

He ran into the room, and gingerly picked the mare up. “It’s alright, ‘Meg. I’m here. I’ll get you to the hospital in no time.” The only response was a weak nod that seemed more like a spasm in her current state.

“Gold, fly up ahead. I’m going to run to get there. Don’t worry, I’ve been doing this with Scootaloo ever since Coal died. You can tell her, it’s not bumpy in the slightest.” Gold nodded hesitantly before running out the front door and taking to the skies. Jace wrapped a blanket around Nutmeg to keep her warm during the run and held her against his chest. “It’s going to be alright, ‘Meg. Trust me.”

Sprinting out of the house, he got onto the path that lead to the hospital in Ponyville, which was about a good three miles away. He let his magic cushion his steps as he blazed down the road at high speeds, turning what would usually be a walk of about ten minutes into a sprint of ten seconds.

When he got to his destination, he let his magic act like an oil slick to help him slide along the ground about a good twenty meters from the hospital entrance. It slowed him down in increments as he got closer and closer to the entrance.

Sliding in front of the doors, he slowed down to a running speed that a normal pony could keep up with. He slowed to a jog when he got into the lobby, seeing Nurse Redheart behind the counter. “Oh, my goodness! Jace! What are you doing here?! What’s wrong with this mare?!”

“Nurse Redheart, my friend Black Gold’s wife is going into labor. The baby will be here any second, so you have to get her into a room!” No questions were asked as Jace got her onto a bed and had the doctors and nurses take care of it. Gold came in seconds later, rushing past Jace.

“Thanks, boyo! I owe you one!” Were his last words before disappearing into the room where they had rushed Nutmeg. A sigh resounded from Jace as he walked out of the hospital and looked up at the sky.

“Probably around five now... better take my run... with some slight detours.” As he readied himself at the road, his mind started to race with the acts of today. “Worst. Fucking. Day. Ever...” He shook his head and sighed before sprinting off at full speed, ripping through the town of Ponyville with ease.

In front of him was one obstacle: Carrot Top’s garden. A smirk arose on his face as he knew this could brighten up his day. He ran at top speed towards the fence, only getting airborne at the last second to jump up onto the fence and use his magic to ride it like a rail. ‘Tony Hawk can OFFICIALLY Suck. My. Balls.’ He thought as he dismounted the fencing, doing a stylish spin as his feet made contact with the ground and used the momentum to continue on his path of sprinting mayhem.

‘Right, let’s break the sound barrier for the hell of it.’ Getting up to a high speed, he veered off course from his home a good ways off. He made a full turn and kept sprinting in the direction for a good five minutes, scaring the heck of of the ponies that didn’t see him coming. He would laugh at their reactions, getting a kick out of scaring people. He’s Death! Of course he would get a kick out of that stuff.

When he deemed good enough, he let the magic act like a slick on his feet again, making him slide at an incredible speed. He didn’t make himself slow down this time, he just kept sliding and when he activated it, the adrenaline coursing through his body intensified and everything slowed down.

He counted the seconds as he went through the preparations in his head for this feat of his.

‘Five...’

The wind that whipped in his ears seemed to turn into a dull whisper.

‘Four...’

The beating of his heart overthrew his sense of hearing, making the soft beat of his heart the only thing he could hear.

‘Three...’

He took in a deep breathe at this point, trying to clear his mind of anything that might distract him.

‘Two...’

He closed his eyes and kept the breath continue flowing through his nose into his lungs.

‘One.’

His eyes shot open, pure red now, letting the breath out. Everything turned back to normal as he kicked off his magical slick and his foot kicked off a barrier made of solid magic, and shot off in his intended direction. When he was sliding, he had turned back to the direction of the mansion to get there in ten seconds flat when he let off this sonic boom.

When everything went back to normal speed, the feelings and sounds got back to him. Hearing the reverberating *BOOOOOOOOOM* of the sound barrier being broken made his senses go out of whack, but then they went stable after a few minutes of running. His eyes were protected from watering because of the red magical glaze over the top of his eyeballs. Basically they were a skin that blocked out wind and particles that the eyelashes could not. It was a nice little touch for running at high speeds and you have dirt and such flying at your face.

His run led him through Ponyville again, but the outskirts this time. He zipped by, the sonic boom catching up after his sprint past and shattered several house’s windows. ‘Not paying for those...’ He thought as he sprinted through the now awake town.

‘Oh Hell... Better slow down! Like, NOW!’ He put on the brakes about five meters away from the mansion. “Fuck! No! Slow down!” His scared mood turned on the magic inside of him. His demonic powers caught up with him as his hand glowed with a familiar red light and his scythe formed in his hands. “Good! This is good!”

Jamming the blade into the ground, he tried frantically to stop himself from colliding with the house. “Ahhhh! Stop, you fucker!” He slammed his foot to the ground, a large pile of dirt forming as he skidding across the ground and soon screeched to a halt, being toppled over by the momentum and falling into the large dirt pile he created.

“Hello, Mr. Dirt. Long time no see...” He grumbled to himself as he stopped and brushed off his clothes. “Well, that was fun for the most par-” He dropped his sentence, his fears getting the better of him when he turned to see the large, gaping ravine created by the scythe. “Uhhh, let’s fix that.” Putting his hands out in front of him, he directed his magic towards the ravine, and slammed his palms together. The result was the two halves of the massive fissure smashing together and reforming to look like nothing ever happened.

“Good! That’s settled.” As he admired his handiwork, something seemed... off... about the house. Turning back towards it, he could see the glowing red eyes of his lover standing on the front porch wearing a frumpy green sweater. Oh, how she adored that thing. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!”

Praxis was lucky to get out of the situation alive. At the last second, before the slab of rock he was riding on crashed upon the surface, he jumped off of it, getting air time before landing painfully on the ground, bouncing and rolling several times while he was at it. He ended his tumbling with an unintentional split. He bit his lip in pain from the sudden parting of his legs.

“Oof! My potatoes!” He fell to the side, cradling the spot between his legs gingerly. “Oww... Never again.” He got up, dusted his clothes, and pulled Typhoon from the huge chunk of marble. He sheathed the blade. “Well, I better get back home...” he concluded. He got the feeling back in his hooves before taking off for Ponyville at breakneck speeds.

“Man, it feels good to do this again!” he enthused. The shadow casted of the hood apparently was magic, for it seemed to repel the wind that tried to sting his eyes. Within a matter of minutes, the town of Ponyville came into view.

“Hey, everypony, I’m home!” he shouted to the town when he entered it. He removed his hood and let the morning sun bathe his face. Not a minute after he announced his arrival did a chestnut-coated earth pony with a spiky brown mane and tail, a white shirt collar with a red tie, and an hourglass for a Cutie Mark plow into him.

“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!” Doctor Whooves wailed to the heavens when he got up

“Whoa, what’s wrong!?” Praxis was scared. If the Doc was frightened, that must mean that the situation must be serious.

“THERE HE IS!” a voice behind the time-and-space-travelling doctor squealed. Praxis looked at who had spoken, and nearly bleated in fear.

Mares. Mares everywhere. Lust was shining in their eyes, their coats glistening with sweat sheens. A few had their tongues lolling out of their head, their slobber trickling onto the ground.

“That!” Whooves answered scaredly.

“Come with me if you don’t want STDs!” Praxis told him, not awaiting a response before carrying him in a piggyback rider position and taking off towards the crowd of horny ponies.

“You idiot!” Whooves roared, getting a grip on the satyr’s horns. “You’re sending us into a-”

Praxis crouched low before leaping high into the air over the sea of lust-hungry mares.

“DEATH TRAAAAP!!!”

The satyr landed cleanly on the other side of the crowd before taking off down the street.

“GET THEM!” another mare shouted. With that, the crowd assimilated and charged towards the two male survivors at top speeds.

“Can’t you go any faster!?” Doc asked him.

“Hey, you’re weighing me down, damn you!” Praxis retorted. “You don’t want me to drop you, do you?”

“...Touche!” Whooves looked back at the crowd of mares tailing them. His eyes shrunk to pinpoints at how eerily closer they had gotten.

“WE WANT YOUR BABIES!!!” The armada of females screeched.

“Run faster!” the chestnut stallion implored.

“Alright, already! Hold on tight, man!” Praxis sped up, his hooves becoming an intense brown blur as he quickly outran the mares. He jumped high up into the air again, arcing through the sky before landing on the roof of city hall. Since the majority of the crowd was only earth ponies and unicorns, they couldn’t reach them. “C’mon. I know a guy who will help us out.”

Praxis scanned the area for Jace’s home until he spotted it, a large cosy mansion that sat about a kilometer from his and Doctor Whooves’ position. The two took off for the mansion, using the rooftops to avoid the mares that pursued them.

They reached the porch of the mansion, and Praxis set the doctor down. “Thanks,” the stallion said.

“Think nothing of it,” Praxis told him. He knocked on the door of Jace’s home. “Jace, open up!”

“Nooopony’s home!” the human’s voice called through the door. Praxis placed an ear on the door. Praxis cringed when he heard grunting and moaning.

“Oh, you dirty creature....” Doctor Whooves was also disgusted by the noises coming from inside the door.

“Watch this,” Praxis said before he cleared his throat and rounded back on the door. “Listen here, little piggy! You have exactly three seconds to open this door, or I’ll start huffing and puffing!” To add emphasis to this promise, he filled his cheeks with air and started counting to three on his fingers.

When the second finger went up, the door swung open, revealing an irritated, half-naked Jace (a towel was wrapped around his waist, concealing his unmentionables) and a disheveled Vinyl Scratch, her purple shades askew on her face.

“What do you want?” Jace demanded. “Don’t you see it’s a sex-fest out there?”

“I know, which is why I need to know if you can hide Doctor Whooves from the mob of horny mares, at least until he can get to safety somewhere.”

“No.” Jace didn’t bat an eyelash when he rejected the offer. “Today’s my day to catch a break, so for today, fuck you. I’m going back to having sex....”

“Fine.” Jace slammed the door on the Doctor and Praxis. “Pansy-ass....” He turned back to the stallion. “Doc, you know a safe place where you can hide?”

“Yeah,” Whooves answered. “My time machine, the police box.”

“Where is that?” Whooves face-hoofed at Praxis’s question. “Oh... police station. Right.”

“It’s elementary, my friend.” Praxis knelt down to give Whooves another piggyback ride. With buckled legs, the satyr jumped up high again and landed on the roof of Jace’s mansion. “I wonder how you’re capable of high speeds and jumping altitudes.” The Doctor said as he tried pondering the matter.

“Well, back on my planet, there’s this film series about a creature known as ‘Bitey of Brackenwood.’ He was called a Dashkin, yet that might be his planet’s tongue for satyr. He was capable of traveling at sonic speeds, jumping up extremely high, and he especially excelled at pissing everypony off,” Praxis explained as he scouted for the police station.

“Hmm... strange. But I can only assume it to be the most logical explanation,” Whooves declared.

“Precisely.” Praxis finally spotted the police station: a moderate-sized building about half a hectometer from their location with a police shield above its entrance. “Wanna see if I can reach it in one jump?”

“Wait, what?” The Doctor asked, confused.

Without warning, Praxis buckled his legs once more before giving an almighty leap towards the building. The Doctor was caught off guard from the sudden outburst of speed and nearly fell over. After a few seconds of being airborne, the satyr landed right in front of the building.

“Y’know, you could’ve forewarned me before you did that,” Whooves said, shaking his head before walking to the massive blue cube of the police box. “Oh, and thanks again, Praxis.” He entered the now-ajar door of the police box and stepped inside. “Sure you don’t wanna come in? It’ll be safe here for the next few weeks.”

“No problem. And no, I’ll be fine. Take care, Doc,” With that, Praxis dashed through town, making sure to give Jace’s mansion the middle finger as he passed it.

‘Ok... I haven’t run into anypony yet... I guess I can relax for now...’ Praxis sighed, wiping a nervous bead of sweat from his forehead. Then he remembers Celestia announced the rescheduling of the Gala, but of course, he could only catch snippets of it as he descended the mountain, screaming his head off like a scared little filly. ‘Maybe I should head to Rarity’s to get a suit ready? I won’t like what will come of this, but... I wanna look nice at the gala, not like some hobo.’

He changed course, looking for the esteemed shop. He found it about twelve seconds later: a gaudily painted building with a roof in the shape of a merry-go-round. ‘Yup, that’s the Carousel Boutique.’ He walked over to the entrance and knocked on the door.

“Comiiiing!” an elegant voice with an Atlantic accent sang through the door. With a flourish of sky-blue magic, the door opened, revealing the marshmallow-hued and curled purple-maned unicorn form of Rarity. She looked at Praxis for two seconds before gasping dramatically, witnessing his clothes and how “uncouth and barbaric” they appeared to her. “AHH! MONSTER! BACK, YOU RUFFIAN!” She immediately levitated a few gems from inside her shop and hurled them towards the unsuspecting satyr with deadly precision.

“OW! STOP IT! LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!” He shielded his face and chest with his arms as he shouted over the attacks and the oncoming screams. “I JUST WANNA BUY A SUIT, WOMAN!”

Rarity stopped her gemstone bombardment when she heard the words “buy a suit” escape the satyr’s lips. She returned the gems back to their jewel case and approached Praxis cautiously. “I am terribly sorry, darling,” she apologized before levitated Praxis back onto his hooves. “Forgive me for my... rudeness.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re forgiven.” Rarity smiled at his words. “But the next time you plan on killing me, at least do it with something other than gems. Those things hurt.” She giggled.

“Yes, I know. So you said you wanted to buy a suit?”

“Yep. For the Gala.”

“YOU were invited to the Grand Galloping Gala?”

“Duh. I’m on first-name terms with the princesses, and my friend and I are planning on stopping the end of the world.”

“Oh... well, come in, dearie!” Rarity stepped into the Boutique, Praxis following behind her. Like with Twilight, the satyr had a very bad feeling about what would ensue, seeing as how she was jauntily swinging her posterior around like the purple mare did before.

“Whoa... this place is amazing!” Of course it was amazing. Praxis had seen the inside of it in many of the episodes, but like always, the information about them being fictitious on Earth must remain classified.

“Thank you, darling.” Rarity motioned her head towards a pedestal, which bore a semicircle of mirrors. Praxis stepped onto the pedestal and held his arms aloft while Rarity grabbed a roll of measuring tape. She measured his torso and arms, while writing down the obtained measurements on a pad of paper she was magically lifting. “I shall have your outfit prepared by about a day or so.”

“Um... not to be a hindrance, but... can you make a similar outfit for Jace as well?” Praxis asked politely.

“I don’t see why not, darling. The both of you must appear ravishing for the Gala. As an extra, I’ll give you a top hat to hide your horns, and a fedora for your friend, Jace,” she said.

“Thank you so much, Rarity,” Praxis said. “And not to tell you how to do things, but... I have some ideas for the design, and I think you might like them.” He leaned forward and whispered into her ears the appearance that the attire would yield. Rarity’s eyes widened as the whispers went on. The feel of his lips and his breath contacting her ear began making her hormones kick in a bit as her nether regions started moistening and heating up. She breathed heavily before maintaining control of those urges.

“That would be stupendous, darling!” she exclaimed with genuine ecstasy.

“Y’know what I’ve noticed, Rarity?” Praxis began. “I thought that you’d jump my bones the second I walked in, what with mating season in full swing. But you seem to be doing a good job at restraining yourself.”

Rarity only blushed at this. “Thank you, darling,” she said. “Um, Praxis?”

“Yes?” he replied, stretching his back.

“This may not be any of my business - and I believe it would be rather rude - but do you have a special somepony in your life?”

That sent Praxis’s mind reeling. “No.”

“No?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Why not? I believe you were a rather handsome devil back on your planet... um, what was it, Earth?”

“Yes, it was Earth. And HANDSOME? Honey, that may be the case, but I was a nobody in school. Not a single person other than my few friends paid me any mind.”

“Oh. I see.” Rarity felt a smidgen remorseful for the satyr.

“Yep. But I don’t mind. I like solitude” He dug into his pockets for whatever money he must pay to the white mare. “Why d’ya ask?”

“Oh, just curiosity,” Rarity said with a giggle. At last, Praxis found a pouch full of Bits in his tunic pocket. He pulled it out.

‘Thank you, Silent Knife, for being a forgetful nitwit.’

“Praxis, may I ask what you are doing?” She inquired.

“What, a guy can’t pay for the services?”

“Oh, no, no, no, darling, I INSIST that you put that money away.”

“And I INSIST that you let me pay. I’d feel like a scumbag if I just walked away without paying for something.”

“Well, I’m afraid you’re going to have to feel that way, Praxis, because I simply cannot accept your money, especially since I attacked you.” Praxis withdrew the Bits that he had drawn. “Think of it as a gift from me to you. A token of friendship, per se.”

“Um... thanks, Rarity. So I come by tomorrow?”

“Indeed, darling! Take care!”

“Thanks, you too!” Praxis exited the Boutique. Rarity watched dreamily as he walked away, gazing at his rear.

“My heavens. While that satyr has a terrible taste in fashion, he has the flanks of a god,” she mused to herself. She shook her head to snap out of her trance before pacing the room. “Now, now, Rarity, you mustn’t have none of that. You’ve done an excellent job in controlling yourself from... jumping him right then and there.” She sighed. “Now, you must fill out that order....”

“Thank God that’s over,” Praxis said. He continued walked towards the Everfree Forest, where his hammock would be welcoming him with - figurative - open arms. He decided to take the shortcut across the town by taking the road closest to Sugarcube Corner.

Big mistake.

“Hey, Praxis!” A bubbly voice called out to him from above. Praxis looked up at the gingerbread building to see Pinkie Pie waving at him with both front hooves while dangling halfway out of the second floor window.

“Pinkie, be careful, you could fall!” Praxis was unsure about that claim. He never underestimated Pinkie’s constant annihilation of the fourth wall, no matter how dangerous.

“No, I-”

She leaned in closer, finally losing her precarious balance and toppling out of the window.

“WOOON’T!”

Praxis dived for the falling pink mare. He caught her in midair, yet soared through the window and crashed through the glass. Shards of glass rained down upon him as he tried to shield Pinkie with his cloak. He got up from the wreckage, Pinkie still in his arms. He set her down. “I hate being a hero sometimes....” He grabbed his cloak and wiped his face of the blood that the broken glass had spilled. “Erm...I’ll clean that up,” he said, embarrassed that he had damaged property.

He became even more mortified when Pinkie hopped up and kissed his cheek.

“Thanks for catching me!” she said happily. “And don’t worry about it. We’ll get it cleaned up.”

A minute had passed. Pinkie and Praxis finished cleaning up the mess that the latter had made, ensuring the shards were disposed of properly. “Hey, Praxis?” Pinkie finally spoke up.

“Yeah?”

“Can you help me with something?”

“Umm... sure. What’d ya have in mind?”

“Well... I wanna make cupcakes for the whole town of Ponyville today! Because everypony is really hungry for really sweet things this time of spring, and I was wondering if you could help me?”

Praxis pondered for a moment. But before he could reach an answer, Pinkie grabbed his arm and led him to the kitchen. “Now, I’m going to need a special something from you...” Without warning, she pushed him against the wall, hooves pressing against his chest, and gazed seductively into his eyes, the lustful sky blue meeting the fearful brown. “Frosting,” she whispered.

“Um... you didn’t have to push me against a wall to tell me that,” Praxis said.

“Sorry, but... this is a SPECIAL kinda frosting.” She moved her hoof lower and lower down his body, feeling the pectorals, rubbing little circles in his abdomens, and finally reached his legs. “Aunt Pinkie Pie is gonna help get it, too.”

“Dear Lord, that sounded incestuous.” She ignored his comment as she cupped his crotch and gave it a gentle rub.

“And by the feel of it, you’ve got enough to feed ALL of Ponyville~” she croon.

“OK-BYE-NOW!” He shouted hastily before his “excitement” became evident. He vacated the bakery and ran to the Everfree as fast as he could. As soon as the town was far behind him, he looked up at the sky, and was grateful that Rainbow Dash was not flying up there. Had she been there, there would be no hope that he would outrun her and survive the sexual onslaught she would unleash, especially when she was usually determined on doing something.

*WHAM!*

Praxis tumbled across the grass, for something had slammed into him. When he looked up to see, he saw Rainbow Dash grinning madly at him, her cheeks flushed and her eyes wide. The smell of her being in estrus was incredibly intoxicating, but Praxis held firm, refraining from succumbing to its tantalization.

"I WANT YOUR BABIES!" She roared. "NOW!"

'Oh, come on!' Praxis thought in despair.

"Ooh, look, the Wonderbolts!"

"WHERE?!" Rainbow screeched. Almost at once, Praxis grabbed her and threw her off. He quickly got up and started running back into the Everfree Forest!

"Hah! Dumb bitch!" Praxis chuckled.

At long last, he reached his tree house. He dived through the curtains into his house, hoping against hope that nopony had stowed away inside his sanctuary as he ascended the staircase.

“Oh dear... today’s been a long day...” he huffed as he reached the top. “At least there’s nopony here.”

“Well, hellooo, Praxis~”

‘Goddamnit.’ Praxis facepalmed when he saw Lyra Heartstrings laying on his hammock. Her right foreleg kept her head propped up as she looked at him with the same expression the other mares he encountered had worn.

“C’mon, Lyra, knock it off.” Praxis was getting irritated that these ponies were trying to seduce him. Before he knew it, Lyra had grabbed him with her telekinetic magic. She got off of the bed, removed his clothes and possessions.

“H-hey! What’re you doing?” He was disturbed and angered at the same time. He was set down on the hammock, face-up, and watched as Lyra climbed on top of him.

“No way am I gonna let you get away now, goat-boy,” she cooed before she forced her tongue into his mouth, flailing it inside the soft inside of his maw as she greedily kissed him.

“Lyra... this isn’t right,” Praxis said as she removed her face from his.

“Hush now~” She playfully slapped the satyr. “Now then...” She turned her head to the left, as she lifted up a dog’s spiked collar from the side of the room. She slipped the collar on. Praxis looked for a way to escape, yet none seemed available to him. He finally accepted that there was no way out of this.

Her seductive look turned to one of lustful rage. “You’re... going to rut! Me!”

He was taken by surprise by the sudden change of emotion, and his current situation didn’t help to restore his bravado.

He cracked like an egg.

“Yes, mommy!” he squeaked meekly.

Shadow’s note: I assure you, there will NOT be clop. If there were, I’d have included it in this chapter. Next chapter will take place after mating season has passed.

XXIV - A Night To Remember

Craimer’s Note: As I sit at my desk, eating fast food and writing this fic, I realize that the character Jace is supposed to be based off of me... With a few things to make him better as a character. First, for example: I’M FAT. Well, not really, I weigh 125 pounds, but again, I’M FAT. Second: I’m 15 years old, not the 24 that Jace is. Anyway, I digress. I need to work out is what I’m trying to say here, but I ramble on about things as I try to get to my point. Not a good thing. Anyway, Shadow, anything to say?

Shadow’s Note: Yep. Praxis is a seventeen-year-old me, for I’m only two years his junior. But he’s only seventeen in satyr years. Since satyrs age half as fast as humans, it’s safe to assume that Praxis is technically thirty-four in human years. Second: Praxis is about 7 feet tall, if you count his horns. Without them, he’s only 6 feet. Third: boobs. Lots and lots o’ boobs. (Joking, of course).

Craimer’s Other Note: Well said, friend!

XXIV - A Night To Remember

“Praxis? Praxis?! Yo, dude, you home? C’mon, we gotta head to the mansion to get ready for the Gala! We’re gonna be late, hurry your ass up, Fluffy!” Jace sighed and tapped his foot on the wooden floor of the treehouse. “Holy shit, Prax! What’re you doing?! Jacking off?”

“Shut your fuckin’ gob, Jace! I’m trying to find my damn suit!” The annoyed satyr kept digging through the piles of cans he had for storage if he got hungry and once tripped on one, falling on the ground with a hefty *THUD*.

“You lost your fucking suit?! You, sir, are the most unorganized person in all of Equestria.” Jace shook his head and walked up the stairs to see Praxis rubbing the top of his head and looking right at him. “Laying down on the job. I see how it is. I’m gonna have to write you up for a fine for not trying to look for your suit, young satyr.”

“Alright, smartass. You find it.”

“What, you haven't found your suit already?” The response was a gold tie with a diamond-shaped ruby at its knot being thrown in his face. “Thank you.” He gripped the tie and encased it in his red magic, the tie glowing soft red. Light started to glow from Praxis’ closet door and Jace looked at him. “The place where it most likely would’ve been, and you didn’t check?”

“Oh, sue me.” Praxis strode to the closet and smiled to see it in all of its glory. Scarlet suit jacket, gold button-up vest, scarlet button-up shirt under that vest, and a gold-banded scarlet top hat to conceal his horns. Rarity had even gone to the trouble of putting a phoenix feather in the band. Where she had gotten it was a total enigma to both Praxis and Jace.

“Alright, I will. I’ll see you in court.” Jace chuckled and walked to the staircase, looking over his shoulder. “Get the suit and let’s go! We have to be at the castle in an hour for practice of the songs we’re going to do!”

“Awww yeah!” Praxis looked on the ground to find the gold-rimmed pince nez that Rarity had also loaned him. He looked in the mirror of his bedroom and was surprised by the effect. Rarity had to remove the facial tattoos and manticore fang earrings, saying they clashed horribly with the suit. He cautiously rubbed a cheek, the surface of his now blank flesh still tender from the magic process used to remove the ink. His goatee had been closely trimmed, for it had grown slightly wild and long in the past three weeks since he got it, yet his hair had not yet been cut. Long locks of black touched the top of the satyr’s shoulders. “Wait... why the hell does my hair make me look like Sebastian Michaelis from Black Butler? I mean, not that I don’t like it, because he’s a legitimate bad-ass.”

“Don’t know, don’t care, now c’mon!” Jace’s tone was hurried and it sounded rushed. This was his first major gig with Vinyl, and he didn’t want to miss it for anything. Praxis, who had been training in the ways of the musician under Jace’s wing for the three weeks, rushed down the stairs and walked next to Jace.

“Your collar’s disheveled,” he told him. Jace’s suit was similar to Praxis’s, yet the former had pants, a fedora instead of a top hat, and a bronze and blue color scheme rather than red and gold. A peacock’s tail feather was in the band. At the satyr’s words, Jace fidgeted his collar until it was aligned properly with his tie, which had a sapphire at its knot. “Much better.”

“Yeah, yeah... so how’d mating season go for you?”

Praxis gave a shudder before answering. “Lyra subjected me to some REALLY kinky stuff.”

Jace’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?! You, of all people.... got LAID?!”

The other nodded. “Yes... I’m surprised I survived the first day from how vicious it was. I had to hide in the forest the rest of mating season.”

“Whoa... that must suck,” Jace said, receiving a nod and an “Mm-hmm” from his friend. “C’mon, the train’ll be leaving soon.” After a few minutes of quick sprinting, the two had reached the mansion, picking up Vinyl Scratch in a stunning purple dress decorated with yellow music notes, and headed for the train station. The Friendship Express was preparing to depart for the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot. Aboard the train cart the trio entered were several unrecognized ponies. But they found the Mane Six and Spike sitting in the back in their Gala clothes. Praxis and Jace always wondered why ponies would wear clothing. But that curious observation could wait for another time. Tonight was a night worth enjoying.

“Hey, girls,” the two men and Vinyl said in unison. The group responded with “hello”s, “good evening”s, and “what’s up?”s.

“Those're some fancy duds there, fellers,” complemented Applejack, who had to interrupt her conversation with Rainbow Dash to say that.

“Thanks, AJ,” the trio said.

“How do you like the new suits, darlings?” inquired Rarity, her keen eye scanning over the three of them.

“They’re very nice,” Praxis answered for them.

“I thought so. I dare say, the pince nez was a perfect idea, Praxis. But it seems a tad unbalanced on your nose, dear.” She magically adjusted the small pair of frame-less glasses on his nose, for they had gone slightly askew during his travel to the train station.

“I think I now know why they call it a ‘pince nez’. It pinches my nose, and it friggin’ hurts like crazy.” Praxis wriggled his human snout. A few of the girls laughed at his remark.

The Friendship Express then blared its train whistle, and began departing for Canterlot.

All the while, Vinyl had pulled Jace farther to the back to straighten out his tie. “Hon, you look like a mess.”

“Well, I had to sprint to get the mansion and here. What did you expect me to do? Use teleportation? I’m not that advanced, dear.”

“Well, still. You’re all wrinkled now!” A groan came from Jace.

“Jeez, MOM. I’ll make sure not to run fast again.” A smile was placed on Vinyl’s face.

“You know I love you, riiiight?~”

“Oh, don’t butter me up with this again.” A quick peck and a giggle from Vinyl was all Jace needed to give in and start smiling. One of the first non-forced smiles all month.

“So Jace... I’ve been thinking about that offer... about me being a Reaper.”

Jace turned around to face Praxis. “Yeah?” The suspense was killing him.

“And... I’ll do it. But under one condition.”

“Alright!” Jace was glad that his friend had agreed and accepted the offer. “Now we stand a chance against Insanity. Name that condition.”

Praxis paused before pressing on. “I would like to be a different CLASS of Reaper. There’s Chaos, and that’s the only one I know of. But since Chaos doesn’t really speak to me, I was wondering if there’s a different type of Reaper.”

“Hmm....” Jace pondered on the other form that a Reaper could be. Two minutes passed before he gave a definite answer. “Well, there IS another class; the Chaos Reaper’s only polar opposite, the Order Reaper.”

“Excellent.” Praxis was glad that the prospects of becoming that form of Reaper is possible. But Jace saw his look of content and had no choice but to damper it, much to his displeasure.

“We’ll get you started after the Gala. But... the initiation is going to be really tough on you. First off, you have to undergo a blood ritual. Then, you have to do a week of really painful training.”

“If it means a chance at defeating Insanity, I don’t care. Besides, does it LOOK like I give a shit?” Praxis raised an eyebrow at Jace, peering at him through unamused eyes with a frown on his face.

“Uhm, no?” Jace was rewarded with a pat on his head from the satyr.

“Good boy.” Praxis had to lean back to avoid Jace’s magic-encased fist as it swung at him.

“Touch me on the head again. See what happens, goat-boy,” Jace threatened. Praxis could only stifle his laughter at the incident. “Go ahead! I DARE ya!” A smirk played at Jace’s lips as he said these words.

“Really, dumbass?” Praxis touched his head again. Jace grabbed his wrist, turned around, and threw Praxis over his shoulder and onto the floor. The top hat and pince nez came off from the earth-shaking and bone-jarring slam. “OWW... My body was NOT ready,” he wheezed. Vinyl and Jace stifled their oncoming fit of laughter.

