Monster: Retribution

"THOMAS, STAY BEHIND ME!" Father exclaimed, thrusting his arms upwards as he enveloped the both of us in a dome of a transparent magical field, just as a rain of arrows pelted down on our position.

The arrows clinked and clanked against the surface of the energy dome, each arrow crumbling to ash as soon as they impact the field. With a snap of his finger, Father summoned what looked like tendrils of black flame that extended from the exterior surface of the dome.

These tendrils lashed and impaled our attackers, mainly ponies and minotuars. They all screamed in pain as they were slaughtered by the tendrils. I hid my face in Father's back, flinching each time I heard the tendrils ferociously rip the life of our attackers from their mangled corpses.

"KEEP AT IT, STALL THEM UNTIL BACK UP ARRIVES!" one of our attackers exclaimed, causing my father to grit his teeth.

"We gotta get out of here, we can't stay any longer!" Father spoke through gritted teeth, slamming his palms together, causing a massive shockwave to send everything within a five-hundred foot radius to be sent flying back, knocking trees and vegetation flat, and sending all our attackers soaring through the air.

"Hold onto me tight Thomas, I'll get us out of here" Father spoke, lifting me up into his arms, enveloping us both in a black smoke before leaping forward.

After Father set me down, I took a glance around, noticing we were about a mile or so away from where we were attacked. I gazed up at Father with amazement, looking befuddled.

"Daddy, how did you do that?" I asked, looking at him with confusion.

"Magic" he replied, rubbing my head.

"Magic, but only unicorns can use magic?" I replied.

"Not only unicorns, you see, I'm a warlock" Father said, walking me along the forest floor, heading towards a cave in the

distance.

"What's a warlock?" I asked.

"Well, lets just say that a warlock is a powerful warrior, capable of using magic in battle" Father replied, smiling as we approached the cave.

"Is Mommy a warlock?" I asked.

"No, your mother is a witch, but she prefers to be called a spellmaster" Father replied, patting my shoulder.

"Oh... What does that make me?" I asked, glancing up at father.

"Something special, Thomas" Father replied, smiling down at me as we entered the dark caves.

Father closed his fist into a ball, before opening it rather quickly, igniting an orb of flame within the palm of his hand, before letting it drift off and hover in middair; staying there like a torch, providing ample light.

"Son, I'm going to go out and get us some dinner. I need you to stay hidden within this cave at all costs, do you understand?" Father asked, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Yes, Daddy" I replied, nodding, swallowing my fear.

"Good boy... I promise, everything will be alright, please just have faith in me" Father spoke softly, giving me a warm hug

for a few brief seconds before pulling away.

"I do, Daddy..." I replied, smiling weakly up at Father.

"Thank you, Thomas... My son..." Father smiled, standing up, and walking out of the cave.

I watched as Father walked away, pulling the black cube he gave me, grasping it tightly, holding it close to my chest as I

moved to the back of the cave, where the light followed me, waiting for Father to return...

"GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!" a high pitched voice cheered loudly, violently ripping Thomas from his slumber; jumping about three feet into the air before crashing back down onto his bed in a haze.

"Hi, my name's Pinkie Pie! What's your name? Oh your name's Thomas, Twilight told me, she also said you haven't had a welcome party yet! I'll set you u--" Before the overexcited pink mare could finish, Thomas, by instinctual reflex, grappled her, pinning her to the floor of the loft.

"Ooooh, is this a new game? I like games! Is it a wrestling game? LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!" the pink mare shouted with an enthusiastic announcer voice, before bucking her rear back into Thomas' gut, sending him flying halfway across the loft, crashing into a wall.

Thomas, in the heat of excitement, lifted up his couch, throwing it at the pink mare, pinning her to the ground as she let out an "Oomph!". Not wasting any time, Thomas quickly charged the loft window, breaking through it, descending roughly twenty-six feet from the loft to the ground below, landing with a monstrous dust cloud exploding around him.

"Where are you going!? I JUST WANT TO PLAY!" the pink mare exclaimed, thrusting her head out the window, leaping out as well.

Thomas' eyes widened. He was no longer on Sweet Apple Acres, being pursued by a highly energetic pink earth pony, he was back in the arena, being ganged up by countless opponents. Without missing a beat, Thomas darted forward, just as the pink mare slammed into the ground, flattening like a pancake.

Thomas glanced back, to see if his pursuer was crippled, only to see something rather... Unbelieveable.

The pink mare raised her flattened hoof, peeling her face off of the ground, before looking up to the side, as if she were staring at a camera.

"Look ma, I'm road kill! Ha ha ha!" The pink mare giggled, snorting a bite before she peeled the rest of herslef off the ground, reinflating herself by inhaling deeply.

"What the fuck!?" Thomas inwardly snarled, before taking off in full sprint.

His legs burned, carrying him at a blinding speed of twenty or so miles per hour, his speed increasing the more he thought of that horrifically cartoonish mare.

"Is this a race? I love races! They're fun and I always get a chocolatey yummy wummy trophy at the end!" the pink mare chirped, babbling constantly with no end in sight.

