Embodiment of Rage

Chapters

Chapter 1: Prologue (re-written)
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Interlude - ANZAC DAY
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16: Epilogue
Sequel

Chapter 1: Prologue (re-written)

Author's Note

Okay, so chapter 1 revised. Waiting on Sketch to get back to me so it's unedited at this time.
Expect it to be really bad haha.

Chapter 1: Prologue (re-written)

It started out like any other day, my friends and I decided to go to AVCon 2015 and have some of the best fun of our lives. Being the nerd that I am, and the amount of games I play and anime I watch, there was no doubt I was going to cosplay as something. However, I didn't know what to go as. That was, until my friend and I found a item set on Diablo 3 for my Demon Hunter. The one I was trying to farm for for weeks in the game.

The Embodiment of the Marauder

An amazing set that boasted the use of Sentries, which just so happened to be the ability my current set up (talents and runes) tried to improve. The sentries were good, and helped me solo Torment VI rifts with ease, but the set? That was a major improvement. Ever since then I was playing Diablo 3 for hours on end, neglecting nearly everything else in my actual life. So, I decided to go to AVCon as the Demon Hunter from Diablo 3, and what a day it was. I'd never been to AVCon before, but boy was it fun. Not only was this my first AVCon, but also my first Convention ever.

It was great until that happened, and by “that” I mean my multidimensional travel. Fuck I hate this place, I always have. The ponies are the worst: Xenophobic, idiotic and liars.
It happened when I came across some shadey character. He was dressed like Qui Gon-Jinn from the Star Wars movie, The Phantom Menace. And by that I mean he was all cloaked and mysterious, not to mention a bit creepy.

"Little boy, would you like to buy this trinket?" He asked me as showed me some strange gem from his coat pocket. Being the cautious person I was, I turned him down, but as it turned out, he was eager to get rid of it.

"Too bad. Because you must have it." He then lifted his hood and stared into my eyes. He then threw the gem at me.

As soon as I caught the gem, it seemed to explode into a light bright enough to send a person blind. But instead of blindness, I fell into unconsciousness. And that is what brought me to this place. To this fucking god-forsaken rock. To this day, I still resent what that hooded man did to me, and if I ever get my hands on him, he will die in ways any sane person would puke at.

Anyway... After I arrived, some things happened. I met the princesses, we became friends, the ponies were fuck-wits, and I was accused of the most heinous of crimes (at the time anyway). As a result? I unleashed my powers, the ones I received upon coming to this damned rock: the powers of rage. But not in the way that you're thinking, no I simply shouted out in anger and my power exploded from within me. Thus, I was Imprisoned for one thousand years, as the Embodiment of Rage.

But now, I am free. Discord's escape caused chaos around the globe. I could feel the hatred the ponies emitted. Later, when the Changelings attacked, the very same happened. Rage, anger and resentment were practically oozing off them. Finally, Tirek's rampage and his thievery all of the ponies' magic was the final piece to the puzzle. The statue that imprisoned me for so long began to crack before it was completely destroyed, and now I once again walk across Equuis. Free to roam Equestria again.

Well, as long as these damn ponies stay out of my face!

Chapter 2

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3

I stood there glaring at Celestia. She stood there staring at me in shock. We all stood still for a good few minutes in silence, just staring at each other. The tension was so think, screw a butter knife, you could cut it with a pin.

The silence, however, was broken when Twilight gently nudged Celestia. She hesitantly took her eyes off me and looked down to her. Twilight looked back up to her with fearful eyes.

“Princess, who is that? Why is he so dangerous?” She asked ignorantly.

Celestia looked back to me. The kind of look that asked for permission. I nodded my head. Celestia looked back to her and began to explain. “This is my old friend, Julian, or Jules as he used to go by. He was brought –”

“Taken.” I interrupt her with a glare. "But you know that is not the reason for my anger towards you, Celestia. You know what you did..."

She looks back to me with a sad expression. “Yes taken.” Looking back to Twilight she completely ignored my previous statement. “He was taken from his world and brought here. That was well over one thousand years ago. After he was brought here, he was scared and alone. Being cast out by the common pony for being different, he resented us. He detested us all. That was, until my sister and I brought him in. Luna helped him get accustomed into the society and they became good friends. I however, was not so convinced. I, like everypony else tried to outcast him, but Luna would not allow that. And after Luna’s rise to Nightmare Moon however, things quickly got out of hoof. Realizing that my neglectful attitude towards Luna and her problems was like a catalyst to her transformation - coupled with his hatred towards all ponies - Julian's anger finally exploded, releasing his inner power. I tried to save him, but the only option was to seal him in stone along with my sister.”

Twilight looks back to Celestia. “But princess, that still doesn’t answer why you said he’s so dangerous.” She pointed out hesitantly.

Looking back to me she continues with a soft voice, “Do you remember the Canterlot gardens Twilight?” After a confirming nod, Celestia closed her eyes. “Well another statue has gone missing.” She stated simply.

The ponies all gasped and looked to me in shock. “S-so....w-which one is he?”

“I am Rage.” I stated simply.

All ponies looked to me, still standing there glaring. Some with pity, sadness, one with a tint of anger and hate. Said pony shot up to me, right in my face. “What was so bad about the Princess trying to save you?! You don’t need to get so angry over that!” She shouted at me. Right in my face...

“Get out of my face.” I warned her in a low voice, my head pointed down.

She tilted her head, “What?”

I raised my head to look at her in her magenta eyes with my own dark brown eyes. “I said to get out of my face.” Glaring at her with hate, she hesitated. “I will not say it again.” I said a little louder, moving my face closer to hers.

At this point, Celestia caught on to my threat. She grabbed the pony out from my face with her magic and sat her on the ground. She turned to address all present. “It is best not to get on his bad side, less you suffer from his wrath.” She turned to me and glared. “But know this: if you hurt so much as a hair on any of these ponies… I will hunt you down.”

Sighing and rubbing my eyes in annoyance, I waved my hand in a dismissive motion. “Fine, fine whatever.” I looked back to her, “But know one thing Celestia, you have no idea how lucky you are. You are so lucky it hurts. You’re so lucky it’s not even funny. You’re so lucky –”

“Lucky about what?!” The blue pony from before shouted.

“You’re lucky that I didn’t give in to madness.” I said monotone. Celestia went wide-eyed and the other ponies looked in fear.

“What?” She asked quietly, shocked by what I had said.

“I said you’re lucky I’m not currently insane. You do know that those stone prisons do nothing to stop one from living. I lived those 1,000 years princess, with nothing to do but hate. The only thing that kept me from falling into complete insanity is my hatred towards you. My anger is what potentially saved these ponies lives. Remember that.”

Nodding her head very slightly, she looked back to the ponies. “Where did his bow go?” She asked Twilight.

She didn’t take her eyes off me, “the nurse didn't know if he was dangerous or not, so she confiscated it and put it in another room.”

Celestia nodded in approval. “Alright, I give you permission to hold onto that bow until further notice Twilight.”

Clenching my fists in anger, I look to Celestia. “What?” I said, spite rising in my tone.

She looks to me, “Until we can determine the best course to take, we must figure out if you can be trusted. Or at least until we can determine if you’re a threat or not.”

Rubbing my eyes in annoyance once again, I slumped down on the bed. “Whatever. How do I prove to you?” I said looking her in the eyes.

Celestia smiled warmly at me. Ugh, for the love of God. I groaned inside my head. She motioned to the gathered ponies. “They will be the ones to decide.” Said the solar bitch.

Groaning, I slump into the bed. “Why them? Who even are they?!” I shout to Celestia while laying back.

“These ponies are the new Elements of Harmony.” She states simply. That got my attention.

Shooting up in a sitting position, I look to them in curiosity. “Really? Interesting…”

Laughing a little, Celestia beings to explain how they became the elements in the first place. She didn’t get far, however, before Twilight interrupted her. “Why are you so calm!? You’re supposed to be Rage! Why don’t you seem in the least bit upset?!” She shouted at me.

I looked over to her with an annoyed expression, “Because Twilight, there’s this tiny concept of Equilibrium. I’m sure you’ve heard of it?” She nodded. “Right, well for those that don’t know: equilibrium is the state of rest. Balance if you will… Balance. That word. Do you understand what it means? It means there must be an equal and opposite of everything, everywhere at any given time. Always.”

Everyone present looked at me with tilted heads. Groaning, I was getting impatient. “It means that there will always be equal and opposite. Love and Hate. Chaos and Harmony. Anger and Clarity. Intellect and Idiocy. Valour and Cowardice. Loyalty and Betrayal. Honesty and Lies. Generosity and Greed. Kindness and Cruelty. Laughter and Sadness.” Still confused it seems, but for some reason, the last few brought on many distraught faces. “It means that, Twilight, I will always be the embodiment of Rage. But that doesn’t mean that I will have no love inside of me.”

Looks of realisation crossed her face. “Now you understand. Do you know of Discord? Of course you do. Well he is Chaos, he was unbalancing the world's order. Therefore, he was sealed away. Then when he broke free, did you happen to know why?” Shaking heads all-round. “Because there was an imbalance. The world decided that there was too much Harmony for too long, so it set him free. An unbalanced scale is never a good thing. Tell me, do you know of anyone who is set so far on one side? Well, I can guarantee you that they will have the equal of their opposites somewhere deep within them. They have their darkness deep inside their being. They always do.”

“I think that’s enough explanation for now.” Celestia interrupts, worry in her voice.

“Oh, but I’m not done explaining Celestia. You see, it’s up to the person whether or not they show their ‘dark’ sides. As for me… well, I embraced mine. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Well regardless, it’s best to tell the town of your existence if you’re going to be staying here. Perhaps in the castle?” Celestia explains.

“Castle? Another one? You’re joking…”

“No.”

“Fucking hell how do you have the money to build these things?!” I shout at her.

“The Tree of Harmony made it.” She stated simply.

“Tree of what-now?”

“The Tree of Harmony made it.” She repeats.

Sighing in defeat I slump back onto the bed and sighed deeply. “Whatever. Anyway, what were you saying before? About the town needing to know who I am and what I’m doing here. I do not agree with this Celestia.” I said with a warning tone in my voice. I don't trust these ponies to not outright try to kill me like the others.

She nodded in confirmation, “Indeed. I plan on talking to the mayor about calling a town meeting in a few days. In the meantime, you need to rest.”

Groaning in annoyance, I shout out, “I don’t need rest! I just ran a few hundred, maybe even a thousand kilometres. Nothing that big of a deal.”

“Yes well you’re to stay here. Unless you wish to come back to the castle with me? Luna would love to see you.”

Eyes shooting open I look back at her with hopeful eyes. “She’s back?” I ask quietly. Celestia nodded her head in confirmation. “You’re not bullshiting me? She’s actually back?!” Smiling warmly she nods again.

Jumping out of bed and into the air with a “Toyota what a feeling” kind of thing, I shout in happiness. After my little charade, I look back to Celestia. Noticing a small pink pony with a massive grin on her face, while a yellow one hides behind the blue one. “Take me to her.”

Celestia nods her head in approval. Looking back to the other ponies present she bids them farewell. She teleports us both to Canterlot castle.

After arriving in Canterlot castle, Celestia motions the way to Luna’s chambers, immediately making my way down the halls and following her instructions. I just barely caught her teleporting somewhere. Soon after however, I bump into a white unicorn wearing a tuxedo.

Said unicorn immediately got angry and started shouting at me. “Why you filthy beast! How dare you touch me! I just got this coat cleaned! Get down and apologise immediately!”

Oh I'm going to fucking love you, aren't I?

Author's Note

Sorry about the late update. My laptop broke and I have exams soon so I wrote this in about an hour.
Big thanks to my mate Alex for editing right before exams

Chapter 4 Author's Note

Sorry for the extremely long delay. Things had stacked up delaying me much more than I anticipated.
I also won't be updating much either, I have year 12 this year so my focus will be on studying and doing work.

Also, I had a massive writers block for a while, and had no idea how to end this chapter, so it's probably shit. Next chapter will be focused on breaking down the current powers the character possess, but there will be more.

Chapter 4

"Oh is that so? Well too fucking bad arsehole." I declared angrily to the pompous little shit in front of me.

He reeled back in shock, "well I never!"

"Look here dickhead, you think I'm just going to get on my knees and apologise for bumping into you? I might have just given a simple 'sorry' if you didn't demand me to do it you twat." I glared at the pony in front of my.

"How dare you?! Do you know who I am!?" He barked loudly, body shaking with rage.

"No, and I couldn't give two shits. To me, you're just some fuckwit who thinks he's important, when in reality, he's just some stupid trash." Putting extra emphasis on trash for effect. It got the desired reaction and I smiled internally.

"I'll have you thrown in the dungeons for this! Guards! Guards where are you?!" He shouts, looking down the halls for any nearby guards.

I wave my hand over my shoulder dismissively, "yeah whatever dick muncher."

Arriving at my destination - Luna's quarter of the castle - I begin to hesitate a little. I have a feeling things are going to get really awkward really quickly. I mean, what am I supposed to say? "Hi Luna, how was the moon?" I think sarcastically to myself.

Steeling myself, I push open the doors in front of me. Immediately, I'm greeted with total darkness, and a spear to my throat.

"Who goes there?!" Shouts a random guard I can't even see.

I immediately put my hands in the air as a sign of surrender. "Whoa, easy there mate, I'm a friend of Luna. I came to see her."

The spear lowers, and I finally adjust to the darkness. There standing in front of me, was a bat-pony. Cat-like irises and bat-like ears, standing at average height they have dark-blue armour, and even darker blue coats. It's been a long time since I've seen a bat-pony. Outcasts like myself, we got along well.

The guard looks up at me in wonder, "could it be?" He whispers to himself. Standing at attention, the guard salutes. "Sir! We've been awaiting your arrival. The princess is this way, follow me."

Well... that was weird. I followed the guard down the hall and to the left. There, was a pair of double doors, extra-large in size. Guards standing on either side, protecting that which lies within.