“Oh, and I got another trick up my sleeve,” Jace said slyly. “Stand up and hold out your arm.”

“What the hell are you plotting?” Praxis asked.

“Just do it, you pansy.”

“Fine, ya asshole.” Praxis got up and extended his arm towards Jace.

“Watch, as I simply snap my fingers,” A snap from his fingers rang through the train car, and a black, clawed hand came out of nowhere and grabbed Praxis’ arm tight. The occupants, other than Vinyl, began screaming.“Oh, it gets worse.” As he ended the sentence, multiple hands came from nowhere and latched onto the different body parts of Praxis. “Dark Snare. Like it?”

“ALL THIS OVER A HEAD PAT?!” Praxis was panicking. Jace snapped his fingers again, and the hands that had ensnared Praxis had dissipated into thin air. He grabbed his top hat and put it back on his head before reluctantly placing his pince nez back on his nose. “YOU’RE PSYCHOTIC!”

“No, I just don’t want you touching my nice freaking hat. I haven’t had a fedora since I was on Earth, and that was three years ago! Fun fact, that’s all one creature. Guess his name.” Eagerness filled Jace’s face.

“Cerberus and Hades’ flipper baby? I dunno, I give up.” Praxis honestly didn’t have a clue as to what satanic pet Jace could have sitting in the Underworld, awaiting its master’s beck and call.

Jace only facepalmed. “It’s Aksheal, you dolt. Only he can hold onto something and keep it there long enough for me to gut whatever it is.” Jace walked over to Vinyl, who handed him a pair of white gloves from her pocket. He slipped them on his hands and wiggled his fingers around before going to the back of the train and picking up a gold and silver cane from the back of a chair. “Ah, good. Still here.” He tapped it twice on the floor of the cart, the cane changing into his Chain Scythe and freaking out the girls. “Whoops! Sorry! I didn’t know it would take the disguise off that easily!” He tapped the end on the floor again, the scythe changing back into a gold and silver cane.

Praxis chuckled at the incident as he walked over to the window. The sun finally sank below the horizon, the moon preparing to arise behind him. The magical black and purple flames shrouded him once more as he shut his eyes from the now dull, yet still evident pain and became his nocturnal alterego.

The flames disappeared, revealing the weresatyr before them.

The Mane Six screamed even louder. The other occupants of the car cleared out, shrieking their heads off as they dashed into the other compartments

“Everypony chill the hell out!” He raised his clawed hands to silence the remaining ponies. The screams slowly yet surely subsided.

“P-Praxis?!” Twilight Sparkle wailed. “What in Equestria ARE you?!”

Praxis only looked at her. “A very evil monster,” he deadpanned sarcastically. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spike went wide-eyed in fear, while the others; Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, took note of his sarcastic tone and seemed to calm down slightly. “As a matter of fact, you’ve seen me like this before. Why the hell are you all flipping out NOW?”

They shuddered. They didn’t want to remember that incident back at Canterlot Castle. It was bad enough that they were travelling there with the same creature responsible.

A very pregnant silence ensued. Minutes passed by since Praxis’s question, and not a word was said. But thankfully, somepony got up the courage to break it.

“Well, that’s all good and jolly--” Rarity interjected.

“But what made you like this, Prax?” Rainbow Dash interruptedly finished.

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said. “Earlier, you were a really nice-looking satyr, now you’re a satyr that just looks really scary! What gives?”

Praxis sighed. If Pinkie Pie didn’t know anything about his transformation, despite her frequent evisceration of physics and logic, then the other mares had nothing else to fall back on.

Vinyl sighed heavily. “Y’know that evil guy that’s planning on destroying the world in a little more than a month?”

“Don' remind me, sugarcube,” Applejack groaned, a worried look on her face.

“Yeah, he Corrupted Praxis with his freaky-ass blade. Now, every night, our fluffy friend becomes THIS!” Vinyl pointed an accusing-looking hoof at the weresatyr. The ponies and dragon before them gasped.

“Well, it’s not MY fault he’s a psychopathic jackass,” Praxis said.

“AND, on top of that, the Corruption is going to kill him in about a few more weeks unless we do something!” Vinyl, at this point, was a little livid about it all.

“Oh, now you gotta make them worried!” Praxis said worriedly as he cleaned his sharp teeth with a talon. He trailed a forked tongue along his teeth gently, resting at the spot where his canines were. He could feel those specific teeth had elongated into fangs, their tips slightly exposed by a few centimeters. The twilight caused by the descended sun made the glass of the window become a mirror.

“Praxis?” Applejack began. “That can’t be true... can it?”

“I’m afraid so, AJ,” he answered morbidly. With careful handling, he removed his top hat and flattened his now unruly white hair. “Seriously?” He grumbled almost silently. “Why must my hair be as crazy as Pinkie’s when I transform?”

“Hey!” The pony in question giggled. Praxis carefully replaced his hat upon his head and admired the effect, yet was unsure of how Pinkie had caught the gist of his irritated question, when everybody else didn’t even hear it.

“I... I can’t believe it. I simply REFUSE to believe it,” Rainbow Dash said angrily.

Praxis only sighed. “Rarity? Can you open my suit and let her see for herself? I’m afraid I might rip my suit to shreds if I did it instead.” He lifted a taloned hand to emphasize the statement.

“But of course, darling.” Rarity focused her horn at the weresatyr, the sky-blue aura of her magic unbuttoning the jacket, vest, and shirt of the suit. Only his bare front stood out. Spike and the girls gasped. The markings that reached his neck were pulsating along with the Curse Seal on his navel, while the others on his actual neck and face weren’t glowing. Rarity used her magic to close the suit back up.

“So... it’s true, then?” Pinkie asked, sadness in her tone. Praxis nodded. Two seconds later, and without warning, the pink mare began to cry. Hard. Streams of tears shot up from her eyes and arced towards the ground as she wept. Rarity had to scoot back to avoid getting drenched.

“Please don’t cry, Pinkie,” Jace said, putting a comforting hand around her. The crying and audible sobbing were gradually stopping. Finally, they ended, yet Pinkie was sniffling violently, her eyes glossed over from the tears she had spilled. She nodded, giving a weak and stuttery “OK”.

“S-so, um, Praxis?” Fluttershy almost whispered. “What d-do you plan on doing at the Gala?”

“Oh, not much,” Jace answered in Praxis’s place. “We’re just going to perform some songs for the ponyfolk. And Princess Celestia wants Praxis and me to go to the council meeting after.”

“Really? What could it be about?” Twilight asked, curious as to what the topic the duo would have to discuss.

“Beats me,” Praxis answered honestly. “It could be about anything, to be honest.”

“There it is!” Pinkie shouted joyously as she peered out the window. Praxis was stunned at how quickly Pinkie had switched emotions so rapidly.

‘Bipolarity~’ he thought before being captivated by the sight of the city he and his friends/acquaintances were approaching.

Canterlot was practically aglow with activity. The ivory spires, towers, and foundations of the castle glistened in the moonlight. Movement from the ocean of equines showed that the ponyfolk were enjoying the festivities that Canterlot had to offer.

“Ayo, Jace, we’re nearly there!” Praxis said. When he got no response, he looked to his left. He was sitting on one of the seats of the train with Vinyl in his lap as they were kissing. He shuddered. “Urgh... it’s like watching two wildebeests fight over a piece of meat in their mouths.” The others laughed a little. Jace and Vinyl broke away, glaring at Praxis menacingly. The weresatyr chuckled heartily. “Well, glad to see that your spit trading session is over,” he pressed on, “because we’re almost at the station.”

“Just... give us till we get there, man...” He waved Praxis away as the two went back to tongue-swapping. Praxis facepalmed, surprised he hadn’t broken his pince nez from the force of the swing. Spike and a few of the other ponies winced from the sound his hand made when it struck his face.

“The shit that I put up with, man...” When the train stopped, Jace and Vinyl ended their tongue-swapping session and followed the occupants of the compartment out of the door.

Jace came up next to Praxis with Vinyl following close. “Hey, man, I haven’t gotten to do that in so long. We’ve been so worried about this stuff, we can’t catch a break together, man.” He patted his shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’re getting jelly on me, bro...”

“I’m not getting jelly, Jace. But I’m feeling awful peanut butter at the moment.” A trollish smile accompanied by a British accent from Praxis was what Jace needed today.

“Enjoy yourself, man. If you need any extra bits, I gotcha on that.” A jingle came from his pocket as he stepped.

"That won't be necessary, compadre. Besides, I won't be spending money on anything like food or toys." Praxis waved a hand.

"Why's that?" Jace raised an eyebrow.

"Dude... I can eat GRASS and FLOWERS. Food from stands technically won't be necessary."

"Ah... listen, I’m gonna get into the castle and find Luna, because she’s the one directing the music; and we’ll go from there...”

“Sweeeet.” With that, the two parted their separate ways, taking part in the frivolous activity that awaited them.

...

Only for Praxis to be met with shrieks of fear at his appearance. “Son of a--” he grumbled. “I thought they were used to me by now!”

“Oh, sweet Jesus.” Jace walked out in front of Praxis, and whistled as loud as he could. The sound rang like a gunshot, filling the atmosphere almost instantly. The ponies stopped dead in their tracks. “Everypony listen up! This guy is cool! He’s with us! I swear, so many of you ponies are filled with prejudice. Just because he looks like this, you automatically think he’s going to do harm!? I thought me and Coal taught you better than this long ago, and look what happened to Coal! He’s DEAD because of stuff like this.” Fighting back tears, he shook his head. “Just... you make me sick.” He looked at everypony in the crowd and walked off into the castle, his cane under his arm. “So... fricking... sick of this shit.” He whispered as he made his way towards the Princess’ chambers.

Praxis sighed, watching Jace walk away from the scene. He felt disappointment and anger boiling his blood before he whipped around and leered at the ponies. “Great job, you donut-munching... barrel-assed... pud-pulling sissies!” he roared in a fake congratulatory tone as he pointed a taloned finger at the audience. A few of the ponies shot him angry glances at his profanity, and a few flinched at the six-inch claw, but he continued like a raging locomotive that couldn’t be stopped. “My friend and I came here to have fun at the Gala! Now, because your prejudice, hatred, and belligerence knows no limits, you’ve gone and upset him, one of my ONLY friends here who’s gone back and forth through Hell like I have! Y’all better pray that Celestia shows you at least an ounce of mercy when I punt your sorry asses into outer space!” He stormed away from the scene, gritting his sharp teeth as he walked into the building. “You should be ashamed of yourselves!” He yelled over his shoulder.

He entered the building and turned his head back forward, hoping to find Jace. The ponies inside had overheard his rant, for they were looking at him with a few hints of pity... or apprehension. Even though the human was about two feet taller than the equine crowd, Praxis saw no sign of him. In desperation, he scaled an adjacent marble column in the Foyer with his sharp talons, searching for his friend with no avail. The ponies down below looked at him in both fear and curiosity as he jumped from column to column, the weresatyr being more than grateful for the sharp, dextrous tools that were assisting him in his endeavors.

“Damn it, Jace... where could you have gone?” he murmured after jumping between pillars for the fifth time so far.

“PRAXIS!!!” Applejack shrieked at him. “GET DOWN FROM THERE, YA CRAZY VARMINT!!!”

As this was going on, Jace was pushing his fedora lower on his head to shroud his eyes from the other ponies. He knocked on a midnight-blue door that bore big black Equestrian hieroglyphs, which, with his translation magic, read ‘Luna’. “Princess Luna? It’s Jace. May I please come in?”

A few seconds passed before the lunar princess answered, “Yes, Jace.” Jace opened the door, revealing Luna’s room in all it’s dark glory. He walked in, standing straight up and looking around the room before settling his eyes on Luna.

“Princess, again, thank you for having Praxis, Vinyl and I take care of the music. It’s a huge honor.” Luna raised a brow at this statement.

“Art thou being generous? Dearest Jace, did thou hiteth thy head on thy way in?” Jace blinked a couple times before he remembered the way he acted before.

“So, I’m able to be casual around you and Celestia? Whew! I thought I was going to have to keep that act up all night!” He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat on his forehead. “Pfff, I’m sorry if I sound cross, Luna, I... had a bit of a start when I first came in. Ponies not trusting Praxis, and me getting angry with them is not really the best of combos.” He returned the cloth to his pocket and leaned against his cane, looking down. “You’d think these ponies would get used to him like they got used to me and Coal. I hate when I see MY friend being ridiculed for the way he LOOKS. I’ve been down that road, and it’s NOT fun.”

Luna sighed in frustration. “Ugh... they are STILL doing that?” she asked, regretting the question when Jace answered it with a nod. “That is it... tomorrow, I shall get Celestia to talk to them about it. In the meantime, Jace, please partake in the frivolities downstairs.” She patted Jace on his shoulder. He left the room, giving her a small “thanks” before closing the door.

Jace looked down, deep in thought about what ‘fun’ WAS anymore. Then, he remembered what he was going to ask. He knocked on the door again, “Princess Luna. I needed to ask where we will be performing tonight.”

“Simple, dear boy!” she answered through the door. “The auditorium! When you get downstairs to the Foyer, take the door on the right down the hall! Then take the first door on the left!”

“OK, thanks!” With that, Jace left the vicinity and made his way to the Grand Foyer before following Luna’s explicit directions. He opened the door to the auditorium to find a crowd of ponies before him, either talking, eating, drinking, or dancing to the classical music that was playing on stage. He spotted Vinyl and Octavia next to the stage, the former testing the turntable and seeing that it works properly. He briskly walked over her, giving an apology to anypony he accidentally bumped into.

“Hey, hon!” Vinyl walked over to Jace, stood up on her hind legs, and kissed him for a few seconds.

“Vi, where’s Praxis?” Jace asked when they broke away. Vinyl got back down on all fours and shrugged.

*BAM!*

Jace and the massive audience of ponies turned around to look at the massive double doors. Praxis, right hoof still raised from kicking the door wide open, gave the audience a nice, wide, sharp-toothed smile as he walked into the room, Princess Celestia, the Mane Six and Spike following him in.

“Knock knock, motherfuckers!!!”

Jace and Vinyl blinked before they fell over to the ground, clutching their sides as they laughed loudly painfully at Praxis’s entrances. The weresatyr in question crouched low to the floor before jumping over the crowd of ponies and landing in front of the two of them.

“Are you ready to begin?" Octavia was in on their plan, because Vinyl had informed her of it. Even though the song would require a good cello player, asking her old university friend and musical polar opposite to perform the favor was much to the white unicorns's displeasure.

"Um... yeah," the other three said.

“OK, since when did he start jumping fifty feet across a sea of ponies?” Spike inquired. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash shrugged.

“Beats me, sugarcube,” Applejack said.

“I didn’t know,” Rarity ensured.

“I did.” The gang turned to see Fluttershy looking at the weresatyr getting on the stage with his friends.

“Whaddaya mean, ‘Shy?” Pinkie asked.

“Remember when he saved me, girls? He jumped out of his tree and caught me before I fell into the pond.” There was a strange air of confidence in the yellow Pegasus’s tone as she spoke.

“Ohhhh, I remember now,” Dash said. The others nodded when they reminisced on the event that Fluttershy had informed them about.

“Ooh, it looks like they’re about to perform!” Pinkie exclaimed.

As the music started, lights turned on at the stage, showing Octavia playing her cello, calmly. On the stage were Vinyl, Jace, and Praxis. Three miscellaneous ponies had taken the place of the DJs in the booth. Standing on the stage was a random pony from the crowd. His silk suit, coiffed mane, and moustache showed he hailed from Itaily. He sat on his haunches, held at point-blank range by Jace and Praxis, who each held a large black magnum in their hands with suppressors on the barrels.Vinyl was in between the men, behind the pony with a shotgun in her telekinetic grip, aimed at the victim’s head.

As the voices started up, Jace as he waved it around and began to speak.

“We do not want your tired and sick!” Jace started out as he lifted his gun to the audience and pointed it at them, giving them a bit of a startle.

Praxis followed Jace’s example. “It is your corrupt we claim!”

“It is your evil that will be sought by us!”

“With every breath, we shall hunt them down!”

“Each day, we will spill their blood, till it rains down from the skies!”

“Do not kill; do not rape; do not steal! These are principles which every man of every faith can embrace!”

“These are not polite suggestions! These are codes of behavior, and those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest cost... one day you will look behind you and you will see we three! And on that day, you will reap it!”

“...And we will send you to whatever god you wish.”

Jace and Praxis both returned to their position behind the pony, who was breathing hard. Vinyl had stepped behind, holding a gun to his head with her magic. The three then started to recite a type of prayer of some sort.

“And shepherds we shall be. For Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand--”

“Vaffanculo!” The convicted pony shouted in Itailian.

“--That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be.”

Vinyl looked at the two next to her. “In Nomine Patris.”

Jace narrowed his eyes and scowled. “Et Filii.”

Praxis cocked back the hammer on his pistol, his eyes half-lidded in feigned boredom. “Et Spiritus Sancti.”

The lights dimmed as the sounds of silenced shots rang out. What looked eerily like blood spewed from the silhouette of the convicted pony’s head. The body fell limp on the ground and loud, modulated bass played out of the speakers. The lights went up at the DJ booth, showing the trio mixing the first bit of the song.

Thanks to the non-stop practice with instruments over the week, along with Vinyl using her magic to shorten and dull his sharp talons into plain, yet still black, fingernails, Praxis had finally gotten the hang of using a turntable. His previous movements when he first started, which were choppy, clumsy, and were performed at all the wrong moments, had become fluid, precise, and punctual. Knobs, slides, records, buttons; each were twisted, adjusted, turned, and pressed at exactly the right moments, causing the sounds being created to synchronize with the others.

Much to the surprise of everypony who knew him.

“Whoa!” Spike exclaimed from the stands. With the princesses next to him and his lady friends, there was a circle of free space, for the ponies that respected the two princesses had cleared away, ensuring that they had enough room to them.

“‘Whoa’ is an understatement, Spike!” Twilight had to raise her voice over the noise. “I didn’t even KNOW Praxis could do that!”

“Neither did Ah!” Applejack raised an eyebrow at the bizarre fact, but shrugged it off. “Did you, Rainbow?” She looked around, surprised to see the chromatic Pegasus headbanging with the beat... alongside Princess Luna.

“AWWW, YEAH!!!” Rainbow shouted, her technicolor mane bobbing up and down with her head.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity wailed in despair. “Cease that barbaric headbanging! You’ll ruin your mane!”

“THIS IS HOW ONE MUST PARTY!!!” Luna yelled. Rainbow looked up to see who had spoken and jumped when she saw Luna. Her sky-blue face immediately began turning magenta with embarrassment. Luna, however, paid Rainbow no mind, for her eyes were shut. Princess Celestia, who was next to her, face-hoofed in frustration at her baby sister’s behavior.

“Sweet Faust in Pony Heaven, Luna, we’re in public...” she grumbled. Her voice, however, went unnoticed, for she had spoken into her gold-encased hoof.

Fluttershy, always the type to cower at loud and sudden noises, lived true to the last syllable of her name. When the bass had dropped, she dove underneath a table at speeds that would give Rainbow Dash a run for her money. Pinkie Pie was bobbing to and fro between the crowd, whooping and cheering as she moved hither and thither through the room.

On the stage, the three had already returned to the booth as each changed positions to fill one another’s position. The hologram of Aksheal had appeared. He looked across the audience through glowing red eyes, donned in his crimson and black robes on with the hood pulled up, the spell cast upon it concealing his face in opaque shadows.

“They exited out the front door, they had no idea what they were in for." he began dramatically. "Now they’re staring at six men with guns drawn. It was a fuckin’ ambush.” His head bowed down, and he chuckled. “For a few seconds, this place was Armageddon!” He growled and raised his head, yelling at the top of his lungs, “THERE WAS A FIREFIGHT!” As quickly as he came, the hologram dissipated into nothingness as the music began again. Fluttershy, still cowering underneath the table, jumped at the bass was dropped once more.

"AWW, YEAH!" Vinyl yelled, her head bobbing as she adjusted each adjustable piece on her turntable to get the right noises.

"WHOO!" cried a voice. Praxis looked down from the booth, smiling at his old friends. Zecora was wearing a brown dress streaked with cyan; Bon-Bon sported a frilly gown the same color as her mane; Lyra was wearing a dress that was a shade lighter than her fur; Carrot Top wore a dark blue dress; Derpy was in a dress as yellow as butter. Praxis waved to them quickly before returning to music conducting. The five mares down below waved back.

The music was slowly coming to a close as Jace and Praxis got in front of the booth. Jace feigned a backhand to Praxis across the face, causing him to fall over. Jace pulled his magnum out of his pocket and pointed it at the now-downed weresatyr. “The fuck were you gonna do?! Laugh the last three to death, funny man?!?!” The lights faded out.

Another shot rang out across the stage. The lights shined upon the trio again, along with Octavia and the Itailian stallion, the latter completely unscathed. Smiles were on all their anxious, albeit nervous, faces.

They were awaiting their verdict.

XXV - Encores and Rants

Applause.

So much applause.

The sound of hooves slamming into the linoleum dance floor sent quaking vibrations across the room, threatening to decimate the ground they walked on.

Whistling, cries of assent, shrieks of joy. The DJ trio’s eardrums were nearly ruptured from how loud the entire equine audience was performing. Praxis, Jace, Vinyl, Octavia, and the Itailian stallion bowed for the audience. Roses were ejected from the sea of ponies as they landed in a not-so-modest pile at the performers’ hooves... and in Jace’s case, feet.

Praxis had never heard applause this loud before. Sure, the applause he had gotten from Ponyville was very nice, but this...

To him, it was incredible. An overwhelming wall of sound, crashing over those that lingered on the stage.

“At least the ponies kept their ‘wild side’ on a controlled level,” Jace told him.

Praxis would have thought so...

*FWOOMP*

...Had a pair of sky-blue, frilly underwear not landed straight on his face, shrouding his eyes.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in this scenario.

“Eww... sleazy,” he mumbled as he removed the erotic garment from his vision. He could only assume that one of the ponies from Ponyville had been responsible for the panties smacking into him. He held them up high. “For the pony who threw these, do you want ‘em cleaned and returned by Monday tomorrow?”

Loud, hearty laughter rang out. Even a few of the snooty ponies couldn’t help but give a chuckle at the joke.

“It was a-nice working with you all,” the Itailian pony said before stepping off of the stage. “I hope to a-see you again.” He trotted into the crowd.

“Indeed so,” Octavia finally piped up over the applause. “Especially you, Jace.” The person in question narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw the ash-coated mare’s cheeks turn a pale red. Vinyl instantly caught on to this, pupils shrunken to the size of peas in rage at what the cello player had said.

“Oh, what could you be insinuating, Tavi?” she said, her purple shades flipped up to reveal her angry red eyes. She and Octavia were head to head, glaring at each other with as much malice as possible.

To put it lightly... a shitstorm was brewing.

“Umm... I’m just gonna walk away slowly...” Praxis did just that before turning tail and taking off for the punch table.

“Oh, no you’re not, Fluffy!” Jace grabbed him with his magic and pulled him back towards the potential catfight.

“Oh?” Octavia questioned. “I was, wasn’t I? Well, what do you plan on doing about it, Vinyl Snatch?” Vinyl gritted her teeth, anger at how the usually elegant cello player had degraded herself to use a vulgar word.

“Nothing... other than kicking your sorry flank up and down the floor, Cocktavia.” A wry, devious smirk spread across the white unicorn’s muzzle.

But the dirty pun Vinyl made was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back.

“You... BITCH!” Octavia tackled Vinyl to the stage’s floor, every ounce of her being raring to pulverize the other mare into a bloody pulp. The audience had gasped at the sight. Two prestigious musicians roughing and tumbling before them? It was unsightly.

“Oh, God....”

“Shh, just pretend it’s TV,” Jace smirked as he watched the two mares fight over him. He watched as they bit, scratched, and hit each other over and over. They let out screams and girly shrieks with every blow that landed.

Eventually, though, the two men watching intently soon got bored of this little cat-fight.

“Right, I’m going to stop this, by doing it in the most peaceful way I know how.” Jace handed Praxis his cane, “And no, not by going in there, before you say anything.” He walked to the instruments lined up on the wall and picked up a violin and a bow, running it across the strings to test the tuning. He fiddled with the knobs a bit until he found the right set of tuning to play.

He walked over next to the two love-crazy mares and played a few chords before putting on a smile. “Fillies and gentlecolts!” He yelled across the audience, quickly gathering their attentions. “May I introduce myself. I, am Jason Romero for those who do not know.” He let out a small wave, “Hi. How’s it going?” It got a few chuckles out of the audience.

“Next to me are two mares who are fighting over me. You know what I have to say to that?” He looked over at Praxis and tucked the violin under his chin. Praxis jumped back into the DJ booth and nodded at Jace.

"Hit it!"

“With pleasure, bro!” Ambient sounds, soon followed by the gentle stroking of a violin’s strings, emanated from the duo as the music began.

Jace played with expert timing, bow tickling each and every string of the violin as his fingers flew along the neck of the small instrument in his hands, pressing down and fiddling with each and every appropriate one, making the harmonious melody meander through the atmosphere like a soothing river. Praxis’s fingers did what they had done during the performance of “Spiritus Sancti,” moving swiftly along the dashboard of the booth’s turntable, spinning a spider’s web of sound alongside Jace. The music from the booth synchronized with Jace’s violin-playing almost perfectly.

Octavia and Vinyl, drained and beaten from fighting one another, had given up on their attempts of brutally slaughtering one another. They raised their heads to see that Praxis and Jace were the source of the music. The two mares were unaware of the fact that they were still laying in a heap on the stage. Luckily, the audience wasn’t paying attention to them anymore, for they were practically hypnotized by the music being created.

Jace had his eyes closed for the first bit of the song, but he slowly opened them as it progressed; now his eyes glowing a soft red. As he played, waves of red musical notes came from the violin and his hands as he played the notes. They arranged on a staff that shimmered in the air. He slowly turned to the two mares by his side and stepped in between them, the staffs with notes on them wrapping around their bodies like a snake.

Jace looked at Praxis, and shook his head, telling him to stop with the wubs. He obeyed, and then the glow came onto the knobs on the DJ Booth, and it was under Jace’s control now. It played a low ambient tone that flooded the auditorium. The staffs had picked up the two mares and there were now on either side of Jace. “I’m not one to pick favorites. I’m not one to choose sides. It’s always difficult picking women, especially when they are both lovely. But alas, a man must choose.” He turned and looked at the two. “Now which one do I take?” He put a gloved hand on his chin and he jokingly rubbed on it in mock-thinking.

“It’s hard to break hearts...But, I must do so tonight.” He raised a hand in between the two mares and slowly moved it side to side before resting on the side where Vinyl was floating. He slowly motioned for her to come forward, and the music brought her forward. “Tonight, I choose you. It was a no-brainer from the start.” He looked over at Octavia, who was clearly upset. Tears were on the precipice of formulating in her amethyst eyes.

“Octavia Philharmonica.” He slowly walked over to her, putting a hand on her chin and having her look up into his glowing eyes. Though there was only red, a usual sign of pure and inextinguishable fury, they looked oddly sincere... and perhaps even bordering on sad. “Octavia, I am sorry. But, I cannot be with you. It is Vinyl who I love, but let’s just say you come in as a close second. I don’t want you to feel upset. This is possibly one of the only nights you could talk to me, and I am not in the least upset with you. I’ve been with Vinyl for three years now. Hell, she’s even having my child in two days. I am in no way pushing you out of my sight, since we are both avid string musicians. I hope to produce music with you sometime in the near future, Miss Philharmonica.” He released his telekinetic grip on her and gently placed her on the ground, giving a small bow before stepping away next to a now grounded Vinyl Scratch.

“Oh... OK.” Octavia looked at the ground in shame. As she sat there, almost fit to cry, she felt a hand pat her shoulder in comfort.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Praxis told her. He knelt down to meet her at eye level. “I know what it’s like to not be able to have the person you love love you back.”

“Oh, please,” Octavia snapped. “Why would ANYpony love YOU?” Praxis recoiled slightly, hurt by the cellist’s razor-like words. Octavia’s eyes widened at the realization of what she said. “I-I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I can’t believe I SAID that to you, I’m just so upset that that HARLOT took somepony I cared about, and--”

“Stop.” Octavia’s broken dam of words were stoppered by Praxis’s interjection. “ First, I don’t mind that you made a little quip, now matter how much it hurt from how true it was. You just wanted to vent, that’s all.” He sighed, shaking his head. He looked back at her before continuing. “Second, please don’t call Vinyl a harlot. She’s my friend, and she was actually pretty quick to accept me, unlike the others, who only either ran away or tried to chase me out of town. And third... just let it go.”

“What?” Octavia asked.

“You heard me.” Praxis nodded to her, giving her another gentle pat on the shoulder. “It does no good to have a place in your heart for a person that can’t fill it. I’ve been down that road... and it wasn’t pretty. You have to let it go... like a leaf in the wind.”

“But... it’s so hard to.”

Praxis put a hand on each of her shoulders, looking into her eyes. “Try. Because if you don’t, it will hurt you for the rest of your life.”

Octavia, after a few moments, dismissed the sorrow that hung over her. She sighed sadly before looking up at Praxis with a small smile. She shook Praxis’s hand before they stood up. “OK,” she answered. “Thank you very much, Praxis, for the advice.”

“Don’t mention it, Miss Philharmonica.”

“Please, call me Octavia.”

“Are you two done flirting yet?” Jace asked teasingly. Praxis and Octavia both went pink in the face and chuckled nervously. “Yes? Well, then, if you will please follow me.” Jace walked over to Praxis, grabbing the cane from him and walking off the stage into one of the hallways leading out of the auditorium. “Honestly, I’m surprised you could hold this thing up; it’s still the scythe you know.” He started using the cane in the appropriate manner and Praxis looked over at him with a raised brow.

“Didn’t you tell me that the scythe can only be--”

“--picked up by the one who has the reaper blood; blah blah blah.” The two finished the sentence in unison, only to have Jace end it with the ‘blahs’ and a twirl of the hand.

“At the moment, I choose who can hold it. It’s you, me, and Vinyl. That’s the ONLY exception.” Jace turned to look at Vinyl. “Could you stay here for a few minutes, love? I need to talk to Praxis for a small bit.” Vinyl nodded weakly and Jace grabbed Praxis by the arm, dragging him into a empty hallway.

“What happened back there, you say NOTHING of it, damn you.”

Praxis pushed Jace back a bit. “Oi! Back off!”