Thomas was closing in on Ponyville... He could already tell, this wasn't going to be fun...

"So, how is he?" Rarity asked Twilight, who sat with the lavender mare in front of the library, which was under construction, resting on beach chairs leisurely with an umbrella shading them.

"How is who?" Twilight asked, glancing over at Rarity.

"You know, that human fellow, what's he like? From what I've heard he's quite the brute" Rarity spoke, sipping on her fruit

punch from a hollowed coconut shell.

"Well, he's kinda intimidating, but I feel like he's misunderstood" Twilight spoke, returning her gaze upwards, leaning back in her beach chair.

"I heard he made quite a stir after his examination in Canterlot Castle, any juicy details you can provide me?" Rarity asked, smirking softly.

"Well..." Twilight thought for a moment, biting her lower lip as she dug for an appropriate memory of that day.

"I heard he got into it with Blueblood, could you tell me about that?" Rarity asked, leaning on the hoof-rest of her beach chair, her eyes hungered for details.

"Oh, uh... Yes, he did in fact... Say some things to Blueblood" Twilight replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Like what?" Rarity asked, dying to know what happened.

"Uh... Wasn't it cold just yesterday? Now it's warm? Crazy, isn't it?" Twilight spoke with a nervous chuckle, trying to avoid the subject.

Before Rarity could respond, Thomas came shooting down a dirt path and onto the paved road leading to the heart of Ponyville. His eyes were wide; mud covered his body, his clothes were torn and rugged, and a red bandana was wrapped around his forehead to hold his long black hair back as he dashed at blinding speed past the two mares resting leisurly on beach chairs. A few brief moments after Thomas was out of sight, the pink mare bounced and giggled after him at a casual speed, not even bothering to keep up with the panicked human.

"No, that's crazy" Rarity replied, blinking.

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight exclaimed, catching the pink earth pony's attention.

"Oh hi Twilight! I was just playing with that human Thomas that you told me about! First, we wrestled, then, we played tag,

then, we began to race!" Pinkie Pie babbled, her rich blue eyes filled with hyperactive mirth.

"Pinkie Pie! You can't just surprise Thomas like that!" Twilight replied, her eyes wide and filled with scared concern.

"What do you mean?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Thomas... Has been through some things... And surprising him like that will most likely cause him to have some

flashbacks!" Twilight explained,  causing the pink mare to blink in confusion.

"I heard that he was a gladiator, but what could he have possibly of been through that would make him have flashbacks?" Rarity asked.

"You'll have to ask him when we find him, until then... We better hurry" Twilight spoke, rushing towards town.

Thomas stalked through the darkness of alleyways, his cold icey blue eyes peirced the blackness of shadows like daggers to flesh. His keen senses were on high alert, his form was shrouded by his stealth and surroundings; though Thomas was in the warm community of Ponyville, his brain told him otherwise, he was now on the battlefield of Roudan Swamplands of Southeast Zebrica, saving hostages taken by the local guerallas, taking out anyone or anything that stood in his way.

His first target, a hostage, a light biege mare with a golden brown mane and tail, she had a cutiemark of a heart with an overlapping baby bottle. She was in a stall, or in Thomas' eyes: a cage. He silently crept along towards the stall, stopping when he sensed movement to his left.

A zebra.

It was a female, perhaps just a harmless civillian, but Thomas wasn't going to take any chances. He grasped a pebble from the dirth, tightly grasping it in his hand before chucking it behind the zebra mare, causing her to shift her head back for a moment. As the zebra was distrcated, Thomas rolled his way to the stalls, stealthfully sliding under the gap below the walls surrounding each stall until he was able to get to the supposedly trapped mare.

"What the--"

Before the mare could peep another word, Thomas secured his hand over her mouth, then wrapped his free arm around her torso, pinning her forelegs to her chest as he leaned against the wall with the mare pressed to his chest tightly.

"Mmph!?" The mare made a muffled yelp.

"Sssshhh..." Thomas silently gestured for the mare to be silent as he pointed towards the shadow of hooves as they trotted

past the stall entrance.

The mare glanced back, looking up at Thomas with wide eyes, her face shaded a bright crimson red.

"I'm going to help you, but I need you to keep quiet and do as I say, do you understand?" Thomas quietly spoke, causing the mare to blink and hesitantly nod.

"Good, now keep your trap shut and follow me" Thomas spoke, as he then released her, crawling under the gap below the stall walls, leaving out the back.

"I was just trying on some clothes..." The mare quietly spoke to herself, before following along, crawling under the small gap, approaching Thomas' side.

"What's going on?" the mare asked, before being hushed by Thomas.

"No talking" Thomas hissed, glancing around.

"I'm taking you to the evac point, once I get you there, there'll be a team to escort you to safety, understand?" Thomas spoke in a hushed tone, glancing back at her.

"Uhh... Sure?" The mare replied, tilting her head in confusion.