The guard escorting me nods to the others before turning to me. "She's just in here." I nod before opening the doors.

Inside, my best friend was waiting. "Hello again Luna. It's been a long time."

She looked up at me and soon started to tear up. She then tackled me into a hug.

"Hello again Julian. I've missed you."

---------- 3rd person POV, back at the hospital----------

Celestia was standing at the window, looking up at the castle with a smile on her face. Her expression, however, soon turned serious - not something you see too often - as she turned to address the ponies behind her.

"Now that he is gone, I wish to talk to you." The ponies all nodded. "Julian was brought here over a thousand years ago. Thrust into a strange land filled with strange creatures, and at such a young age. He was all alone, and completely terrified. He survived in the Everfree forest, alone, for about 5 years."

"The Everfree?!" All the ponies collectively shouted in surprise.

Celestia nodded her head. "When he found civilization, it was not what he thought it was going to be. The ponies did not take kindly to him being different, so they shunned him, and worse. Because of this, he now holds an extreme grudge to all ponies. That was, until Luna found him. Alone in some cave, with nothing but a small fire and some fish he caught from the nearby stream."

Celestia took a deep breath. "She saw him on the floor, crying himself to sleep. When he noticed her however, he jumped up and grabbed his spear, which was little more than a sharpened stick. He lunged at my sister, but thanks to her quick thinking and calming words, she could have been injured, and he may have died."

Celestia paused to take a look at the gathered ponies. They all had the look of concentration. "After that, she brought him to the castle. It was there that he lived out the rest of his days, slowly adapting to pony society. Never overcoming his hatred, as the many of our subjects still despised him as a monster. The only two ponies he ever opened up too were myself, and Luna, I however still did not trust him and neglected his problems. And then, when Luna fell to darkness, he tried his absolute hardest to stop her. When he failed, and Luna became Nightmare Moon, he was thrown into a deep depression. Soon after, he found out that I was the one who contributed to her fall to darkness by neglecting her. At that point, he snapped, and was overcome by rage and sadness." She paused again to look all of them in the eyes.

"Luna saved his life."

"That's terrible." The soft voice of Fluttershy uttered. She was on the brink of tears, while the others fared no different. Rarity was close to fainting, Rainbow looked a little ashamed, Applejack's expression was hidden behind her hat, Pinkie had streams of tears flowing from her eyes with a straight mane, and Twilight had her ears down and a sad expression.

"It is indeed. I will need to talk to him again, and you all may like to be present for when I do. In the meantime, we need to figure out a place for him to stay while I sort out things with the mayor. I think he will wish to stay in the castle, but it would be simpler if he were to be in Ponyville."

"I suppose he can stay in the castle here." Twilight suggested, "I want to show him that not all ponies are bad. And there's plenty of room as well."

Celestia smile approvingly at Twilight, "very well. Tomorrow, I will send him here. For now, it is goodbye."

The ponies all said their goodbyes before Celestia left. Then, there was silence. "Are you sure it's a good idea to let that thing stay in the castle?" Unfortunately for some, Rainbow broke that silence.

"Rainbow! You must stop being so rude." Rarity shouted to her friend.

"What? I'm just saying what everypony's thinking"

"Well regardless, the decision has been made." Twilight interrupted before things escalated into an argument, "I just hope nothing bad comes from it."

Silence descended upon the group once again.

"Whelp, Imma hit the hay. Night everypony." Applejack declared as she made to move for the door.

Soon, the ponies agreed and followed out the room single file. All that was left was Twilight and Spike. The former of whom, was contemplating her decision. While the latter of the two was worried for his caretaker/best-friend.

"Well Spike, we better get going as well."

Spike nodded in agreement and followed her home.

----------My POV - The Next Day----------

I awoke in the guest quarters of the castle. After Luna and I met, we talked for hours, both happy to see the other.

We caught up with each other, although considering we were both locked in stone for 1,000 years, nothing new really came up. I did hear some interesting stories about last years Nightmare Night though, wouldn't mind attending one of those.

Anyway, Celestia came to get me this morning and told me that we have something important to discuss. So, like the good little boy that I am, I followed her to collect Luna.

Once we had Luna in our little party we flew to Ponyville in a chariot. Apparently the Princesses needed to be formal because they also had other important business with the mayor of Ponyville.

So once we arrived we had the six ponies from the day before meet us in the strange crystal castle.

"This is where you will be staying, with Princess Twilight." Celestia said as she addressed me.

"And what will I be doing here?"

"Living normally with the common ponies. Try to fit in please." The last part sounded forced.

I rolled my eyes. "Celestia, I know how to interact with people." She raised her eyebrow in response. "Don't look at me like that, I know how but that doesn't mean I like it..."

Luna chuckled next to her sister.

Celestia rolled her eyes, "regardless, we have important things to talk about."

"And what might they be?"

"We need to know the full extent of your powers."

"Well then... Where to start?" This is going to take a while... And it's not going to be fun

Interlude - ANZAC DAY

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 5

"Alright, so we will start with the basics." I started, looking at the assembled ponies. Celestia had already told me their names on the way here, and now that I know them, it's fairly easy to tell them apart. Trust me, I used to get confused with names, but in Equestria where everyone is named after their talent? Hard to mix them up.

"Before I describe my abilities to you all, you need to understand what I am." I began, looking to Celestia. "I am what's known as a Demon Hunter, a Nephalem. A Nephalem is the product of both Angel and Demons procreating. They carry both the holy and demonic blood in mortal form. The ultimate power. It is said that the Nephalem's existence would forever alter the balance of power in the Great Conflict."

"What's the Great Conflict?" Twilight asked, while scribbling notes on her little note pad. Eyes shinning in anticipation.

"The Great Conflict is the name for the eternal war between the forces of the High Heavens and Burning Hells. It has recently spilled over into the mortal realm, nearly destroying humanity in the process. Myself and a few other Nephalem saved our world from destruction, twice." I stopped to look at her before continuing. "The first time was when the remaining lords of hell, Azmodan and Belial, invaded the mortal world, and soon after they were defeated and sealed inside the Black Soulstone, the Prime Evil Diablo was resurrected. The second time, was when the former Archangel of Wisdom Malthael, became the Archangel of Death, and invaded Sanctuary. We defeated him as well, and it was known to all that the Nephalem were capable of killing both Angels or Demon alike."

The ponies in the room all looked shocked at this little revelation, however I continued. "As a Nephalem, I have certain powers that put me above all other humans, and make me a force to be reckoned with. I have slain many demons and angels alike, all in order to keep the peace in Sanctuary. The most basic of Nephalem powers revolves around a magic that does whatever the wielder wishes. I just call it a 'manifestation of will'. What that means? Basically I can do nearly whatever I wish with my magic. I'm sure there are limitations, but I have yet to discover them."

Twilight and Celestia looked the most surprised out of everyone there. "Now, as a Demon Hunter, I focus entirely on ranged attacks. Certain 'abilities', as I call them, do different things. For example, one of my favourites is 'Sentry'. It summons a small ballistic turret that automatically fires bolts at nearby enemies, and with a certain rune engraved into them, they also shoot homing missiles."

The ponies just looked with blank faces. "Ugh. That means they shoot little explosives that follow my enemies." A look of realisation crossed their faces, before one of horror over-took it.

"Can you demonstrate this?" Celestia asked, "as long as you can guarantee our safety." She added.

"Sure thing." I thrust my hand out to where I wished the turret to appear while concentrating on it.

"Huh?" The turret didn't appear. I could hear snickering from Rainbow Dash. Fuck you too. But this is strange; the sentry should pop-up. "Actually, now that I think about it: my companions aren't here either. Neither is my actual armour."

The ponies just looked confused, but the Rainbow one was on the floor laughing. "Haha! What a joke!" She shouted while holding her sides.

I growled at her loudly. She stopped, but only after a look from Celestia.

"Celestia, may I have my bow for a second?" I asked, but she just looked at me apprehensively before declining. "Please, I just wanna try something. You can have it back right after."

Reluctantly she sighed and nodded to Twilight. Hesitantly she left to retrieve my lost bow. As I took hold of it, the power within exploded outwards in a bright light.

Once the light dissipated, I stood in the centre with the bow in hand. The Embodiment of the Marauder armour once again, donned my body. I smiled at my companions standing around me. I tried to again summon a 'Sentry'. I smiled even larger at the turret now stationary on the floor.

I pointed to it, "that is a sentry." I then waved my hand around me, at the various animals present. The Spider, Ferret, Wolf, Boar, Bat and raven stood/flew around me. "And these are my companions, each with it's own role. The Ferret collects gold for me, while also attacking my foes. The Spider's attacks slow enemies with it's webs. The Wolf is just badass. The Boar charges enemies, and uses a special magic to force them to attack it. While the Bat essentially increases my endurance. In terms you won't understand much until I properly explain it, the Bat regenerates the magic within me periodically. The raven here is just badass like good ol' wolfie."

Before they could ask what I was talking about I continued, "now, onto what I call 'Passive Skills'. These 'skills' are basically runes embedded into my armour that passively improve my combat effectiveness." I pointed to one such rune, "these can be changed at any time. This specific rune is called 'Archery', which increases my effectiveness with all bow types. Crossbows, 2-handed crossbows, and bows like this one." I held up my bow, "speaking of which, this is the legendary bow 'Windforce'. I love it. It holds magic in it that passively reduces the amount of damage enemies land on me (I used this as a basis for Vitality, when you think about it, it's kind of the same thing), while also increasing being a lot more deadly than any other bow. It also holds magic that leeches the life out of the enemy while transferring it to me. Anyway, back to the 'passives', the next one is 'Awareness'. This rune is one of my favourites, and has saved my life many times. At a time, when I'm close to death and the enemy is about to strike, this little baby kicks in. It casts a smoke bomb, blinding my enemies for a time, while automatically healing me. Unfortunately, once it is used, the rune becomes ineffective for approximately 60 seconds, I'm not sure I haven't properly timed it. Oh and when I say 'passive', that just basically means it happens without me actually having to do anything."

I would say that I now held the undivided attention of all ponies, except the pink one was still bouncing. Pinkie I think? "These next two are both amazing. 'Ballistics' increases the explosive power of all missiles fired by myself or my abilities themselves, in addition to allowing my attacks to automatically fire a homing missile. And last but not least, 'Custom Engineering', increases the duration that the 'sentries' will stick around for." I pointed to the sentry currently doing nothing. "Three... Two... One." It disappeared like it was never there.

"How did it do that?" Twilight asked

"I dunno, magic I guess." I laughed at her reaction. "Anyway, it's very useful for prolonged fights against multiple enemies, since I can have multiple 'sentries' out at the same time, it can come in handy." I pointed to three locations and all three 'sentries' spawned out of nowhere. Unfortunately the action left me drained for a few moments so I stood there, hunched over with hands on knees breathing a bit heavy.

Luna looked on concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I waved my hand. "Now, I could go into detail about all my abilities and their runes but that would take too long. Wasn't there something else you wanted to talk about Celestia?"

Celestia came out of her daze and looked at me, "right." She straightened her posture and focused on the group gathered, "I need to talk with the mayor about making an announcement about Julian's presence."

I just sighed while the other ponies looked a bit hesitant. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Twilight asked. When she noticed the look Celestia was giving her, she shrunk back, "I don't mean to be rude or offensive, but don't you think it would be best if he got settled down first?"

Celestia gave it some thought. "I think that choice is up to you two." She looked from Twilight to me, before looking back at her. "Since he will be staying here, and you are the current governing Princess in this region, I believe that you should be able to organise a meeting with the mayor to discuss this topic."

Twilight looked at me but I just shrugged. Man fuck these ponies, always making decisions like this. What if I wanted to just leave and never come back? I'd have Celestia on my arse for the rest of my life. The thought was tempting, but I could not escape right now. I just needed to bide my time until I could earn their trust.

"Oh, you want this back?" I handed the bow to Twilight. That should show them. A sign of good faith. I smiled.

Twilight took it back with a raised eyebrow. Just as she took it, all the armour, companions and currently summoned sentries disappeared. My armour was replaced by normal clothes.

"Right, so I'm bored. What now?"

Author's Note

So yeah, that happened. Two chapters in one day.

Things aren't so exciting now (hs0003 don't get on my case about no gruesome tortures. Those are for later)

Chapter 6 Author's Note

Hey hey update!!!!
Sorry for the long wait (again), but I've got exams in a few weeks so you'll have to wait again for the next chapter. After November 11th my exams finish so I'll try to finish this story the weeks after that.

Chapter 6

Entry 1.
Date: Unknown
It's been six days since I escaped from my stone prison, and boy it's good to be free. It's like the old saying goes, you never know what you've got until you lose/lost it. Freedom is taken for granted by many people, but never again will I forget what I went through for 1,000 years. 1,000 years spent doing nothing but thinking about things like predicting futures, dwelling on the past, and observing the present (when I wasn't constantly being tortured). But now? Now I am free to do what I wish.

Well, I would be, if it weren't for Celestia. Again.

The day that Celestia announced my presence to the local populace of "Ponyville" was quite the interesting day indeed. As expected, the ponies were not accepting of my existence, calling me names like "monster", "it", "creature", "thing" and so on. These very terms are what make me want to kill all these fucking ponies. Terms used to strip a man of his humanity, what makes him human. You don't refer to a person as it or thing. Those are words you use to describe chairs and shit. I'm not a fucking chair.

Either way, I've spent these last few days doing shit all in the castle. Reading about Equestrian history and customs. I got a good surprise when Twilight explained modern customs. A lot like they were back on Earth.

"So, you got anything interesting planned for the week?" I asked Twilight out of pure boredom.

"Actually I do." She magicked a scroll from no where. Unrolling it she lists off things to do, a big, red “To Do” at the top of it.

"Today I plan on rereading Star Swirl the Bearded's theory of magical relativity. Tomorrow I'm going to spend the day with Pinkie Pie....whatever she has planned. Then the day after is the day of the pony-pet playdate." She said as she listed off her tasks one by one."