“I’m serious, Prax! This has happened before, and last time, it didn’t end with an epic dubstep violin... if you catch my drift.” He looked down and moved his fedora on his head so it was comfortable. Praxis raised his eyebrows. “Make yourself at home. I’m going to take Vinyl out for a little stroll. It’s been forever since we’ve been here at the castle together and... I want to make the most out of it tonight.” Praxis gave an understanding nod, and patted Jace on the shoulder before turning the corner and walking back to the auditorium.

Vinyl watched the weresatyr leave and Jace walked out from the hallway, cane placed firmly on the ground. “Miss Vincenza...” he began.

“Jace, PLEASE don’t call me that. You know I hate it!” She shot a glare at him. “Look, I’m sorry for overreacting back there but... That stupid SLUT-”

“HEEEEY, what I tell you about calling her a slut? Honestly, Vinyl. We’re all adults here, and we’re able to make reasonable decisions. Yet I seem to be the one apologizing to Octavia after things get out of hand.” He sighed and walked down the hall, Vinyl following next to him.

“Sorry, but... The NERVE of her! She KNOWS that you’re with ME! Just... Ugh. I CANNOT believe her.”

“Yes, I agree it was a very foolish thing to do on her part.” Jace looked down at his marefriend, only to find her sulking. He smiled lightly, and chuckled. “Listen to us! We sound like we belong here in Canterlot.”

“Haha, yeah. What’s up with that? We’re here for only a few hours and we’re already talking like the locals! That’s some freaky-deaky shit!”

“It’s not like, ‘oh g’day, sir. How are YOU this fiiiiine evening?’.” Jace had put on a fake posture and a ridiculous voice for his noble pony impersonation, but it got a laugh out of Vinyl. “It’s more like, ‘I SAY, old BEAN. What time is it on your POCKET watch?’” Vinyl laughed louder as she shut her eyes: looking up at his ridiculous pose only made it harder to breathe properly. “‘Why, I DO believe that it’s a QUARTER past FIVE!’ ‘Oh, why, THANK YOU, ol’ SPORT.’”

“HAHAAAAHAAA! OH CELESTIA! MY SIDES! MY SI- BAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!” Jace smiled, reaching his goal. He came up with this theory; that the boyfriend is there to cause happiness and love. That was his goal every time he found Vinyl upset in any way shape or form.

Jace couldn't help but laugh as well at his marefriend’s reaction. Vinyl was practically clutching her ribs, as if they were loaded with nitroglycerin, ready to explode at the slightest upset. The laughter died down slowly. Jace picked up Vinyl from off the floor, holding her in the slightly cliche “princess” style. “Now, let’s go home, eh?”

“Yep. I’m tired and ready to head back home. It’s been a really long day and I just wanna snuggle up wiff yooouuuu~” She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck to hold onto him.

“As do I, my princess~” They began walking to the exit, ready to leave.

“Whoa, what about Praxis?” Vinyl said.

“Oh, shit...” Jace stopped in his tracks, pondering what the weresatyr would do in his and Vinyl’s absence. “Pssh, he’ll be fine.”

As they were walking to the front doors, he was stopped by a guard. “Why are you not in the council with the Princess’ and the satyr? You were invited there as a guest of honor.” Jace raised a brow at this.

“Council meeting? Me? Guest of honor? Well, not like I haven’t done things like this before, but I wasn’t told in advance about this.” He looked at the mare in his arms, “I guess I’ll stay for a little bit.” He kissed her lovingly before setting her down and turning. “I’ll be home in a couple hours or so, I’m going to slip my way in and see if I can calm ponies down.” He walked off down the hall towards the council room.

“Let’s just hope Blueblood remembers what happened last time...” His eyes glowed red, to show his irritation with the Prince in question.

Princesses Celestia and Luna were standing in front of the doors to the council room, awaiting to enter it and being the meeting.

But with them was a special guest.

“Praxis, are you ready?” Luna asked. Praxis fixed his tie and adjusted his top hat comfortably.

“I don’t know what in the seven rings of hell I’m doing here, but... sure,” he said. Celestia and Luna, after a few moments of chuckling, used their magic to open the double doors and walked inside. The council members, which were comprised of ponies, griffins, and diamond dogs were chatting with one another eagerly. They fell silent when the princesses walked in and sat down in their appropriate thrones at the head of the table. They went slack-jawed and racked with terror at the sight of the guest before them leaning on a wall to the right.

Luna caught on to this and simply told them, “Shut up. He’s okay. Begin the meeting.” The esteemed committee nodded.

“Thanks, Luna,” Praxis told her.

“How DARE you talk on first-name terms with royalty, you pathetic cur! Her title is PRINCESS Luna,” an exceedingly pompous voice snapped. Praxis turned his head to see Prince Blueblood glaring at him in disgust. Luna and Celestia were ready to scold Blueblood for his outburst.

“Blueblood...” Celestia warned.

“It’s alright, Princess,” Praxis reassured her. “I got this.” He walked over to the chair where Blueblood sat. The prince began trembling when Praxis slammed his palm onto the table in front of him with enough force to splinter a redwood tree. Blueblood stared apprehensively at the weresatyr’s eyes. What scared the nephew of Celestia by far was Praxis’s expression. In his eyes were no anger. No rage. Only irritation, hatred, and boredom, like he had dealt with ponies like him before.

“Listen here and listen good, Midget-Dick,” he began. The council members began giggling at the insult like immature school fillies as they shifted in their seats while Blueblood began sinking in his. “Because I’m only gonna say this once. I didn’t come to this planet to be treated like shit. I saved, not one, not two, but seven ponies and a human from either imminent death, severe injuries, or violent molestation. Now, I’ve been chased down by a manticore, abhorred by an entire town, had your goddamn guards jump my ass into next week, escaped from prison because of a punishment I didn’t deserve, swallowed by a hydra - which I ripped to shreds from the inside out, might I add-”

“It’s true,” Luna said when she witnessed the looks of incredulity plastered onto the faces of the council members.

“We both saw it happen,” Celestia added.

“-and, to top it all, my friend and I are planning on saving Equestria from a psychopathic deity of madness before he slams the moon into the planet like it was his favorite pastime. And you’ve got the marble-sized gonads to call ME pathetic?” The giggles evolved into controlled laughter as Praxis stepped away from the table and began walking around it, arms behind his back after pushing his pince nez up his nose. “Y’see, ladies and gents?” He paused in mid-walk as he pointed a thumb at Blueblood, who flinched tremendously at it. “Here, we have an egocentric, narcissistic jackass.” He returned to walking. “Why he got like this? Beats me. But apparently, leading psychiatrists say that people - or ponies, in this case - become the source of this UNBEARABLE douchebaggery-” More laughter came from the other council members, Luna’s being the loudest. “-for one of three reasons.” He held up the indicated amount of fingers.

“One:” Praxis raised his index finger. “Underneath all that male, royal bravado, there’s an insecure, scared little filly just BANGING on the closet door, BEGGING to get out.” The council members laughed again. “Two:” The middle finger went up to join the index. “Blueblood is... well, I’d be lying if I said he was a hard worker.” The audience, now all ears for the weresatyr’s rant, did their best to stifle their onslaught of laughter, barely succeeding. “And because of this sudden display of sloth, he hasn’t worked a day in his life, only to have everypony else befit his requirements. Which reminds me...” He stopped again, turning on Blueblood. “How the HELL are you so skinny if you haven’t done anything?”

“Um... pilates?” the white stallion answered sheepishly.

“Shut up, that was a rhetorical question.” Praxis retorted monotonously. The council members laughed once more. “And the third reason... Blueblood is lame in the sack.”

The laughter from the esteemed committee earlier paled in comparison to the extreme amount of guffawing they let loose now. Blueblood was red in the face, shaking terribly in his seat, on the threshold of crying. Praxis both saw anger, sadness, and embarrassment, thanks to his emotion-reading abilities. The anger was from being humiliated and one-up’d by a “demon”, the sadness was from how terrible a turn his reputation had taken, and the embarrassment might’ve been from the solid truth: that Blueblood IS a cowering little mare on the inside, that he IS indeed slothful, and that perhaps he IS terrible at love-making.

Praxis waited for the laughter to die down. “Now are we going to get on with the meeting? Or do I have to destroy this guy’s self-esteem and morale even more?”

“Dude... THAT. WAS. AWESOME!”

Praxis whipped around to see Jace standing under the threshold of the door. “I heard the whole damn thing, man,” Jace continued as he walked over to Praxis and performed a brotherly hand grasp and shoulder bump. “Where the FUCK did you learn to belt out something that destructive?”

“Being bullied for eight years? It gave me time to think of the worst things to say to the people responsible. See, I’m nice and carefree when I’m happy, but I’m meticulous and calculating when I’m angry. I usually look for an enemy’s weak spots, and hit ‘em hard there,” Praxis said.

“Now that you two have reunited to partake in your little ‘bromance’,” Luna said, causing the two men to look at her awkwardly. “Can we PLEASE begin the council?”

The two sighed before taking the two remaining empty seats, at the other head of the table.

“We’re all ears,” the two said in unison.

XXVI - Potential Parenthood

Craimer: Being the one here that has a job at the worst possible times, and not being able to stay up all night; I thank you Shadow for finishing the last chapter. I was originally going to have Jace walk in, lean against the entrance and Blueblood will see him, and be silent for most of the night. But, I like where you took it, my friend. Excellent work! I also found a little oopsy in the scene where Jace and Vinyl were going home; you silly.

Shadow: Riiight. Sorry, bud. *Sheepish smile* and thanks for the praise, man. AND FINALLY, A NEW CHAPTER! How long have you all been waiting?

Craimer: Several weeks, brony. Several weeks.

Shadow: In that case, you ready to begin the next chapter?

Craimer: You know it!

XXVI - Potential Parenthood

The hours spent in the council meeting had trickled by so slowly, Jace and Praxis could have sworn that time had frozen, melting only gradually as the droplets slugged down its surface, crashing into the ground below with weak, gentle plinks.

Knowledge -- obviously known to both Praxis and Jace -- about Insanity’s schemes were passed around the meeting, along with news of overthrown towns and cities, such as Bitsburg, Manehatten, Fillydelphia, and Denfur. Upon the arguing between each breed of species upon what to do and how to act, which eventually led to fingers/claws/hooves being pointed at others in accusation of failure to protect their lands, Praxis -- who was merely writing on pieces of paper at the time -- chimed in that they should at least strive for calm and order, since “they were acting like children when they should be acting like grown adults”.

While he was nearly ejected from the meeting for his snide remark, the council members considered his idea... then returned to their bickering.

Jace looked over at Praxis and nodded as he stood and looked across the board. They all slowly stopped talking to let him talk. “Thank you for ceasing your talking.” He walked around the table and eyed the council members. “Fillies and gentlecolts, I have a small announcement that I’m making. After this whole thing with the power known as Insanity is taken care of, I’ll be departing for Stalliongrad and working in the Zone as a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to help repel the forces of Insanity.” The council voiced their displeasure in this idea by talking again.

“What if we just send more troops?” A council-griffin yelled over the rest.

“Because I possess power that no ordinary man nor pony can possess.” He snapped his fingers and a black rose appeared in his hand through a red blaze of fire. “As you can see here. I possess these powers due to an encounter with a magic well in the three years that I have been here.” This wasn’t that much of a lie, seeing as though it was a magic well he got the power from, but not in Equestria. “Seeing as though I am the only human in this world, I can do things that a pony can do, and more.” He lifted a piece of paper with his telekinetic powers, receiving gasps from the board members. As it floated over to him, he grabbed hold of it with his fingers and released the magical hold, then folded it and placed it in his trouser pocket. “I can do much more than this, and it will be essential in the line of combat. I am no stranger to fighting, either, due to the many encounters with Manticores and such that threaten my home, Ponyville. Now, if anyone objects to this; please voice your opinion now.”

Prince Blueblood was about to spitefully retort to this tidbit from Jace, yet Praxis shot him a look and shook his head, nonverbally telling him to not do it. With that, the prince sat back down in his seat.

“The same can be said for me as well,” Praxis said. “I was like Jace back when I was on my home planet, but due to some... magical contingencies, I became this. I actually don’t mind it at all. I’m capable of going incredibly high speeds, performing bioharmonic magic through my flute, and the ability to read emotions.” The council members were slightly shocked at the last part. Praxis noticed this and gave a small laugh. “And judging by your expressions, you’re all surprised, and perhaps a few of you are skeptical. But alas, it is true. And since I’ve been fighting for as long as I can remember, I will also do all in my power to help vanquish Insanity. Anyone else wanna retaliate?” Neither the ponies, Diamond Dogs, nor griffins said a word. “OK, then. Celestia and Luna--”

“--PRINCESSES Celestia and Luna,” a Diamond Dog official interjected angrily.

Jace walked over to the Dog in question, and smacked him in the back of the head. “Talk that way to that man again, you’ll see the true power I possess, runt. You treat us with respect, and you get respect back. We are on a first name basis with the Princesses, and if I hear any debate against it, you will be forcibly removed by the Royal Guard or myself personally.” He looked across the table. “Do I make myself clear?” The council members nodded fervently. The Dog nodded as well, giving a small canine whine as he did so. Jace sat back down next to Praxis. “You can talk again, Praxis.”

In a setting such as this, Jace refrained from using slang and cursing in his vocabulary. This was the TRUE Jace. A smart, sophisticated, suave, golden tongue. He never lets this show, due to always hanging around people who never acted like this. He didn’t like it, but it was how he was when he was around these uptight ponies.

“Actually, I was gonna have the Princesses have repossession of the board.” Praxis admitted.

“Very well,” Princess Celestia said nervously. “Now that that is over with....”

Alas, however, the hour finally came when all the council members could finally depart back to their homes and relish in the comfort of their beds and loved ones. Jace and Praxis, obviously being no exception, exited the room as well, both of them stifling huge yawns as they left the castle.

However, Praxis told Jace he’d stay behind for a few moments. Jace only nodded in understanding before telling him he’d wait for him outside. The only occupants of the council where the weresatyr and Prince Blueblood.

“Hey,” Praxis said. Blueblood flinched a little at the other’s salutations.

“You’re not going to ridicule me again, are you?” Blueblood asked nervously.

“Well, no,” Praxis admitted. “I just wanna know... WHY you do what you do.”

“What do you mean?” Blueblood was a tad confused by the weresatyr’s request.

“I mean... why are you a jerk? Seriously, you think almost EVERYpony is beneath you, like they’re dirt. You treated Rarity, a national HERO, like a pile of crap at the last Gala. How can you not feel any remorse for any of that?” The forced epiphany hit Blueblood like a wrecking ball. Now that he thought about it, he was rather rude and abusive to miss Rarity, and he had been mistreating those other than his aunts and a few select others. Finding no way to retaliate in the hopes that he could look good and end the conversation simultaneously, Blueblood let out a heavy sigh in defeat.

“Dear Goddess, I’ve been a horse’s arse, haven’t I?”

“Indeed you have, my good sir.” Praxis gave Blueblood a pat on the shoulder. The prince almost recoiled from the touch, then realized what Praxis had been trying to tell him. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t change.” Praxis began to vacate the room. Luckily, Jace still waited for Praxis at the door. “G’night, Blueblood!” he called over his shoulder. The stallion in question only gave a meek farewell in return.

“Hey, man, what was with that writing you were doing during the meeting?” Jace had seen Praxis scrawling several pieces of parchment during the meeting.

“Oh, nothin’ much, man,” Praxis answered with a hint of dishonesty. “Just something for later, y’know?” Jace nodded in understanding.

As the two walked out of the room, Blueblood looked over at Jace, eyes narrowed. He chuckled lightly as a sly, devilish grin curled on his mouth. “Ridicule me, will you? We’ll see in those four years time...”

Once they vacated the city of Canterlot, they boarded the train to Ponyville, along with their original entourage and then some. Aboard the train, Lyra finally gathered whatever courage that swelled within her to strike up a conversation with Praxis. She got up off of her seat, opened the door to the next compartment, and walked down the aisle, stopping only when she had reached her destination.

“H-Hey, Praxis?” The seafoam-green unicorn began.

“Yeah, Lyra?” Praxis was still a little uncomfortable around Lyra after mating season, but he took it in stride and resisted the urge to bolt out of the compartment via nearby window, lest it happen again.

“Listen... I was wondering... I’m really sorry about what happened on... ‘that day’.” She was unnerved by Praxis’s current appearance, but she let it roll off her shoulders. “I feel really bad about it. Especially since I was--”

“--Planning on asking me out?” Praxis completed for her. As the other occupants aboard the train went wide-eyed at his words, Lyra’s jaw dropped. It had been true. She indeed was planning on developing a serious relationship between her and the satyr. At least, before mating season had gotten rather out of hoof.

But the question remained...

“H-how did you--”

“--know?” Lyra grimaced at Praxis’s correct, albeit rude, interruptions. “Simple: satyrs are capable of reading the emotions of those that are in their presence. But due to my rather high intellect, I am able to make proper guesses as to what you plan on saying based off what you are currently saying and the emotions I’m reading.”

“Ohh.” Lyra nodded in understanding. “Anyways... I’m really sorry for what I did...”

“Don’t sweat it, Lyra.” Praxis patted the lyre-player’s head. “I forgive you.”

“You do?” Praxis nodded. “Does that mean we can still be friends?” She asked rather nervously. At another nod, she gave Praxis a tight, yet brief, hug, all sense of nervousness banished to oblivion. “Thank you so much, Prax!” she squealed. When they broke apart, she walked back down her compartment, leaving Jace, Praxis, Spike, the Element Bearers, and a few other random ponies behind. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

As soon as Lyra closed the door to the compartment, she felt the eyes of Zecora, Derpy, Carrot Top, and Bon-Bon gazing upon her.

“Seriously?” Carrot Top deadpanned as they all took their usual seats at the back of the compartment. “Please don’t tell me you didn’t tell him.”

Lyra shushed her. “He doesn’t have to know,” she said.

“Lyra, that is not okay. You must tell him someday,” Zecora reasoned.

“I know, but....”

“But what?” Bon-Bon interjected in a whisper. “That you don’t want him to know that you have HIS bun in YOUR oven?”

“Be quiet!” Lyra pleaded.

“But Lyra!” Derpy protested. “He can’t not know for the rest of his life!”

Lyra was going to counter that none of them have the rest of their lives when she stopped dead in her verbal tracks. She saw something through the car door she had left a few moments ago, and her heart sunk like a stone. “Oh, crap....”

The shape of a two-horned, pointy-eared, human head.

Meanwhile, Praxis was dumbstruck by what he had overheard. The very thought of such a thing was absolutely ludicrous. He didn’t want to believe it, no matter how many times it had been told to him. The very idea was completely ridiculous. He refused to believe it.

But sooner or later, he would have to.

‘I... I’m gonna be a father?’

Those mental words rang in his ears like several smacked gongs, making his brain scream from the excruciation of the truth that hit him like a kick in the ribs. His heart was pounding at thrice its usual strength as his mind began buzzing frantically, as if someone had rammed his head inside a nest full of bees. Subconsciously, he turned around and sat back in his spot betwixt Fluttershy and Applejack.

“Are y’all alrahght, sugarcube?” Applejack looked in his eyes with concern. “Y’all don’ look so good.” Praxis weakly nodded.

“A-are you sure, Praxis?” Fluttershy asked.

“What was THAT about?” Spike asked.

“Beats me,” Jace answered in Praxis’s place, a worried look on the former’s face. “Prax? You alright, Fluffy?”

Praxis could only nod. He couldn’t shake his head: that’d only invite more questions from the crowd before him. Instead, he chose to be quiet about it. He looked up at Jace and gave him a fake smile. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

‘But will I, though?’

After what felt like eons, the train had finally stopped at the station in Ponyville, and all the occupants upon the locomotive -- save those who work on it -- vacated it. As they departed, Praxis could make out what seemed to be a case of some sort in Jace’s hands. Swamped with fatigue and exhaustion, Praxis lifts a hand to cover his mouth, stifling a huge yawn. He could interrogate Jace on the contents of the case another time, yet he had a feeling that he knew what it was.

Stretching his joints until the satisfying sound of popping joints greeted him, Praxis went for a ‘light’ jog. He was still traversing faster than anypony else by a long shot, yet he wasn’t going at top speeds like he was usually accustomed to.

Only a few minutes had snailed by until Praxis finally reached his treehouse. Once stripped of his Gala clothes, he threw them unceremoniously on one of the loveseats, save for his pince nez and top hat, which he placed on the coffee table before ascending up the spiral staircase and jumping into the hammock, clearing the small messy ocean of apple cores and tin cans. Despite his bizarre nocturnality, the oscillation of the hammock and his bad case of fatigue eased Praxis to sleep.

Jace had watched Praxis depart for his home, suddenly remembering that he had to leave for home as well. He grabbed the case for the new violin he had been given, and walked towards the train.

Once on board, he set the case down and tucked the cane under his arm. “C’mon, love,” he called to Vinyl. The pony in question stepped forward, bags under her eyes from exhaustion. She walked towards Jace, who scooped her up in his arms while he levitated the cane and the violin case.

She rested her head on his shoulder, yawning as they stepped onto the train and took their seats. Jace looked down at her and smiled softly as they walked home. “Tired from lugging around the baby?” He rubbed her belly lightly.

To answer his question, Vinyl gave a wince when the little embryo in her womb gave a slight kick, causing her belly to have a protruding lump erupt briefly upon the surface. She nodded slowly, eyes still closed from the small jolt of pain that had shot through her stomach. “Yeah, but... I’ll be fine.”

“Only two more days, sweetheart. Just two more days. Then, we’ll have a beautiful baby colt to love and cherish... Well... Not so much for me.” He sighed and looked up, the moon still smiling wickedly at them. Jace’s eyes widened a bit at how much more closely it had gotten. Rather than appearing the size of a baseball at its regular position, it was not the size of an exercise ball at its current location. If he tried hard enough, he could practically count all of the craters in view. Vinyl saw his expression and replicated it when she saw the moon for herself.

“What do you mean?” Her eyes were still gazing at the moon.

“You remember what I said about Stalliongrad? I’m not changing my mind. I need to go there and help out with the zombie situation. I got a letter from Paskov telling me to join in and help out. Besides, with Insanity’s cronies running amuck, maybe this’ll do some good to lower his numbers.”

Vinyl could only sigh at Jace’s answer. She swallowed with difficulty, like her esophagus was lined with gravel. “When are you leaving?” She finally managed to say.

“When this whole thing ends. Couple of months, at the max. I know it sucks, but I can’t refuse this offer. I want to help Paskov and the others so we don’t have to worry about a zombie invasion.” He rubbed her belly more, looking into her eyes. “At most, it’ll probably be a few years.”

Vinyl only gave a brief hum, showing that she understood the predicament.

“Hey, I got an idea so it won’t seem like we’re too far apart. Don’t worry... It’ll be like I never left.” The time seemed to fly by as the two walked in silence to their abode. Jace carried Vinyl in his arms and the luggage with telekinesis. In about ten minutes, they had reached their lovely estate. Jace had opened the door, taking care not to smack Vinyl along the threshold as he passed under it. He set her down and walked over to the table where a lamp sat atop. He opened the table’s cabinet and pulled out two leather-bound books, one with his name on it, the other with Vinyl’s.

“Jace, how in Celestia’s name are we gonna communicate through BOOKS?” Vinyl asked skeptically.

He pulled out a pen and flipped open to a fresh page. “Open your book and I’ll show you.”

She raised a brow, but complied as she pulled open the book and flipped to a fresh page. “It’s blank...” She announced flatly.

Not anymore, it isn’t.

Vinyl went wide eyed at the words that appeared on the page. She looked up at Jace, who had clicked the pen closed and put it in his breast pocket. “You were saying?”

“Whoa...” she finally exhaled in wonder. “This... this is perfect!” Her euphoria was ended when her mind was invaded by a sudden and good question: “But what happens if you lose it?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jace waved a hand. “I can’t EVER lose something as important as this. And plus, when Wubsy comes along, he can write to me as well.”

Vinyl was stunned by it all. Only one thing remained. She pounced on Jace, kissing him hungrily. Jace, taken by surprise, quickly retaliated by kissing her back. After breaking the oral embrace, Jace carried Vinyl up the staircase and into their bedroom, closing the door behind them.

The “Do Not Disturb” sign on the doorknob swung a little as the door closed.

The morning sun shone brightly through Praxis’ window, despite the averagely-thick foliage of the Everfree Forest’s trees. The satyr, fully returned to normal, opened his eyes slowly, a hangover of sleep striking him with the strength of a hammer when the light tackled his retinas. Clutching his head as he got out of his hammock, he walked down the stairs and outside to his usual stream where he bathed.

Once fully clean, he returned to his abode to dawn his assassin’s clothing, sans the pulled-up hood. After disposing of the apple cores and eating the tin cans, Praxis removed the folded pieces of parchment from the pocket of his Gala clothes before replacing the garments in his closet. Putting the parchment in the pocket of his tunic, Praxis was ready to start the day.

Until he accidentally kicked an apple core he had missed down the stair. Picking it up, Praxis examined it as he stepped outside.

It was the remains of a macintosh apple, large and green-skinned and all.

Switching sights between the apple and Big Macintosh’s grave, Praxis became shellshocked from the sudden symbolism of it all. A few of the seeds were still remaining inside the devoured fruit. Taking extra care, Praxis plucked them out of the apple and strode behind Big Mac’s grave, scooping away a few feet of dirt behind it. He dropped the seeds inside the hole and covered it with the unsettled soil. He stepped back and drew his flute before licking his lips and placing them on the lip plate of his instrument. Taking an inhalation through the nose, Praxis started playing a few bars of whatever music was swimming in his head at the time: Mozart.

Only a few seconds had passed until the magic of the flute’s sounds took effect. The chaotic foliage of the forest became a tad tamer, like professional gardeners had swooped down upon it to set it in its proper place. The macintosh seeds had already cracked open, the sprouts absorbing the fertile nutrients of the soil. Within a matter of minutes, an apple tree had now towered over Praxis by more than twice his height. Praxis stared at it with even wider eyes, mouth open from how huge it was. Macintosh apples the size of footballs were dangling on the many branches of the tree.

“Whoa....” He knew that his bioharmonic magic could get a bit out of hand at times, but the sight before him was one to behold. After coming to the conclusion that anything he focuses his magic on will increase the initial results, Praxis jumped up and gently plucked an apple from its branch, taking caution not to land on Big Mac’s grave as he gave the fruit a generous chomp.

With a now bitten apple in hand, Praxis vacated the Everfree Forest and crossed the vast field to Ponyville.

Once he had entered the humble town, he started asking the townsfolk where the post office was exactly. One pony - which he could suspect was Blossomforth - pointed at a building with a large white envelope decoration above the entrance. After thanking Blossomforth, Praxis entered the post office. After looking around for the pony he wanted, he spotted her. Derpy, who was putting mail into her messenger saddlebags, noticed Praxis noticing her and waved hello.

“Hey, Derpy!” Praxis greeted as he strode over to the iron-gray Pegasus pony. Derpy returned his salutations with a mere “Hi-ya!”.

“Listen, Derpy, can you please do me a small favor?”

“Sure thing, Prax!” She said happily. He withdrew three pieces of parchments and gave them to her. As she read them, she saw the names inscribed upon them: Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom, Spike, and Prince Blueblood. Each one had an urgent warning that read: Don’t read until an important event!!!

“Can you send them to those specific ponies and dragon, Derpy?” The Pegasus in question nodded.

“Gotcha, Prax!” With that, the walled-eyed mailmare exited the post office and took a right towards the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse...

...even though she was going the wrong direction.

“Oops! Silly me, it’s THAT way!” Derpy turned 180 degrees and went in the direction of the clubhouse. Praxis gave a small laugh before exiting the post office and making his way towards Jace’s mansion.

“Knock knock, motherfucker!” He called through the doors as he knocked on them. Praxis sniffed and stood back, folding his arms as he stared at the doors in boredom. After a minute of waiting, he knocked again.

Another minute passed. With patience running thin, Praxis knocked again. “C’mon, Jace! Open the fucking door!” He pounded hard on the door and the sound of something falling could be heard from the other side.

“Ah, fuck! My fucking head...” It was Jace’s voice. Being the badass friend that Praxis is, he opened the door and looked around to find Jace laying on the ground, clutching his head. “Fuck me...”

“Maybe later, babe! You seem to be thoroughly messed up this time!” A voice called from inside the estate.

“Oh, ha-ha, Vinyl. Very funny,” he shouted back up the stairs at his lover, who was giggling at the sight she was seeing. His attention then turned to Praxis, who was staring blankly at him. “Oh, sup.”

“Sup with you? Did you fall down the stairs?”

“Yup! It’s fun, you should try it sometime. Fucking body surfing does wonders for your back and head.” He stood and brushed his pajamas off, before stumbling over to Praxis. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good... I guess I can’t say the same for you. You look like you broke your legs!” He watched as Jace limped around the foyer, then into the living room. He motioned for him to follow. Praxis obliged.

“Yeah, well. When your marefriend is not going to see you for three years, and your kid is about to be born, she throws out all she can give. You feeling up for a drink?” Jace limped to the living room and walked into the large elegant room. A large, red, semicircle couch, open end pointing towards a grandeur fireplace, sat in the middle of the room, holding a coffee table inside. Red shag carpet adorned the floor, the gold paint of the walls and ceiling clashing magnificently with the couch and the carpet. A large Persian rug, smack in the middle of the room, made the finishing touches of the room Praxis had entered.

It would have been beautiful... had it not been for the mounds of empty beer cans that littered the floor.

“If you want, you can have some,” Jace offered. “I know how much you like tin... And beer.”

“Those are my two favorite things... ever!” Praxis smiled and picked up a empty beer can from the floor. He tossed it into his mouth, chomping away loudly at it.

Jace pushed some cans out of the way, and made his way to the spotless kitchen. “I never let anyone into the kitchen though. Never. This is MY domain!”

“Good! Make me a sandwich, I’m starving!”

“Make your own damn sandwich!” He walked over to a fruit bowl and picked up a large green apple, taking a bite out of it. “I’m eating!”

“Well, aren’t you just the slut.”

Jace feigned a girly gasp, and bent his hips to the side as he placed a hand on it. “I am not a slut! I’m a whore! Get it right, jeez!” He turned away, still eating the apple and Praxis rolled his eyes with a smile.

“You always had the best ass, Jace.” He smacked it on his way past, raising his hand and blowing on his fingers as he walked past his friend. Jace stared wide eyed at him, apple in his mouth.

“Praxis...”

“Yes?~” A troll smile was emulating from Praxis’ mouth.

“Too far...” Praxis laughed as Jace shook his head slowly. The human made his way towards the wine rack to get a bottle of red wine and some scotch. “I don’t know what you want, but I wanna chill with some music and some wine.” He got out a wine glass and put the bottles of booze under his arms as he limped his way back to the living room.