Moments passed, and eventually Thomas lead the mare outside of town, telling her to stay put until the 'team' arrived to take her to safety. After Thomas left, the mare glanced around for a few moments.

"Well... I guess I'll go home now..." The mare spoke, shrugging before trotting off.

"That human was rather sexy, I think I just found some more clop material tonight~" The mare quietly spoke to herself with a soft giggle.

It had been about thirty minutes later, Thomas had already gathered up the CMC, thinking that they were 'child-soldiers' being forced to fight for some kind of militia. They didn't really hesitate none, assuming it was all a game.  Thomas was creeping along with the CMC following close behind.

"I never knew Thomas liked to play commando too!" Apple Bloom quietly spoke with an excited grin, glancing over at her two friends.

"I didn't know he was the playful type" Scootaloo stated, looking a bit skeptical.

"I don't know, guys... He looks pretty serious to me, I think something is wrong" Sweetie Belle spoke, looking a bit concerned.

"Don't worry, Belle, it's just playing, just go along with it!" Apple Bloom replied.

"Sshh!" Thomas hissed, holding up his hand as he came to a sudden stop.

The CMC halted all movement as Thomas glanced back at them.

"Stay put..." Thomas whispered, as he slowly crept forward into an alley.

The CMC all hid behind a dumpster, watching as Thomas approached what looked to be a stallion bullying a mare.

"I'm not going to tell you again, Derp-face, give me Rosebloom's mail, NOW!" The stallion demanded, pinning the winged mail-mare against the wall.

"N-Never! I am never allowed to give anypony's mail away!" Ditzy replied with a slight whimper, wincing as the stallion slammed his hoof right next to her head.

"I guess I'll have to force it from yo--" before the stallion could even finish his words, a monstrous shadow towered over him, and Ditzy.

"What the?" The stallion turned, looking up, craning his neck to meet Thomas' cold icy blue orbs peircing through the stallion's very soul.

"Mommy..." The stallion whimpered before Thomas' hand enveloped the stallion's face, throwing him violently agaisnt a wall, crashing down into the dumpster that the CMC hid behind.

Ditzy stared up at Thomas with awe, blushing as she gazed at his strong masculine figure. Thomas being dressed like some kind of commando soldier only aided Ditzy's imagination.

"Are you alright?" Thomas asked, observing Ditzy for any injuries.

"I-I-I-I'm fine, Mr. Crowley, sir!" Ditzy replied, tripping over her words.

"How do you know my name...?" Thomas spoke, squinting down at Ditzy, kneeling to her eye level.

"U-Uh, I-I-I-I deliver y-y-your mail!" Ditzy replied, her blush growing darker the closer Thomas came to her face.

"Deliver... My mail?" Thomas seemed confused, tilting his head.

Before much else could be said, there was a sudden hoof placed on Thomas' shoulder. Thomas whipped around, pulling out his combat knife, raising it up to prepare for an enemy attack, only to be met with the wide green eyes of Big Mac who had grocery saddle bags strapped to his back.

"Uh... Thomas... Are you alright?" Big Mac spoke, his eyes darting between Thomas and the combat knife.

"McIntosh... What... What am I doing?" Thomas spoke, seeming to have broke out of his flashback haze.

Big Mac shrugged his shoulders, letting out a sigh of relief as Thomas sheathed his combat blade, looking at himself, then looking around.

"The last thing I remember, is waking up to a pink blur... I blacked out shortly after" Thomas spoke, causing Big Mac to sigh.

"That, my giant human friend, was Pinkie Pie" Big Mac exhaled.

"Pinkie... Pie?" Thomas looked confused, rubbing his head.

"That's me!" Pinkie Pie spoke, appearing behind Big Mac, causing both the red stallion and the vast human to jump slightly.

"Pinkie Pie, what did I say about sneaking up on Thomas?" Twilight spoke, trotting up.

"Not to do it?" Pinkie Pie replied, tilting her head.

"Yes, please don't do it again" Twilight sighed.

"Hee hee, sorry" Pinkie Pie giggled.

Thomas kept his distance from the pink mare, standing behind Ditzy, who blushed and looked back up at him, gawking at him.

"Well, how about we just all go back to the farm, and talk about things?" Big Mac suggested, walking away from the group and in the midst of the street.

At that moment, there was a loud crashing noise, followed by panicked screams from bystanders. Big Mac glanced to his left, watching as a runaway cart barreled towards him. Time seemed to slow down, Big Mac's eyes widened along with the rest of the gang.

"BIG MAC!" Twilight screamed.

There was a flash of black smoke, and a blinding light, then a loud crash, followed by a massive explosion of dust that filled the air.

As the dust settled, and after everypony stopped coughing, Twilight and the rest looked around panickly for Big Mac.

"Big Mac!?" Twilight called out, glancing around, breathing heavily.

"E-Eeyup?" Big Mac stuttered, standing where Thomas once was.

There was a shrill scream from a mare, all the attention was suddenly focused on a pile of wooden rubble, the remains of the cart, and Thomas' hand protruding from the wreckage, with a pool of blood pouring out from beneath it.