"Okay I get it, but more importantly, what the hell is a "pony-pet playdate"?" I asked cocking an eyebrow, genuinely confused about what the fuck that thing was.

"It's when my friends and I get our pets together for a playdate in the park."

"Right... So what am I supposed to do while you're reading?"

"Actually, I can re-schedule today's agenda. I want to ask you some questions if that's alright."

"Sure, why not?" I said, sitting down cross-legged on the ground.

"Okay first question." Twilight summons a notepad and a quill before continuing, "what's your full name and species?"

"My name is Julian Sinor. I'm of a species called Human beings, though scientifically we're named Homo Sapiens. For those who actually care." She quickly writes down what I say on her little pad.

"What can you tell me of your species?" she asked.

I laughed at the question, "you really wanna know?"

"Of course I do! Is that funny?" She asked, clearly offended by my giggle fit.

"No not at all, just an unusual question. Well I'm not entirely sure where to begin. What specifically about Humans interests you?"

She gets right up in my face, "Everything."

Well... shit. I sigh before starting with some basics, "Well the Homo Sapien species evolved from the Ape family, where the closest known relative is the Chimpanzee. Now I'm not entirely sure if that's correct but that's just what I know. Humans are not easy to explain, as everyone is different. Humans are intelligent and dumb, creative and dull, kind and cruel, ingenuitive and wasteful. All those things and more, once again going back into the whole equilibrium thing. The Human race has been at war with itself for as long as it's existed, constantly killing each other, but people have also spent their entire lives dedicated to protecting others and saving them. We've destroyed our planet, but also helped to save it. Most recently we've been divided, but when the Demons invaded, we banded together to repel them." That's not entirely true but gotta stay in character. I thought to myself.

Twilight looked up from her notes, "That's both sad and happy, people doing such horrible things but also doing such good." She stated, her voice monotone.

"That's the reality of things Twilight, you ponies aren't so different from people like me." Her faced dropped at me saying this, but she knows it's true.

"What can you tell me of your government?"

Oh for fuck sake... I hate politics. I sighed, "To do that, you should know that the world I come from is divided into many different countries, each government by it's own people and government. The Human race is the only sentient species on Sanctuary. Many of the countries have a purely democratic government, where others have dictatorships, and some still have monarchies. Most of the past monarchies have been disbanded, the people electing single representatives for the country instead."

"You'd give up your monarchs for a normal pony?" Twilight asked me with wide eyes, clearly surprised.

"First of all, we're not ponies, we're people. Secondly we didn't have immortal people to lead us like you do, everyone is the same, they live and they die. Thirdly, the people liked the idea of democracy, where they had choice in matters that concerned them instead of a single person deciding what happens at their own leisure." Twilight looked a bit sad after I told her off, but fuck her. "Also, it's not like my country doesn't have a monarchy. Hell, the largest remaining monarchy has a democratic government as well. Actually, I'm not sure how their government works but I can guess it's democratic. Anyway, that particular country is a part of a Commonwealth, which my country is also a part of, so technically we do have a monarch, except they can't really decide what does and doesn't happen in my country." I said, finishing my knowledge of the governmental system. Which, lets just say, isn't that expansive.

"Oh, okay then" Twilight then started to write down some notes, again.

"Let's talk about something else, I hate politics almost as much as I hate Celestia." I said bluntly, but Twilight didn't complain. Then again, if she did, she'd probably think I'd kill her or something.

The rest of the day was spent talking about our respective cultures, beliefs and the like. It was interesting to hear how the ponies have developed over the last 1,000 years, but that also lead me to conclude that they evolve so slowly. Hardly anything but their social and living standards has changed since I was imprisoned. Whereas if I were to look back 1,000 years at the Human race, there would be an enormous difference between the level of change.

Tomorrow, Twilight says it would be best to spent time with one of her friends. Another pony who represents another Element of Harmony. At this point, I'm not sure who it is, nor do I really care, but I have the night to think about it. I guess I should also thank Twilight for giving me this blank journal to write in as well, and a bed here in her castle. Even if this bed isn't exactly big enough for me, since my feet are hanging off the end. I mean, it's like sleeping in an even smaller single bed for Christs' sake!

Well, Julian signing off I guess...

Chapter 7

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 8

Entry 3
Date: Still goddamn unknown, but it's two days later

The day started off bright and early, a change from my usual habits of sleeping in ‘til midday. Although I suppose the only real reason that that happened was because I stayed up all night watching anime and playing World of Warcraft. Now that I’ve lost those things, I’ve no real reason to stay up later than what I assumed was 8 or 9pm. So far I haven’t seen any fucking clocks besides that massive tower in Ponyville, but that doesn’t exactly help me at night when I can’t fucking see anything.

I realised then about something I surprisingly never thought of in my incarceration in stone. At that moment, I realised that I had lost more than just some silly past time games and anime. I’d lost all that I held dear to myself. Aside from the obvious, games and anime, were my friends and family. Sure I didn’t exactly like my family half the time, but they were still my family, and I wouldn’t change them at all. Well, I would but that’s not the point. My family was gone, and so were my friends.

My friends were what kept me from breaking down in depression throughout my life in high school. I had issues with the majority of the other students in my year level, where they would either insult me, and/or bully me for no reason. I didn’t even know half of them, and they picked on me just for existing. I also had some Monophobia issues, but not that bad. I wasn’t exactly afraid of being alone, more so that I craved a loved one. So after years of rejection that also built up the intolerable bullying that I received in high school. And so, depression and thoughts of suicide followed my early high school life.

But once I reached the end of year 9, my life started to really pick up, I made some good friends. One in particular, a great friend who I consider my brother, was the nicest person to me. He unknowingly picked me out of my deep dark and depressing hole that was death, and brought me back into the light that was life.

I could never repay the debt that I owe to Alex, because he saved my life, even if he didn't know it. Now that he’s gone, and everyone else, well, things just aren’t the same. I can feel myself slipping again.

I reached into my pocket, and I pulled out my only reminder of him. It was a picture we took together to celebrate my birthday. He came all the way from Western Australia to Adelaide just for it, he came for me, so we could share drinks together. That stupid smirk of his and his obsession with Jack and Cokes, it was all he drank that night....

It was that morning, the morning of whatever the fuck day of whatever the fuck month, that I truly cried for the first time in years. Not some little thing like a single tear rolling down my cheek. No, I full on broke down after I woke up in that bed. Barely ten minutes after awaking, I wailed in despair. Honestly, I was amazed no one had come into my room after the sound of my cries.