Praxis wandered around the kitchen, opening up the alcohol cupboard with a small grin. Pulling a bottle of liquor labeled “Vinyl’s Vodka” out of the cupboard, he got up, closed the cupboard door, and set the liquor down on the counter.

“Touch it and you DIE, Praxis!” Praxis turned behind him, not seeing where the voice came from. “Yup, I have good hearing, Fluffy! Put it back before you get hurt!” Praxis hastily replaced the bottle of vodka.

“Good boy, Fluffy!” A laugh from Vinyl and the sound of records scratching were heard from the living room. “C’mon, Prax! Get yer furry ass in here, and bring my Vodka!”

“No way!” Praxis retorted as he walked back into the living room. Vinyl lifted her shades off of her face and glared at Praxis angrily.

“Bitch, gimme my vodka!” She demanded.

“What, so you can drink yourself and your unborn kid stupid? Hell no. I’m not gonna watch your child become some braindead pony,” admonished Praxis.

“But... I want my boooze~!” Vinyl whined.

“Relax, Vi.” Jace stuck his hands up defensively. “Prax only means well.”

“Ladies,” Praxis interjected. Jace and Vinyl shot him a look. Praxis only chuckled. “We have more important matters to attend to... like... me being an Order Reaper in time to fight Insanity?”

“Calm your tits, Fluffy.” Jace took another sip of his wine. “We’re relaxing here, can’t you see that? Uhhh, play the one called Centipede babe.” The DJ picked up the I-Pod connected to the booth and started to scroll through all the songs on there and Praxis gaped at him.

“Honestly, I’m surprised with how calm you are in all of this. There is an insano running around, trying to end the world!”

“Yeah, and he does it in the most cheesiest way in the world.” He looked up at Praxis. “He is a part of you right? Well, seems as though you played too much Majora’s Mask as a kid then.”

“Actually, it was Dark Cloud 2, but--”

“Uhhh... guys?” Vinyl interjected.

“Yes, Vinyl?” Jace turned to his marefriend.

“What’s a centipede?”

“Wait... I’ve been here for three years and I’m just now knowing you don’t have centipedes or other insects from my world here?” Vinyl nodded slowly. “Well, I’ll tell you later. For now, put a few songs on cue and get over here.”

“Say please, motherbucker,” Vinyl said coyly.

After the trio’s escapades of dubstep had subsided, Jace set down the Calling Card once more. The white light cone reappeared and he, Vinyl, and Praxis hopped into the cone, vanishing into the world of Markarth.

Upon crash-landing in the living room of Aksheal’s castle in another heap of bodies, they got up and dusted themselves off. Aksheal, who had been reading another extensive tome, looked up at the three who appeared in his domain. “I see that you want to become an Order Reaper, Praxis?” Aksheal sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

“H-how did you know?” the satyr in question asked.

“I had a feeling, is all.” Aksheal fired a very subtle wink at Jace.

XXVII - The Truth-Telling in Tartarus

Craimer: Craimer here! I’m going to write some, hopefully. This is going to be fu-- DOCTOR WHO? WHERE?! ALLONS-Y!

Shadow: *Sigh*. Craimer’s gone off and went through space and time. In the meanwhile, I’ll have to begin this story.

Craimer: Oh, shush. I’m only hinting to a thing I’m gonna do later! *wink, wink. Nudge, nudge* And yeah, start the chapter? You write one bloody two sentence paragraph and then run off! Not that I’m trying to be mean or anything but, bleh.

Shadow: …it’s not my fault I run a page on Facebook called “The Prince of Motherf**kin’ Persia”.

Craimer: And it’s not my fault that Doctor Who is my new waifu... Wait... Is it my fault?

Shadow: How the hell should I know?!

Craimer: I dunno! Cause... You’re good at that stuff or something... Let’s just write!

Shadow: K.

XXVII - The Truth-Telling in Tartarus

Jace, Praxis, and Vinyl followed Aksheal to wherever the Markarth god was leading them. While Jace and Vinyl already know of where their destination would be, Praxis didn’t even have a clue.

“Say, where’re we going?” the satyr asked.

“We are going to the place where Reapers are born, Praxis. Where they are taken and created. It’s not bad, really. Only harm you’ll encounter is the transformation itself but the most major of changes happen in about three days of constantly being inside of this place.” Aksheal walked to a large wooden and steel door, snapping his fingers and made them open on their own. “Here are the front doors to the tower. Go outside and take a breathe of fresh air... You’re going to want to beg for clean air when you’re down there.”

Praxis shuddered slightly at Aksheal’s words before stepping out of the castle. The layout of Markarth looked similar to Canterlot, but Praxis assumed there was so much more beyond the walls of the city. Ponies, humans, griffins, diamond dogs, even a few draconnequi and other creatures that Praxis had no name bustled through the city, either chatting, playing, or buying and selling with, from, and to one another. The civilians were clad in robes composed of a myriad of colors, ranging from pitch black to blinding white.

“Enjoy the view?” Aksheal walked out beside Praxis, getting to the edge of the floating island and looking down at his kingdom. “My world is created equal in all ways. I enjoy the equality, gives it a very nice touch than other worlds.” He turned to Praxis and smiled. “You are revered here, can never be in trouble and everyone respects you; no matter what they think. Same with Jace. This is your safe haven from the everyday world of Equestria you two live in.”

“Yes, it’s very nice, Aksheal. But now we must be taken into Tartarus, yeah?” Jace patted Aksheal on the back and looked at Praxis, standing at the edge. He had his back turned to the cliff edge and folded his arms over his chest. “See you down there, Fluffy.” He let himself fall back, right off the island.

“Ah, Tartarus. I wonder if Fluttershy can teach me how to tame Cerberus....” As Praxis went off on his rather unusual tangent, Vinyl rolled her eyes and jumped down after Jace, leaving Aksheal and Praxis in their lonesome.

“Aksheal... when we die, do we come here?” Praxis asked. Aksheal turned to the satyr with a questioning look.

“Praxis, it won’t be a matter of WHEN you die. It will be a matter of IF, for I know you, Jace, and Vinyl Scratch are capable of defeating Insanity, and ridding the world of a plague that has existed for far too long. But... when you do find yourself in a situation of death, your soul is put here in Markarth where it is nursed back to health by Lyniv. As this happens, your Dream Personality takes over for you in the other world and bodies are swapped, making the latter fully healed and your body ready to be occupied by yourself again.” Aksheal turned to him and laughed at the confused look on his face. “That’s the expression I get all the time when I explain it for the first time! Don’t worry, it’ll make sense to you if you see it happen to one of you which I’m pretty sure will happen.”

“So... lemme get this straight... if I die, your wife Lyniv - which is Vinyl backwards --”

“-- Excellent observation,” Aksheal said sarcastically.

“-- recovers me, while my Dream Personality - in my case, Aflatoon --”

((You rang?)) The minor god of agriculture and combat asked when he passed by the doors.

((No, but good timing, bro,)) Praxis complemented.

((Damn it...)) With that, Aflatoon stalked off inside the castle.

“--will take control of my body, which will be like his and be fully healed?”

“Yes, that’s correct.” Aksheal moved back to the castle and stepped inside before turning back. “Might as well go join Jace and Vinyl, I have something to grab before we leave for Tartarus. Off you go, now!” Aksheal magicked Praxis up and over the edge of the island. Upon seeing how deep the drop was, Praxis’s eyes shrunk to the size of dust specks.

“Aksheal, you son of a--” The Markarth god let go of his magical hold of the satyr.

“BIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!” Praxis vanished from sight.

Plothnill, Tontar, Markarth; Year 1690

“Oh, quit your bitching, Praxis!” Vinyl said as she, Jace, and Praxis walked through the large walled-off town. They all were being greeted by the ponies, humans, and others of the towns. “It wasn’t that bad!”

Praxis, who had crash-landed in a massive pond, spat out water and looked at Vinyl with unamused eyes. “Yeah... It was fantastic.”

“Well, escuuuuuuuse me; Praxis!” Vinyl rolled her eyes and was approached by a green robed pony.

“Sis? That you?” The three stopped and Vinyl beamed with happiness, “It’s me! Record!”

“Oh my Celestia, Record Spin!” The two siblings embraced and the pony in green robes pushed his hood down to show a neon green mane, the color of his robes, and a Van Dyke beard that was the same color as his mane. He had piercing orange eyes and a snow white coat like Vinyl. The two looked eerily similar.

“Whoa, wait. Brother? How can he be your brother when you’re--”

“Not in the same world?” Jace finished for Praxis, who nodded in slight confusion.

“Simple. I used to live in Equestria and was transferred over to Markarth with Jace’s help.”

“That’s when there was that three year gap of nothing in my life here...” Jace put a single hand in his pocket and snapped his fingers to change his own clothes into robes. What had replaced his street clothes were long flowing black robes with a black aura swirling around him. The civilians in the area instantly stopped and bowed except for Record and Vinyl.

“What... In the name of Tartarus...”

“You forget that I’m Death, Praxy boy! Here, I’m a lesser god and am worshipped here. The robes are the dead giveaway about me being Death.” He raised a hand and then threw his hood up, his face being cloaked with the black veil and two red dots where his eyes were light up inside the black. “My followers! Please, you do not need to be so formal towards me. Death is here for a time of happiness and life, not to take that away. Go about your day.” The ones who were bowing got up and slightly dipped their heads to show respect and went about their day.

“Not sure if swag, or... aw, fuck it, it’s swag,” Praxis concluded. Jace gave a short laugh.

“Not swag. Respect, Praxis.” His scythe slowly appeared in his hands as they walked for the gates of the town and was given a respected dip or a ‘good morning’ every now and then. Vinyl and her brother, Record Spin, had - more or less - received the same treatment as Jace had been given.

But since Praxis was a newcomer, he was considered anonymous. An outsider.

‘Just the way I like it.’ With arms behind his head, Praxis walked along, a small smirk on his face.

‘Good job not checking for the magic on me, Fluffy.’ He turned to Jace who had a red light surrounding his finger. “Rule One of being a Reaper: perception. Be. Aware.” He moved in front of him, using his scythe as a walking stick and going towards the gates of Tartarus. “When you enter in here, you enter into the very heart of the Calling Card. Zeke’s domain.”

“Speaking of Zeke’s Domain...” Record chimed. The four of them had reached a monolithic mansion, wrought of black bones and the occasional corpse. “Yeah, I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that’s Zeke’s mansion...”

“Record,” The pony in question turned to Jace. “Say, ‘Allons-y’ for me.”

“Augh, Jace. For the last time. I won’t say-”

“Pleeeeeease!”

“Fine!” He sighed and looked down, then looked up and jumped up on his hind hooves, pointing at the mansion with a large smile. “ALLONS-Y!~”

“Oh, my life is fucking complete now....” Jace knocked on the door of Zeke’s mansion. The sound of his knuckles striking the bone of the door reverberated all around them. After a few moments, however, the doors opened, prepared to see Zeke with his black robes, tall stature, and deadly scythe.

But what they weren’t prepared for was that the Grim Reaper was holding a large black teddy bear, with red crosses for eyes, bat wings, and small fangs.

“Aw, fuck!” Zeke threw the stuffed animal inside the mansion and out of sight. He leaned casually on the door before saying, “...’Sup, guys?”

“W-w-w...” Jace turned to the others then back to Zeke. “The fuck was that? A teddy?”

“Shut up! The god of Death can’t have a nap? Jeez, you people are judgemental. Can I offer you a cup of blood? Tea? Coffee?” Jace raised his hand. “Which one?”

“The blood, extra A-negative.”

“Coffee, please. Cappuccino, preferably,” Praxis answered, still slightly disturbed by the size and the existence of the cuddly stuffed animal.

“Tea. One sugar.” Record said calmly, before moving past Zeke into the mansion.

“Likewise,” Vinyl said a little grumpily. Zeke would’ve raised an eyebrow until Praxis told him.

“Her eggo is preggo, so she can’t have booze.”

“Noooo, you don’t fucking say?” Zeke’s head twisted in a very inhumane, lengthwise manner. “Hello? Where have you been? We know everything that Jace knows.”

“Where have I been? Well, I can only assume getting eaten by hydras, whipped by your brother in a fit of drunken hysteria, and having to solve everypony’s motherfucking problems in Ponyville counts as a good answer,” Praxis said coldly.

Zeke crossed his arms and rubbed his bony chin. “Hmmmm, hmm- No. It’s not.” He walked into his mansion and went to the kitchen. “When you’re going all over a world, taking souls and moving them on and also know what’s going on not even in your own world, talk to me.” He fixed the drinks and brought them out to their respected owners.

“Oh, I will, my friend,” the satyr chuckled as he took the cup and went to sit in the kitchen table. “Beep-beep, motherfuckers; cup of molten lava coming through.” Jace, Vinyl, and Record snorted into their drinks from the joke.

Zeke only facepalmed. “Just drink your goddamn beverages so we can get onto the training. You do know you’re going to be here for a while, a day or so. The fighting will come to you naturally staying here and I’ll teach you some myself.”

“Why not have Jace do it?” Praxis turned to the Reaper in question, who was sipping on his blood. He put down the cup and blinked.

“I’m still in training myself.”

“Wait, the way you fight now and you’re still in training?!” Praxis gaped.

“Yeah, Reapers are meant to be unbeatable and know every style of fighting. Yeah, and you might wanna close your mind, there, Praxis. I can hear what you say about me drinking blood. No, I’m not going to fucking sparkle.” He took another sip and then turned back to him. “Yes, and I fucking hate werewolves. They suck ass to play as in Skyrim.”

Praxis blinked a few times before laughing loudly. “I know that feel!” he exclaimed.

“Yeeeeeah, no you don’t.”

“Bitch, please, of course I do. Even though I gave up on Skyrim because of the infinite motherfucking quests. Besides, I was in no mood to be eighty years old and STILL playing that damn game.”

Jace held up his hand, all fingers extending. “This is how many days it took me to finish all quests possible and beat the game with every achievement.” Praxis stared at him with a hint of disgust.

“You had no life at all....” Praxis only tutted his disapproval.

“Back on Earth, no I didn’t. Why do you think I stayed in Equestria?”

“Because you HAVE a life here.”’

“Exactly!” He finished the drink and set the cup down on the table. “Now, can we get this started?”

Praxis nodded and downed the rest of his drink as well. Unfortunately, the cappuccino was still rather hot... and in turn--

“AH! CARPET TONGUE!” Praxis put his empty mug down and went to the sink, turned it on, and quickly splashed the water into his mouth. It would have helped, had it not been for the fact that--

“Praxis, the water is blood.” Zeke stood in the middle of the room, picking up the finished cups. The satyr closed the tap on the running sink and wiped his rough, bloody tongue on his Shadow Fiber robes. The material vanquished the blood and a bit of saliva, but Praxis’s carpet tongue persisted.

“What kind of bullshit is this!?” He exclaimed. Vinyl had almost fallen out of her chair from how hard she was laughing at Praxis’ bad luck streak. Record Spin was resisting the urge to follow in her stead.

“Why would I have water?! I hate water! Reapers drink blood to kill off all thoughts of killing. It’s what keeps our morals straight.” Praxis only turned to Zeke with a look of anger.

“That statement was so ironic, it hurt,” he said. “Drinking blood, a fluid that is released from damaged flesh, gets rid of the thoughts of KILLING?!”

“Not this blood! It’s synthetic, and can be used as blood for transfusion but it’s specially made for me,” Zeke said with a smidgen of pride. Praxis pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“Can we just hurry this along!?” Vinyl finally interjected. “I just wanna go home.”

“I second that notion,” said Record.

“Well, we will be going home. Praxis is going to have to say here for a couple days on his own.” With that, Jace and Vinyl began glowing white. After a few seconds, they had disappeared and had returned to Equestria.

“Umm... where’s Record?” Zeke and Praxis said in unison.

Vinyl and Jace reappeared in the living room of the mansion, crashing onto the ground in another heap. After getting off of each other, Jace picked up his Calling Card and put the chain of it around his neck again.

But little did they know, they brought along an unexpected guest.

“Wait, why am I here?!” They turned to see Record Spin standing with them. Vinyl just laughed.

“Sweet! We got my brother to come with us, this is great!”

“That’s friggin’ awesome.” Jace laughed into his hand at the sight of Record examining his surroundings.

“Haven’t been here in three freaking years, and it’s so different! The colors are so dull!”

“What’re you talkin’ about?” Jace asked incredulously. “The colors look like someone ramped up the contrast to 100% on a video game! The first time I came here, it was so bright, it burnt holes in my retinas!”

“Obviously, you’ve never lived in Markarth for more than three days. A week of being there, I was still seeing stars.”

“Well, alright, then, maybe I’ve only been there for a few hours, but still!”

“Guys,” Vinyl interjected. “Ya think Praxis’ll be alright?”

“I don’t doubt it. If Goat-Boy could survive getting swallowed by a hydra and a swarm of horny mares, then I don’t see a problem.”

“Now that that’s over with, you can come with me,” Zeke instructed before exiting the kitchen and heading down the hall of the estate, Praxis following him. After a few minutes of walking, the two came across two doors, each one with a sigil above them. The one of the left had a black crescent moon turned open-side up with three drops of black blood coming off of it; the other on the right had a brass scale with white skulls in each pan. The door on the right had indeed seen better days: the threshold bore innumerable cobwebs and was slightly weathering from age.

“So which one is which?” Praxis asked.

“The door on the left is the door where Chaos Reapers get initiated, while the door on the right is for Order Reapers to be born.”

“Man...” Praxis’s heart was hammering in his chest from how nervous he was becoming.

“Are you sure you want to do this? If this is completed, it cannot be undone,” Zeke warned.

Praxis swallowed with difficulty, like his throat had been slightly clogged. “Yeah. I’m sure.” He nodded to emphasize his determination to go through with this.

“Y’said you wanted to be an Order Reaper, right.” Praxis nodded. “Step into the room on the right, you’ll have difficulty breathing in the beginning so breathe slowly and deeply.” Zeke slowly made his way to the right door and pushed it open to reveal a pitch black room that had no features in any way shape or form.

“Being an Order Reaper means that you will have the same priorities as Jace. You will have to take the souls of the dead and lead them to their final resting place. The Chaos Reapers are fighters, not the ones that carry out the duty of being the Grim Reaper. Step into my office...”

Zeke entered the room briskly, but what came next when Praxis came in... was completely unexpected.

The second Praxis brought his hoof past the threshold, excruciating pain shot through him like a lightning bolt. He stepped back from the door, biting his lip to refrain from shouting in agony. As quickly as it had come, the brunt of the damage had faded away.

“Well, what’re you waiting for?” Aksheal asked as he turned around to face Praxis. The satyr tried again with the same results. As he tried to withstand the mysterious damage, several terrible, fearsome voices rang in his skull.

“Unclean.... Unwanted... Unnecessary... Unholy... Unloved...”

Praxis was rejected from the room, as if some strange entity had pushed him out. Praxis tumbled down the hall, skidding to halt on the long hallway runner rug.

“Praxis!” Zeke bolted out of the room, running for the fallen satyr. “That voice, it’s the voice of Order, Deyeaz. It only does that when one is corrupted to the point where Order cannot exist. Seems we’re going to have to make you a full out Chaos Reaper then.”

“No, Zeke!” Praxis abruptly sat up. “Jace may be fine with Chaos, and so might you, but with the state I’m in?! Dabbling with Chaos ain’t gonna help!”

“Trust me, Praxis, it WILL help!”

“EXPLAIN DISCORD!” Zeke surprisingly recoiled from Praxis’s bellows. “EXPLAIN THAT FUCKED-UP FLIPPER BABY AND HOW EVERY SINGLE FUCKING LAW OF PHYSICS AND LOGIC GETS DEFIED EVERY TIME HE BREATHES!”

“You can’t explain Chaos. You can only look at it, smile and wave.”

“Exactly. I don’t like ANYTHING I can’t understand...”

“So, you don’t like Typhoon?”

“No, Typhoon is something I can understand: the magician Marrin ENCHANTED the gems. THAT is something I can actually understand."

“Marrin was an old fool.”

“So was my uncle, but then again, I don’t make a big deal of it.”

“Marrin was an old, old Reaper. I took him into the order long ago, but he didn’t serve his entire time in the Void, as we like to call it. He used the magic he possessed to make weapons before he died, each imbued with Chaos magic.” Praxis slowly pulled out the scimitar from its scabbard and held it in the light of the torches on the walls. The Tempest Jades were fully lit from his battles in the Everfree Forest, the silver dragon scale blade glinting in the torchlight.

As all this was going on, Aksheal was leaning against the Chaos Reaper door and spoke up. “This is why you don’t see many Order Reapers anymore... Most are corrupted because they didn’t understand the Chaos that they become possessed with when becoming a Chaos Reaper. That is enough to throw you out. Becoming an Order Reaper then a Chaos Reaper will be a good way to do it.”

Zeke caught an eerie glow out the corner of his eye. Looking down at Praxis’s stomach, his eye sockets went wide.

“Uh... Zeke, my eyes are up here,” Praxis told him.

“That’s not what this is about, you dumbass. Look!” Zeke pointed at what he was eyeing. Praxis looked down at his stomach, groaning in both frustration and despair.

“So that’s the reason why you’ve been cast out.” Praxis’s lifted up the front of his robes, revealing the Curse Seal on his abdomen. The Seal was pulsating viciously from having entered the room of Order Reapers. Zeke pressed a palm on Praxis’s stomach. Rather than dying on the spot, A small jolt of pain surged through the satyr’s stomach. Zeke hissed in pain and withdrew his hands like they had been burned by the contact. “It’s worse that I thought... this isn’t Chaos Magic, this is BLACK Magic.”

“Well, what’s the difference?”

“While Chaos Magic and Black Magic can be summoned and used at will, Chaos Magic can be used for good. Black Magic, however... is an entirely different story. Everyone knows that when someone gets even a small amount of Black Magic in them, it could turn them over into something terrible... something evil.”

“But I don’t get it! How could I be harboring evil when I’ve DONE nothing really evil?”

“Insanity came from you, correct? He’s YOU. He’s committed evil deeds, which in turn means YOU’VE committed evil deeds.”

Praxis sighed. “That’s not it. Insanity was spawned from all of the memories of hatred, anger, and sadness that I had back on Earth. And because I’ve come to Equestria, these memories manifested themselves into one sentient, sapient entity. He does evil deeds for the sake of doing them, slaughtering innocent bystanders. Now think for a second. Does that even REMOTELY sound like me?”

“Of course not,” Zeke answered.

“Exactly. I'm not evil... and that... THING... is NOT me.” Praxis sheathed Typhoon. Zeke only sighed.

“Praxis... I have something for you.” Zeke dove his skeletal hand into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a small vial. He tossed the vial to Praxis, who caught it.

“What is it?” he asked as he examined the contents: brightly glowing golden sand.

“That, my boy, is a bottle filled with magical sand, collecting at the beach of the Ocean of Torment. While the sands of the ocean are mainly black, rare pockets of this golden sand appear deep underground. While I have as much of these sands as I want, I want to give one of them to you.”

“What do they do?”

“Pour them into your hands, and toss them into the air, and anything that you are thinking of shall come to be: anything.”

“Anything?”

“Yes... anything.”

Praxis smiled at the prospect. On one hand, he could wish for Insanity's annihilation, thus ending the Night of Fate. But on the other hand, he feels like he owes somepony something... or somepony else that was important to them...

"Hey, Zeke?"

"Yeah?"

"Can these sands resurrect someone?"

XXVIII - Resurrection

Equestria

Night had fallen. Every pony had been prepared to retire for the night. The cicadas and crickets chirped, singing their lunar songs to the inhabitants of Ponyville. Praxis stepped into Sweet Apple Acres after talking with Jace and Vinyl about what happened in Tartarus. Flabbergasted and angry that Praxis couldn’t be a Reaper due to his Black Magic plague, Jace soon became a bit ecstatic when Praxis told him about the magical sands in his pocket.

“Perfect! That means we can wish Insanity gone!” Jace had said.

“Not exactly. There’s something I have to do, first,” Praxis had reasoned. “Besides, we can take on Insanity ourselves: we’re THAT good.”

Jace was rather angry that Praxis refused to wish for Insanity’s extinction, yet seemed to understand when the satyr told him what he wanted to do.

Now that Praxis was on the porch of the Apple family’s house. He gulped, the saliva having difficulty getting swallowed. He rapped on the door a few times, stepped back a foot, and knelt down to lose the intimidating appearance.

The door of the house opened to reveal the pale green form of Granny Smith, who looked into the eyes of the weresatyr for a few seconds. Unlike the others, who would instantly judge him on his appearance, she smiled at Praxis. She and him had gotten acquainted when he had been working at the farm, and she knew about his Black Magic ailment.

“Well, howdy, sonny,” she said with a genuine smile.

“Hello, Granny Smith,” he greeted. “Is Applejack available at the moment?”

“O’ course, Mr. Moradov.”

“Please, call me Praxis.” He gave her a small, sympathetic smile.

“Alrighty, sonny,” Granny Smith chuckled. She turned around and called into the house, “Applejack! Git down ‘ere! Ya have a visitor!”

“Who is it?” A voice called from inside the house on the upper level.

“It’s Praxis, sugarcube!”

“Comin’, Granny!” Praxis heard the sound of hooves landing on wood, and Applejack came into view. “Well, howdy, Praxis!” she greeted. “Ah like the hair!”

“Heh. Thanks, Applejack” Praxis grabbed and lifted a few strands of his shoulder-length, now-white hair, then let them fall, all the while a bit self-conscious as he blushed slightly. “Say, ya wanna go on a walk with me for a little bit?”

“Alrighty, then.” She stepped out the door and Praxis stood back to his full height. They vacated the farm and went outwards towards the town.

“Say, why aren’t you working today?” Praxis asked.

“Today’s a Sunday, sugarcube,” she explained. “Th’ ponies on Sweet Apple Acres don’ work on Sundays.”

“Oh yeah....” Praxis rummaged through the pocket of his tunic until he pulled out the small vial of magical sands. “Applejack, you know what this is, right?”

“It’s sand, Praxis,” she deadpanned.

“Not just any sand, Applejack. Notice how it glows.” Applejack examined the sands more and saw that they were indeed glowing.

“H... how’s that even possible?” She asked, incredulous at the discovery.

“These sands are magical sands gathered from the blood-ocean beaches of Tartarus.” Her jaw dropped at the mention of the Realm of Damnation. “With these sands, you can make anything you wish for to come true, but you can only wish for one thing.”

“Why’re ya tellin’ me this, sugarcube?” She asked.

“Because I want to give this to you.” He leaned forward and began whispering in her ear what she could wish for. She gasped at the words, before a large smile started to spread across her face, tears of joy getting ready to leak from her eyes. She tackled Praxis in a massive hug.

“Thank ya so much, Praxis.” She pulled away a few inches and planted a kiss on each of his cheeks. The weresatyr’s cheeks burned violently from the adoration.

“Think nothin’ of it,” he requested, grinning and scratching the back of his head. “Erm... want me to come with you?”

“O’ course, sugarcube!”

“Alrighty, then, get on my back.”

“Uh... why?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“We’ll get there faster.”

“Ohh.” She hopped on Praxis’s back. The satyr stood back up and left the town of Ponyville for his treehouse. The air resistance caused by his rapid running almost blew away Applejack’s Stetson.

Within a few minutes, the two had reached the edge of the Everfree Forest. Applejack had been blown away by the large Macintosh tree next to the yew treehouse. “It’s... it’s beautiful. Did’ja do that yerself?”

“Yep,” Praxis answered. “So... are you ready?”

“Eeyup.” Applejack looked like tears were about to leak from her eyes again. Praxis undid the stopper of the vial and poured the contents into his palm. The sands burned slightly, as if they radiated heat and light.

‘I wish for Big Macintosh to be resurrected... I wish for Big Macintosh to be resurrected... I wish for Big Macintosh to be resurrected...’

At the third thought, Praxis threw the magic sands into the air. They floated around their heads at a lazy speed, like they had been caught in a small, weak wind. They finally came to rest at Big Macintosh’s grave. The sands sunk into the ground, their glow vanishing with them.

Af first, nothing happened.

Then...

“Hey, Praxis, do ya feel that?” Applejack asked a few moments later.

“No... wait, yeah.” Praxis shuffled his hooves and felt there to be a sort of... vibrating under them, and the source... was the grave itself. The vibrating grew stronger. “Yeah, I feel it!”

The ground around Big Macintosh’s grave began to shift and move. A large hoof, red and dirty, shot out from the grave. Applejack screamed before jumping into Praxis’s arms and wrapping her forelegs around his neck, shaking. Another hoof shot out from the grave, the two front hooves planting themselves firm on the ground. Applejack shrieked when the head and torso of Big Macintosh came out.

“Ahh! Zompony!” She yelled.

“Zompony?!” Praxis told her. “Get off me, woman. I’m trying to run away!” The two shook violently as the figure rose up from the grave. The figure shook all the dirt from his body.

“Howdy, y’all.” Standing before Applejack and Praxis was a fully-fledged, resurrected Big Macintosh.

“B-B-Bi-Bi-Big M-M-M-Macintosh?!” Applejack exclaimed before she promptly fainted in Praxis’s arms.

“Um... what just happened?” Praxis asked as he held the fainted apple-bucker in a fireman’s hold.

“Beats me,” Macintosh said. He rolled his joints until each one popped. “Good golly. It’s been so long. Ah wanna thank you, Praxis, fer everything ya done...”

“Say, Big Mac?”

“Eeyup?”

“What’s it like to die?”

The stallion saw a small sign of fear in the weresatyr’s tone, like his life was on a thin line as well. Big Mac took a pause and put a hoof to his chin, trying to find the right words to say. “Hmm... it’s easier than sleepin’. And it’s painless.” He smiled when Praxis’s apprehension melted away. “Why d’ya ask?”

“Erm... just wanted to know is all.”

Big Macintosh narrowed his eyes, trying to find a fib in Praxis’s words. “Alrighty, then. Let’s jest get home.”

“Need a lift?” Praxis held Applejack’s fainted body in front of him as he crouched low.

"Eeyup." As Big Mac was getting onto Praxis’ back, a shadowy figure was spotted in the trees. It stood at least six feet tall and had red glowing eyes. Praxis saw this, and stared at it precariously. The shadow moved slightly forward, as if bowing and then moved behind a tree, not appearing from the other side. Praxis, who had been staring at that spot for some time, grimaced in pain from the weight he was now bearing. Once he stood up, He flexed his legs and vacated the forest as fast as his burdens would allow. While it wasn’t as fast as he would like, it would do: the wind still stung his eyes a bit.

They had reached Sweet Apple Acres, undetected by the sparse ponies that roamed the streets. Praxis pulled into the barn and set Big Macintosh down. “I’m gonna go and put AJ to bed and tell Granny and Applebloom that she just fell asleep from our jog. In the meantime, please wait here while I tell them I have a surprise for them.”

“Eeyup,” Mac said stoically with a laugh. Praxis smiled and carried AJ out of the barn and into the house. Once he tells Granny Smith and Applebloom that Applejack had only fallen asleep from a tiring jog the two had, Praxis takes the out-cold cowpony to her room. He put her under the blanket of her comfortable mattress and left the room as quietly as he could.

“She’s gon’ be fine, rahght, Praxis?” Applebloom asked when he made his down the stairs. Praxis nodded.

“Of course, Applebloom.” He patted her on her head, making sure not to cut her with his talons. “She’ll be alright. She’s a tough cookie, your sister is.” Applebloom smiled. “Also, I have a surprise for you and Granny Smith.”

“What is it?” The little yellow filly inquired. She gasped at a suggestion. “Is it a Cutie Mark!?”

“No, silly, it’s even BETTER than a Cutie Mark.”

“What could possibly be better than a Cutie Mark?”

“You’ll see. Granny Smith, wanna come with us?”

“Alrighty, Praxis,” the elderly green mare said. “Can you give me a lift, sonny?”

“Of course, Granny.” Praxis gently picked up Granny Smith and gave her a piggyback ride. He had to stoop incredibly low to avoid clocking her in the head with the doorframe, but it was worth it. He set out at a brisk walk towards the barn, Applebloom right by his side. Praxis nudged open the barn door to reveal....

A large haystack a few feet from the door, towering at seven feet tall and ten feet wide.

"THAT’S the surprise?” Applebloom deadpanned as Praxis set Granny Smith down on the earth. “A HAYSTACK?”

“Ah-Ah-Ahhhh~,” cooed Praxis. “It’s what IN the haystack.” He whistled sharply. “Ayo, Big Mac! You can come out now!”

Applebloom and Granny Smith did double-takes at his words before speaking in unison, “Did.. you just say--?”

“Eeyup,” a new voice rang out. Granny Smith and Applebloom turned to see Big Macintosh pop out of the haystack, one of their stalks in his mouth. He smiled at the two dumbfounded ponies. “He sure did.”

“B-B-B-Big M-M-M-M-Mac?!” The two shouted. Applebloom followed in her older sister’s stead and fainted on the spot. Granny Smith’s jaw dropped in a comical sense. Praxis stifled a fit of giggles. Mac made his way over to Granny Smith and pulled her in a hug. The elderly mare pushed her jaw back up into its place and returned the warm embrace to her resurrected Grandson. “I thought we lost ya, sugarcube,” she mumbled.

“Nnnope. ‘N Ah have Praxis t’ thank for that,” he said. Granny looked up at Praxis, and he watched a lone tear leave her right eye and travel down her cheek.

“Th... thank you, sonny. This means so much t’ me ‘n mah family.”

“Think nothing of it, Granny Smith,” Praxis told her. He shook Applebloom awake. The little filly stirred awake. She looked at the towering figure of Big Macintosh separating from Granny Smith and squealed.

“EEEEEEEEP!” She tackled Big Macintosh in a firm, powerful hug. The crimson cowpony only returned the hug, the Cutie Mark Crusader crying in his arms. “Big Macintosh! Yer OK!”

“And it’s all thanks to Praxis,” Granny Smith said. Praxis felt his pale cheeks burning from embarrassment.

“Oh, stop it, you,” he told them.

“This calls fer a celebration!” Applebloom chimed in before escaping her brother’s arms and leaving the barn without hesitation. Big Macintosh and Granny Smith laughed at the filly’s behavior before following her back into the barn. Praxis sighed, glad that the situation is over and done with.

“Excellent work, Praxis.” The weresatyr whipped around to see the form of Zeke walking towards him. “You have pushed selfishness away from yourself in using the sands to resurrect Big Macintosh.” He placed a bony hand on his shoulder and stared into his eyes, “This was your test. Congratulations, dear boy, you have joined the ranks of the Order Reapers. You are the fourth in the history of this universe. Wear that title with honor.” He turned, walking away into the shadows and disappeared as they got darker the closer to the house they got.

It was Praxis’s turn to pass out at the news.

XXIX - The Price That Victory Comes With

Shadow: Alright, last chapter before the epilogue, everybody. Me and Craimer would personally like to thank each and every one of you for getting this story as far as it has gotten. Sure the favorites are less than the likes (I don’t know how) but at least it’s better than I thought. You guys are amazing and I hope to write more in the future.

Craimer: Yup! Now that the OC Praxis is an Order Reaper, shit’s totally about to go down! This might be the second to last chapter before we decide to roll in our sequel, which shall be known as "Afraid Of My Shadow". Ready to begin, old friend?

Shadow: Hell to the yes!

XXIX - The Price That Victory Comes With

Over the next two weeks in Markarth, Praxis’s training was nothing but strenuous. While he survived the agility test and fighting test, he couldn’t really enter the Order Reaper state itself until about the last day. The sight was the exact polar opposite of Jace’s Chaos Reaper form. The black horns on Praxis’s head widened at the bases, whitened, and curled like the horns of a ram. The eyes glowed a pure white, billowing out thin smoke the same color. The voice sounded like many voices of several men speaking at once; the way he spoke reminded the satyr of the archangels from Diablo III. Like Jace, Praxis was given a Calling Card like Jace, but it was in the form of a silver pocket watch on a necklace chain than an hourglass. Engraved on both sides was the Order Reaper sigil: a balance scale with a skull in each pan.

But what got Praxis excited even more was the scythe he was given.

It was a typical scythe: slightly curved shaft made of sagewood and blade of titanium, rather like Jace’s, and was just as tall, but the blade had smooth edges, unlike Jace’s jagged-edged Chain Scythe, Eclipse. The eighteen seams in the blade, separated from one another by every two inches, are what Praxis raise a brow. “What’s with the ridges?” He asked as they now trekked through the outskirts of Ponyville.

“Hmm... I think I have a clue. Try using your magic on it,” Jace said. Praxis concentrated on getting his light-blue magic aura to channel through the scythe. His hands glowed cerulean, and with a little smirk, he swung the blade at a nearby sapling.

The seams apparently separated pieces of the blade from one another, and were connected with a thin rope of strong metal, like some sort of whip with blades. The tip of the blade diced the sapling to pieces as Praxis swung again and again. Once finished with obliterating the tree, Praxis willed the blade pieces to reconnect.

“Whoa....” he whispered.

“Thought of a name for it?” Jace asked.

“Yeah... Daggertail,” he answered. Jace smiled, impressed with the christening of the satyr’s new weapon.

“Excellent choice in name, my friend.” Jace patted Praxis on the back. “With the two of us together, we’ll practically be unstoppable.”

“Damn straight, man,” Praxis said. “I think we got this in the bag!”

Or so they would like to think.

A week had passed. Praxis, insisting that he see Lyra in her times of need, did just that, all the while helping Applejack with her farm, or hanging out with Spike and helping him find a male role model. Jace and Vinyl, who got engaged and had finally had their son Wubsy, produced more music than they knew what to do with, so they sold it to whatever towns weren’t under Insanity’s control. Jace, Praxis, and Vinyl hung out with the Cutie Mark Crusaders for a little bit, trying to help them get their 'elusive' marks; Jace and Praxis, being fellow bronies, already knew what their talents were, but chose not to disclose it, mainly for what they call 'the lulz'.

The second week, on the Night of Fate, rolled in. The Moon of Destruction was uncomfortably close, being a mile over their head. Someone with an incredibly good cannon could practically shoot a cannonball into the sharp-toothed open maw of the lunar monstrosity and it’d make it in, like some sick sort of basketball game.

The town of Canterlot was under siege by Insanity’s Shadowlings, and had been for three days before the Night of Fate had arrived, but Celestia and Luna’s defenses held firm thanks to their loyal and able-bodied soldiers. Canterlot’s residents were evacuated from the town via Friendship Express, which was thankfully not overthrown, and were sent into a massive underground bunker that Praxis had dug last night with his claws. The walls were lined with stone to help support the soil and prevent it from falling on their heads, and the actual room itself was thrice the size of Canterlot Castle’s Royal Ballroom. Provisions from both Praxis and Jace were provided and placed into the bunker, ranging from sustenance to first aid kits.

“Everyone get in!” He had ordered the ponies in the town, who didn’t hesitate in following his orders. “There’s food, water, and mattresses down there! Quickly!”

All the ponies obeyed his mandates, even the upper crust ponies that would rather be caught dead than be seen with even a smudge of dirt on their coat.

All the ponies... but one.

“Praxis, where are you going!?” Lyra asked in fear and concern.

“Lyra, I need you to go inside,” Praxis said. “Please.”

“No!” She cried, tears of melancholic origins spurting down her cheeks. “I won’t let you go!”

“Lyra!” The seafoam-green mare recoiled at the weresatyr’s snap. “Please. Listen. Me and Jace have got this under control. Please stay safe down in the bunker.”

“....” The seconds transfigured to minutes, and the minutes evolved into hours. Nothing happened, until Lyra stood up and jumped into Praxis’s arms, kissing him as hard as she could, tears running down her face like vicious waterfalls. The satyr, taken by surprise, returned the kiss to the best of his abilities, arms holding Lyra for the life of him. The unicorn's tongue prodded his lips, begging for entry that he obliged to. Lyra shifted and swirled her tongue inside the weresatyr's mouth, gently stroking the sharp teeth and flitting against his forked tongue in a serpentine manner. They finally let go after several minutes of just standing there, the oral embrace probably being the only thing that will remind themselves of one another.

“Be safe,” she whispered.

“I will. Take care of the baby, alright?” He asked when she reached the entrance to the bunker. “Take care of Riku.” She nodded, her lips turned up into a smile at how nice the name would sound for their foal. She descended into the bunker with her friends.

Jace stood near the entrance to the bunker, watching ponies walk by and get into the safety of the underground safehouse. “Let’s go, move it!” He pushed off his post and looked at the wave among wave of ponies that flooded by him. But what caught his attention, was a small voice from next to him.

“Daddy?”

Jace whirled around to the left, seeing Vinyl Scratch with a baby foal sitting atop her back. The unicorn foal, golden-maned and snow-white, looked up at his father with worry in his electric, piercing eyes of yellow. Jace picked up his son Wubsy, and smiled at him. “Hey, buddy. I’m gonna need you to go downstairs, alright, son?”

“Daddy, where you going? Is Uncle Praxis and Mommy going, too?” Jace felt a very rare tear roll down his cheek at his son’s innocent curiosity for the trio’s dangerous endeavor.

“We’re gonna go take care of something, and we’ll be back, alright? Auntie Octavia is downstairs,” Jace tells her. And to speak of the devil, the charcoal-maned, ash gray Earth Pony arises from the bunker.

“Come along, little Wubsy,” Octavia said. “Auntie Tavi’s got you.”

“Take care of him, Tavi, alright?” Vinyl pleaded. The cellist firmly nodded before finally giving up and tackling Vinyl in a hug, one that the DJ slowly returned. Once they break apart, Jace gave Wubsy a kiss on the forehead and placed him on Octavia’s back. Octavia headed back down into the bunker.

Jace stood at the entrance, watching as Octavia’s form moved in with the other ponies that were seeking salvation from the chaos that reigned outside. A tear went down his cheek as a stony expression was worn on his face. He felt someone grab his shoulder and he briefly turned to see Praxis holding his shoulder. “Let’s go rip this motherfucker a new asshole...” he says, a wicked grin on his face at the thought of the murderous rape they will perform on their enemies flittered through his head.

“Hells to the yeah.” Jace puts out a half-extended fist towards Praxis’s direction. The satyr obliged by taking his hand off of his best friend’s shoulder and knocking his fist into Jace’s. Vinyl comes along and puts her hoof in, the bottom connecting with Jace’s and Praxis’s fists.

“Brohoof, bitches!”

Praxis ran a finger over his lips, where Lyra had kissed him. ‘Mint...’ He sighed in content.

“Praxis?” Vinyl said. “You alright?” The satyr was brought back to reality by the question. He nodded, and Vinyl smiled.

In the fields of Equestria, Praxis, Jace, and Vinyl were prepared.

Praxis was donned in titanium armor in pure white, with a chainmail hood with white cloth over it on his head with enough room for his curled ram horns to have room. The Order Reaper sigil was etched carefully on the chest of his plate armor. His hooves and gauntlets were clad with metal claws to add more damage to his kicks and punches. Praxis had a white cloth pulled up to his face to shroud the lower half of it. He took Daggertail into his hands and gave it a few spins in the air, the blade pieces swinging wildly before he reconnected them again.

“You ready to do this?” Praxis turned to see Jace walking with a helmet under his arm. He had titanium armor as black as the night, with the Chaos Reaper sigil, a bleeding crescent moon turned open-side up, etched into the chestpiece of the armor. His free hand held his chain scythe that revved itself without any help of the magic, like it was alive and wanting the blood that was about to be spilled. “Because I need you to be on top of your game...” He threw up a white hood that somewhat clashed with the black armor, but there was a shine from the mark on his chest and the armor changed to the white of the hood.

“Right... Don’t worry, I was reborn for this... in a way.”

“Let’s hope.” A metallic clang was heard as a metal mouth cover was put over Jace’s mouth. “We leave in five...” He turned and caught the gaze of Vinyl who was standing in the doorway. She was outfitted with armor like Jace and Praxis and she had the Chaos gauntlets donned her hooves. Rather than her usual purple shades, she wore a helmet that had a visor of the same color. “Let’s kick some asses.”

“This is why I love you, you know that?” Jace cooed.

“This is no time for being lovey-dovey, guys,” Praxis tells them. “Right now, we got some bitches to fuck up.”

“You must be new here~." Praxis shot a look at Jace. "Anywho, right. We should go.” Jace scooped Vinyl onto his back before blanketing his feet with his crimson magic aura. Praxis tensed his legs. Within seconds, they were off near the speed of sound, ready to meet Insanity head on, for sources had told them that the deity of madness and destruction were somewhere in the outskirts, right in the between where all the cities were distanced, on his way to overthrow the weakest link town: Ponyville.

They had been traveling for many minutes, not in the least bit tired. Then, right before they could attack head on, they see a sight that makes all their jaws drop.

They had thought that they were only going to face Insanity, and Insanity alone. Instead, they had run into an gargantuan armada of Shadowlings. Praxis, Jace, and Vinyl watched in awe as the golden-eyed, black forms of several dragons, Minotaurs, wolves, cockatri, and many other different creatures marched their way.

“Well.... fuck,” Praxis mumbled.

Jace let Vinyl down and stood to look out amongst the army that laid out in front of him. “I’ve got this... Just try to get in close.” Jace walked forward, snapped his gauntlet clad hand and having a veil of shadow cover his face. The black cape on his back burned lightly with a red light as a new mark shown on it, unknown to Jace. It was a skull with two angel wings spread out across the entirety of the cape with a keyhole in the forehead of the skull. “When I say so, you go...” He stood in front of the armada, not even a single worry in his voice.

“Ready...” He gripped the scythe in his hands and wrung the sagewood. “Set...” His hands glowed with his dark red magic, and a chuckle could be heard from the latter. “GO!” In the blink of an eye, Jace had thrown the scythe into the air, standing with a bored expression as the entire army was fixed on the weapon. He turned to Vinyl and Praxis and held his hands up, “That’s your cue!”

Praxis whipped out his scythe, the wire-connected blades swinging to and fro like a windmill. Vinyl charged up her gloves, and two large crossbows with explosive bolts erupted two feet from their point of origin. Praxis swung Daggertail, the blades slicing the first row of enemies and vaporizing them in a single, magically powerful blow. Vinyl fired the loaded bolts into the crowd, blowing up pieces of random Shadowlings. The gore and body parts vanished into thin wisps of air.

“Hey!” Six new voices shouted. “Forgot about us?!”

Jace turned around and saw Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash standing behind him, all wearing strong gold armor and the Elements of Harmony. Twilight’s horn was charged and ready to fire. Applejack had boots with multiple spikes on them. Fluttershy rode atop a manticore, the very same one she had shown kindness to two years ago. Rainbow Dash held a large sword in her mouth, the blade composed entirely of rainbow colored electricity. Rarity held a large, jewel-encrusted axe in her magical grip, and Pinkie Pie had... several bombs and explosives in a belt at her waist. Jace raised a brow at that, but simply shrugged it off.

“Great timing! Hold on, got something to take care of first!” He raised a hand in the air, stopping his scythe’s ascent into the air and circled his hand fast, making the scythe spin lengthwise and in turn creating a giant frisbee of death. He raised his free hand towards the crowd of Shadowlings, making many levitate at once and all get sucked into the vortex the scythe was creating from the speed it was spinning at. He released the magic grip on the scythe, making it fall and he stood there, checking his fake watch. At the last seconds, he reached out and grabbed the scythe, doing a expert flourish to finish off the confused Shadowlings in front of him. “Come. At. Me.”

“AH-HA-HAA! AAAAAH-HAHAHAHAHAAA!” A rather familiar voice laughed satanically.

“Who th’ hay was that?” Applejack asked.

“Praxis!” Vinyl and Jace answered, the two of them slaughtering the Shadowlings before them. They all turned to see Praxis running through the army, swinging his scythe viciously to and fro. Daggertail’s severed blades whipped around like a devastating hurricane had been born, the satyr laughing maniacally as he slashed, sliced, and diced every Shadowling within a twenty yard radius, their black blood splattering in his face.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!” The goat-like Harbinger of Doom hollered into the night as he kicked a fallen Shadowling Minotaur, drove the realigned blade of Daggertail into its throat, and swung horizontally, ripping its head off as the momentum of the swing let Daggertail become a deadly whip once more as he bathed in the ink-like blood of his enemies. They saw his face beneath the blood he was unbaptized in: a wicked, sharp-toothed grin with wide, manic, glowing eyes.

“Eep!” Fluttershy squeaked before ducking behind the manticore’s lion mane.

“That’s... scary AND cool,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“He’s crazy as fuck!” Vinyl wailed as she blew up another two dozen Shadowlings with her crossbow bolts. “I like it!”

“That crazy sonofabitch is gonna get himself kill-” Jace looked back at his scythe, the ornate demon skull on the handle’s top glowed red with each kill he had succeeded in gathering. “Oh, fuck!” Jace looked around frantically, then his eyes settled on Vinyl. “Vi!” He ran over to her, nearly dodging a slash from a Shadowling. “Give me a boost!” He ran up beside her making sure to stay in front of her at all times. She charged the gauntlets up and spread her forearms out and Jace jumped, letting his adrenaline slow down the scene and having his magic levitate him and make a smooth entry. His eyes slowly closed, and he inhaled deep though his nose.

“SONIC... CLAP!” The eruption of magic made Jace’s eyes shoot open, shining red, and he shot off like a rocket with the combined magics of his levitation and the eruption from the Sonic Clap. He shot by the armada, quickly making his way to Praxis who was still on his wild killing spree. He grabbed the Satyr around the waist, flying up and keeping the momentum going. Though when the two collided the speed he was going at a drastically slowed speed, but he was still going pretty fast.

“FOLLOW MY LEAD!” Jace’s voice had gotten deep and demonic as the two red circles in the hood stared up at the satyr. “AND DON’T DO ANYTHING FUCKING STUPID!”

“YOU RUINED MY FUN, YOU SONUVABITCH!” Praxis complained, eyes glowing whiter and brighter beneath his shadow-cloaked face.

“THIS ISN’T ABOUT FUN, THIS IS ABOUT TAKING DOWN INSANITY. QUIT YOUR BITCHING AND FOLLOW. MY. LEAD!”

“BULLSHIT! YOU CAN’T SPELL ‘FUNERAL’ WITHOUT ‘FUN’!!! AND WE’RE GIVING THEM ONE HELL OF A FUNERAL!!!”

Jace’s flight speed was quickly dropping as he slowed down. “GODDAMMIT! JUST MARIO YOUR WAY OVER!” He stopped using his magic and started hopping on each Shadowling’s back or head, the magic he placed in his boots striking their bodies and downing them. Praxis followed suit, yet he threw in a bladed whipping at the nearby Shadowlings. Jace looked behind him to look at Praxis tailing him. He pointed at himself, then at the satyr, then motion his finger to the sky, and put up a second hand, the other index finger making circles with the first. Praxis got his message almost instantly. “ON THREE! ONE... TWO... THREE!”

They both took to the skies, their magic and stamina combining to let them reach a height at the speeds of a rocket. They met in mid-air and kicked off of their feet/hooves, sending them in opposite directions. Jace tossed the Chain Scythe, Eclipse, at the crowd of Shadowlings beneath him and used his magic to change its flight trajectory, making it spin in a circle that spiraled outward, beheading and slaying any that stood in his path. When he landed, he beckoned Eclipse towards him, happy to see that he had cleared up several yards of room for his landing.

Praxis, after kicking off in the opposite direction, used his cerulean magic to extend Daggertail’s reach once more, the blade pieces covering their usual twenty yards. He spun like a top in mid air, the blade pieces acting as a furious whirlwind of death as he descended and massacred all that was in his radius. He spun Daggertail like a horizontal windmill when he landed, making sure to clear up all that were inside the swinging radius. He stopped the rapid spinning and kept the rotating blades’ speed low.

Vinyl and the Mane Six were battling the front line, using magic, explosives, hoof to foreleg/claw/hoof/fist combat, physical damage, illusions, animal warfare, or, Pinkie Pie’s case, musical numbers and physics ignoration. The seven ponies hacked, slashed, pummeled, and blasted away through the army that put up much opposition, trying to bite, claw, punch, kick, burn, or attack.

As Jace was tearing everything a new asshole, he heard the laugh. The same laugh he heard three fucking months ago. He stopped in in the middle of his slaughterfest to see Insanity in the distance, staring right at him. “You piece of SHIT!” He gripped Eclipse tight and looked at the glowing skull at the top of its shaft. “...Goddammit.” He judged by how many things he killed, that he has at least about a month saved up for Chaos Reaper run.

Meaning he would have to stay that way. For a month.

Praxis heard the demonic laughter as well, and suppressed a shudder that had suddenly decided to make itself announced as he wrapped Daggertail’s bladed whip around the neck of a dragon Shadowling and pulled, decapitating it and causing it to dissipate. “Not this pig-faced bastard again....” He looked around to see Insanity sitting in the back of the battalion, commanding his Shadowlings to assault the nine attackers that were massacring all of them.

As Jace and Praxis slaughter their way into the crowd towards their target, the Shadowlings seemed to be getting stronger. Rather than wolves, lions, and bears like in the beginning of the battle, dragons, manticores, and chimeras made themselves known. They were a bit harder to take down, and actually managed to get in a few hits every now and then, but they were still cut down by the two Reapers’ powers.

At last... at long last... they had reached what they had came for.

“Ahh, it’s a pleasure to see you two boys!” Insanity laughed.

As Insanity spoke, Jace had taken the helmet that was hanging from his side and donned it. It was a full plate metal helmet and the face portion was pressed to look like a human skull. “ENOUGH TALK!” He bellowed. Insanity paid him no mind, for he was sniffing the air... and his nostrils led him to look at--

“You....”

“Yep,” Praxis said. “Me. Missed me, motherfucker?”

“You should’ve DIED! At the river in the clearing AND with the Hydra!”

“Awww, you mad that I fucked up your plans at killing me?”

“Yes! As you regular people say, I’m quite PISSED!”

“That was a rhetorical question, dickface!” Jace stifled an idiotic giggle at the insult he fired. Insanity was fuming.

“SILENCE!!!” He roared into the night.

“MAKE ME!”

In retaliation to this dare, Insanity raised a clawed hand and launched it at Jace, intending to aim for his heart and remove it from his body. Jace dogded and swung Eclipse upwards, the blade passing through the deity's intangible arm. Praxis tried joining in, but Jace held him back. "NO! I'M KILLING HIM!"

And so they fought. Jace swerving, ducking, and weaving to avoid Insanity's wicked-sharp claws, and the deity either dodging or becoming intangible to let Jace's scythe Eclipse simply phase through him.

This would have gone on for many minutes, hours, even...

Until Insanity quickly grabbed Eclipse by underneath the blade and yanked it out of Jace's grip before throwing it away as far as he could. The scythe whizzed through the air. "ENOUGH! IT ENDS HERE! I'll finish you, like I'll finish everyone else, and the only god, the only RULER... will only be me." Insanity lunged again at Jace's chest, straight for the heart... to rip it from his body... to remove his 'powers' and 'immortality'....

But rather than Jace’s body... another had been used....

“PRAXIIIIIIIS!!! NOOOO!!!!” Jace bellowed. The satyr had dashed in between the Reaper and Insanity with his arms spread out to stop whatever came his friends away. Insanity’s claw penetrating his chest like an object would when it was placed in gelatin. The flesh and armor seemed to... make way for Insanity’s claw, yet no blood was spilled, no armor was destroyed, nor did the claw come out the other end.

Praxis's eyes were shot wide open. Vinyl and the Mane Six stopped what they were doing and stared at the spectacle. "Oh, Lord..." Vinyl whispered, tears viciously leaving her eyes. "Please... not that... anything but that...."

“So... you wanted to give your pathetic life for your little friend, eh?” Insanity pulled out a massive, grotesque sword from out of Praxis’s body. As the weapon was being removed, the others heard the satyr making strained, painful guttural noises. Judging by the sounds and the tears, the pain he was suffering was tremendous and unbearable. The sword, its flesh-wrapped handle, the serpentine eyeball at the hilt, and the warped, massive edges, were removed from Praxis’s body entirely after several seconds later. How the sword’s wide dimensions managed to fit was a mystery. “And I want my sword back....” Praxis fell to his knees from the pain and the exertion of not screaming out into the night. But rather than just the sword being released, something else came out as well..

A little turquoise ball of light, the size of a grape, with cerulean mist swirling around it from a few inches away. Insanity plucked it from the sword and examined it, the pureness of it burning his hand. “Is this what I think it is....?” Praxis shook his head, hoping against hope that Insanity wouldn’t find out what it was. “Oh, I think it is.” With that, Insanity crushed the strange light in his other claw.

The effect was instantaneous.

The armor that Praxis wore shattered like glass and melted away into nothingness. Daggertail let out a murderous whine, like an occupant that seemed to live inside it was being stabbed repeatedly, before the scythe collapsed into pieces and disappeared as well. The horns on Praxis’s head shrunk back, narrowed, and darkened, becoming that of a regular goat’s horns. The glow in his eyes disappeared, leaving only brown irises. The Curse Seal and the markings it bore were no more, fading away into nonexistence. The Calling Card shook violently and let off a small explosion, leaving an open pocket watch necklace with a broken clock face.

Praxis, standing precariously, turned his head slowly to look at Jace, whose eyes were wide in fear. The satyr flashed a weak grin, and sent a wink his way. He looked back soon enough to Insanity swing Dementia at nearly the speed of sound at his right arm. The limb fell off like it was composed of butter, the bleeding stump firing blood. Praxis screamed bloody murder. The pain was unlike anything he had felt, almost rivaling that of when he tried to enter the room of Order Reapers. Praxis fell to his knees, cradling his missing right arm in his left hand. Insanity kicked him aside and looked at Jace, a sadistic smile on his face.

Jace slowly pulled the helmet off of his hooded head, and threw it to the ground, head bowed. He dropped Eclipse on the ground and closed his eyes, taking in a large breath. Darkness swirled around his feet, slowly ascending up his body. He opened his eyes, and the darkness gushed up at rapid speeds like a violent volcano. Red angry eyes only stood out amongst the black. The darkness faded away, revealing a black humanoid beast. A tail, long and devilish, flicked behind him. Black, tendril-like flames burned on its. The creature had a bloody crescent moon facing up on its chest. The symbol pulsated red, the same color as the all-scarlet eyes that glared at Insanity in pure hatred.

Insanity’s expression flickered to one of apprehension before returning back to pure sadism. “Aw.... are you gonna get mad, little child, because I hurt your best friend?” He mocked.

“Pain, Insanity... Pain.” He looked up, the shining in his eyes now increased tenfold. He pulled his hood down slowly to show a demonic face with long, jagged teeth and midnight black skin. It was that of when they first had a standoff at Jace’s house three months ago. “What you don’t know, is the pain that comes with being a Reaper...”

“And what would you know about pain? When you have been imprisoned for thousands of years, passed on like some sort of sick plague, then you can come back and talk to me about pain. Loneliness. Hatred. Coldness. Feel these, and you will feel true pain. Wounds on the flesh are not enough to suffer true excruciation, boy,” Insanity said.

“Pain is all I know. I kill... I take... I steal... I am the one who has to take the souls from loved ones, I am the one who has to carry out the duty of taking away others that I hold dear to myself. Why?” He smiled wickedly. “Because of the pain that occurs when I DON’T.” As if on cue, a geyser of darkness shot up from Insanity’s feet, its black gases acting like rope and ensnaring him from foot to neck. Jace held his clawed black hand out and squeezed it. The darkness geyser tightened its grip on Insanity, making the god growl and bellow in agony. The trapped creature became a large amount of mist and removed itself from the geyser, only to return to its normal form. “Pain... You will never be able to comprehend...”

Insanity swung Dementia horizontally, but Jace leaned back and evaded the blade’s evil edge. “Feel the darkness of your heart, Insanity.” Another geyser shot up. It was as intense, and the pain was all the same. Jace moved closer and closer to the lesser god, who had escaped once again after experience another dose of pain.

“S...stop.” a voice said.

Jace and Insanity whirled around to see Praxis wearily getting to his knees. The Shadowlings from earlier had been vanquished due to Insanity losing his control over them from the pain he was given by Jace. Vinyl and the Mane Six were staring at him in fear and worry.

“Insanity...” Praxis said, coughing a small amount of blood. “Listen to me... take control of me....”

“Praxis... what are you saying!?” Jace roared in anger. “YOU FUCKING TRAITOR! HOW COULD YOU?!?!” Jace stopped his rant when Praxis gave him something. Something that no one, not even Insanity, could see.

The subtlest of winks, barely a twitch of the eye... but Jace caught it.

“You take over me...” Praxis continued, wiping his bleeding mouth on his left arm. “...and we can rule the world, baby. We won’t HAVE to destroy all of Gaia... all you have to do... is overshadow me. Think of the POWER.... that we’ll share... We could overthrow the Princesses... and rule this land... FOREVER.”