I have lost everything, and now, the dark thoughts of suicide are resurfacing. But I knew that suicide was not an option. Despite wanting to, there was always one thing I feared above all else. It wasn't death, not pain, but what came after death itself. What happens after I die? Do I reincarnate as another person? Or maybe a pony because I’m on this planet? Or maybe do I go to heaven, or hell, despite not believing in either? These questions have always lingered at the back of my mind, and will forever keep me from suicide.

~~~~~

Yesterday, I finally finished off that hammer for Applejack, and of course it was up to standard. It wasn't easy though, even though I had my knowledge of smithing from all those hours I put into WoW and Diablo, actually putting it into practice wasn't as easy. The furnace needed to constantly be loaded with coals to keep the heat up, then there was the moulding, then punching in the hole for the hammer's grip. If it wasn't for retaining that knowledge, I'd probably be there for the whole damn day.

Anyway, as per the deal that was struck between us, I was to go to AJ's farm every Sunday to work on any tools that needed fixing. An added bonus is that Sunday just happens to be their weekly “pony pet play date”, or whatever the fuck it’s called. So I get to spend the day to myself after I finished without any pesky ponies to anger me.

That makes today Monday. God I used to hate Mondays, but now that I have nothing to do, they’re just another day. No school, no work, nothing. So I decided to go visit that pink pony with the crazy hair. I hear she works at some bakery or something. I was fucking hungry and had “bits” to spend. Bits is a fucking dumb name for currency but sure. I’ll spare the details of walking through town. Glare here, glare there. Disgusted pony #53 didn’t look away this time. There were some changes though, some ponies, like Disgusted pony #81 became Not-so-disgusted pony #1.

Either way, it seemed like some ponies were actually getting used to my presence. But, getting used to me doesn’t mean they accepted me, or even like me. To be honest, I couldn’t give a flying fuck what they think. Hopefully soon, I won’t be anywhere near these fucking ponies anymore.

And so, I arrived at my destination: Sugar Cube Corner. Fitting name for a gingerbread house that just so happened to be a bakery specialising in sweets. I like it, despite it being weird as fuck. I just hope there's no witch trying to eat me once I go inside.

I walked through the front door and was greeted with a bell chiming, and then silence. All the ponies in the room who were talking amongst each other were now looking at me in shock, like a fucking dragon just walked into the shop. It was only then, that I realised Spike was walking with me the whole time.

“Oh, hey mate.” I said to the little reptilian.

“Hi.” He responded with glee. It’s only been a few days since I’ve known him, but we’ve bonded a little. The little guy doesn’t outright hate me unlike 99% of the population of this town, so I can safely say I have at least one friend.

“What about me?!” An eccentric pink pony shouted in my face, while bouncing up and down.

“Pinkie, get back here!” Hissed the pony behind the counter.

Whoa what. When did she get there? I thought to myself. Truly, this pony is something fucking weird. I looked to Spike for assistance but he just shrugged at me, but when I looked back, "Pinkie" was sliding down my body like a big, pink snake. It felt fucking weird! I almost kicked her for it!

“Uh… Hey.” I said hesitantly, waving my hand once.

“Hi! My name’s Pinkie Pie! And your name is Julian! You’re that strange creature that hates Princess Celestia for some reason!” She shouts out gleefully without a single moment's hesitation.

Are you fucking serious? I slap my hand to my face and groan. I look up to see literally everyone in the room except Pinkie staring at me with hate.

“Hi Pinkie. I came here hoping to get something to eat but I’ve changed my mind. I’ll just leave.” I started to leave before Pinkie grabbed my arm.

“What?! You can’t leave without eating! Especially if you’re hungry!” She shouted at me… again. Fucking hell she’s really beginning to annoy me.

“Well it doesn’t look like I’m exactly wanted here. Even the ponies behind the counter seem to hate me.” So today didn’t exactly do well for my emotional situation. Coupled with my thoughts this morning, and the fact that nearly every living thing in this town hated me, I got really depressed.

“Aww come on, don’t be like that.” She stopped bouncing and looked at me with a small smile on her face. I could tell it was the kind of smile a desperate person puts on their face to help others. “Just smile!” She said as she got in my face and used her hooves to turn my grimace into a makeshift grin.

“Sorry, but I don’t exactly have anything to smile about these days you know.” I said to her solemnly, gently pushing her away from me. What the fuck am I trying to do? Guilt trip these ponies? Fuck man, pull yourself together. I thought.

I was about to straighten up and apologise to her for being so depressing, but before I could, a random pony stood up and said something they really shouldn’t have.

“Oh quit your pathetic moping. You think you’re the only one with problems here ya weirdo?” She practically shouted as she walked up to me, her own hate in her steps.

“Oh I know I’m not, but my problems stem much deeper than yours, I can guarantee you that.” I replied with venom in my tone. I assume she picked up on it because she visibly recoiled a little.

“Oh really? So ponies don’t like you, not many here like me either.” She replied in turn.

“I can see why.” I was starting to get annoyed with this blue-ish/green Pegasus, maybe Turquoise? I dunno, I’m shit with colours.

Her eyes narrowed and she threw a punch at my chest. I took the hit and grunted slightly, but before she could pull back and throw another I grabbed her hoof in my hand, held tightly, and squeezed.

Her eyes widened considerably and she grunted in pain. “Let go!” She shouted while trying to pull away.

“No.” I growled in low and menacing manner at her as my grip tightened.

“Let go!” She shouted again. I squeezed harder in response, my nails now threatening to pierce her skin.

“No.” The simple word seemed to frighten her to death as she tried more feverously to escape my grip.

“Stop!” Pinkie shouted next to us. I stopped squeezing but I still held this ponies’ hoof. The Pegasus in turn stopped struggling but she still looked at me with fear in her eyes. “Why can’t you both just smile?” Pinkie asked as she came between the two of us, her expression dropping considerably. She couldn't even look at me, and her hair deflated. Literally, if her hair was a balloon, then it had most assuredly been popped. Tears built up in her eyes before she started crying in front of us.

I let go of the Pegasus mare before turning to Spike. I reached into my pocket and threw him some money I was given before leaving. “I’m not sure if you actually brought any with you, but if you did, buy yourself some extra.” I said as I patted his head before walking out the store with hate in my eyes. God damn ponies. How dare she? How dare she try and compare her problems to mine.

I walked back to the castle, practically oozing hate and rage. Once I walked in, I headed for my room. I ran into Twilight on the way and she looked surprised to see me. “Oh hey, back already? By the way, have you seen Spike?” She asked.

“He’s at Sugar Cube Corner, probably eating some muffins or something.” I waved her off dismissively before making my way to my room. I was in no mood to talk, and thinking of that place reminds me of that blue Pegasus bitch. The one who could believe that her “suffering” was anywhere near my own. How can anyone here think that their problems are bigger than mine? None of them have ever been stripped from their families, friends and home.

About twenty minutes later, my door slammed open, somehow. Twilight walked in, and she looked a bit mad. “What were you thinking?!” She yelled at me, but I remained silent. “You assaulted that pony in Sugar Cube Corner!”

I laughed hard and sarcastically at the small princess. “Assaulted? The stupid bitch threw the first punch, I retaliated in self-defence. Ask Spike, or Pinkie, or anyone in that damn bakery for that matter. They all saw it.” I bitterly replied.

“The ponies in town are spreading rumours of you attacking somepony at Sugar Cube Corner. In broad daylight!” She shouted again. My response was to sit back up and show her my pissed off face.

“And you’d believe them?! The very same ponies who seem to hate me for no reason?! The ones who spit at my feet and glare daggers at me for simply walking by them? Hell, for even existing?!” I shouted back in response, my hatred pooling over.

“What?” She seemed shocked. How could she not know? It was fucking obvious. I thought.

“The ponies in this town hate me for no reason Twilight. I thought you knew that since it was pretty much as clear as day.”

“I did, but I didn’t know they acted like this. Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked, a bit ashamed.

“And then what, little Miss Nerd? I tell you how they act, and you what, tell them to stop? Forbid them from doing it? Get the same guards who hate me just as much as the ponies do to enforce these “laws” upon them?! You can’t stop them from hating me Twilight!” I bitterly shouted as she began to step back in fear of me unleashing my rage upon her. “You can do nothing Twilight, nothing at all. No one can help me because the people who could, are lost to me. You want someone to blame for my actions? Blame your oh-so-lovely princess. She may not be the reason I’m here, but she sure didn’t do anything to FUCKING FIX IT!”

With that, I pushed her out the room and slammed the door in her face before going to a restless sleep. In my dreams, all I could see was them, the people who helped save my life...the people I love who're lost.

Julian, signing off.

Author's Note

Chapters should be coming in a lot more frequently now.

Chapter 9

Entry 4
Date: 22nd April, year 2 ALR (After Luna’s Return)

So today is my birthday (Whoop dee fucking doo!). Not really. I don’t celebrate my birthday anymore. It reminds me of home, as well as being the same day that I was imprisoned, so today doesn’t hold as many good thoughts or emotions as it used to.

It’s been three days since I had my little breakdown and aggressive outburst, but I’m better now. Regardless, I finally learned the date from Pinkie after she came to visit me this morning.

Twilight told me that Pinkie wanted to visit me because of my self-isolation, and that she brought cupcakes. After remembering about how much I upset her the other day, I let her into my room out of guilt and hope shed forgive me...

Plus I was getting hungry.

“Hey Pinkie, sorry about being so moody last time.” I apologised sincerely.

“It’s okay, I know everypony can’t be happy all the time.” She responded, “So I brought cupcakes to help cheer you up! You didn’t get to eat last time.” She put the pink box on the bed and opened it. Inside were six cupcakes with two of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, where one of each had sprinkles on them. All the good stuff.

“Wow, cheers mate. You didn’t have to do this for me.” I reached in and pulled out a chocolate cupcake with sprinkles on it.

“Don’t be silly! Just because I didn’t have to, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t!” She replied gleefully.

I took a bite out of the cupcake in my hand, and what I tasted was nothing short of perfection. I’ve never had such a delicious cupcake before in my life. “Holy shit this is fantastic!” I exclaimed with real joy for the first time in years. If either my mum or Alex had heard that, they'd smack me for saying someone else's cooking was better.

“I’m glad you think so!” Pinkie clapped her hooves together and giggled happily.

I reached in and pulled out another one, but I offered it to Pinkie instead. “Here, I couldn’t eat all these myself. I’m not very good with sweets.”

She looks at the cupcake in my hand for a moment, before smiling a big grin, and literally devouring it in my hand. Like, she just ate the entire cupcake in one bite, while it was still in my hand. She even managed to chew and swallow it with my hand in her mouth. She spat out my hand before thanking me for the cupcake. She then put her face into the box and pulled out another.

I just stared blankly at her for a few moments, while slowly taking another bite of the delicious confectionary in my hand. The chocolate one with sprinkles was good, but this strawberry one is pretty great as well.

“So what brings you around here? Just came to deliver these cupcakes?” I ask while she was chewing on her third cupcake. Only one left, and I took it without hesitation. Pinkie looked a bit grumpy at that but hey, she brought them here for me to eat.

“Sure did! Thought you could use a pick-me-up!” She shouted a bit too happily. She is way too happy.

“Yeah sorry about that. I was a bit down, but don’t worry, I’m feeling better now, especially after those cupcakes.”

She smiled brightly, “yay!” She jumped up and down on the spot while cheering.

“Riiiiight”

“So what are you doing today?” Pinkie asked with a smile on her dial. Heh

“Not sure really, probably just lounge around, maybe go out and try to find another of the Element bearers to talk with.”

“Well look no further! Pinkie Pie at your service!” She giggled playfully to herself.

“Well aren’t you just a barrel of laughs? Alright Pinkie, what did you want to talk about?” I asked the chipper mare in front of me.

“You! I wanna know more about you! So I can make you smile when you’re feeling down.”

I stared at her momentarily. This crazy mare was willing to go out of her way just to make me smile. She’s definitely a better person than I am, but I don’t give a fuck. I don’t exactly have a reason to be nice nowadays. “That’s awfully considerate of you Pinkie, but why would you do that for me?”

“Because everypony deserves to smile!” She stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“…”

Silence reigned for a few moments, all the while Pinkie was staring at me with a massive grin on her face.

“Well what do you wanna know?” I asked with a bit of hesitation.

“I wanna know what makes you laugh!” She shouted in response

“Well to be honest, just about anything. I have a pretty open sense of humour, and few things insult me.” I stated. I wonder if they have racist jokes here in Equestria? If not, then they’ll probably end up making some about me, fucking ponies

“That gives me a lot to work off! Is there anything in particular that you always had a good giggle at?”

“Hmm… I think I remember this one time at my birthday party, my friends and I were playing Halo, when I grabbed the sniper on a ledge, I turned around and pulled off three headshots, which won me the free for all game. I laughed for a good solid 10 minutes.” I chuckled at the fuzzy memory.

“I have no idea what any of those are but that reminds me! When is your birthday?” She sounded a bit desperate. God knows why though.

“Uhh…” Fuck I can’t remember. 1,000 years of solitude has left me with fuzzy memories. “Umm… April… the something. Fuck come on when was it? Gimme a second Pinkie… April… April… April the… twentyyyyyyy.” I extended the ‘y’ at the end of twenty to help jog my memory. “Twentyyyy… second! April the twenty-second.” I said, my voice full of pride for managing to remember that. Ooooohhhhhhhh.......shhhit… now I remember why I made it a point to forget.

“Well that’s good! That means today is your birthday! Let’s have a party! Woo!” She rushed out the room the moment she said party. I could hear her shouting “Woo” all throughout the castle.

I sighed dramatically before slowly getting off the bed, and walking out the door. I tried to find Twilight so she could tell her friend Pinkie that a party was not necessary, nor was it wanted, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. Well that being said, I only searched the castle library, since that was where she spent 90% of her time. I did however find her in the hallway leading to that weird throne room thingy.

“Oh hey, could you come with me for a moment?” She stops and asks me.

“Uh… Sure.” I followed her to the doors of the throne room thingy, where she stopped me and entered herself. The door closed and I waited a few moments, not really sure what I was supposed to do.

“Okay, come in!” Twilight shouted from inside the room.

I opened the doors and was greeted with a sight that was most unexpected. Six ponies and a small dragon were gathered around a giant banner that said “Happy birthday Rage guy!” In bright rainbow colours.

“What.” Was all that I could say at that moment.

“Pinkie Pie told us it was your birthday today, so she invited us all over to a small party she put together.” Twilight informed me. How? In such little time. This mare is ridiculous. “She said that it’d be sad if somepony didn’t get to celebrate their birthday, so we all agreed to come.”

“Some more than others...” I heard Rainbow Dash mumble from the other side of the room. I looked at her only to see Twilight whack her in the shins. It actually made me smile for the first time in a thousand years.

“But…” I started, trying to object to the party, but as I looked around and came to Pinkie, she just had a massive smile on her face. Seeing that, I couldn’t… I want to leave, but if I do, it’ll crush her and ruin even more of the little reputation I have. “Okay then.” I said as I slowly walked forward towards the group. Twilight and Applejack were smiling, along with Spike and Pinkie. The rest had various looks. The yellow one who Twilight mentioned was Fluttershy, was hiding behind her pink mane. The one named Rarity was watching me with a keen eye as I slowly walked forward, while the one named Rainbow Dash was watching me with distrust.

The party itself was something else. Something that I have not experienced in a long time, and that was friendly interaction with people. Ever since coming to Equestria I’ve never once celebrated my birthday, and the simple fact was because of the day it reminded me of. There was a cake and everything, with one thousand candles somehow shoved into it....I guess it's the thought that counts.

“How did you manage to forget your own birthday?” Twilight asked, a bit intrigued.