Insanity raised a brow at this sudden confession, contemplating the possibilities. He smiled after a few moments. “I love the way you think, goat. Very well...” He hovered over to the bleeding satyr and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up to eye level. “This is gonna hurt you SO much more than this’ll hurt me....” Insanity dissolved into black mist and rocketed up Praxis’s nose and mouth, making it impossible to breathe. The entity smelled and tasted disgusting, the very stench and taste almost making the satyr wretch. The last of the mist entered Praxis’s body, and he fell to the floor on his hooves. The right arm started to bubble grotesquely and it... extended... until in its place rested an arm to substitute the first one. This arm, however, was pitch black, clawed at the end of each fingertips, with an slit-pupiled eyeball on the back of the hand. The eyeball was rimmed with gold, like some sort of Egyptian decoration. The eyeball’s pupil contracted and expanded, getting used to the environment it was spawned in.

Praxis’s hair became a pure white, long and lanky, the skinny legs and arms grew thicker and fuller, the signs of pure muscle. The skin darkened to a tan hue. The horns extended a few more inches and shot up straight to point to the sky. When the satyr opened his eyes, brown irises did not greet Jace, Vinyl, or the others. Purple eyes, glowing brightly and wickedly, looked around to take in their environment. The possessed satyr smiled, and sharp carnivorous teeth flashed white in the moonlight’s radiance. Praxis pointed his tainted right hand at the Moon, and with a grunt of exertion and a glowing of the orange eye on his hand, he slowly sent it back into its original place, with the frightening facial features disappearing. After that had been accomplished a few moments later, Praxis turned to face the eight others that stood before him.

“Today... is the dawn of a new era... and era where all shall fear me, and those who ignore this... die in the most slow and painful way,” The voice that came out was a fuse of both Praxis’s and Insanity’s. Praxis, using as much of his own willpower as possible, subtlety winked at Jace again, and the Chaos Reaper got the message instantly.

“NOW!!!” Jace yelled. He ensnared Praxis in his strongest magical hold, making sure that Insanity can’t leave him and that Praxis couldn’t escape. Vinyl helped in this endeavor, strengthening the magic by twofold.

“NO!!!” Insanity’s voice rang out of Praxis, who was looking for a way to escape, yet found none. The body was shaking as it fought to gain control. “HOW?!”

“The power of friendship, bitch!” Praxis’ voice rang out from this magically imprisoned body like a gunshot. He looked at the Element Bearers. "NOW!!! DO IT!!!"

The Mane Six charged up their Elements of Harmony. They took to the sky, Twilight Sparkle’s eyes becoming blank and glowing. They were, however, staring at Praxis in sadness, and a lone tear fell from her muzzle. A few seconds passed, and the double-helix rainbow arcs spun up high in the air before colliding into one another and firing towards Praxis. The satyr saw the complete arc hit him and ensnare him, his hooves slowing turning a grey hue as they became stone. Praxis grabbed his right wrist with his left hand, the two limbs placed in front of them before they became encased in stone. He bowed his head low to Jace and the others, who fought back the tears that threatened to spill. Vinyl was already beyond the breaking point, sobbing heavily as her magic fell away. The Mane Six had tears trickling down their faces at that point.

“Thank you....” It was only a whisper. He closed his eyes and let the Harmony Magic envelop him, a lone tear trickling down the right side of his face. The rainbow disappeared, leaving a statue of a heroic, noble satyr where it resided.

“Rest easy, bro,” Jace said, putting a hand around Vinyl, who proceeded to cry into Jace’s chest. As this was all going on, a light came from Jace’s hands. He looked down at then, mesmerized by what has happening to him. “W-What?! What’s happening?!” He turned to the others, before a flash of light filled his vision, and he shut his eyes tight.

Upon opening them, he found himself on top of clouds that were as golden as the sun. Turning behind him, he saw large golden gates and a pathway leading into the distance of the blue horizon.

“So... This is where I’m judged...” That... voice. Jace turned to see Insanity in all his not-so-much of a glory, his hands shackled with indestructible chains. Jace smiled wickedly.

“Yes, it is.” Surprise caught him at his voice, for it sounded that of many talking at once. He looked down at his hands and they were no longer in the white gauntlets that he had been wearing all through the fight. Instead, they were that of bone. His armor had been replaced with white and gold robes that covered his face which was skeletal and had two piercing white eyes looking at anything that Jace did.

Balling his hands into fists, he felt the familiar wood of Eclipse in his hand, chuckling as he looked down and saw the shaft made of gold and the blade pure white and gleaming. “Insanity. You have committed crimes against Gaia and its people. How do you plead?”

Insanity remained silent. Not a single word came out of the depowered god’s mouth. “I then take it that your silence means you plead guilty.” Jace walked forward to Insanity, putting a bony hand under his chin and lifting his head to look at him. “I now know what you mean... By Gatekeeper. Only question is... How did you know?”

“When one has existed for as long as I have, from nearly the beginning of TIME itself... one knows things such as I,” Insanity confessed.

“You are a wise old entity, I assume. But alas, we are not here for compliments. We are here to decide your fate.” Jace then turned to the Jury, which were the tortured souls that Insanity has sent to Heaven from long ago and from recent. “The Jury will now give their verdict...”

A soul walked forward in front of the gates, announcing in a loud voice, “The Jury finds the defendant, Insanity... guilty as charged.” Jace turned to Insanity, who had returned to bowing his head.

“Then, Insanity, you are found guilty of many things. So many, in fact, that we do not have the time to name each of these atrocities off. I banish you to the deepest depths of Hell. The place that makes Tartarus tremble with fear.” He raised the scythe up, aiming right for Insanity. “COURT IS ADJOURNED!” He slammed the blade down onto Insanity’s head, creating a giant explosion of light that made the evil entity disappear and be sent to the ninth circle of Hell, where he shall forever be imprisoned... for the rest of eternity.

Jace felt the light appear before him once again, and he disappeared from the courtroom in Heaven, only to return to the scene of the battle. While his robes remained, his skeletal features returned to flesh. With his magic, he beckoned Eclipse back to him. Within a few seconds, the scythe had returned to his hand.

Sunlight shined upon the land, and not a single cloud was in sight, leaving a sky as blue as the oceans. The grass was green as ever. Birds, ranging from canaries to cardinals to mockingbirds, sang their glorious tune as they fluttered across the sky.

But this beautiful weather only mocks what had happened here on Equestria.

Instead of seeing happy faces, Jace only witnessed faces contorted into sadness by grief and melancholy. Vinyl and the Mane Six were mourning the loss of one of two heroes. A misunderstood creature, hated for what he was, but continued to spread kindness, love, and happiness wherever he went.

Jace sighed. He enveloped the statue of Praxis Moradov in his scarlet magical aura. The seven ponies jumped in surprise, but relaxed slightly when they saw Jace. The Reaper walked back in the direction of Ponyville, the seven mares following him, and the statue floating behind him. He would have to plan a funeral for the poor guy...

Yet... contradictory to his best friend’s words... there was nothing fun about a funeral.

Epilogue: Letters and Final Farewells

Shadow: Holy shit, this epilogue is long as hell.

Craimer: Oh, dear God, you’re right.

Epilogue: Letters and Final Farewells

Cutie Mark Crusaders

The little yellow Earth Pony, white Unicorn, and orange Pegasus, along with many of the occupants of the bunker, looked out into the sky, and rather than seeing black skies and a large, frightening moon, they saw a clear blue atmosphere, and the Sun shining magnificently upon them all. They all let out a cheer of rejoice at the world’s close call.

The occupants that filled the bunker exited their safe escape, glad that they could live to see another day. The Cutie Mark Crusaders headed straight for their clubhouse, ready to pick back up on whatever Cutie Mark obtaining they could.

When the trio of fillies entered their fortress of solitude, they saw three pieces of paper folded on the table at the far end of the room.

Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle walked over and respectively picked up each one with their names addressed on it.

“Ah wonder who sent these,” Applebloom said.

“Beats me,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Let’s see what’s in them, guys,” Scootaloo suggested. The three nodded

“Wanna go first, Scootaloo?” The yellow filly asked.

“Alright then.” The orange Pegasus opened her letter and read what was inside it.

Dear Scootaloo,

I hope this letter reaches you soon, for I have advice and a request for you, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle. First comes the advice. I’ve been observing your flying skills, and I want to assist you in improving. You flap your wings too hard and too fast, like a desperate and angry wasp. Time your wing-beating for them to come out as soft and gentle strokes, like a tame butterfly, and soon you will take to the skies with as much grace as a dove.

With the advice now gone, I present you with the request. At the Ponyville wood store, Lumber Jack’s, I have placed an order for two hundred thick bamboo stalks, and fifty are loaded into a wagon, leaving four wagons at the store. Do not worry, for bamboo is a considerably light wood, and the wagons should make them easier to haul. Please use your scooter and take these wagons to the Mane Street intersection, where the large water fountain resides, in the allotted time of twelve minutes.

Who knows? Maybe if you move fast enough, you could get a Cutie Mark from it.

All the best,

~A Very Fluffy Friend

Scootaloo grimaced at who had signed the letter. ‘Wouldn’t it make more sense to just sign your whole name?’ she thought.

But still... this “Very Fluffy Friend” thinks that she will get her Cutie Mark if she moved fast enough... so why not? “I gotta go do something, girls,” the orange Pegasus told her friends before leaving the treehouse.

“I wonder what’s got her motivated into doing something?” Sweetie Belle pondered.

“Ah dunno mahself,” Applebloom said. “Can Ah read my letter next, Sweetie?”

“OK, A.B.” The filly in question opened her letter, and read on.

Dear Applebloom,

I hope this letter reaches you soon. For you see, like your friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, I have both advice to give and a request to ask.

The advice being that you must not try and rush through life, in the hopes to get a Cutie Mark. Believe me when I say that when you get older, you will look back on your childhood and wish and hope that you can relive it. What I’m trying to say is that you must always live your childhood life to the fullest, and not rush into pubescence and adulthood so quickly.

But if you want to grow up, I guess I can’t stop you.... so maybe I can help you. But take my words at heart, you will wish you could remain a kid when you get older.

With the advice out of the way, I move on to the request. I have told Scootaloo to bring two-hundred stalks of light bamboo to the intersection at Mane Street, where the massive water fountain is, which a friend of mine shall remove to make room for what you shall make. My request is that you build a pagoda in the shape of an octagon, with the archways facing the streets that pull away from the intersection, as well as a sunroof for it.

And perhaps there’s even a possibility of getting that Cutie Mark you always wanted if you do this task.

All the best,

~A Very Fluffy Friend

“Hmm... how come he ends his letters with “A Very Fluffy Friend?” Applebloom inquired. “Ah don’t get it....”

“Me neither,” Sweetie Belle admitted to her friend and fellow Crusader. “What’d he tell you?”

“He told me about how Ah shouldn’t be rushin’ into growin’ up, and how Ah should enjoy mah childhood. He also told me about how Ah can get mah Cutie Mark.” Then it clicked. “Maybe that’s why Scootaloo left in a hurry! Maybe the ‘Very Fluffy Friend’ here might’ve told her how ta get HER Cutie Mark."

“Well, then, Go, Applebloom!” Sweetie Belle squeaked ecstatically, pushing Applebloom out of the clubhouse. “If this ‘Very Fluffy Friend’ knows how you can get your Cutie Mark, then why not go for it?”

Applebloom thought about this logic for a few seconds, but decided that it’d be best to follow through with her “Very Fluffy Friend”s request and obtain the Cutie Mark she’s always dreamed of getting. “Alrighty, then, Sweetie Belle.” And so she left without another word towards Mane Street.

Sweetie opened her letter last. This one, unlike Applebloom’s and Scootaloo’s, is longer. But she read on.

Dear Sweetie Belle,

If this letter reaches your hooves, then good, for I have something of the utmost importance to ask of you. But like your friends, Scootaloo and Applebloom, I have given them advice that I hope sticks with them. And I hope that the advice I will give you does the same.

Your Unicorn powers, untapped because of your young age and non-usage of it, can be as peaceful as an ocean tide, but as powerful as a raging tsunami, if you focus hard enough. Channel all your focus and energy into your horn, and let loose enough magic into what you want to affect. Heck, you’ll probably be as magically adept as Twilight Sparkle if you try really hard enough.

With my advice out of the way, I will ask you a request, like I did Scootaloo and Applebloom. Once your Earth Pony friend finishes building a pagoda that I have instructed her to create, a friend of mine will bring along an item to this pagoda. It is an item of mourning, and to mourn for said item, I have written down a set of lyrics for you to sing.

Sweetie Belle saw a wall of lyrics at the bottom of the paragraph, and began reading it carefully, then began memorizing said lyrics, due to what the next, non-lyrical paragraph said:

Perhaps if you sing this, then your Cutie Mark can finally appear, but only fate and your actions will tell.

All the best,

~A Very Fluffy Friend

Sweetie Belle pondered on what this ‘Very Fluffy Friend’ of hers told her. Apparently, singing for a Cutie Mark won’t be so bad... but in the process, the lyrics did appear a bit saddening.

Still, a few minutes of sadness over a lifetime of having a Cutie Mark would be worth it.

“Well... if he says that this will come in handy, then I don’t see why this won’t be a problem... oh, who cares, it’s a Cutie Mark, for pony’s sake!” With that, the white Unicorn dashed out of the clubhouse and towards Mane Street.

Spike

The little purple dragon walked back towards the Ponyville Library, where he’d thought Twilight had teleported now that Insanity was long gone and finished, seeing as how the Moon of Destruction is pushed back into its elliptical orbit and is stripped of its terrifying face.

However, when Spike opened up the door to the Library, he saw that Twilight was not inside.

“Strange... she should be here by now,” he muttered. Regardless, he went inside and made his way towards the kitchen to get his hands on a quartz gem to snack on. With mouthwatering gemstone in claw, Spike vacated the kitchen.

“Hoo.” Spike jumped and spun around to find the source of the muffled speaker, but sighed in relief when he only saw Owlowicious holding a letter in his beak.

“Oh... hey, Owlowicious. What’s up?”

“Hoo, hoo!” The owl replied in a muffled voice. He flapped his wings and dropped the letter at Spike’s feet. Spike raised a brow when he saw his name on it, symbolizing that it was addressed to him.

“Huh? For me?”

“Hoo!” Owlowicious nodded. Spike picked up the letter and began reading it.

Dear Spike,

Many of us like to believe that the person, or pony, in this case, that we love will love us back. But I have seen the face of love, and I can tell you... they are usually wrong.

Love is a mysterious thing, something that not many of us can understand. True love is like a needle in a haystack: you must search hard and long before you find what you were looking for.

I understand that your love for the white Unicorn mare, Rarity, is an insatiable one, unfulfilled unless you receive what you want.

Yet while I understand that you love her the question remains... what do you love ABOUT her? Her mane? Her sleek coat? Her eyes? Her perfect physique?

If you have said yes to all of these things, then what you are experiencing is not love, but lust, an unquenchable form of desire for a person’s mere APPEARANCE.

If you love somebody, or somepony, you must love them not for their appearance, but for their actions. If she is kind, sweet, caring, and gentle, you must follow your heart and go to her. Let her know that you love her. If she says yes, then cheers, you are the happiest dragon to ever walk Equestria. However, if she declines your offer of love, fear not: from failure, you learn your mistakes, and thus have lower expectations of who you wish to love next.

But this will only work if she is what I have described to you. Alas, if she is none of what I have described, then you don’t deserve her, for you are far too pure and good to be with someone who could be your polar opposite.

With that, I bid you a fond farewell.

All the best,

~A Very Fluffy Friend

Spike frowned at who had signed it. “Why the hay doesn’t he just sign his real name and not this... alias of his?” He asked nobody in particular.

“Hoo!”

“I know!” Even though Spike was incapable at speaking Owlowicious’s language, he assumed that the avian had sympathized with him. “It’s weird. And what does he mean, ‘I don’t deserve her?’ I don’t care what Rarity says and does, I will ALWAYS love her!” Spike blinked at the cliche he had spewed. “But... I might as well humor him... stupid ‘Fluffy Friend’....”

And so, Spike folded the letter back up and put it on the table in the main room before skulking out of the Library, leaving Owlowicious in his lonesome.

Prince Blueblood

“Ugh.... disgusting soil... couldn’t that blasted goat and that...INFURIATING human have at LEAST built me a separate CLEAN bunker to hide in?”

Once the Friendship Express had entered the Canterlot train station after its departure from Appleoosa, Prince Blueblood exited the train once it had made a complete stop. As he boarded a chariot that was awaiting his arrival, the chariot took off. Halfway through the slow ride, Blueblood looked to his left to briefly see a small green-coated and gold-maned colt and his silver-coated, purple-maned mother. The two were standing over a grave, fresh tears spilling from their eyes. Blueblood saw the tombstone:

Here lies Stainless Steel

A friend, a father, a fallen fighter

Despite Blueblood’s usual pompous and uptight behavior, he couldn’t help but feel remorse for the two weeping ponies, for the colt had lost a father, and the mare a husband.

But the empathy was vanquished as soon as his chariot pulled up in front of Canterlot Castle. Blueblood left the chariot and made his way inside the palace.

“Prince Blueblood!” A voice called out. The Unicorn in question looked around and saw an Earth Pony messenger holding a letter in his mouth. “Prince Blueblood, there is a letter for you!”

“Well, simpleton, who is it from?” The Prince asked, his disdain for the letter in the messenger’s mouth showing when he magicked it out of it.

“There is no name, only the words “A Very Fluffy Friend” on the bottom.” Blueblood magically shook any saliva off of the letter before opening it and reading its contents.

Dear Prince Blueblood.

If this letter reaches you in good condition, then I pray that you take the advice I shall give you to heart.

All of my life, I had been harassed, hunted, and made a fool of by multiple people, be them family, so-called ‘friends’, and pompous individuals of power. Individuals that are very strikingly similar to you, my dear Blueblood.

I wish to change this about you.

I would like to alter your usual lazy, pompous, and narcissistic demeanor into a kind, active, and giving one. I know two ponies who are absolutely capable of changing this: the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, a butter-yellow, pink-maned Pegasus; and the Element of Honesty: Applejack, an orange, gold-maned Earth Pony who dons a brown Stetson hat. Fluttershy shall help you exit your cold, heartless state and enter a kind, sweet, caring one, while Applejack will help you in becoming a hard worker and honest pony.

Please, Blueblood. I am not one for begging and pleading, but I implore that you please take my words and advice to heart, and hopefully, you will see these two about how to change yourself.

All the best,

~A Very Fluffy Friend

“Me? Lazy and pompous? Why, I never!” Blueblood stomped his hoof into the marble ground in agitation. The Earth Pony messenger who had lingered jumped in surprise and ran out of the castle at impressive speeds.

But as Blueblood seethed at who had the audacity to call him such hurtful words, the voice of someone all too familiar blared in his head like a siren.

‘You treated Rarity, a national HERO, like a pile of crap at the last Gala... But that doesn’t mean you can’t change.’

Blueblood sighed in both defeat and frustration. “Curse you, Praxis....” As Blueblood rethought those words, he realized that he could change... and back then, he wouldn’t have wanted to....

But now?

“Oh, confound it all....” With that, Blueblood left the castle with great haste, ignoring the chariot-pulling guards that called for him, and made his way back to the train station, where the Friendship Express was preparing to make an all-around trip across Equestria, its first stop being Las Pegasus, then back to Ponyville.

“One ticket for Ponyville, please,” Blueblood panted, exhausted from his hard running, as he pulled out several Bits from his coat pocket.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

Cutie Mark Crusaders

With only five minutes left before her time limit was gone, Scootaloo loaded the fourth and final wagon of bamboo stalks onto her scooter and mounted the vehicle.

“This the last one?” Lumber Jack asked. The Unicorn stallion had a mahogany-colored mane, and an oak-colored coat, and his Cutie Mark depicted two crossed plywood planks.

“Uh-huh!” Scootaloo flapped her wings frantically, and took off down the street back to Mane Street. A third of the way, however, she remembered the letter, and the advice it held for her.

‘Time your wing-beating for them to come out as soft and gentle strokes, like a tame butterfly, and soon you will take to the skies with as much grace as a dove.’

Scootaloo slowed her frantic and rapid wing-beating to a slower, yet stronger rhythm. She didn’t exert as much energy as before, and she was still going the same speed. She looked down and she almost squealed when she saw her scooter raise a few inches off of the ground.

As she rode down the street, she saw two construction worker Unicorn ponies levitating a large water fountain, grumbling while they did so.

Only two minutes had passed since she had left Lumber Jack’s store, and Scootaloo had reached Mane Street, where Applebloom was already almost finished with the pagoda. Scootaloo let out a low whistle at how extravagant the building was. The building would be in the shape of an octagon, and each side would be about twelve feet in length and height. Applebloom had finished up six sides of the pagoda and was working on the seventh. She smiled when she saw Scootaloo with the remaining pieces of lumber.

“Glad ta see ya got the last o’ th’ lumber, Scootaloo!” Applebloom said in her southern drawl.

“Yeah, and in under the ten minutes this ‘Fluffy Friend’ set for me.” Scootaloo unhooked the wagon from off the scooter and pulled it over to Applebloom. The yellow filly, her bow tie now a headband around her sweaty forehead, went to pick up the bamboo and use it to create the remaining sides.

Until she exclaimed in surprise and pointed at Scootaloo’s flank.

“Scoots! Look!” The orange Pegasus whipped her head around to look at her flank. A blinding light started shining from it. After a few seconds, the light faded with a twinkle, revealing a rubber wheel in the middle of a burnout.

“OH-MY-GOSH-OH-MY-GOSH-OH-MY-GOSH-OH-MY-GOSH-OH-MY-GOSH-OH-MY-GOSH-OH-MY-GOSH-OH-MY-GOSH-OH-MY-GOSH-OH-MY-GOSH-OH-MY-GOSH-OH-MY-GOSH!!!!!” Scootaloo hopped up and down in great rejoice, happy that her Cutie Mark had finally come to her. “I got it! I got it! I got it! WHOOOOO-”

*PHNK!*

Her too-ecstatic cheer was cut short by Applebloom launching a hoof into Scootaloo’s mouth to quiet her. “Yeah, Ah know yer excited n’ whatnot, but calm down, Scootaloo.” The Pegasus nodded. When Applebloom removed her hoof from Scootaloo’s mouth, the yellow filly then proceeded to say, “C’mon. Wanna help me finish this pagoda thang?”

“Erm... alrighty, then!” With Scootaloo’s assistance, Applebloom managed to finish the work twice as fast. She was even surprised that Scootaloo was finally able to fly. Once finished several minutes later. Applebloom pulled away and examined her work.

The pagoda, for lack of a better term, was magnificent. The green surfaces of the bamboo shined like metal in the light of the now afternoon sun. The roof, with a large shallow cone of glass at its peak, had been impeccably finished as well.

Applebloom undid her faux-headband and redid her locks of vermillion hair back into a bow-tied ponytail. She was about to turn and leave when Scootaloo shrieked and pointed at Applebloom’s flank.

The yellow filly turned her head to face her posterior, and gasped in delight at when she saw before her. Another blinding light, similar to the one Scootaloo had experienced, was shining on her flank. Once those glorious few seconds passed, the lightning vanished with a small twinkle, and on Applebloom’s flanks rested a hammer, a piece of two-by-four, and a long nail, all three crossed in the shape of an asterisk.

“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!!!!” Applebloom hollered, shouting into the sky triumphantly. “AH GOT IT, AH GOT IT, AH GOT IT, AH GOT IT, AH GOT IT, AH GOT IT, AH GOT IT!”

“Calm down, Applebloom!” Scootaloo implored her friend, ignoring the hypocrisy in that statement. “No need to get THAT excited!”

“Ah know, but... this’s amazin’! I can’t believe we have them now!”

“Yeah, me neither! Say... why did this ‘Fluffy Friend’ of ours want us to do this?

“Ah dunno....” Applebloom and Scootaloo thought they saw something in the horizon that was west of the town. The two got out of Mane Street and made their way over to the edge of Ponyville. When they reached the boundaries, they looked closer at what was coming.

Or, in better terms, who was coming.

Eight individuals walked at a slow gait towards them. Six of the individuals were the Elements of Harmony. One of them was the ever-famous Vinyl Scratch. The final one was an entity in pure white and gold robes.

And on the back of a manticore that was trailing behind them was Equestria’s first and last satyr.

Mane Street: Resting Grounds

Here Rests

Praxis Moradov

An Unusual Hero, A Kind Giver, A Friend Of The People.

"Love, brotherhood, friendship, wisdom, assistance: these are pillars that hold up the vast temple of unity. Tear them down, even unsettle one of them, and we'll all be buried in the ruins, arguing amongst one another when we could be repairing what we have destroyed."

That’s what the plaque on the pedestal beneath the standing statue read.

The whole of Ponyville had turned up for the sad event. Maybe people who knew him well had lost all control of their tears, and the ones who had only heard of him bowed their heads in respect. The town was unable to fill up the entire pagoda, so less than half of the populace had to sit and mourn outside the landmark. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Spike, and Prince Blueblood (who had reluctantly asked Applejack if she could help him be a hard worker) had crawled to the front row.

The sun was no longer shining down on Ponyville. Instead, the Pegasi have sent a small drizzle of rain above the town, sprinkling every exposed item with water. The rain trickled down the glass cone on the pagoda’s sunroof, casting a warped, dim light on the inside of the pagoda itself.

Jace Romero stood in front of the crowd, with Princesses Luna and Celestia respectively flanking him his left and right sides. The hood he was wearing made his entire face shadowy, and nopony could see his face. The Chaos Aura that swirled around him was white instead of it’s usual black due to the armor’s color. It had moved to his head and had spread out to shield his body from the rain that was falling from the clouds.

“Today, we mourn a very important person. Praxis Moradov, like a phoenix, was born from the ashes of his hell planet and made this one more beautiful than before. He was one of the few people I know who was like me: bullied and hated for what he was. But no matter what, he always did what was right, even if it was never good. He would never steal, he always gave and barely ever received, and he never hurt anyone without justification. He was, in all of our eyes, a lover and a giver.

“But he was more than that. He was my best friend. Every time I saw him, I was constantly reminded of my old friend Coal. It was a shame at what happened to the both of them, but I know they’re in a more beautiful place than this one. I can see them now... in a place where the sun always shines, where the robes are clean and green, where there is no crime or hatred... and where they can run and frolic in peace.

“Goodbye, Praxis Moradov... goodbye, my friend... goodbye, sweet prince.” The aura slowly faded black as well as his armor as he pushed down his hood. His appearance stunned most ponies and got collective gasps amongst the crowd.

As Jace walked back to the crowd and sat down, Sweetie Belle made her way up to the
pedestal. “Erm... I want to sing a song for Mr. Moradov... if that’s OK with you all.” The crowd nodded, and Sweetie Belle smiled sadly. She cleared her throat and began singing, with Jace providing orchestral music through his magic.

(Sweetie Belle)

Funny how in just one moment things can turn upside down

Wish I could turn back time to when you were still around

All I've got left is memories of your face smiling at me

Used to say that we should all just handle this differently.

Took us all by surprise

No, we never saw this coming

Always were, always will be our hero

With no warning sign

One day they came

And took you away.

Remember everything that you said, how we can never fully trust them

Wish I could say I disagree but I know they're the ones to blame

Destroyed every hope we once had

Nothing we can do now that you're gone, no way to bring you back.

Took us all by surprise

No, we never saw this coming

Always were, always will be our hero

With no warning sign

One day they came

And took you away.

Things can be so unfair

You were taken away before your time

Now we're all sitting here, nothing left for us to say

Don't want to leave you behind.

The music swelled, with guitars, drums, and bass guitars added to the mix.

Took us all by surprise

No, we never saw this coming

Always were, always will be our hero

With no warning sign

One day they came

And took you away.

The music intensified even more, and Sweetie Belle raised her volume.

Took us all by surprise

No, we never saw this coming

Always were, always will be our hero

With no warning sign

One day they came

And took you awaaaaaaay!

The song came to an end with a flourishing guitar riff. Sweetie Belle shed a lone tear, and paid no mind to the blinding light on her flank. Only when she heard the twinkling sound did she look at her rear end: It was a purple flower, its petals and stems making it look like a bell, and music notes emanated from the flower.

Sweetie Belle would’ve smiled for her achievement. However, what she had done was not for rejoice. It was for remorse.

“So long, Fluffy,” Vinyl said. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Spike, and Blueblood went wide-eyed at the DJ’s words. They all removed their letters and looked at who had signed it, trying to make a correlation between what Vinyl said and who had signed their letters.

A Very Fluffy Friend... Fluffy Friend... Fluffy... PRAXIS!

“Oh... My... Celestia....” They all murmured in unison. They were dumbfounded. Even beyond the grave, the satyr still helped those who needed it.

“That is all, fillies and gentlecolts,” Jace announced. All the ponies in town vacated the area at Jace’s call. Vinyl and the Princesses lingered a while.

“Take care, Jace,” Celestia said. “I pray your recovery from this ordeal is swift and clean.”

“Yes. We wisheth- erm.. I wish you a speedy recovery as well,” Luna chimed.

“Yeah... thanks, you two.”

“You are welcome, young one.” With that, Celestia and Luna left the pagoda

“Er... I’m gonna go and check on Wubsy, hon,” Vinyl said. “I’ll be back.’

“Erm... alrighty, then.” Jace watched as Vinyl left as well. He moved his aching body to the ground and sat in front of the pedestal. The stone-imprisoned satyr stood tall and proud as he looked down to the earth of the resting grounds, eyes closed and mouth smiling with his left human hand in his right, demonic, clawed one, staring off into the nothingness before it. Jace stumbled and eventually sat down next to his friend... his best friend.

Silence lingered as the two sat there and did nothing but stare at the sunset. Jace tossed his scythe away and rubbed his demonic face. He leaned back against the pedestal and closed his red eyes, taking a deep breath. Ponies crowded around as he did, some moving away from the sight. “Evil asshole! Get the buck away from that statue, you demon spawn!!!” Jace’s eyes opened slowly, glaring daggers into the accusing pony’s eyes.

“You condemn what you do not understand, sir.” He took his hand and covered half his face before pulling it away. The crowd gasped as the blackness faded off his face and it showed half demon, half human Jace. “For I am one of the heroes that saved your world.” The two voices that came from the mouth intertwined with each other and it sent chills down the accusing pony’s spine. He backed off slowly into the crowd as the blackness engulfed Jace’s face once more. He stood and looked over all the ponies.

“Do not be alarmed by my appearance, for it is the sacrifice I have made to save the world that I live in. For months I am cursed to wear this form, for it is the result of great strength gained to take down the former god known as Insanity.” He walked to the stone imprisoned Praxis and put a hand on his tainted arm, looking up at him. “And this is his curse. To be imprisoned in stone for the rest of eternity, like Discord.” He turned to the ponies once more and looked across the frightened faces that watched. “I am still your savior, I am still a human, I am still Jason Romero.”

Jace sat back down on the grass and leaned against the statue. “I never did tell you about how me and Coal got here... did I?” He took the statue’s silence as a ‘no’.

“One day, I remembered that I had a brony friend named Coal. I made fun of him wrongly a long time ago, and that ended up being the end of our friendship. Fast forward seven years, I’m sitting in my kitchen wondering what happened to the guy. I looked him up in the phone book, and coincidentally, he lived right next to me.” He paused and blinked his red eyes a few times. “After him showing me where he worked and what he did, we were driving home and having a conversation of who was the best flier in Equestria. As it was going on, he wasn’t paying attention to the road, and we were hit by a semi.

“After that, we woke up in the Everfree forest. Apparently, we were summoned by Twilight to be studied on. She casted a spell that would get objects from one world to Equestria... We were the objects.”

The Reaper paused for a large intake of breath, and then exhaled it through his nose. “But ten months before you came around, Coal was greeted by an angry mob of ponies that hated his guts for being different. All these racists decided to go against Coal and me, but I was able to hold my peace with my fists. But, Coal didn’t know how to fight as well as me, so he was killed through all this. Then, I had to see him at the gates...” He swallowed his saliva and sighed. “We had a long talk about everything, then I took it up with the higher power. Said Coal was to be getting the best of everything in Heaven. Y’know what?” He turned to Praxis, a smile on the stagnant face of the Chaos Reaper. “That’s alright with me.”

“Honey?” Jace turned to see Vinyl, with her electric blue mane frazzled and some fur singed from earlier. He also saw Lyra, a small smile on her face as she looked at Praxis’s stone figure. The large bulge in her belly showed that she was nearing childbirth. Lyra smiled at the sight of both Jace and Vinyl, despite the former’s fearsome appearance.

Jace clumsily rose to his feet and sauntered to Vinyl, who slowly made her way forward. He slammed his fist against the mark on his chest, and the armor slowly receded from his black body. It neatly folded itself inside the mark and he threw it towards Praxis, who just stood there as the mark landed on the ground.

Jace fell to his knees and wrapped Vinyl in a hug, burying his demonic face into her mane and sighing loudly. Reapers didn’t cry. It wasn’t possible for them to do so.

The tears were doubled as Vinyl joined in with the crying and hugging, not caring that the blood from Jace’s wounds rubbed on her snow white coat. She was just happy to see that he wasn’t dead.

Jace pulled from Vinyl after a while, and because he had no lips in this form, he touched his fanged teeth against her cheek and hugged her close. “Where’s Wubsy?”

“Daddy?” Jace watched Vinyl turn around. And on her back was the white-coated, golden-maned unicorn, staring right at him. The small colt slowly made his way to Jace. “Daddy...” He repeated, slowly now. “You... you’re so scary...”

“I know, bud...” He stopped when he heard his voice, and Jace moved his clawed hand to his throat as he let magic envelope his hand. “I’m still your daddy...” The result of the magic, was his normal voice emanating from his mouth. He got on his knees and held his arms out, staring at the orange eyed colt.

Vinyl and Lyra watched the scene before them unfurl as Wubsy ran at full speed into his father’s embrace. He wrapped his little hooves around Jace’s neck like it was his lifeline and cried hard into his chest. Jace rubbed on Wubsy’s back and tried to calm him down.

“It’s alright, son...” The voice that came from Jace’s mouth made Wubsy cry even harder, and he turned to Vinyl whose eyes said everything. ‘He wants you back.’

Pulling Wubsy away from him, he palmed away the tears from his eyes and looked him right in the eyes. “Son, I know I look scary, but I’m still the same. I would never do anything you just saw to you or your mother.” Wubsy nodded weakly and went back to hugging Jace.

“I love you, Daddy...” A cracking noise was now the thing overpowering Wubsy’s cries as Jace’s Chaos Reaper form was forced from his body from the love and emotion coming from his son. Black shards of pure darkness fell to the ground and slowly melted into the ground as his shirt and pants slowly got their color back on Jace’s body. His light complexion was also now in full view as the blackness fell off.

His eyes slowly reverted back to their piercing green and the waterworks came as the hatred spawned from his Chaos faded away. He hugged Wubsy like he was his life and cried harder than ever before.

It was the first time Wubsy said ‘I love you’ to anypony before, and Jace was the first to be told this.

Lyra walked over to Praxis's statue, a sad smile on her face when she reached the base. "Hey, honey," she said mournfully. "We are all in your debt. After all Equestria had done to you, you never backed down in gaining their trust. If only for a moment, you were the most perfect boyfriend a mare like me could ask for. I'm so sorry that this all happened to you. But I promise that every little thing's gonna be alright. I love you... so very much. I don’t know how long you will be gone... but just know that I’ll remain forever yours, even through the veil of death. It pains me to see you go... but it was for the greater good."

She stepped away from the statue, a tear trickling down her cheek. She rubbed her large girth, a small smile on her face. "Let's go back home, Riku," she whispered to the fetus in her belly. She left the pagoda, leaving Jace and his family in their lonesome.

Wubsy reluctantly removed himself from his father’s embrace and turned tail towards Vinyl, charging her in a massive hug. The DJ could only return the embrace, holding onto her son for the life of her. Tears escaped her eyes, torrenting down her cheeks and landing on the soft earth as she and Wubsy hugged each other tightly. “Mommy?” He sniffled.

“Yeah, sweetie?” She whispered.

“How did Uncle Praxis get here?” He asked.

Jace sighed. “Hmm... he never told me entirely. Maybe when you’re older... Uncle Praxis will tell you AND Riku.”

“But, Daddy,” Wubsy complained. “Uncle Praxis's in STONE. How can he tell us his story?”

“Don’t worry, Wubsy,” Vinyl assured. “He’ll tell you in time. Hey, he might even be free someday.”

“How?” The adults could only give a small laugh at the child’s persistence. Jace stood on his feet and walked to the archway of the pagoda.

“Trust me, son.” He looked back at the statue of Equestria’s Hero for what would be the last time, then looked at the Calling Card around his neck, smiling slightly as he stroked it. “Not everything can be set in stone.” And so, Jace left the pagoda. “Let’s go home, guys....”

Vinyl put Wubsy back on her back and followed Jace out of the resting grounds. While all was good with the world, and that no evil threat would emerge for a long time... something bad was afoot...

Something wrong....

And the depiction of what was wrong came in the form of a question... one that no one would ever hear for what would possibly be eons to come....

‘Why the hell do they think I’m dead?’

The End...?

I - Take The Plunge

"Adam!" Osama called for his little brother from across the wide river, holding up a fish he just caught. Adam heard his deep booming voice echo across their campsite and beyond. He stopped foraging the blackberries he knew were safe and ran across the river to his older sibling as fast as his legs could carry him. The mountain air filled his nostrils with its brisk and cooling feel and scent as he hopped across the body of water from steppingstone to steppingstone, taking caution not to disturb the fish that inhabited it.

"Yeah, 'Sam?" Adam said nervously, chilled sweat pouring down his face from the sprint he had. 'What the hell did I do NOW?' he thought.

"Listen," Osama began, holding the nine inch cod he battled with in order to catch it. "I'm gonna go and get this bad boy grilled, but since there isn't a grill close by and the truck was too full of stuff to bring our grill, I need to head back to the picnic area at the edge of the park to cook 'im." He gave the twitching and resisting fish a little shake. "I need you to stay here and watch the fishing lines while I'm gone."

"Got it, bro."

"I'm serious. I know your ass has ADHD, so pay very close attention to those lines. Got it?"

"Yeah, I know." Adam was a little agitated that his brother threw in the "ADHD" insult. It wasn't his fault that his hyperactivity rivaled that of Pinkie Pie's at times. However, he let the matter rest: he didn't want his mom to worry when Osama came back alone and he was still stuck in Breckenridge, under six feet of earth.

"Alright. I'll probably be back in fifteen minutes. Maybe twenty, depending on the people at the area. See ya soon, kiddo." He turned and walked back down the trail towards the picnic zone. Adam waited for his brother to be out of earshot and eyesight, then whipped towards his Justice League messenger bag and pulled out his laptop. Surprisingly enough, there was Wi-Fi in the area, but the signal was rather weak, with only one to two bars. Whatever worked for him was fine. He flipped the laptop open, turned it on and logged in to his account, and went onto Google Chrome. He typed in FIMFiction.net into the URL search bar. Eventually, the page that contained many amazing fan fictions appeared. His inner brony *squee*-ing as he logged in to his FIMFiction account and popped open some of his favorite stories.

"Time to sit back and relax," he sighed, sitting down in his favorite deck chair. He was scrolling through the stories on the home page with both eyes on the screen and paying no visual attention to the fishing poles that were positioned on rocks. He didn't have to: bells were attached to the end of the rods. If the fish even took a nibble, he would be alerted almost immediately.

He began reading "Griffin the Griffin" from BlackWing, rereading NekoNushi's "False Traitor, True Friend", and downloading Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's CD, "E 1999 Eternal" onto iTunes simultaneously.

'Wow,' Adam thought, reading about Griffin's sudden adventure to Equestria and transformation to a griffin, as well as teaming up with Gilda. 'I wish things like this were possible. But alas, they can't.' he ended those words with upset pangs in his chest. He reached into the messenger bag and pulled out a water bottle from it. He twisted the cap off of it and took a sip of the cooling drink. It hydrated his cracked lips and dry throat almost instantly.

A drop of water hit him on his glasses. He flinched at the sudden appearance of the droplet. He looked up at the sky and saw it darkening into an ominous gray. Lightning bolts flashed across the sky, the slightly booming thunder hitting him in the ears. Luckily, he was sheltered under a massive and leafy tree, and the laptop wouldn't get damaged from the rain that gradually grew heavier. Nevertheless, he took off his glasses and wiped the effected lens with the front of his T-shirt, then put his laptop back in his bag.

"Hey!" said a voice from somewhere into the vicinity. Adam gave a start and almost dropped his water bottle, thinking that Osama had returned.

'But he said he'd be back in fifteen to twenty minutes,' he thought. 'It couldn't have been that long... I'm sure of it!'

"Hello? Is anypony there?" said the voice again. Adam looked around for the source of the sound and got a good suggestion for where it came from. The river was rushing more violently than usual. The steppingstones he had hopped across were engulfed in the rapids. The river was also... sparkling? Not only that, but some sort of image was materializing across the surface of the water. He thought it looked familiar.

His eyes widened when he realized the image had said "anypony." He got up and slung his bag over his shoulder, then walked over to observe the source of the voice. His dreams came true: what shimmered before and under him through the raging waters was a cartoonish-looking pony. More specifically, a mint-green unicorn, her mane and tail were a similar hue to her coat, but they had been adorned with a white stripe. Adam saw the lyre on her flank and her large amber-colored eyes that were staring up at him through the river's surface, but she didn't seem to actually take notice of him. The eyes were darting around, looking for a sign of animate life.

He recognized her immediately: Lyra Heartstrings.

"Uh... hello?" he said nervously, giving her a wave. She took no notice. It was like a one-way mirror; She can't see or hear him, but he can see and hear her.

"Huh," he sighed, getting down to one knee and trying to gaze deeper into the river's shore. Behind Lyra was a little town. All of the buildings and landmarks looked like they were originally from the England's Victorian era: they appeared nineteenth century.

"C'mon, Lyra," said another familiar and silly voice. Soon, another pony walked into the ethereal vision Adam was viewing. She was a gray-coated Pegasus, with bubbles for her cutie mark and a blonde mane and tail. Her yellow eyes were facing away from each other, giving her a goofy guise. She was Derpy Hooves. He *squee'd* inside at the sight of her. "Maybe there aren't any of these humans around."

"No!" The mint-green unicorn blurted out. "There are! It just takes patience."

"But, Lyra, you're sweating like a pig and you look like you could pass out!" exclaimed another pony, her voice sugar-sweet. This one was an earth pony, with a cream colored body, concerned-looking blue eyes, and a navy-blue-and-pink mane and tail. Three pieces of candy served as her cutie mark. Bon-Bon did have a point: Lyra looked like she would hit the dirt if she kept up whatever she was doing.

"Mm-hmm," hummed one more earth pony who walked in. Carrot Top, with her orange coat, green eyes, darker orange main and tail, and three carrots of a cutie mark, came to Lyra and gazed at her worriedly.

Adam got down on his hands and both knees and tried leaning in closer, stretching out his fingers towards the scene that shone before him. He wanted to be a part of it all. Escape the war, hatred, racism, and prejudice that this hellish gulag known as Earth harbored on its surface.

He got that wish... but not in the way he wanted it to happen. Unfortunately, the rocks that served as a border between the river and the land didn't hold him for long when he stretched out farther to touch the surface of the river. He went tumbling down from the makeshift barrier into the water and was sucked down into it, like he had plunged into an unseen whirlpool.

'Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, OH HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!!!!' He thought furiously as he continued to plunge downward against his own accord at the speed of a torpedo. 'Damn it, when does this thing END?!' His lungs were on fire from the pain of having no fresh supply of oxygen. His clothes were getting ripped and torn from all the jagged edges of rocks that he was grazing against. He ached from all the cuts, the cold fluid, and water pressure he was painfully enduring. His glasses cracked from the pressure, the broken lenses barely intact. He couldn't see now to save his life.

'If this is a way to die... then this. Sucks. ASS!' He mentally roared.

Just when he thought he was going to suffer from the destructive pressure of the water's depth or from drowning, an oddity occurred at the bottom of the river as it came into view. Light came from the bottom, like the Sun was shining there. Adam tried kicking hard towards the light, unsure of what awaited him. His consciousness was fading fast, his vision becoming bleary and unfocused. His kicking was growing feebler and feebler with every second. 'One last stroke,' he thought desperately, his joints feeling like molten lead. 'Come on, damn you....'

Suddenly, the water began to shoot him forwards at a rapid speed. The water that was already clogging his nose was pushing its way down his esophagus, making him choke. He was almost to the surface of this new body of water. One more almighty kick and-

*SPLOOOSHHHH*

Adam surfaced, his velocity and the kicking motion sent him rocketing off of the pond and into the air. He got about ten or twenty feet into the air before coming to a halt. Almost comically, he started flapping his arms like a chicken in a desperation to not fall and get even more injured than he already is.

But gravity was a very cold-hearted wench.

"Aw, damn it," he said flatly before gravity sent him plummeting towards the damp grass next to the pond on his stomach. "Uf!" he huffed. His messenger bag came falling onto his back and making him squirt any water that got lodged in his throat onto the grass. He felt a searing pain in his nose and knew that it had been bloodied from the fall. He removed his glasses and tossed them in the pond; now that they were shattered, he didn't need them. The visual aids went in with a satisfying splash and sunk to the bottom before the sparkling of the water ceased.

"Never... again." He heaved, sitting up slightly. He tore off his shirt and used it to staunch the blood streaming out of his nostrils.

"Whoa!" hollered a supposed-to-be sweet and kind voice that Adam assumed was Bon-Bon that came from his right. "What the buck is THAT ugly thing, dude?!" He whipped around and saw four mares looking down at him. Carrot Top, Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Derpy were staring at him in fear, like he was something dangerous to be avoided.

"It's looks like a Diamond Dog that was shaved from the waist up, then was given horns and a beard," added Lyra, a look of disgust on her face as she examined this newcomer to their land.

"I think it looks cool!" said Derpy, walking up to Adam with a spring in her trot. The other mares looked at her like she was either very brave or very stupid. They were leaning more towards the latter option than the former.

"Derpy, you think EVERYTHING looks cool. Now get away from it before it hurts you," Carrot Top warned.

"But it looks hurt!" The wall-eyed mailmare complained.

"Can you all stop calling me 'it'!?" Adam has had enough of this inane rudeness. Sure, he was in Equestria, due to the presence of these four ponies, but that didn't mean that judgment like this was going to fly by him, especially by the ones he actually revered. "I didn't almost drown to get criticized! I am a human, and I'm a male, thank you very much."

"Okay, then, sir." Lyra started. "I've been studying these mythical creatures called humans. And you look... well... you don't REALLY look like one."

He was confused. "What in the name of all that's holy do you mean?"

"Well, to answer that question... hmm, how can I put this?" Carrot Top pondered aloud and sarcastically, giving her chin a philosophical rub. "Oh, right! Will you look down at your 'legs' and face, goat-boy!?" He obliged to her request, wondering why she called him "goat-boy". He regretted obeying almost instantly: he now knows why the gardener had called him that.

He gazed at his legs in shock. They had taken the form of a goat's hind legs, the fur being light brown in color and with two kneecaps rather than one. His feet were replaced by dark brown hooves. He crawled over to the surface of the pond he had emerged from. He saw his reflection and almost crapped himself, mainly because his eyesight had somehow been improved, almost as if he never needed glasses when he was younger. His ears had elongated to look like those of an elf's, but twice as long; they were drooping down like he was wanting to shut their canals closed. The long black pair of horns that sat atop the short shock of blackish-brown hair on his head were shining like obsidian in the sunlight that reflected off of the pond's surface. He gave his face a little rub with his free hand and felt the neatly arranged beard that ran from his sideburns all the way down to his chin, ending in a nice little point. Looking back at his hands and arms, he saw that they were covered in a thin, but visible, layer of hair. To make the matters even worse for him, he gave an accidental and scared bleat at his appearance. Almost by impulse, he fell back onto his livestock hindquarters and clapped his hands to his mouth, like he had said something offensive to an important member of Congress or someone else who was an authority figure.

He was a satyr.

He looked back at the four ponies and sat there. Only one thing came to his mind.

"Sweet, merciful God up in Heaven! WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!" He shrieked madly.

X - Through The Fire And Flames

Author's Note: one of the users known as refferee gave me the idea for the chapter title. There's an actual song called "Through The Fire And Flames" by Dragonforce. I have reason to suspect that most of you will like it.

And without further ado, here is the tenth chapter of HHaF!

X - Through The Fire And Flames

"Um... Jace? We have an emergency," Praxis warned the human by tapping his shoulder and pointing to the ignited barn.

"Dear God... not the farm! That's where I work!" Jace yelled as he clutched his head in despair.

"Not only that... but there's somepony inside. Come on!"

They jumped off of the stage and into the air above the crowd, which still continued to cheer earnestly as they arced over them. They landed outside of the audience of Ponyvillians and bolted for the blazing barn. The screams of whoever was trapped inside the burning wreckage began to raise in volume as they got closer, but their actual destination seemed to feel so far away... almost like it was trying to escape them... like it didn't want them to rescue whichever ponies were stuck there...

Like it wanted its prisoners to burn....

When they finally got to the fence that bordered Sweet Apple Acres from the rest of Ponyville, the duo leapt over the fence and got in a prone position, sliding underneath a cart that was full to the brim of apples. A jutting tree root from one of the apple trees stood in their path; they kicked off of the root and sent themselves flying through the air again, clearing another cart of apples. They landed and continued running to the barn, panting heavily now, the sweat that was cascaded from Praxis' forehead, neck, and armpits being absorbed and vanquished by the Shadow Fiber. He could almost feel the heat of the burning building... almost taste the ash that threatened to damage his lungs.

Until some invisible force had grabbed his hoof and threw him to the floor.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!"

Praxis turned his head to the speaker and felt a wave of both fear and anger surge through him. Twilight Sparkle was standing in the shade of an apple tree, shrouded by the shadow it cast in the light of the barn's flames. Her amethyst eyes reflected the orange glow of the fire, a scowl on her face as she stared the satyr down. She looked beside herself; her eyes were narrowed in fury and her teeth were gritted. It was like her mane and tail were about to ignite as well.

"Answer me!" demanded the magician, stamping her hoof to punctuate her words. She walked in front of him, eyes still glued to him in disgust.

"Twilight, let him go!" Jace pleaded.

"Nuh-uh! Jace, how can you side with this guy?!"

"Look, while this is all fun and games, how about you let me go, eh?" Praxis requested, still pinned to the floor by Twilight's magic.

"No way! I won't let you bring destruction to Equestria! Now after what happened at the castle!"

"Twilight,... let... me... UP!" He was getting pissed off now, his nails digging deep into the soil of the farm.

"What, so you can go and kill those poor victims in the fire, hm?!"

She was being silenced as Praxis laughed coldly. He looked into her eyes and she backed away; the eyes she gazed into weren't like before, all black with fiery irises, but the pupils merely resembled slits. That's what caused her to back up, the similarity of the eyes... the hatred that flowed through them now. The spell that she was using to keep him secure had ceased to work, the purple aura of magic dissipating into nothingness.

"Why the hell would I wanna kill them, you fucking moron!?" he cruelly told her, getting up and dusting off his legs.

"W...what?!" she questioned incredulously and angrily. Jace let out a low whistle and leaned back slightly, afraid of the potential shitstorm that was bound to happen.

"You heard me!" Twilight winced at his sudden yell. "Can't you see that we're trying to save them?!"

She gasped at his words. She had no idea... she didn't know that that was his criteria: to protect the ponies inside the barn.

"Yeah. Precisely. Now get out of my way!" He pushed her aside as he continued towards the barn, Jace following him. Twilight could only stare in shock as the duo reached the door and Jace gave it a Kung-Fu kick. The built-up flames on the inside were sent shooting out of the door when it burst open. The satyr lifted the flap of cloth at his neck and shrouded the lower-half of his face before they went inside and searched for whoever was screaming.

"Jace, stay outside, I'll bring them to you!" Praxis said to the human.

"Hell no!" Jace retorted. "We go in alive, we're coming out the same way!" Praxis let out a sigh at his friend's stubbornness, but let it slide.

"Help! Somepony! Anypony, HELP US!" cried a squeaky, frantic voice in the middle of all the ash and smoke. Praxis' inner brony informed him that the speaker was Sweetie Belle. If that was the case... then....

He gasped, the fearful fact dawning on him like the radiant Sun: Scootaloo and Applebloom were with her, too.

"C'mon, everypony!" Jace hollered into the smoke. "Lemme hear those voices!"

"We're over here! Hurry!" Scootaloo called back, coughing viciously from the heavy ash.

With his acute sense of hearing, Praxis spun around and spotted them: three pure-black silhouettes that stood out against the orange light of the fire and the dark gray hue of the smoke.

"They're over there!" Praxis said.

*CRRREEEEEEAAA- SNAP!*

'Oh, shit!' He glanced up and gave a goat-bleat in fear.

One of the barns support beams had been burned away at both ends and was falling at deadly speeds to the ground... right to where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were quaking in their horseshoes.

"NO!" he bellowed. He and Jace took off towards the three fillies and scooped them up into their arms, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in Jace's and Applebloom in Praxis'. The falling support beam was almost upon them, only mere feet from its destination: they couldn't get away without getting severely injured. Jace might've been fine, but... Praxis had his doubts about himself. He held Applebloom close to his chest, and she did likewise, trying to hug as much of him as possible.

"I won't let anything happen to you. I promise...." he whispered to Applebloom, shedding what might be his final tear.

*WHOOMP!*

Praxis, Jace, and the three fillies were rocketed away from the spot by something hitting them. No... it wasn't something... it was somepony. A large red stallion with an orange mane and tail had booted the five away from the destruction of the falling support beam. It landed onto the back of the stallion, flattening him to the floor. A deep roar of pain could be heard from the stallion as he hit the dirt, the piece of straw expelled from his mouth.

'Wait... that straw....'

"BIG MAC! NOOOO!" Praxis wailed in despair as he and Jace got up, jumped over the red farm-pony, and set the three fillies down outside of the gate.

"Go, run away!" shouted Jace. The Cutie Mark Crusaders fled the scene with great gusto, kicking up dust as they galloped down the dirt path. The two turned around and tried lifting the log up. Praxis started to push the board up off of Big Mac, ignoring the urge to yelp in pain as the beam roasted his palms. He jerked back and got in a handstand position, using his hooves to lift the beam. But it was to no avail: it wouldn't budge. "It's too heavy! Help!" Jace ran to the other end and started to lift the board as well.

"FUCK! This thing is burning my hands!" Jace closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as a red aura flowed around his hands. He moved from the beam and then let out a growl. The growl soon became a yell as he lifted the beam without even touching it.

Praxis looked back at Jace, amazed at what he saw. "I didn't know you did magic!"

"Fuck yeah I do!" he said proudly before he tossed the beam to the side and got Big Mac in his telekinetic grip. "Let's get the fuck outta here, Prax!" He coughed and ran for the exit. Praxis was way ahead of him by that point, but as Jace neared the exit, boards started to fall over the doorway. "NO!" He threw Big Mac out of the opening that was left and the loft above the door fell over the only exit. Jace was crushed by the falling burning wood planks and felt the fire scorch his back. He didn't yell, he didn't scream, he just... laid there. He made a desperate grab for the Calling Card and whispered something to it. He closed his eyes shut and then opened them again, the sparkling green in his eyes was now a blood red. He pushed the burning wood off his back and the burn wounds healed almost instantly. He reached down and pulled out a scythe that was used for harvesting. It was a farmer's barn after all. As he held the farming tool, the blade slowly faded to a black and started to drip... something. He raised the blade like he was going to cut wheat, and then sliced. At the end of the slice; he released the blade and it spun around him like a top. The unknown fluid that was dripping from the blade eventually put out the fire. He stopped the blade's wild spinning with his telekinesis, and sent the haft flying into his hand. He raised the scythe with enough strength to easily slice platinum as he turned to the side of the barn. He made a large X cut and then kicked the wall in, making it shatter with ease. He walked out of the barn, the scythe resting on his shoulder. "Well, that's taken care of..." he muttered, exasperated at his immense display of energy. The crimson hues of his eyes became green once more as he walked out of the extinguished wreckage and made his around the barn to Praxis, who was smacking Big Macintosh across the face in the hopes to wake him up.

"Big Mac, wake up, man! Come on, dammit!" the satyr muttered, his slaps getting harder and harder.

Big Macintosh's eyes weakly fluttered open, letting out a groan as he lifted his head.

"J... Jace? Mr. Monster... a... are the fillies alright?" he feebly said.

"Eeyup," Jace answered, wiping his running nose on his shirt. Big Mac chuckled at Jace for stealing one of his favorite words before coughing violently onto the ground. Blood flew out of his mouth with every other cough, sprinkling the dirt path with red.

"L...Listen, you two. Ah... Ah don' think Ah'm gonna make it. Ah w - *cough* - want you two t' take care of them fillies... y'hear?"

"Big Mac, what the hell are you saying, dude?! You're not gonna die!" roared Praxis, tears running down his face. The stoic stallion only gave another weak laugh as he painfully turned his head to the satyr.

"Y'know... Ah - *cough* - Ah used t' think that y... you were an evil monster, at... at least, that's... *COUGH COUGH COUGH* that's what I heard from the other t-townsponies and from... from the posters. But after y... y'all tr... tried t' protect mah li'l sister, Ah r-reckon... you ain't a monster at all. *cough* Yer jest... simply misunderstood, 's all...." The iron grip that he had on Praxis' hand was slowly weakening. "T-take care of A-Applejack and Appleb-bloom. Take c-care o' mah li'l s-sisters, y'all g-got that?"

Praxis could only nod as the head of Big Macintosh fell to the floor with a thud, the brilliant light of Prinncess Luna's full moon reflecting off of the half-lidded, glossy, green eyes that could not see. He left this world with a smile on his face, his final breath being exhaled and vanishing in the atmosphere.

"No....no! NOOOO! DAMMIT, BIG MAC! WHY?! YOU CRAZY BASTAAAAAAARD!" He broke down, weeping heavily and swearing onto the chest of the farmpony as he beat it weakly. He didn't want to believe he was dead. The very idea was absurd: Big Macintosh, the strongest, kindest, and most hardworking pony in all of Ponyville... fallen?

But he knew that he had to finally submit to the cruelty that Fate had presented him. "Y...you crazy bastard..." the satyr croaked again as he closed Big Mac's eyelids. "Y...you just had t-to go and d-die on me, huh?"

"C-C'mon, Prax. L-Let's g-get outta here," Jace sobbed, getting up and hooking Big Mac's hind legs under his armpits. Praxis, who got what the human was doing, followed his example and hoisted the forelegs of the fallen pony into his own armpits. Together, they walked away of the scorched wreckage of the barn.

Outskirts of Ponyville; Near Praxis' Home

"Wait, why are we taking this route?" asked Praxis, his vice-like grip on Big Macintosh's forelegs beginning to dwindle. He adjusted his grasp until it was both comfortable and strong, then continued.

"Because we don't want everypony to feel horrible about Big Mac," Jace answered in a matter-of-fact tone. The two had been walking for almost an hour, doing their best to avoid the Ponyvillians. When they finally left the town undetected, they trotted over to the Everfree Forest.

"Oh... but wait. Sooner or later, the ponyfolk are GONNA find out, man."

"Exactly, which is why it's best to not let them discover right away: it'd crush all of their hearts into tiny pieces."

"Huh... so we don't wanna give them the terrible truth all at once?"

"Yep."

"Dude... that just seems a tad bit heartless, don'cha think?"

"Don't care. Now, c'mon: We gotta bury this guy over at your place."

"Whoa whoa whoa, back up there! Why my place?"

"...What did I just say about not wanting everypony to feel horrible about Big Mac? Besides, not a lot of ponies just walk into the Everfree Forest willy-nilly."

"*Sigh of frustration* Fine... hold on, though! The Cutie Mark Crusaders know about what happened to Mac! That means that this trip was in vain! Everypony will STILL know!"

Jace chortled a bit before regaining his solemn attitude. "Well, yeah, you kinda got me there. But this trip isn't REALLY pointless. Somehow... in the pit of my heart... I feel like this is what this big fella would've wanted. To have two people he trusts to give him a burial."

"Hmm. That's pretty deep, Jay."

"Thanks, Prax." The duo had finally reached the yew treehouse. They set down the lifeless body of Big Macintosh upon the soft earth of the Everfree Forest before finding a nice place to dig the necessary six-foot ditch for the dead pony.

The only problem was... they didn't have a spade to dig with.

'Looks like I have no other choice,' thought Praxis, looking down at his hands, then at the ground, then back to his hands....

"You DO realize I can do telekinesis, right?" Jace mentioned as the satyr crouched low to the floor and began clawing at the dirt. "I could pull out a square of di-"

"No!" Praxis snapped, the dirt flying behind him. "No magic, no telekinesis, no powers; I want to give Big Mac a proper burial, through blood, sweat, and tears! I'm tired of things being done the easy way! Besides, he at least deserves this to be done right!" And just like that, the tears threatened to flow again. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve before going back at ripping up the dirt with his bare hands. Jace, face-palming at Praxis' stubbornness, assisted him in scooping out the soil.

"Hey, Jace?" Praxis began after fifteen minutes of clawing at the earth. "You look pretty tired, dude. Go inside and get some shut-eye."