“Well aside from that fact that I was in a stone prison for 1,000 years, I also have a terrible memory.” I paused for a moment before looking down to the ground with a drink in my hands. “But, it’s also because this day reminds me of the day I lost my only friend since coming to Equestria. Today's the day Nightmare Moon came to be, as well as the day of my imprisonment in stone as the Embodiment of Rage. Not just that, but the biggest reason I'd forget my birthday, is because the 22nd of April marks the anniversary of my arrival in Equuis. So, today’s not a day I really like to remember anymore...” I replied truthfully.

Twilight almost immediately looked like she regretted that she asked me that question in the first place. Her ears dropped against her head, and her gaze fell to the floor. “Oh.” She said with sorrow in her voice.

“Don’t worry about it. By tomorrow, I’ll have forgotten about it. Besides, the party was fun so there’s that as well.” I smiled to her briefly. “It’s getting late and I'm getting sleepy, so I’m gonna head to bed. Tell Pinkie I said ‘thanks for the party’.” I waved goodbye before leaving the room and heading back down to my room and into bed.

To be perfectly honest, I’ve no idea how long I can keep this 'lone wolf' façade up, but these feelings are starting to turn genuine. I may actually be feeling happy for once since coming to Equestria. Maybe, just maybe, these ponies aren’t as bad as I think they are. Maybe these six are different from all the others. I really hope so, it’s a very lonely world when everyone in it either hates you or wants you dead just because you look different to what they're used to. Racist arseholes...

Julian signing off.

Author's Note

Sorry, I said I was gonna post this earlier than I did, but I had formal, then a formal after party, which was hectic af.
So yeah, new chapter!

Chapter 10

Entry 5
Date: 23rd April, year 2 ALR

Last night was fun, but I’m not really much of a party person. Whereas my old friends would constantly drink and smoke, though mostly not tobacco (although I would sometimes join those occasions), I would shy away from drinking. I hated the feeling of being drunk, and the taste of alcohol is terrible. They say that it grows on you, but I’m not going to drink as much so that it does.

Regardless, yesterday’s party was a good change of pace. It showed me that not all ponies are complete racist shitheads, just the apparent majority. I say 'apparent' because so far, the only ones who’ve had interactions with me are the ponies of this town, and those from a millennium ago. So who knows how I'd be treated across the country if I ever left. Maybe things have changed, but then again, maybe they haven’t. Only time will tell.

Due to an extreme lack of things to do I’ve been going to bed and getting up relatively early. So I’ve resorted to just talking long walks. Very long walks. It’s Friday so everyone is out and about on their last day of work, keen for the weekend. I’m indifferent, because I don’t have any fucking work, so the weekend is just another day. However, that did mean that per a previous arrangement, I was to go back and work on Applejacks’ farm in two days, fixing shit for her. How fun. Well, I can't complain too much, a hard day behind the forge is better than a hard day behind a desk.

Anyway, back to the talks. Today I decided to go a bit further outside of Ponyville, instead of just circling around town centre where all I'd get would be scorn. So, I walked towards the borders of the Everfree forest, the place I spent five years surviving in one millennium ago. It was hell trying to survive there, but that, that’s a different story for another time. At the border of the forest I found a small cottage, completely filled with all kinds of animals, ranging from birds to.... Is that a bear I see? Aaaaanyway, this place was chockablock with animals that I used to hunt for all those years ago.

If I’m not mistaken, this is the place that Twilight said her friend Fluttershy lives. I wonder how this will turn out. I thought almost sarcastically to myself, though I was genuinely curious as to how this would turn out. I remembered her from the party last night, the yellow mare with a pink mane who shied away from me, while conversing with the blue and rainbow one. Rainbow Dash, the one who distrusts me the most of the six. I hope that she isn't here, I'm in no mood for her shit.

I approached the small bridge that went over a small stream, and almost immediately as I did, all the birds and small rodents dispersed, as if they were being hunted. I continued on towards the house, walking slowly at a brisk pace. I hate walking slow but if I made too much of a commotion I’d probably scare her off. I need her to trust me not fear me.

I knocked on the door with three solid knocks. A moment later, a small white rabbit opened the door with a carrot in his hand. It looked at me with a fierce glare while munching on its food. I raised an eyebrow before looking it straight in the eyes and asked, “Is Fluttershy available?” The rabbit shook its head before making to slam the door. I stopped it in time and glared at the rabbit. I’m glaring at a rabbit. What the fuck is my life right now? “You better not be lying to me. I haven’t eaten rabbit in a damn long time, so don’t tempt me you little fuck.”

The little rabbit shook with fear before running inside, leaving the door open. Moments later it came back, but instead of coming alone, it was pushing Fluttershy towards the door. “Angel, what’s the matter? Did that carrot give you a tummy ache?” She asked with a soft, almost angelic voice. Possible angel in disguise. If angels even exist in this plane of existence. Don’t see why not. I made a mental note to observe this one in the future.

The moment she turned to look at me, she froze up just like her rabbit. The rabbit named Angel stopped pushing its owner, and simply hid behind her leg. Fluttershy cowered before me as I stood confused in the doorway. She hid behind her mane before meekly saying, “Um… h-hello.”

I gave a single wave of my right hand, “G'day.” I said simply.

She shuffled nervously during the silence that followed. “Um. W-what are you doing here? I-If you don’t mind me asking.”

She really stays true to her name. I thought to myself as she continued to be dead scared of me. “I came to hang out. Is that a problem?” I asked her.

“Oh! N-no not at all.” She replied nervously as she stuttered her words slightly.

“Cool.” I stood there waiting for a bit while Fluttershy hid behind her mane, trying to avoid eye contact with me. “Sooo....am I unwelcome? Or can I come in?” I asked her after the second minute of silence passed us.

Fluttershy seemed to grow even more embarrassed and shy from my question. “S-sorry, please c-come in.” She moved to the side to allow my entrance.

Only after I entered her house did I realise how many animals lived there. I could see multiple birds of different species, some rabbits, a racoon, a squirrel and a bunch of other creatures. I can’t remember exactly what they were, either way, it was quite like walking into a zoo. “You certainly have a lot of animals here.” I said, almost in wonder of how she managed to fit this many animals in her small house. I guess it's lucky for her that it's bigger on the inside.

She seemed to brighten up a bit, and actually looked at me from outside her mane. “Oh yes! I just love animals.”

I smiled slightly, “What a coincidence, so do I.” Above most other things, their taste is what I love most. “So these are all your pets?” I asked the shy pony.

“Oh no, these are all my animal friends. They live here and I take care of them, feed them and help them get better when they’re sick.” She stated matter-of-factly.

“So, like I said, these are all your pets.” I reiterated.

“Yes I guess you could put it that way.” She responded, once again moving behind her mane, probably out of embarrassment.

“You really are shy aren’t you? I suppose it fits with your name.” I chuckled lightly.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, before I noticed that it was completely quiet, no a sound was uttered. It was then I found out all of her animals had disappeared somewhere. “Oh, they’re all gone.” I said, almost a little disappointed that they just decided to rack off.

Fluttershy looked behind her leg at Angel, “They’re afraid of you.” She said with a bit of hesitation, almost as if she feared what kind of response I would give.

“Understandable, I am an omnivore.” I opened my mouth and pointed to my canines. “I’m a predator, it's only natural for prey to be afraid of that which preys on them.”

“Do you think that’s why the ponies in town are so afraid of you?” She asked softly.

“Maybe, that or just spite out of me not being normal in this world. Wait, you’re not scared of me?” I asked a bit surprised, noticing how calm she was around me. Whenever I said I ate meat in the past, ponies would either immediately avoid me, or attack me in hopes that I wouldn't try and eat them.

“Oh, well it did come as a shock at first, but I have a bear friend who lives here, so I’m used to meat-eating creatures.” She said with a bit less hesitation.

“But you hate me for it right? The fact that I eat, and have eaten, creatures like your little rabbit friend there.” I pointed to her little friend behind her, which only served to frighten it to the point of fainting. I hope the little shit had a heart attack, rabbit is actually pretty good.

“No I couldn’t hate you for what’s only natural. You eat meat to survive, but just know if you eat any of my animal friends, I will never forgive you.” The previously reserved, hesitant, shy and embarrassed Fluttershy was gone. Now stood a pony full of resolve and courage. She had a stare on her that was most peculiar. When I looked into her eyes I had the sneaking suspicion that there was more to this pony than meets the eye. I’ll definitely need to watch this one in the future. Something tells me she's more dangerous than any of the others...

“Don’t worry, I won’t be eating any of your animal friends.” Unless they ‘accidently’ wonder into the Everfree.

“That’s good.” She goes quiet after that.

“How about you give me a tour of the place? I’d love to meet any animals that don’t run away.” I asked, trying to make something out of this situation.

“Oh! What an excellent idea.” She smiled brightly before motioning me to follow. So to get on her good side, talk about animals. Simple.

Fluttershy showed me around her small cottage home, which is quite cosy if I say so myself. After she finished showing me her house, we explored her backyard. Out the back, I could see some free range chicken in a pen, and a small fence that bordered her home. Above were multiple birds flying, along with bat for some unknown reason.

“Quite the place you’ve – shit! – got here.” Midsentence, a wasp flew past me and up to Fluttershy, who seemed to be talking with it. “Uh, what are you doing?”

Fluttershy and the wasp LOOKED AT ME. It straight up turned its attention to me after I spoke, that’s creepy as fuck.

“Oh just talking with Mr Wasp.” Fluttershy responded casually.

“‘Mr Wasp?’ Wait, you're talking to that thing?!” I shouted, completely dumbfounded at what she had said to me.

“Yes, my special talent allows me to communicate with animals in a way nopony else can. Even professional veterinarians have consulted me on diagnoses they cannot discern in animals.” She responded gleefully, almost proud of that last fact.

“Right, well, I’m absolutely terrified of bees and wasps. So please tell him/she/it to stay away from me please.” I had hoped she’d listen to me but it seems the wasp had no intention to as it looked at me, and that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was that it was smiling at me. “Oh god no, stay away!” I was backing up at this point, freaking out, while the wasp just kept creeping forward before breaking out into a bee line right for me.

Needless to say, it practically chased me around the backyard. No I was not screaming my head off to be saved. All the while Fluttershy was giggling lightly at the antics.

“Seriously, help me out! I’m allergic to their stings!” I shouted.

“Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you.” Fluttershy tried to comfort me but that fucking wasp was still behind me. I swear the little shit was enjoying it.

“That doesn’t fucking make me feel any better! Seriously, just the sound of it flying alone is freaking me out!” I kept trying to plead with the only one who could help me, and thank god it worked. Fluttershy asked the dickhead of a wasp to stop chasing me, after about ten minutes of running that is.

I have to admit though, it was a bit funny when I think back. At the time it fucking wasn’t. Afterwards, Fluttershy asked if I’ve ever had a pet before.

“I did, a long time ago. A blue heeler named Sapphire, we just called her Saphy though. She was a great dog.” I detailed some of the times I shared with her, and we laughed together when I recalled some of her silly antics.

“Would you like a pet? I’m sure one of my animal friends would be glad to go with you, but I don’t have any dogs.” Fluttershy’s question was straight out of left field and caught me off guard.

“As much as I’d love one, I can’t. I don’t have the patience to care for another, as much as it sounds selfish, it’s true. And I don’t like growing attached, it’s just too sad when they die.” I said, making the conversation take an unintentional morbid turn.

“But that’s a part of being a pet owner, caring for another to build strong bonds with them for life. And when they do pass away, while sad, it is simply a part of life. Instead of dwelling on the passing, you should think about all the good times you had together, like we did today.” Fluttershy smiled sadly at me. I could tell that she’s lost many of her friends, but despite that, she always takes on more.

“Your words hold truth Fluttershy, but that’s the problem. I remember the good times, which makes me sad because I remembered them. I remember that she'll never be there again, never to jump excitedly at the gate when I get home, or swim in the pool with me on hot summer days, or even just to play with. It makes me depressed to remember, because I loved my pets as much as I would a friend.”

“But when a friend passes away, you make new ones don’t you?” Fluttershy insisted on getting me a new pet, and she wouldn’t relent.

“Not since then…” I muttered to myself. “Look Fluttershy, I appreciate the kindness, but I don’t think I could take on a pet at this time. Maybe another time, when the ponies here don’t hate me so much. But thank you.” I smiled and bowed my head in thanks.

“Oh! N-no need t-t-to th-thank me.” Fluttershy goes back to her original self and hides behind her mane.

“Listen, I’d love to stay for longer, but I’m starving and it looks like it’s getting late. See ya Fluttershy.” We bid each other goodbye before I made my way back to the castle.

I genuinely enjoyed myself today, aside from that bastard of a wasp. Fluttershy is a great pony who doesn’t deserve any resentment I give to others simply because of what happened in my past. I repeat what I said in my last entry: It seems I’m getting softer, and I’m starting to forgive. But I cannot, I must not. Not after what they did to me. I know these ponies are good, and that they don’t deserve my hate, but maybe what Fluttershy said is true. It may just be an instinct to fear and hate me because I am a predator. But that’s bullshit. A thought for another time.

Julian signing off

Author's Note

I apologise or the delay friends. Been a bit hectic the past few weeks. But here it is! Latest installment of EoR!
Hopefully it doesn't take too long for the next chapter to be released, and I apologise in advance for any delays/set-backs.
My editor took 3 weeks to get back to me on this, so it's not just lazy writing that delayed this chapter. Also don't blame him, he's had shit to do the past few weeks.

Chapter 11

Entry 6

Date: 24rd April, year 2 ALR - Saturday

I’ve decided to start putting the day in any of my further entries. Regardless, today was… well something else. I started my early morning jog/walk around the ‘town’. The ponies still gave me wide births, and some were still hostile towards me.

And so to avoid any possible confrontations, as well as the glares I get from the local populace, my walk was directed towards the Everfree Forest. A place I know of all too well, and a place I feel I can be safer.

However, my peaceful trek towards the forest was interrupted by a blue Pegasus. Said Pegasus was currently following me, and had been for nearly my entire walk. I noticed her as I left the ‘castle’. She had her face poking out of a cloud, but as soon as she saw that I noticed her, her face retreated behind the condensed water vapour.

“I know you’re there. No point hiding; come on out.” I turned to face the cloud that the blue pony was hiding behind. After a few seconds of not moving I decided to speak again. “I can see your tail you know…”

The rainbow tail that was poking out the edge of the cloud was quickly pulled back in. “How did you know I was there?” Came the reply of a pony I know all too well.

“Well aside from the obvious, I’ve known about you following me since I saw you this morning.” I could hear a faint curse come from the pony behind the cloud before she flew down to face me. “Care to explain you stalking me? I’m sure this wasn’t the only day you’ve been following me.”

The blue pony got a bit too close for my liking; hovering in the air, sticking her face a few inches from mine while looking me dead in the eye. “I can’t trust you, so I’ve been watching you and making sure you haven’t hurt anypony.”

I put her hands on her shoulders and pushed her body down to the ground, hard enough to hurt. “And tell me, are you satisfied with my behaviour? I’ve endured the insults your fellow ponies throw at me, and so far I’ve been relatively calm about it. But do not push me pony, for there is only so much I can take.”

She glared daggers at me, “Just stay away from my friends.”

I laughed at her puny attempt at being intimidating, “Oh? And why should I? So far your friends have been relatively nice to me, especially Pinkie and Fluttershy; they actually treat me with the respect any living being deserves. Unlike you and everyone else.”

“What makes you think you deserve any respect at all?”

“An interesting question.” I shifted my weight and put my hand out over the town behind us. “Before I answer, let me ask you this. If everyone around you suddenly treated you like dirt; a monster even, how would you react? Knowing you’ve done nothing wrong but exist, they just suddenly lose all respect in you. How would you feel? The people around you would disrespect you at every opportunity, calling you names and throwing things at you.”