The satyr had a point. Jace was wiped out from today; toking furniture to a forest half a mile a way, followed by viciously playing the guitar, saving three fillies from a fire, extinguishing a raging barn fire with the powers of Death while lugging a 180-pound equine to that same forest had done a number on his energy and stamina.

"Thanks, Prax," the human said, dusting his hands on his jeans. "You think you can handle this all by yourself, though?

Praxis hesitated before answering. "Um... sure. I think I'll manage."

"Alright, man. G...g...g'night." Jace slipped off his shoes and walked into the treehouse, stifling a huge yawn as he announced his retiring for the night.

"G'night, man." Praxis resumed his current objective, the earth caked underneath his nails as small spheres of dirt flew out of the ditch. Despite him working as fast as he could and his energy still at maximum capacity - he suspected his ADHD had kicked in - it still wouldn't be enough to actually create the grave. He almost decided to give up, to just simply throw in the towel and call it a night, probably even find a nice, wide river for Big Macintosh to drift off into....

That's when a shovel was placed two feet to his right.

"Yer... yer gonna need that t' git th' job done, don'tcha think?" A voice with a southern-belle accent had said. Praxis turned his head and saw a heart-wrenchingly familiar pony. Applejack, in all of her bloodshot-and-puffy-eyed glory, was standing next to him. Praxis grabbed the haft of the shovel and lifted himself off of the floor with it.

"H...how did you know I needed this?" he asked.

"Well... Applebloom tol' me all 'bout it. Ah didn' wanna believe 'er at first... but when Ah saw th' barn... and all that b-blood..." the reminiscence of the incident had made her start crying again. She wiped her eyes with her foreleg before continuing, "Ah... Ah had n-no other choice but t' realahze that i-it was a-all true." She walked over to the body of Big Mac and fell to her knees, her head unceremoniously landing on his chest, sobbing painfully into it. "Big Mac.... hoh, Big Mac...."

Praxis had set the shovel down on the ground and made his way to Applejack, getting down to one knee and rubbing her shoulder. Of course it felt awkward for him: he wasn't very good at giving anyone comfort, especially here in Equestria, where almost all the ponies hated him to no end. What followed next caught him by surprise. He was immediately tackled into a massive hug from the cowpony. She had wrapped her forelegs around his torso, under the armpits, as she laid her head into the crook of his neck and cried there, her tears rolling down to the pointed tip of his pauldron and onto the soft soil.

"Shhhhh..." he assured her, gladly returning the melancholic embrace, fighting back the tears that still attempted to escape their ducts. "It's... it's gonna be OK.... I swear."

"Th... thank you," Applejack said, pulling her head away to look more deeply into his face. She thought that he was pretty handsome, despite him not being a pony like her and everypony else. "Thank you so much fer savin' mah sister." Praxis, upon hearing those words, held her even tighter to him, biting his lower lip to prevent another rush of tears.

That's when a suggestion came to mind....

"Turn me in."

"Wha... what!?" Applejack wailed.

"Turn me in," he repeated. He didn't like the idea of returning to Earth, where his family and few friends must already have assumed that he had died. But... he felt it would be the right thing to do. "Turn me in, and collect the 3000 Bits for my arrest. That way, you can buy another barn, replace Granny Smith's hip... buy a better grave and a casket for your brot-"

Applejack had never smacked anybody harder than she did now. Praxis rubbed the spot on his cheek where she had struck him, incredulous that his words had driven her to hit him. As he withdrew his hand, his palm was tinted red with his blood.

"Y... you ignoramus!" she bellowed. "How c'n ya assume that I want'cha gone? Tha's jest darn foolish o' ya!" Her anger had sent her over the edge as her voice cracked, the waterworks starting up again, harder and louder than before as she burrowed her face in his chest and cried once more. "Ya a-are h-heroes in m-m-mah eyes... Ah d-don't want ya t-t' go!"

It wasn't the vicious sting of the wound on his cheek that drove Praxis to tears. He clutched her even more tightly to his body as she replaced her head on his shoulder and sniffled, his tears mixed with his blood as they ran down her neck and into her blonde mane.

"I'm s-so sorry... you're right, it was s-s-such a stupid sug-ggestion," he sobbed. He was lying: he knew it would be a good idea, but not to Applejack. Not to the pony who, in her mind, was beyond grateful for his heroic actions.

"It's alrahght, sugarcube," she croaked, wiping her eyes with her foreleg again and separating herself from him. "Ah know y'all simply mean well. B'sides, Ah should be sorry. Ah shouldn't've hit ya like that."

"Apology accepted, Applejack." He stood up and grabbed the shovel again. "It's just a scratch. It'll heal. Oh, and thank you for the shovel," he told her, bowing his head low to show his gratitude. "This will help me a great deal." He turned back to the rather small crater he had dug and shoved the head of the shovel into it, removing a lump of earth. He continued this process of hard, excruciating labor, ignoring the blisters that arose on his hands and how they threatened to burst at any moment, paying no mind to his muscles that screamed in protest and agony, pausing only once to remove his Shadow Fiber jacket and mop the torrents of perspiration that coated his face, all the while simply singing one of the few songs he knew to keep him from falling into a neverending abyss of sorrow. Of course it would sound absurd to anypony, but to him... it seemed to make some sense, the balmy way he sang as he tossed shovelful after shovelful of the brown soil over his shoulder.

"Let it go... let it roll right off your shoulders,

"Don't you know? The hardest part is over,

"Let it in... let your clarity define you in the end...

"We will only just remember how it feels.

"Our lives were made, in these small hours,

"These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate,

"Time falls away, but these small hours,

"These small hours... still remain...."

He ended this portion of the song, not bothering to proceed any further as he dug harder and faster than before, the blisters on his palms finally bursting, and the grotesque mixture of both pus and blood trickling down his hands from their ruptured orifices. The intense pain in his muscles had doubled, stabbing his arms with every shove and overhead swing of the spade. But he could care less about the pain that suffocated him like an iron lung, for he knew that every drop of sweat he poured, every ounce of blood he spilled, every single tear he shed, all of it belonged to Big Mac, the stallion that had saved his, Jace's, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders lives. But now... he was gone, and because of that, there virtually seemed to be no way to pay back that astronomical debt other than the agonizing work Praxis was doing now, which still seemed rather tenuous compared to the stoic farm pony's self-sacrifice for them and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

At long last, after several grueling minutes, his work had been complete. The grave had been dug. As he clambered out of the ditch and onto the ground, Praxis assessed the damage that he had done onto his palms. The blisters had stopped excreting pus, yet blood still poured out. He wiped his hands on his undershirt, which also absorbed and vanquished the mundane fluid. He collapsed in a heap upon the dirt next to the grave and closed his eyes, giving the cool night air a whiff. It smelled of... apples and cinnamon? 'No, that can't be right,' he mused. He reopened his eyes, the brown meeting the green of Applejack's, who was holding a large grass blanket from inside the treehouse, a sign that she had gone in to get one to drape Big Macintosh's body while the satyr was digging the grave.

"Thanks again," he told her, gently removing the blanket from her mouth. She spat on the ground and wiped her tongue on her hoof: the taste of grass wasn't appealing in the slightest. She watched as he covered the body of her brother in the blanket and gingerly lift him into the hole. He let him fall into the grave, creating a reverberating thud as he hit the ground. She help Praxis push the large mound of dirt, removing her Stetson and placing it on his jacket before she moved the soil into the grave.

The cowpony and the satyr had succeeded in pushing all of the dirt into the grave. "Do you wanna say a few words? In honor of Big Mac?" He asked Applejack after they stepped back. She gave a nod before she spoke, "Big Macintosh, you were always one o' th' greatest brothers a mare like me could be lucky t' have. You were strong, kind, sweet, 'n' hard-workin'. It's... it's a darn shame that y-y'had t-to leave us." She was on the verge of tears again, trying her best to not lose face, despite her voice cracking slightly. "But Ah know fer a fact that y-yer up in pony heaven with M-Momma and Papa. Ah jest know it." She sniffled one final time. "Alrighty, P-Praxis. It's yer turn now," she informed him.

"Thanks, AJ," he responded glumly. "Big Mac. Heh, he was quite the character. Bucking apples until the trees broke, and pulling carts until the wheels fell off." Applejack stifled a chuckle before he pressed on. "I guess I have to say more than that, huh? Therefore, I shall recite a chapter from the Holy Qur'an for him, seeing as how... it can speak words better than I can." He cleared his throat and pondered on what chapter would be appropriate, until he finally came up with one that suited Big Macintosh: it would be one that was so simple, yet ever-so-powerful.

((I seek refuge with God from Satan, the outcast; In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful; Praise be to God, the Cherisher and Sustained of the Worlds; the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful; Master of the Day of Judgment; Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek; Show us the straight way; The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose portion is not wrath, and who go not astray. Amen.))

"That... by golly, that was beautiful. Ah don't know ANYpo-, erm, anyBODY, who could speak Mare-abic like that," Applejack complimented, trying to stand on her back hooves to pat him on the shoulder. She lost her balance, and tumbled forward. Praxis saw this and caught her in mid-fall, yet she was heavier than he expected. After all, he did think that normal Equestrian ponies were about 70 pounds at the most. And because of his idiotic insinuation, they both fell to the ground with a rather painful thud, the two of them shutting their eyes. They slowly opened them only to find their faces inches away from each other. Applejack gasped, getting up and looking away, her orange cheeks blushing a bright red as she did so.

"So... um, thanks for the compliment, AJ," Praxis said quickly, scratching his scalp embarrassingly as he followed her example and blushed an even deeper red than her.

"It waren't a problem, Praxis," the cowpony replied, speedily replacing her Stetson upon her head and throwing Praxis his jacket, which he also rushed into reequipping.

"Listen, (Is it) can (alrahght) you (with ya if) possibly (Ah can) spend (sleepover?) the night?" They both asked in unison. They both were taken aback at their questions, and a pregnant silence ensued. After about a minute or two, Praxis decided to shatter the silence.

"Um... well, can you?"

"Er... yeah. Ah don' think Ah c'n go back t' th' farm jest yet," she answered, rubbing her eyes.

"Will Applebloom be alright?"

"Mm-hmm. She's in th' hospital gettin' checked up with th' other Cutie Mark Crusaders. Ah reckon she'll b' discharged tomorrow mornin'."

"Um... alright, then. Make yourself at home. Try not to make too much noise, though; Jace's inside sleeping."

"No I'm not!" a voice called out from inside the treehouse. "You two make WAY too much noise for me to sleep!" This sent Applejack and Praxis to fall to the floor once more in uproarious laughter, their laughs resounding throughout the forest and beyond. Praxis could practically feel tears of joy leak out of his eyes from how hard he was laughing. He waited for the laughter to slowly die down, and it did... four minutes later. By that time, he flicked a tear off of his eyelash and brushed the dirt off of his jacket and fur.

"Mah, mah, that Jace feller sure is a character," said Applejack, brushing away the dirt on her fur. She and Praxis walked into the treehouse, the former taking a love-seat opposite the one Jace occupied and covering herself in another grass blanket she got from off of the coffee table, the latter going up the spiraling staircase and jumping into his huge hammock, which hung in the middle of the room. He swung a little bit when he landed into the comfort of his bed, and let the rocking motions gradually ease him into the creeping tendrils of sleep like a baby in a cradle.

Two hours into his slumber... and that was when he had the dream.

XXII - Here... Was Where My Troubles Began (Praxis Arc: Part II - Final Part)

Shadow's note: Calm down. Nothing I will say has come to be. I promise.

XXII - ...And Here, My Troubles Began

Praxis Arc: Part II (Final Part)

“Um... what in the name of Faust just happened?” Luna raised an eyebrow at the crumpled human, who was slowly getting up after charging the huge bonsai tree.

“Beats me. But according to my calculations... Jace might have knocked his brains loose from that impact.” Luna giggled at my joke, yet Jace... was clearly unamused.

“Well, according to MY calculations... Praxis the OP is a faggot.” Jace clapped his hands to his mouth at the derogatory word he used.

Luna gasped. I glared at him, the “all of my rage” meme face plastered to my own as I jumped out of the tree and smacked him. The sound of flesh colliding rung through the garden. “That word is bad and you should feel bad.” I pointed a taloned finger at him accusingly.

“Oh, screw my dirty library of words! We got bigger things to worry about than me swearing.” He pointed back at me, rubbing his cheek tenderly as the look in his eyes told me to shut up and listen.

“Ohhh, just THINK of the irony of that statement.”

But what can I say? Of course I didn’t.

A hand was placed on his chin, and a fake look of thinking was placed on his face at the end of my sentance. “Hmmmm, how about ‘no,’ since what I’m about to tell you involves an encounter with the crazy asshole trying to destroy the world!”

Me and Luna simultaneously raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening....” Luna nodded her assent.

“Indeed,” she said. “Shall you inform us of what’s happened, Jace?”

“Right...So, I got home after about an hour walk and see Vinyl. Everything goes fine up until the point where I tell her what’s happening with Insanity and such, and she passes out. Then, I hear that goddamn voice from behind me.” The anger was evident as his fists balled up. I didn't need to read his emotions to see that he was extremely pissed. “That BASTARD decided to show his ugly face in MY house, near MY wife! I got pissed, and that activated the remaining souls in my Scythe and make me go into Chaos Reaper form. He got one look at me, and was scared. I kid you not, the look on his face was pure terror.”

“Daaaaamn, son. That’s impressive. But I think that might just be his hologram. A fraction of him. So if a part of him got scared, then the actual thing, collected into one big ball of crazy, might not be. So let’s not keep our hopes TOO high just yet.” I really was impressed. Not only does Jace metaphorically have balls of steel, but it appears that he has ACTUAL balls of steel.

Damn it... now I’m envious.

“Now, Praxis. Your logic is strong, but here’s the thing. He ‘poofed’ away. Not the traditional, ‘LOL BYE’ kind of thing where he fades out like he normally does. He POOFED out of there. Now, I don’t know if this is his form of getting the hell out of dodge, or just his hologram not caring about the way it exited, but it was SCARED, because of one thing. I don’t care WHAT part of Insanity it was, because they’re all linked to HIS intelligence.” That smirk. Oh, fuck, that smirk. “He doesn’t know what a Reaper IS, Praxis. Which means he doesn’t know what they can DO.”

“They simply choose who lives, who dies, and who’s cursed to live in Purgatory. Oh, and resurrect when it is necessary. Can’t be that hard to go on, can it?”

Man, was I close-minded.

“No, that’s not what they do. They are the keepers of Death. You remember the old story when you go to Heaven, there are Gates blocking the way?” I nodded slowly, remembering that well. “We’re the Gatekeepers, Praxis. That’s the ONLY thing he knows. It means he only knows that we tell them whether they go to Heaven or Hell, not that he needs to have US on HIS side to kill everything.”

This was really good news. But it could be really bad news. What if Insanity manages to brainwash my best friend and turn him against us?

“Whoa, Praxis... nice beard.”

I rubbed my new facial hair self-consciously at Jace’s compliment. It was styled like the Prince of Persia’s, a mustache-less goatee like I requested of Celestia. She liked the idea of me having facial hair, but not like the beard I had before. She said I looked like a barbarian before.

“Heh... thanks, Jace.” I pulled my hood off, my long, now unruly white hair blowing in the wind. The hood of the Shadow Fiber seemed to have given my a case of hat hair. I flattened my hair out, making it as straight as possible.

“So what do you think of the news?” Jace managed to shake off the shock of my new look.

“Well... butter my buns and call me a biscuit.” What else COULD I say? I was in no mood to get in another argument with Jace, no matter how mild it was. And plus, I always wanted a chance to say it.

“Was that an invitation?” Luna nudged me in the ribs, throwing on a scene of feigned sensuality.

“Oh, God, the humanity!” I was appalled, while she and Jace were laughing loud enough to wake up all of Equestria. I was planning on somepony else saying that, and I deliver the final blow with that question. Either she knew of trolling (and who could blame her, her sister Celestia did it almost every other day) or she and I think along perfect wavelengths.

Somehow, the latter is a creepy option. It’s already bad enough that Jace could infiltrate my mind at will. Now I have a princess doing it? Oy gevalt. Could my problems could get any worse?

“So Praxis... you never told me about those scars....”

...That was a rhetorical question, Luna. Seriously?

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what scars?”

“Oh no, not you too!”

Jace used his magic - he might’ve gotten it back while he was gone - and turned me around to examine the afflictions. He almost retched at the hideous sight.

“What the fuck?! These things make MY scar look like a goddamn paper cut!” I could tell by his tone that he was disgusted, and concerned. “Praxis... what happened, man?”

“That is what I’ve been trying to ask him,” Luna said. “You must tell us, Praxis!”

I let out a heavy sigh of frustration. I hated storytelling... oh-so very much. This was going to be long and excruciating to tell them all. “Alright, fine!” I bursted unintentionally. “Get in the damn tree....” As soon as Jace and I had returned to the bonsai’s calming and soft tree leaves, he and Luna sat cross-legged on the tree, gazing intently at me. This aggravated me a bit further, but with determination and boss-like capabilities, I shrugged it off.

“Are you prepared for what you’re about to hear? This isn’t for the emotionally sensitive, like I told Luna prior to your REALLY bad entrance, Jace.” They both nodded. I sighed and cleared my throat. “Very well. If that’s the case... I guess I should tell you. But like all tales... this one must start at the beginning... eight years ago. Here... was where my troubles began....”

I was walking home from school. The sun was beating down upon my face as I glared down the road towards my destination, a place I loved and hated: my house. Cars, four-wheeled devices that run on small engines and can hold people inside, rushed up and down the streets, causing the warm wind it ripped through to blow in my face. As I got closer to my destination, I was teeming with dread and apprehension.

I gulped painfully at the prospect of what would happen when I got home. I tried to find things that could easily distract me from my trek. Nothing came to mind: the street and anything outside of it was barren of any distraction. I gulped again and made my way home again. I adjusted my bag properly on my shoulders as I opened the doors of my not-so-humble abode.

I walked upstairs, where the smell of incense and hookah smoke greeted me. It was intoxicating, that smell, hypnotizing me in a dreamy trance. I traipsed down the hall and knocked on the door where the scent was coming from. I saw my father, sitting in his chair, enjoying the hookah with his close friends, Gheith, Siraaj, and Idris. They were always talking about things that were usually uninteresting to me: politics, news, the stock market. Yet... when I interrupted them by opening the door to the Study Room, it seemed like I had just put a halt on something spectacular. Yet they didn’t show it. They looked at me and smiled.

“Peace be with you,” they all told me in Arabic. I could only reply with an, “And unto you be peace” in the native tongue.

“Dad,” I began. “Is alright if you can play football with me? I mean... if you want to, that is.”

“I would love to, son,” he said, scratching his close-trimmed beard. “But unfortunately, I’m afraid that will have to wait. Your Uncle Siraaj is leaving for Libya in about a week, and me and the others want to make sure that he is able to enjoy his time here in America before he goes.” Nods of agreement came from the other men.

“Oh. OK.” I was a little downtrodden by the gentle rejection. But what was to be expected? Whenever my dad wasn’t busy at the automotive store, he would be busy discussing what was going on, or working the night shift at a donut store. This absence of a fatherly figure made me turn to only one person: my oldest brother, Ahmed.

“Good boy.” He patted my head, his sign of affection. “Now go out and play, alright?”

“Yes, Baba. Bye, everyone. I hope you enjoy Libya, Uncle Siraaj.”

“I will, my boy,” he said. I stepped out of the Study Room before walking to my room. I would hope to get there before something horrible would happen.

“What’s up, little faggot?”

I turned tail and looked at my worst nightmare. Six-foot-two, thin but muscular, my second-older brother towered above me, like a colossal monster.

“Can you please move?” I tell my brother Osama.

“I have an idea. How about ‘no’?”

“Osama, this is getting ridiculous. Move out of the way.”

Those words were the worst words I could have ever said. He proved this by picking me up by the scruff of my shirt and tossing me down the hall. I crashed into a pedestal and disturbed the vase that it sat upon. The vase toppled and landed directly on my head. The porcelain shards cut my scalp and my arms as they cascaded down my body. I refused the urge to cry. I tried to call out for help, But fear clenched me like an iron lung, leaving me unable to breathe.

“Don’t... EVER... talk to me like that,” he seethed, cocking his foot back to kick me in the stomach. He struck me in my gut, several times, each blow threatening to dislodge my innards and shatter my ribs.

Until I heard someone shout, “HEY!!!”

I looked past Osama and saw the speaker. Ample frame, six-foot-three, goatee, glasses. It was Ahmed. I knew, in that moment, that God had spared me. “Leave him alone....” He may not be as tall as he would like, yet there was something about my oldest brother that scared Osama. The attacker backed away from him. He shot me a look that said ‘You’re lucky.’

I had never been so happy to see Osama go, to see him defeated. He left to his room. Ahmed helped me to my feet. I used my shirt to wipe the blood and tears that trickled down my face. “Are you alright?” he asked. I nodded weakly before coughing viciously. Blood sprinkled my white shirt. “Here, let’s get you some bandages....”

After a few minutes of Ahmed swearing that he’ll make my other brother pay -- albeit I tried telling him to let it go -- and a few rolls of ace bandages, I was patched up and ready to go. Ahmed, who had overheard about my father rejecting my offer to play football, decided to play in his place. Laughter at how much I fumbled with the ball, cheers of joy from me, him, and my sister Suraya. It was... fun. It was like this weird feeling I had never experienced in so long.

Yet that experience, like all the good luck I received, had to die. A year later, my oldest brother, the one who protected me from anyone who would try to harm me... was taken away. He was deported back to North Africa. I never cried harder when the police took him away. I lost my one source of light in this cold and dark world.

My sister Suraya tried to replace Ahmed, tried to take care of me and raise me right alongside our mom... but she couldn’t replace him. Osama, and my other two sisters, kept pestering me, yet it was lowered to a minimum.

Five years had passed this time. I was blazing through my studies, and I was almost in my senior year, but I had to quit so I could look after my father. He had grown so old, so sick, and so tired. My mother wanted me to help her in this, because my two sisters and Osama were always gone for work, and Suraya had moved out.

After so many months of trying to get my father to feel better... he passed away in his sleep. Every time I visit his grave, always with fresh carnations, I can’t help but smile sorrowfully, wishing him a beautiful afterlife. Yet something constantly nagged me... I would look back at the house, then at his grave, and I couldn't help but jealously think, 'You lucky old man....'

But Luck seemed to smile upon me. Osama, surprisingly, got married to a Mongolian woman, and she finally managed to get his malevolent side to calm down. The family and I nicknamed her Bay, mainly because we didn’t want to embarrass her by calling her by her whole first name. They even had a kid, named Jaleel. That smiling face will always be what pulled me out of despair. What made me so joyous of this blessing was his first words... they were my name. “Adam”. I couldn’t help but smile so widely.

I was like a guardian angel to him. I held him every single night, sang him to sleep, comforted him when he was crying, fed him, changed him, played with him... I was considered a second father, as it were.

But, like always, my happiness, like many other good things... had to die. A year later, Jaleel got very sick. We tried nursing him back to health. We all did. But... fate... had other plans. He died... right in my arms as I held him for the last time. Fresh tears plagued me again. I knew I would never see that smile nor hear that laugh... ever again.

Osama and Bay were affected much worse than anyone else. Bay managed to overcome the despair, but Osama? He was so struck by it all that... he did something I never thought he would do. He turned to alcohol.

Days turned to weeks to him as he drank himself stupid. One day, I was using a... magical console used for entertainment via a screen and digital pixelations projected through plastic-encased copper wires... and Osama walked in, reeking of booze. In his drunken stupor, he destroyed my console, ripped my shirt off, and used the wires of the consoles to whip me.

I refused to cry out for help... I was the cowardly little boy from seven years ago. I lost count of how many times he had swung his wire to lash me. Only minutes passed until Bay came upstairs and tackled her husband to the ground to stop him. I looked at the carpet of my bedroom. It was painted red with blood.

Thoughts of suicide then filled my head. Like I said before to you, Luna, a flick of the knife, or a little drop of arsenic... and I could float off into the afterlife. I tried my self-slaughtering methods once. Razors. Razors everywhere. Blood was strewn across the floor when I was done. I slashed my wrists and sat in the bathtub, letting the water soak up the blood. My mother found me a minute later, screaming and crying as loud as her lungs would allow her for help. I had faded out of consciousness not long after.

When I awoke, I was in the hospital. I mentally swore as loud as I could, angry that my plan was foiled. I hated it. If only I could’ve been found out later. The doctors say that I was lucky that my heart was strong enough to sustain the blood loss, otherwise I would’ve been dead long ago. I looked into my mom’s eyes... I saw tears leaking from her eyes, blood staining her clothes and head scarf. I saw disappointment, sadness, and failure in those eyes of hers. She only saw loathing in mine.

After I was discharged from the hospital, I did what I could do: leave. I scraped together enough money to go to Libya, and visit my other brother Ahmed and his wife Karima. I heard they had a son, so I was extremely excited to go. Only thing was... I was stupid enough to go right before a revolution, and Ahmed and his family left early when the caution was thrown into the wind. While I was staying with my cousin and only other friend `Emad, we tried our best to avoid getting killed in our sleeping, saying prayers, reciting verses of the Qur’an, whatever we could do to ensure that we would be alright.

Once again, I had no idea how wrong I could be.

In the middle of the night, Emad awoke me before a mortar had blown up the wall of the apartment we stayed in. We evacuated as fast and as stealthily as possible, but... it wasn’t enough to stopEmad from losing his life. A Gaddafi loyalist had spotted us heading for the airport where the other Libyan freedom fighters were making their last stand. He opened fire on `Emad. Poor bastard was turned to Swiss cheese right before my eyes.

I tried to carry him to the airport, where a few doctors were hiding, in the hopes that he would survive, but before I could get through the doors, a sniper shot me in the hip. I went down, my consciousness fading another time from the quickly-recurrent blood loss.

I awoke on a plane back to America a few days later, patched up and good as new... or as new as I could be. I was unfit to fight again, and my mother was at the airport waiting for me. She was responsible for pulling me out of the revolution. To be honest, I was grateful. I had seen too much bloodshed, too many deaths.

A year later, my brother Osama and I went fishing, right when spring came around. He had gave up on the alcohol, and was a new man, especially after his rehab sessions. While he was gone to grill fish, I “watched” over the fishing lines. I was visited with this... ethereal vision in the river we were fishing from. I leaned over and saw Lyra... and Bon-Bon, and Derpy, and Carrot Top. I thought I was dreaming... I thought it was all a lie. I tried to touch the image in the lake, and in turn, I fell over the side and landed into the water. I was pulled to the bottom. I thought I was going to die. I was scared, and at the same time... that tingling feeling of suicide had occurred again. I was scared to die, yet... at the same time, I was happy.

But when I thought my life had finally come to an end, I noticed a light at the seemingly-bottomless river. I tried reaching for it, and I was pushed out of the surface. Like a portal of some sorts. I saw Lyra, Bon-Bon, Derpy, and Carrot Top, like I did back on Earth. I knew that it was a dream come true...

Until I came into town. All the ponies, immediately, evaded me, like I was some... abominable contamination. Rainbow Dash had thrown a vase at me, and called me a monster. I deserved that title. After what horrors I witnessed, who wouldn’t be called that?

But... good came out of being here. I met Zecora, I became friends with some of the Element Bearers... I met you, Jace, and Vinyl. I slayed my first-ever manticore, I defeated a hydra, I got most of the town to trust me -- at long last -- and I saved not just one pony, Fluttershy, but three others: the Cutie Mark Crusaders Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.

Unfortunately, my horrifying past caught up with me briefly. Insanity was born from the hatred and sorrow corrupting my heart, and he made me into what I am as I speak. I watched as Big Macintosh was crushed to death by a fallen support beam. We buried him next to my place, Jace and I, before we got the Cutie Mark Crusaders out of there. Me, Jace, Vinyl, and our friend Zeke continued on our chronicles, doing our best to defeat Insanity before he can destroy us all... before the chance to redeem myself for unleashing hell upon us all is lost....

And here I stand before you all... a harbinger of bad luck, a patriarch of sadness... a father of pain....

I looked back at the two others, and regretted it instantly. Luna was crying uncontrollably, using her mane as a makeshift tissue. Jace had tears in his eyes as well, but he managed to hide them by wiping his face in his shirt. I saw my reflection in their glazed eyes. There was no luster in my eyes. The shine was dead. Not a single tear was released the entire time I spoke. I was as internally dead as I was when I was small.

Before I knew it, I was tackled, the lunar princess’s hooves wrapped tightly around my torso as she wept into my chest, her sobs muffled by the Shadow Fiber of the cloak. Jace couldn’t bear it and gave me a colossal hug as well. I put my arms around the two of them, patting their backs comfortably in the futile attempts to calm them down.

“My God, Praxis... I-I’m s-so sorry for what happened,” Jace choked.

“Don’t be,” I told him. “You need not worry for what happened. What’s done...” I released a sigh. “...is done.”

“S-so th-th-that’s w-why you d-d-didn’t want to g-go back to Earth,” Luna sobbed. I held the two of them tightly as I gave her a concerned peck on the forehead. “B-because y-you d-didn’t w-want to go b-back to... t-to that!” She burrowed her face deeper into my chest. Jace removed himself from me, sniffling viciously as he did so. “P-please forgive f-for what we tr-tried to do, a-and for w-what we d-did, P-Praxis.”

“There, there,” I said calmly, rocking her back and forth as she wept harder. "Shhh... please do not weep for me...." I watched as Luna receded her head from my grip and nodded, a weak smile on her face.

It's only a minute later that I witnessed the now-desecrated moon finally make its descent, ushering in the sun and the glorious morning it brings with it. I felt the sun's light beginning to shine. The same strange light I unleashed when morning arrived had shrouded me once more. I levitated into the air and let myself become a normal satyr again. I looked at Luna and raised a brow. "Did you do that?"

"No: m-my horn would've been glowing..." Luna explained. I looked back at the tower where Celestia would be sleeping, but got even more curious at the sun princess standing at the edge of the balcony. I couldn't help but notice something in her eyes. Were they... glazed over as well? Had she been eavesdropping, and had cried from my story?

Nah... It just doesn't sound like Celestia.

But... could it?

Author's Note

When I first started this story, I thought this was not even going to rank high amongst any of you. Hell, I thought it'd go to the Fanfiction Graveyard.

Now?

Now I couldn't believe how successful this story became. 102/12? 240+ comments? I NEVER thought I would achieve any of this.

And it's all thanks to you guys.

Me and Craimer can never be as happy as with the results of Horns, Hooves, and Fur.

The sequel to this story, Afraid Of My Shadow, is already up, for those wondering.

You guys are incredible. Never stop being awesome.

Sayonara, everypony.

~S.W.