I could see her face lose confidence; her glare loosening. “You’d feel like shit. Angry. You’d wonder what you did wrong, and when you realise that you’ve done nothing, you would just get angrier, depressed even. It continues for years to the point where it’s too much, and you just want to end it.”

She was no longer glaring; her ears were pulled down with her head hung low. “I know what that feels like, and trust me, you do not want that feeling. This is why I deserve respect, not in the form of a king or hero or something, but in the form that every living being deserves. So far only a handful of ponies have shown me any respect, and your precious princess isn’t one of them. She is just as bad as the rest of you ponies.”

“Don’t talk about the princess like that!” She suddenly gained confidence and shouted at me.

“And why not? I’m not wrong! Go on and ask her! I’m sure if she has any shred of honesty she’d tell you the EXACT SAME FUCKING THING! I shouted at the pathetic Pegasus pony that tried so hard at looking tough.

“That doesn’t give you a right to disrespect the princess! After all that talk about respect, you would then turn around and disrespect somepony? Especially a princess!” She shouted in response.

“A persons’ title does not award them respect! Respect is earned, but all creatures deserve a certain amount. Celestia does not deserve any respect from me; she is nothing but a liar, hypocrite and tyrant.” I rebutted.

“You!” She yelled in anger, “How dare you say that about the princess!” She lunged forward, and before I could react, sucker punched me in the face.

Her hoof pushed me back a bit and twisted my head to the side. I stood there stunned for a few moments, before laughing. The laugh grew deeper and louder, “If only you knew what I did. You’ve made a big mistake little pony.” I drew my fist back and twisted before throwing a punch towards her snout, using all the strength from my hips to ensure connection.

And it did.

Time felt like it slowed down as my fist collided with that blue snout of hers. First I saw the ripple effect travel through one side of her mouth to the other, then the sound of the sickening crack from my knuckles and into her cheekbones and teeth, echoing in my ears and across the forest. As Alex said after watching Jojo, time resumes again. As it did, the effects of my punch showed in the form of Rainbow Dash being sent flying from my fist and into a nearby tree. She's lucky that it wasn't a strong punch, otherwise her spine would've fractured upon collision with said tree.

"If you think speed will allow you to win this fight, you're wrong. Let me tell you now, this fight will end with you losing because of your own speed." I warned her as she struggled to her hooves.

"Don't lie to me, nopony knows the future, and especially not you. You insult the princess and called her a liar, you are so getting decked."

"Fuckin' try it then." I said, preparing for her next attack

This bitch, she's smarter than I thought... She's actually sucking my area of all its oxygen. She plans to suffocate me. I thought as I felt the air around me getting thinner and thinner by the second. Rainbow was using her speed and pegasi magic to create a whirlwind around her, effectively blocking all potential attacks.

I guess now would be a good time to use my only weapons, good thing I hid them from Celestia and her little ponies. From my little side pouch, I pulled out five caltrops; each the size of a golf ball minus their centimetre and a half long spikes. Small, and semi-deadly. Working a little of my own magic into them, I lastly tie them all together with a little strip of my sleeve.

"I said your speed would be your downfall, and now I'll prove it." I said to Rainbow Dash, as I threw makeshift bola into the whirlwind. From there I just waited patiently, scarcely using any of the remaining air in the centre. Not five seconds later, I hear a sort of ‘schlick’ noise that was immediately followed by the screams of one spectrum-maned pony. Within minutes the whirlwind died down and I was greeted with the sight of a downed Rainbow Dash pierced by the caltrops across her abdomen. I walked towards her and she looked back at me with pained hatred. As I drew closer to Rainbow, I also noticed that her wing was broken, and one of her legs. It seems the impact on the ground broke some bones. Possibly some ribs as well.

"Those caltrops were woven with a heat seeking enchantment, all that speed raised your internal body temperature from 28 degrees to around 34 degrees, hot enough for the enchantment to follow you." I bent down towards her, and with two hands, I ripped the caltrops from her body. Rainbow screamed in pain and anger, but I ignored her. Reaching into my pouch once again, I pulled out one of the few ‘health potions’ I have I wonder if these are self-replenishing? They were unlimited in the game so I’d hope so. I grabbed her jaw with my left hand and forced her mouth open. I then poured the potion down her throat and forced her to swallow. Her wounds underwent accelerated healing, and her bones began to repair themselves. However, a potion can only do so much, so her wing and leg were still broken, and the wound on her chest was not fully closed.

I looked into her eyes filled with confusion. "Two things you should never do with a human: never underestimate their resourcefulness, and never think they're weak like you ponies are." At the mention of being weak her face contorted into one of hatred once again. "Also, If I were truly a monster like you all say, I would have left those caltrops in you to tear your flesh apart and let you bleed out, and not given you that healing potion. We may be assholes a fair amount of the time, but we at least deserve the same respect you'd give to anyone else the world, because we are alive too."

I stood up and started to walk away. “I’ll let someone know you’re here. It’s best if you don’t try to move, the potion is effective, but you still run the risk of re-opening your wounds.” I looked towards the semi-closed wounds on her abdomen before walking away.

I walked back into town, my mood being ruined by a certain blue pony. I felt the need to lie down on my bed in Twilight’s castle, and so I did. As I walked through the front doors and down towards my room, I ran into Twilight.

She looked up at my face with worry; a black eye was beginning to form where Rainbow punched me. “What happened?! You weren’t assaulted were you!?” Twilight shouted in worry.

“Something like that. Which reminds me, your friend Rainbow Dash is in need of medical attention. She should be on the path that leads into the Everfree.” I pointed somewhere behind me.

“What?!” Twilight screamed and rushed out the door, looking for her friend.

I continued on my way into my room and collapsed on my bed. And so ended my extremely tiring day. As expected, there were still many ponies who didn’t trust me, and the incident with Rainbow didn’t help my case. Twilight came bursting into my room, just about ready to kill me, demanding an explanation on the situation, saying that Rainbow claimed I attacked her. I detailed what actually happened, and about how Rainbow has been stalking me for a few days.

Of course, Twilight didn’t believe me at first, but she said she’d talk to Rainbow again, and that if I was lying she’d throw me into the dungeon. I told her she’s a fucking idiot, because of course Rainbow would lie to her just to get me thrown in prison, so Twilight agreed to take Applejack with her to the hospital tomorrow to find out if Rainbow was lying or not. Twilight also took notice of how my black eye managed to heal itself in the span of a few hours. I told her it was most likely due to the ‘passive healing’ that my Nephalem powers give me, and promised that I’d tell her in detail exactly what that means at a later date.

For now, Julian signing off.

Author's Note

I apologise greatly for the slow updates. Uni started a few weeks ago and it's been pretty hectic. I'll definitely get the next chapter out soon.

Chapter 12

Entry 7

29th April, year 2 ALR - Thursday

To start out I’d like to say that the reason there hasn’t been any entries for a while is because of a serious of events that lead to us travelling to some small village for some kind of ‘friendship problem’. By us, I mean Twilight and her friends, and me. In all honesty, the way she said that made it sound like a gay version of ‘I sense a disturbance in the force’.

As usual, on Sunday I spent the day helping fix Applejack’s tools, but only after Twilight brought her and Rainbow to the castle in the morning. Applejack told me that she found out Rainbow was lying to them to get me in trouble, so as punishment she’s been forced to apologise, on the grounds that we have to try to sort things out between us.

Personally I think it’s a load of crap, but I can’t argue very much with her; I need to get my bow back. Anyway, the weekend was something else. Twilight and her friends were in the throne room of her castle discussing plans about some sort of map or something, I dunno. After they were done, Twilight found me and told me that we needed to go to this small village because something happened there. Naturally, I didn’t want to go as I felt like myself and that prismatic prick would only fight the entire time. But, Twilight said she needed to keep an eye on me, and this would be a good opportunity to gauge whether or not I was trustworthy or not. So I did the only thing I could and hesitantly followed.

The train ride was boring as fuck, and incredibly awkward, so I sat a distance from Twilight and her friends while they talked the way there. Anyway, after we arrived we headed into town, which looked fucking retarded, as all the buildings were lined up side-by-side in two parallel rows. Immediately I knew something was wrong. The ponies were all wearing fake smiles, and they all had the same cutie mark. I didn’t say anything, thinking it to be nothing. So I followed Twilight and her friends through town, where after multiple encounters with other towns ponies, they met up with the ‘mayor’ Starlight Glimmer.

I should also mention that while I was following Twilight and her group, I wished to remain hidden, so I didn’t draw unnecessary attention to myself or the others, and possibly complicate things. Twilight and her friends agreed to this, so I stuck to the shadows. Years of hunting in the forest honed my skills of stalking, so I succeeded in not being seen.

I digress. This Starlight Glimmer then proceeded to try and convince Twilight and her friends that cutie marks are evil or some shit like that, where she then started a musical, which I think looked a lot like a propaganda video for communism or some shit. I honestly think I met the female pony equivalent of Stalin. Anyway obviously they didn’t agree so Starlight offered them to interact with the ponies of the town, to see what having the same cutie mark can offer them. Twilight and her friends then sat around a table and talked about something, I dunno I wasn’t listening. Anyway, they were led by this pony into her basement, where everything was revealed. Starlight stole pony’s cutie marks from them using some kind of staff, and stores them in a giant vault.

Twilight and her friends followed Starlight to some strange cave, where a giant wall of cutie marks were held. Starlight then ambushed them after talking about something, where she then proceeded to steal their cutie marks from them.

I took this as my opportunity to ‘prove myself’, as I leapt from the shadows and tackled Starlight to the ground. Everyone gathered stared in shock as I proceeded to pin Starlight to the ground. “We thought you left!” Twilight shouted as I grabbed the staff lying on the floor nearby.

“Of course not, I was just hiding and waiting.” I declared, holding the staff in hand, I got up off Starlight.

Said pony looked at me in horror, “What are you?”

“I am human, a creature without a cutie mark.”

“No cutie mark? Then you should join me! Help me rid the world of cutie marks!” Starlight shouted with glee.

“While I do not disagree with your beliefs, I also know that a pony’s cutie mark is their identity. You have stolen these ponies’ identities, and have essentially been dictating their lives. As such, you must be punished.” I raised the staff, and was about to bitch slap this bitch with it, before she shot her magic at me.

I slammed back into the wall and hit my head on a jagged rock, knocking me unconscious.

When I next awoke, we were locked in a room somewhere. By ‘we’ I mean Twilight, her friends, and myself. I sat quietly in a corner as they each started complaining about not being able to do things they could do before. I scoffed which caused them to glare at me, with Rainbow outright nearly attacking me. She called me a coward for hiding instead of showing my face earlier, but I ignored her, as well as the glares her friends gave me.

I sat patiently in the corner while they discussed escape plans. Twilight suggested faking to join their village, and volunteered Fluttershy to do it, since she would be the most believable. To be honest, I thought it was a good plan, obviously with flaws but no plan is perfect. I voiced my agreement to Twilight's plan, to the surprise of everyone, even Twilight herself.

With that, Starlight asked if they were to join their society, where Twilight shot her down. Fluttershy made her move and ‘joined them’. Starlight looked at me and asked if I would join her again. I told her exactly this: "You should clone yourself. You know why?"

"Why?" She asked back.

"So you can go fuck yourself. I don’t associate with criminals or pieces of shit like you." Starlight scoffed at my insult, walking away with Fluttershy in tow. When she had left the room, I turned to see everyone looking at me in shock and disgust for using such language, I just laughed at them for being so innocent.

Starlight made Fluttershy prove her loyalty to her cause, by making her tell Starlight which pony told them about the vault. Before she could say anything though, the pony responsible, a young stallion, stepped forward and claimed all responsibility. As a result, he was locked away with us.

And so we all waited, some more patiently than others. The new inmate voiced his opinion, saying that it’s just a matter of time before we join Starlight. “Have some faith pony.” Was all I said before returning to silence.

I don’t know how much time passed before we were brought out again, where Starlight once again offered a place in her society for us. The pony who was locked with us claimed regret for his actions, and was once again accepted into their town. Fluttershy then did something unexpected, and tried to drench Starlight in water, but only a little got on her. The pony who was once our inmate noticed that Starlight’s make-up was starting to run, and used a cloth the wipe it away, revealing that Starlight's cutie mark was fake, much to my enjoyment and her dread.

The villages within seconds turned on Starlight, angry that she lied to them all, claiming she was just like them. Starlight then fled to her home and locked the doors. The villagers then went up to the cave to take back their cutie marks, where Twilight and her friends went searching for theirs in Starlight’s house. The villagers – after retrieving their cutie marks – helped us breach Starlight’s house, where we found she had fled through some sort of underground passage.

We made to pursue her before Rainbow declared that they didn’t require my assistance. Twilight tried to scold her, before I made my statement, “It’s not about needing my help, it’s about bringing a manic criminal to justice.”

The ponies looked at me sceptically before we continued on. The passage led us into a serious of caves, almost like a maze and out into the mountains. It’s there that we saw some of the villagers about to be attacked by Starlight. The glass jars lay shattered on the floor; Twilight and her friends now with their cutie marks.

Twilight jumped in to protect the villagers from Starlight’s attack, where they then had a back and forth argument about friendship. I considered jumping in to help Twilight but she seemed to have it under control. Besides, I didn’t want to unnecessarily injure myself for being reckless.

In a blind rage at apparently losing the argument, Starlight casts a blinding spell. This literally blinds me (no shit) for a while, since I’ve had extremely sensitive eyes for my whole life, I can’t handle bright sudden lights. After regaining my vision, I learn that Starlight escaped, much to my displeasure.

I voiced my anger towards them for letting her get away, and not pursuing, but Twilight said something about her not being a problem anymore, before I told her that she’s a fucking idiot.

Regardless, the problem was now ‘solved’, the villagers had their marks back and the ponies all had a wonderful party. Hooray. I hope you know I’m being sarcastic.

Wait… I don’t need to say that! This is my journal! Stop reading my stuff!

Right, so Twilight and her friends all bonded together and had a great group hug at the end. It was incredibly uncomfortable, but what’s worse was that Twilight invited me into it! I didn’t even do shit! But she claims I’m their friend, so I should be a part of their group hugs. Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy agreed, Rarity was indifferent and Rainbow hated the idea, as do I. So I declined the invitation, saying that there was no reason to join in their hug. Despite this, Twilight and the ones who actually thought I was their friend all hugged me.

I hate to say it, but it was quite pleasant. I’ve not felt friendly contact from others in such a long time, I forgot how much I loved hugs. Reluctantly, I hugged them back. I say reluctantly because I did not want to show them my soft side. Rainbow laughed at me, saying I wasn’t so tough after all.

I shot back saying that she was just in a prissy little group hug before. Obviously this annoyed her but Twilight cut in, saying that we should get back.

And so ended the fun, little adventure. Seeing as Starlight wasn’t captured, I warned Twilight that she would be back, and told her to prepare herself for their inevitable confrontation. Twilight said I was being ridiculous but I held my belief. "People like that always come back, and with more rage than ever towards those who wronged them. One of these days you need to grow up and not be so naïve, and the day she does come back, everything she does will be on your head because you chose to let her go." I said to her rather coldly, to which she hanged her head. Not in shame, but probably in thought of her actions and my words. At least I hope that would be what she's thinking about.

Now I’d like to make something clear to those who're reading this. Stop reading my stuff! And don’t think for a second I’ve gone soft, or gotten attached. The moment I get my bow back I’m getting the fuck out of here, these ponies are getting on my nerves, and rain-bitch ain't helping them.

Julian singing off

Author's Note

This chapter was written on the train to Kyoto, so it's probably rubbish, so I would like for people to write their opinions in the comments :)
Also, yes I am in Japan so I won't be writing for a while. I will write the next chapter on the plane back to Australia so expect the next chapter in about 2 weeks, depends how long it takes for Alex to get back with editing (not having a go, just detailing possible delays in the next chapter)

Chapter 13

Entry 8

9th May, 2 ALR – Sunday

The past week or so have been extremely uneventful, however there was one thing that happened yesterday that was extremely unexpected and unprecedented to any of us. Before I get into that however, I’d like to point out that since Equestria is in the northern hemisphere, then all the seasons are in reverse from what I’m used to, which is incredibly annoying.

Back when I first arrived, I noticed it was a bit warm for it to be Autumn. So a few months later when it hit Summer and got warmer, I deduced that either I was in the northern hemisphere or I somehow missed half a year, which wasn't very likely. Either way, following the seasons, I went through five Spring cycles before I was sealed in that accursed stone prison.

I digress, back to the topic at hand. On the Saturday when I was helping out Applejack with her tools – again – Rainbow had come flying up to us, more specifically Applejack. Rainbow said she had heard screams coming from the Everfree and asked Applejack to meet Twilight at her castle. I offered to help, but Rainbow shot me down, saying she didn’t need help from me. Applejack however invited me to come along.

Over the past few weeks, Applejack has come to trust me more, which is a good thing. Aside from helping her with her tools, I’ve been making visits to Fluttershy and Pinkie to help with their jobs. As a result, so far Rainbow is the only one who doesn’t trust me, and I haven’t even had the opportunity to meet with Rarity.

Anyway, we went to Twilights castle, much to Rainbows displeasure, where Twilight said that the Cutie Mark Crusaders (CMC as most refer them to) – Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo – had decided to go crusading in the Everfree since they had no school today. I had no idea who the fillies were, or what their club entitled, but the term crusading made me worry. On top of the fact that they were in the Everfree without any sort of guide or protection made the others panic, with Applejack and Rainbow immediately suggesting we go after them. I agreed completely, but Rarity complained about having to go back into the forest, which annoyed me, but I could see her point being a civilian. Little did I realise she was only complaining about the dirt…

Twilight was hesitant, trying to figure out a plan before rushing on in head-first, before I pointed out that the fillies wouldn’t scream for no reason. Twilight understood what I meant so we headed into the forest.

Rainbow once again complained about me going with them, to which I explained that I survived in that forest for five damned years by myself. I knew the place better than any, and the local wildlife should know their place on the food chain. With that, none could argue the sound reasoning.

The ponies looked at me weird but I ignored them and kept on running to the forest. I wasn’t as fast as the ponies, which Rainbow made a point to ‘tease’ me about, but I challenged her to an endurance race when this was over. Of course she accepted, because she’s an arrogant and cocky little shit.

Regardless, we rushed into the Everfree to find the missing fillies, hoping that we’d find some clues to their whereabouts, without said clues being blood or something. The clues came in the form of shrill screeching, a sound that could only be made by little girls. That or guys who've been kicked in the nuts.

We turned to follow the noise, to which we found the three fillies running from a manticore. The six ponies rushed to save the fillies, with Rainbow flying straight at the manticore without a single regard for what will happen.

I remember shouting “Fool!” at the top of my lungs. The manticore swiped his claw at Rainbow, timing it perfectly to swat her out of the sky like a simple bug. His claws made deep gashes in her torso, blood spilled like a river from her body.

Twilight and her friends collectively shouted in worry, with Twilight making it a point to state that this was much larger than the previous manticore they encountered. I was a bit surprised in the fact that they had encountered a manticore before, but that didn’t matter, so I focused on the task at hand. That being killing this beast in front of me.

I walked towards the manticore, “Oi!” I shouted, to turn its attention from the downed Pegasus to me. The creature seemed to know who I was, since I saw it visibly recoil and shake with fear. I grinned and cracked my knuckles, “You’d best leave before something bad happens.”

The manticore ignored its instincts, thinking that the bigger predator would win. Little did it know that I’ve killed a dozen of its kind, and that was before I had increased speed and strength, but back then I had weapons to help. Now, I have only my hands and strength to guide me.

I jumped to the side, dodging its overhead swipe. It turned to face me, where I then dashed towards it, delivering a straight and perfect uppercut to its chin. The ponies were all watching in wide eyes, and mouths so agape that they could catch flies, all shocked by the fact I am fist fighting a manticore. Twilight teleported Rainbow to herself before shouting, “I’m taking Rainbow to the hospital, I’ll be back soon!” She then teleported away again. I laughed inwardly at the fact that she was in the hospital again.

Fluttershy said she’d escort the fillies out of the forest, which Rarity offered to join and took Pinkie Pie with her. Pinkie for some reason had her mane straight down rather than her usual puff of pink, which confused me, but I ultimately ignored it. That left only Applejack, who said she’d help but I turned her down, saying it’d be easier to fight one-on-one than the fight and protect her at the same time. So, although adamantly, she stayed far back on the side-lines.

Just in time too, as the manticore had begun to make its move again, going for a body swipe. I just barely managed to jump back in time, with only the tips of its claws grazing my chest. It’s fast. I thought, but it wasn’t fast enough. I leapt forward, wrapping my hands around its neck and swinging myself onto its back, attempting to choke it. It was a long shot as there's a large amount of muscle and fat in a manticore's neck, but it was also unable to completely get me with its claws or mouth while on the back.

The manticore swung its arms frantically, attempting to get me off. It scratched at my arms, nearly ripping them off, which hurt like a fucking bitch. I screamed in pain but didn’t release my grip. The manticore then attempted to impale me with its tail, which only proved to be its downfall.

A flash and ‘pop’ sound signified a teleportation spell being cast, which distracted me long enough for the manticore to have its chance. I wasn’t such an amateur to let this beat me however, so I let my body fall to the side, which caused the manticore to stab itself in the back of the neck.

Apparently it pierced in such a way that severed its spinal cord from its brain, immediately killing the beast. An internal decapitation, I believe it was called.

I fell off the side of the manticore, panting heavily and groaning in pain. Twilight and Applejack rushed over to help before I noticed the corpse moving. Fear rushed through my body, thinking the beast not dead, before I noticed its skin start to peel away and rip apart muscle by muscle.

Another feeling spread through my heart, one much more intense: dread. I had my doubts on what was actually happening, but I knew deep down in the core of my very being that what was happening now would end with the entire town's population, and most likely more, being murdered.

My fears became reality when, out of the corpse of the manticore, appeared a demon. One that I know of all too well. The typical demon soldier. The giant, bloody red creature lifted its body out of the corpse of the manticore, and gripped its giant axe tightly. It took one look at me and roared a powerful and incredibly loud roar. The ponies beside me almost looked like they were about to fly backwards from the sheer force or it.

I uttered a single phrase, one that I’ve said probably a bit too much.

“Fuck my life.”

Author's Note

I apologise for the delays in the last two chapters, and the size of this one. Apparently I'm not very good at keeping promises :/

Chapter 14

Twilight and Applejack stood slack-jawed, staring at the beast in front of them. I took one look at them and shouted to run, hoping they'd heed my word immediately. However, when I got up and looked down, they still hadn’t moved, so I decided to take drastic measures. I slapped them both across the face and shouted once more, “RUN GODDAMMIT!”

Twilight and Applejack bolted, with me a bit too far behind. I remember something that was said back on Earth, something along the lines of ‘when faced with an enemy that wishes to kill you, run first and leave your friends behind.’ That was exactly what was happening now, fucking ponies.

I however, with my enhanced speed, managed to keep pace with the demon, so that I was always in front of it, just as it was always behind me. We kept running until we exited the Everfree. There, stood Fluttershy, Rarity and the ‘CMC’. They each took one look at the demon and screamed.

I knew that with this many, and the children, we could not outrun the demon for long, so against my better judgement and instincts, I turned to face it. Twilight and Applejack ran to their friends before Twilight turned around and exclaimed, “Why are you stopping?!”

“We cannot outrun it with children, they will simply fall behind and fall victim to it.” I responded. They all looked horrified, but knew that we either ran and left the children to die, or stood our ground and probably died as well.

“What exactly is ‘it’?!” Twilight shouted in fear.

“That, Twilight, is a demon. One of many kinds of demons. I never expected them to show up here, but now that they have, this world is doomed.” I turned to face Twilight, which proved to be a big mistake. The demon leapt forward and swung its axe overhead, attempting to cleave me in half vertically.

I leapt back in time to its deadly swipe before shouting, “Twilight! I need my bow!” I spared a brief glance towards Twilight who appeared to be hesitating. “For fucks sake Twilight! Bow! Now! OR WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!” I shouted at the top of my lugs, while simultaneously dodging the demons’ swings.

Twilight looked to her friends, “Can we trust him?” Was all she asked. I looked back, extremely surprised, and surprisingly hurt.

“Are you fucking serious?! Now isn’t the time!” I shouted, turning my attention back to the demon, just in time to dodge another swing, only barely as it managed to scrape a large gash on my chest.

“Girls, can we trust him?” Twilight asked again, this time with a little more urgency in her tone.

“Ah don’t think now’s tha' time t' ask tha', but ah do.” Applejack responded, concerned for my life. At least one of them is...

“I do! I do!” Pinkie shouted as she bounced up and down, seemingly acquiring back her usual eccentricness.

“If Applejack and Pinkie trust him then I do too, even though we’ve not properly met, he is currently risking his life to save us.” Rarity added.

Fluttershy however, was too afraid to do anything, let alone talk. She simply whimpered. “Fluttershy, what do you think?” Twilight asked. Apparently she didn’t fully understand the dire situation we were in.

“FUCK'S SAKE PEOPLE, HURRY IT UP!” I shouted, absolutely terrified for my life as I continued to duck and weave through the demon's unrelenting attacks. Only now, I'm getting more tired and sluggish, he's nicked me more than once already.

“Yes! I trust him!” Fluttershy shouted, well, what would count as a shout for her.

Apparently that was all Twilight needed, so she summoned my bow from whatever dimension she kept it in and threw it towards me. I thrust my left arm out to grab the bow in the air. However, at that exact moment the demon swung its axe, and severed my arm from my torso, blood spewing forth from the wound.

I screamed and howled in searing pain, the feeling of having a limb severed was one I’ve only felt once before in my life, but that's a story for another time. The pain was agonising; It's like a sting that just keeps increasing in intensity and never stops.

My now severed limb fell the floor, the bow still clutched tightly in its grasp. The gathered ponies screamed in fear, shock, and sorrow. Tears streamed from my eyes from the pain, while I stared in shock at where my arm used to be, clutching at the gushing wound. I tore my eyes from my shoulder and stared at the gloating demon looming over me. “I’m going to fucking kill you.” I said simply, voice filled with utter rage.

My eyes shone with a fury I’ve not felt for a thousand years. With my remaining arm I dove for my bow, ripping it from the clutches of my severed arm. I stood up, bow in hand, panting from both pain and pure wrath.

With a pained scream, the power that the bow held was unleashed in all its glory. The ponies gasped as my arm slowly regenerated, starting with the bones, then the muscles and finally the veins, arteries and skin. Now, much more quickly, the gashes from the manticore and demon healed across my body. However, with that, I am even more wrathful and ready to enact my revenge.

“You. You are now in my world. A hell most different from your own.” I said quietly, my voice as cold as ice, but brimmed with fire. The Embodiment of the Marauder armour donned my body, and my ethereal companions appeared, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. “Hold him still.” At my order, my companions rushed forwards and attacked mercilessly.

My spider shot webs at the demon, holding him in place, while my wolf ribbed at his calf muscles, making his legs useless. The boar impaled his tusks into his legs, while my ferrets ran up his torso, and each ripped at his triceps. The crow and bat each took an eye from the demon, making sure that caused great pain to the beast. “Enough.” After the demon was fucking rekt by my pets, I ordered them to fall back, which they did. “He’s mine, leave.” I said darkly, my companions disappearing back to whence they came.

Using my new hand to steady the bow, with my right hand I pulled back a magical arrow and shot at the demon. The arrow pierced its knee, making the demon fall. I drew back another and pierced its other knee, now it cannot walk. Another two arrows were drawn and shot, cleanly severing the demon's arms. Now it cannot crawl, it is at my mercy, but there will be none.

The demon screamed in, what I assumed was a mixture of rage and pain. I walked slowly to the downed creature. I used my magic to conjure a large knife in my right hand as I walked towards the downed soldier. It attempted to crawl away from me, but with no arms, and useless legs, all it could do was shuffle slightly.

I grinned manically, the pure hatred I felt towards this demon was rivalled only by the hatred I felt towards the Blood clan. But that, alas, that’s a story for another time.

As I stood over the demon, it attempted dismally to bite at my legs, but I simply stomped on its head, making it eat the dirt beneath us. I ground my foot into the back of its skull for added pain. I knelt down with my foot still on its head as I whispered into its ear, “You, you have angered me greatly, caused me immense pain. It’s time to suffer. Curse yourself and your weakness for pissing off the wrong Nephalem.”

I reached my arm up high, ignoring the shouts of objection that the ponies were throwing my way; for I was too consumed in rage to care. I brought the knife down into the demons back and straight through its spine. Once the knife pierced the demon, I twisted it side-to-side to inflict more pain. The demon roared in pain again.

I pulled the knife out and reached high again. “You!” I brought it down again in a different spot on its back. “Fucking! Asshole!” With each word I stabbed him again and again. Blood spewed out and made a bigger pool on the floor while also splashing onto my body. From its severed arms, the arrows in its knees and the stab wounds on its back, there was a significant amount of blood on the ground.

I grew bored of only stabbing the demons back, so instead I moved to its legs. The demon was barely alive at this point, but I had far more anger to vent unto it. I lifted up one of its legs and proceeded to snap its shin-bone between my knee and elbow. A sickening ‘crack!’ resounded. The demon barely had any fight left, it couldn't even scream any more, all it could do was whimper. I didn’t even know demon could whimper, but I'm glad I know now. I let the leg drop before reaching for the other. I repeated the process, but after snapping its shin, I pulled as hard as I could. It took some effort, but with extreme strength, the muscles and tissues slowly ripped apart.

After I ripped its first leg off, I then pulled off the other. At this point, I'm pretty sure the demon had already died, but just to make sure, I walked back in front of it, stomped on its head for good measure, and stabbed it in the back of the skull. To complete my vengeance, I tore its head off its shoulders. It was much harder to do than the legs, but as I pulled, I felt the muscle fibres snapping one by one, making it much easier until it came off completely. Leaving its torso with no limbs attached, with said limbs lying only a little distance away from where they were previously attached.

As I stood up, I dropped the demons head onto the ground. I stood over the bloody corpse – although since it was already red, the blood wasn’t easy to tell apart from its normal skin colour – and panted. The fury dissipated as I stood there, staring at its corpse, leaving only fatigue and weariness. It was then I heard Twilight's voice call out from behind me.

“Julian…” she said quietly. I turned to look, and what I saw was a bit dis-heartening. Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie and Rarity all stared at me in shock and fear. Tears streaming down their faces, with pools of vomit on the floor. Luckily the ‘CMC’ weren’t there. I later found out that Twilight had teleported them away just before my arm was cut off.

The sight of them staring at me in fear hurt me far more than I would've expected. “Give me the bow.” Twilight said, fear, caution and authority filling her voice. Not once since I’ve met her had she used this tone with me, and the fact that they now distrusted me hurt as well.

I looked at the bow in my hand, before looking at the rest of my body. The demons blood – and probably some of my own – covered every part of my being that wasn’t clothed. Obviously my clothes were absolutely coated in blood. Even my hair was, at which point I jokingly mused if I would get it permanently dyed that colour. However, now was not the time at all to be thinking of jokes.

I looked back at Twilight. Contemplating my options.

Give her the bow, or don’t give her the bow.

Chapter 15 Author's Note

The past four chapters were all written at the same time. The original chapter had an intro where the bow was given up, however due to popular demand, my editor/confidant and I decided the intro should be changed, so I did. If people want to see what the original chapter looked like, feel free to send a PM and I'll send the copy to you or something.

Also if any authors of Displaced fics would like to do a crossover for my next chapter that would be great

Chapter 15

I held out the bow towards Twilight, before pulling it back and slinging it over my shoulder, “No. You can go fuck yourself.” I dropped my arm to my side and glared at Twilight. “You’ve relinquished it back into my possession, so you have no right to take it away.”

Twilight seemed shocked at my language, before she gave me a good hard stare. “Give me the bow! Or you go back into your prison!” She shouted, trying her damn best at sounding intimidating.

“Oh no, not this time. You ponies hold no authority over me, so you can go shove a fat one!” I gave them the finger for good measure as I tried to walk past them. But, Twilight had other plans, and stepped in front of me.

“Your powers are dangerous! They need to be kept under supervision Julian.” Twilight tried to convince me to hand over my only means of escape.

“No, there’s still the possibility of more demons! Prime reason, look at what is happening behind me!” I pointed to the corpse of the demon. It was now – for the lack of a better word – disintegrating into the ground. The ponies looked disgusted but I had to explain what was happening.

“When a demon dies, this happens: the blood of a demon corrupts and contaminates the land surrounding it. Soon enough, not only will this draw out other demons in the area to attack this village, but plants won’t be able to grow, and the ones that do will mutate. Animals will get corrupted and become incredibly more violent and resilient, they become monsters. I need my powers to cleanse this place of a demonic presence.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?” Twilight asked hesitantly, at which I rolled my eyes.

Oh you’ve got to be kidding me. I am seriously beginning to lose patience with her. “Then wait and see what happens in a week or so. Wait and see who won’t be here to protect you because you were to ignorant to see the real dangers of this world. I am not your enemy, but you’re treading dangerously close to that line Twilight. You either trust me, or make the biggest mistake of your life. Depending on your choice, not only will you doom this town, but the nation as well.”

“What do you mean?” She asked confused.

“This taint will draw out more and more demons. Equestria will not be able to defeat them all, and will ultimately perish. Then the demons will spread and attack neighbouring countries, until they’ve killed everyone on this planet.” I explained before moving towards the ‘dissolved’ demon.

I reached down and used my powers to remove the corruption; a simple command to ‘kill’ any demonic essence remaining. “So why did you specify Equestria and not the world?” I heard Twilight ask.

“Because if you force me to give up my bow, I will leave Equestria to be pillaged and destroyed without a single care. I will make sure to rally the world’s armies, but only after Equestria is nothing but ash. So choose carefully Twilight, it's either the life or the death of your entire country.”

My words seemed to shock them all into a coma or something. “Why would you do that?” Rarity asked.

“Because by taking my weapon away from me, you’ll prove to me that you ponies are all the same.” Everyone looked on in shame, but more than that Twilight seemed convinced by my words, so she gave up trying to take my bow from me. I grinned, then turned to leave. “That's what I thought.”

“Where are you going?” I had hoped that they would just leave me be, but no. Twilight had to start talking again.

I turned my head to look over my shoulder at Twilight, “To go rest. In case you forgot, I just fought and killed both a manticore and a demon, and lost an arm. Despite how I may look, I am still in quite a fair bit of pain. Healing wounds is one thing, but the emotional and physical trauma on my body is another.” At the mention of killing the manticore, Fluttershy recoiled with disgust and started to well up.

I turned my head forwards and continued my trek towards the castle. Once again, on the way through town, the ponies gave me those looks. The looks of disgust and fear. I was in a foul mood and just about ready to kill someone, so in my anger, I looked across the crowds and shouted at the top of my lungs, “Would you just fuck off already?!”

This seemed to have the desired effect of putting the ponies off my back. Almost immediately, the ponies staring either looked away quickly, with some evening running away as quickly as they could.

With that sorted, I continued on my way. As I walked through the front doors, I ran into Spike. Well, more like he ran into me. This guy was pretty cool, so my angry mood dissipated as I looked to someone who didn't hate me. “What happened?” He asked me as I shuffled past him.

Not willing to give the little drake the full details, I simply replied with “A lot”, and continued towards the room I was given. I removed my torn black shirt and threw it on the floor, before collapsing onto the bed and quickly falling into a deep slumber. Unfortunately for me, not even in my dreams could not catch a moment of peace. Despite wanting a dreamless sleep, I was greeted with nightmares. I can’t remember most of the nightmare, but I will jot-down what I remember.

I stood among a crowd of face-less people in a place I do not recognise. I walked against the flow of people, towards I destination I did not know. If I recall correctly, I wore nothing but a black coat with the hood up.

As I was walking, I bumped into one of the face-less people. I turned to apologise, before the hood was removed. The person I bumped into exclaimed at the top of their lungs, as they pointed an accusing finger at me, “monster!”

At this, everyone turned to face me before declaring multiple verbal harassments like “murderer”, “monster”, “freak” and “abomination.” I covered my ears, held my head low, and ran through the endless crowd. The scenery seemingly moving with me, as more and more people simply appeared along the endless streets. The voices, much like the streets, were as never ending as they were relentless.

This continued for a while, before a certain blue princess came to the rescue.

I know I know, pathetic right? I mean, who would have nightmares like that? Well I would. After years and years of abuse, these things can leave a kind of scar that isn’t easily healed. So yes, I have nightmares about people hating me, wanting me to die, and to top it off, Luna has to come and save me every time it happens.

Anyway, after Luna dispelled the nightmare – which I didn’t know she could do until now – I respectfully asked that she not interfere with my dreams. She was extremely confused at this and questioned why even though she knew I was in great pain. I told her that I felt incredibly uncomfortable with having others invade my mind, even if it was simply to stop a bad dream, because it would show my biggest fears to people I do not want knowing about.

Luna tried to reassure me that she had no desire to invade my personal space, or pry into my biggest fears. However, despite her reassurances, I affirmed my desire to not have her looking at my dreams. Stating that dreams are only dreams, and cannot hurt me.

Yet Luna was relentless, she said that not only do nightmares leave psychological effects, but they can in fact enter the physical world in extreme cases, and potentially cause harm. Once again, I shot her down. Only this time, I said it in the form of, “Can you just fuck off already Luna? A lot happened to day and I’m really not in the mood for a back-and-forth debate on the subject that won't fucking go anywhere. I do not want you in my head, so just stay out of it.”

I probably said a bit much to the only person who was willing to accept me for who I am, since Luna looked really hurt. I was about to apologise before she left, causing me to awake.

All-in-all I slept for about an hour and a half. When I sat up, feeling like shit, I noticed Spike was standing in the door-way. He looked at me with a sad expression, before saying, “Twilight wants to see you in the throne room.”

I laid back down on the bed, facing away from him before replying, “Tell her I’m sleeping.”

Apparently, Spike wouldn’t take no for an answer, as he walked into the room, poked my back and continued, “She knew you'd say that, so she's said it’s urgent, very urgent.”

Slightly annoyed that I couldn’t get more sleep, although at this point it was just an excuse to not move, I got up and made my way through the extremely confusing castle, towards the throne room. After a few minutes of navigating the crystal castle, I found my way to the room. Not even bothering to knock, I pushed the doors open before strolling in. Twilight and her friends, with the exclusion of Rainbow Dash, halted their conversation and looked my way.

I was rather angry with them for having such little faith in me, despite saying they ‘trusted me’. Goes to show what trust means to them right? The only one I could excuse was Rarity, since she was the only one who hadn’t actually had the chance to meet me properly.

I stopped walking just past the entrance to the room and stood still, waiting what they wanted. Twilight broke the silence after a few moments, “I informed Celestia of the events that occurred, and she says that while what happened worries her, you did in fact save Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. So she is willing for make you a deal.”

I raised my eyebrow, feeling that Twilight didn’t deserve a verbal response right now, so I motioned with my hand for her to continue. “Celestia says that as a reward for saving not only us, but those fillies, she’s willing to let you keep your bow. On the condition that the first thing you do is heal Rainbow Dash of her injuries. The doctors say that she’s in critical condition, so she requires desperate aid.” She said, explaining the inevitable catch of this deal.

I laughed, much to the shock and anger of those gathered. Before any of them could say anything, I spoke first. “I have much to say so keep quiet and listen.” I said with a touch of anger in my voice. “First off, the dumb bitch deserves it for not thinking, and rushing headlong into a fight she had no chance of winning from the word ‘go’.” Applejack was about to voice her strong opinion on my choice of words, before I interrupted her. “I said be quiet!” I shouted, causing her to back down and Fluttershy to cower, “Secondly, why should I even consider helping her? She’s done nothing good for me, where in fact all she’s done is hate me like the rest of you.” I waved my hand over them before continuing, “I thought you different, I thought you unlike the rest of them, but what do I get when I save, not only your lives, but the lives of your family and this entire fucking town? Fear! Disgust! The same looks that everyone else here gives me! You look at me, even now, as nothing but a monster! A freak! I bet that you even think I should never have come to this damned town! I’ll admit, I was blinded by rage and went a bit over-board, but he chopped off my fucking arm! How could I not be pissed off with that?!”

“That doesn’t excuse you taking a life! What gives you the right?!” Fluttershy suddenly found her courage and shouted. Well, at least what she'd consider a shout.

I legitimately was so pissed now that it hurt. “YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF! DEMONS DESERVE NOTHING BUT DEATH!” I shouted, much louder than before, using my magic to amplify the volume. “There was a legitimate, real monster back there, and I took care of it. But now you all look at me as if I'm the monster, when at least I don’t go around butchering everyone!” I continued my rant, “Demons do not discriminate. They’ll kill anyone and everyone they come across, young or old, male or female. It does not matter to them.” I stopped to calm down.

“We could have at least tried talking to it!” Fluttershy was not letting up.

Now I was pissed, but more than that, I laughed heartily at their naïveté. “TALK TO IT?! That has to be the best joke I've heard since I was freed. Listen, you cannot reason with a Demon, I doubt most of them even have the ability to talk. They’ve no reason to in the first place, all they have reason for is to kill!” Before they could have a chance at speaking I continued, “You remember my talk a while back? I fought against them in the war. They do nothing but kill, and sometimes even their own kind! I’ve witnessed friends and comrades fall at the hands of the Demons. You know nothing of what they’re capable of. Not only did I save all the lives of everyone in this town, but also the lives of everyone in the nearest town, and possibly the town after that as well. That Demon would have gone through and killed everyone, with extreme prejudice and no remorse.” I paused for a moment before continuing with a softer tone, “I’ve seen it happen. Right in front of me, when I was just a child. The Demons had attacked my village, killed everyone in it, and butchered my parents right in front of me while I was hiding with my sister.”

The ponies all gasped in shock. Of course, this didn’t actually happen to me specifically, only to my ‘character’. I thought to myself, trying to take on my role of my Diablo 3 character, since that was who I really was now.

“My sister, Valla, later committed suicide after she went mad with grief and despair. It was a few months, nearly a year after then, that I was taken in by other survivors of other towns, and trained in the arts of becoming a Demon Hunter.” I finished my tale and looked towards the ponies, who now were looking at me with pity. “Don't give me those pathetic looks. Were it not for that, I would not have been able to help my fellow Nephalem save our world from the Demon invasion, nor would I have been here to stop the tragedy that occurred to me to repeat here.”

I looked back to the ponies seated, “Regardless, that is not the issue we face, we’re here to talk about that deal are we not?” I asked Twilight.

She looked at me with confusion before shaking her head, rather comically might I add. “Yes we are. The question is, Julian, do you accept?” She asked.

I already decided to help them, despite having no real reason to, since helping would not benefit me, and not helping would not cause me grief. Aside from earning the amnesty of these ponies. I appeared hesitant to answer however, just to make them worry.

“Well after that stunt you pulled earlier today I’m reluctant to do anything for you or your friends.” Twilight seemed downcast, “but you did see reason, and for that I guess I’ll help… Fuck it, why not?” I answered simply. The ponies exclaimed with joy, as Twilight lead the way to the hospital.

Pinkie’s mane suddenly inflated before she bounced up to me and shouted, “We should throw a party! It’ll be the: ‘Thanks for saving everypony’s life and healing Rainbow Dash party’!”

I simply looked at her with a raised eyebrow before chuckling. With my free hand I reached forward to ruffle her mane, however as I drew close I saw her flinch, if only slightly. This caused my smile to falter, and I retracted my hand. “Sure, but make sure not to have too many ponies, since they all hate me.” Along with all you most likely. I thought bitterly.

“Come on! We have to hurry to Rainbow!” Twilight shouted as we rushed to the hospital. I purposely kept my armour on and my companions with me simply to look intimidating to the villagers.

As we arrived, the nurses showed us to Rainbow, where she was currently hooked up to some kind of magical life-support. I didn’t know the ponies had this kind of tech now. Apparently there’s a lot of things I didn’t know at the time as well, but that’s for later.

After using my magic to heal Rainbow Dash, she woke up and looked at her body in shock. When she looked up at me, she knew immediately that for the second time, I had saved her life. “You saved me? Thank y-” I interrupted her praise by punching her straight in her muzzle.

“That was for being an idiot and rushing headfirst into a fight you had no chance of winning. Heal that on your own.” I said as I saw blood run down from her nose.

Twilight sent a letter to Celestia via Spike, which probably said something along the lines of ‘he accepted the deal’, I don’t fucking know jeez. Shortly after I had healed Rainbow to her normal state, she awoke. Twilight detailed the events to her – as well as to Spike, since I didn’t – and as expected, Rainbow thought me a monster. Twilight was quick to scold her though.

A few moments later, Spike burped up a letter, which Twilight quickly took and read. She then exclaimed in surprise that Luna was coming. Literally a second later, Luna appeared in the room via teleportation.

She looked straight at me. I was about to apologise for what I said in my dream, but she was quick to interrupt me. “We have found you a way home!” She shouted, much to everyone’s shock.

“What…?”

Chapter 16: Epilogue

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Sequel

Sequel is out! Check it out here: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/335797/rage-unbound

I also made some minor changes to the previous chapter if people wanna go back and read it. The changes aren't essential but I think they make the chapter a bit better.