Chapters It had been a long day in Ponyville, the usually peaceful town was just now finishing It's recovery from the menace that was Discord. Twilight Sparkle was especially happy that things were returning to normal but what she was more happy for was the fact she was finally able to get some rest, or could she?
It was the last of the hectic days of recovery for Ponyville. With the help of Twilight Sparkle and her friends the recovery time had been lessened although it had taken a toll on the six, leaving them exhausted and wanting some time to rest. This did not exclude Twilight, in fact out of all of them, she was the most exhausted. It was late at night by the time Twilight had gotten home, she was half-expecting Spike to be there to greet her but sadly he had gone on a camping trip with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, leaving Twilight home alone.
"At least its quiet" Twilight said quietly to herself, she decided that she would read a few books before hitting the hay. She grabbed three books; a book on Starswirl the Bearded, a Daring Do book, and a book on Equestrian history, she sat on her bed, lit a candle and began to read " ah this is nice just me myself and my books...still it would be nice to have Spike here, his little antics always do make me laugh, " she said in a somewhat sad tone. She continued to read into the night till she was in the middle of her third book , " Wow this new issue is the best one so far, I wonder if Rainbow Dash would like these books? " she silently pondered the thought, when suddenly something caught her attention from the corner of her eyes, a bright red flash, as bright as the sun itself, even if it only lasted for a few moments.
" What in all of Equestria was that ?! " Twilight exclaimed and hopped out of bed, then proceeded to run downstairs and out the door, going as fast as she could towards the source of the light. She could already see a numerous amount of townspony circled around something, she also saw her good friend Applejack waiting for her.
Applejack ran up to Twilight looking all shaken up" Twi! It's a good thing ya decided to get yer hide here at this moment...ya got to see this! " Applejack led Twilight through the crowd to meet with their other four friends, who were all eyeing the source of the phenomenon.
At this point Twilight was starting to get impatient " Alright what the heck is going on?! let me see! " Her friends moved out of the way revealing what was causing such a ruckus, and what she saw shocked her far more than she was initially expecting.
There standing on a charred piece of ground was a heavily injured stallion, his mane was black as the night sky, his fur the color of soot and stained with the blood that trickled down from his head and the cuts on his body, he wore a long coat that covered most o his body including his cutie mark. The oddest thing on him was his horn, he was a unicorn, that much they could tell, but unlike an average unicorn, his horn was curved. lastly, but certainly not the lease, the part of him that made them shiver the most in slight fear and anticipation, was his eyes. They were an unholy shade of red almost as if looking into a pool of blood, and the scars that littered his body, some more visible than others, the most prominent being the one that laid across this left eye. He went to glance back at them but his body fell limp and his consciousness faded before he could do so.
Twilight was the first to speak up, albeit even she was hesitant to do so " What..what's going on here..? " They closed in around the unconscious stallion, taking in all his features, every cut, bruise ,and scar he had.
Rainbow Dash was the next to speak " How the heck is this guy even alive with these kinds of injuries?! Sheesh he looks like he went hoof to hoof with an Ursa major... "
" Ah don't have the foggiest idea Rainbow...but what ah do know is he's hurt, and we gotta get him somewhere he can rest... " Applejack said, getting nods of agreement from Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight.
Twilight carefully stepped over to his limp form and carefully looked him over. Her hoof lightly traced over the scar the laid across his eye, " How can anypony have this many scars imprinted on their body... " she said with pity in her voice. She had heard of ponies getting injured due to accidents and wild animals, some needing stitches, some losing limbs even, but she had never seen anything so gruesome. The pony to her, looked as if he had faced Nightmare Moon and Discord together by himself. As she traced the scar on his eye it suddenly shot open, startling Twilight and the others, causing them to jump in shock. He attempted to mouth out words, but found himself to tired to do so and lost consciousness once more. " We need to get him to the hospital and fast! " Twilight declared, and with that, the six of them rushed this mystery stallion to the Ponyville hospital, despite Rainbow Dash's pleas of paranoia about the stallion being dangerous.
Rainbow Dash went along with her friends despite her gut feeling that this Stallion was no good, " I'm telling you girls! This is a bad idea, I mean look at his horn it's not shaped right, or those eyes! Only an evil pony would have red eyes. "
Applejack shot Rainbow dash a disapproving glare, " Now why would we go and do that?! This here feller is hurt and we're gettin' him some help, right now! "
" Applejack is right Rainbow, we couldn't just leave him there in that condition! Speaking of condition, look at the condition of his coat, It's absolutely dreadful!! " Rarity cried out, quickly getting off topic.
Twilight could only hope that they got him there fast enough, his condition was worsening by the second. His breathing was getting heavier, and his cuts didn't show any sign of healing anytime soon unless they got him there, " Rainbow Dash!! Instead of making things worse why don't you look and see how much farther we have to go!!! " Twilight hadn't meant to raise her voice, but she was panicking, some stallion that nopony had ever seen before appears out of nowhere in the and just collapses from wounds he got from Celestia knows where, and to top it all off, he could end up dying if they didn't get there fast enough.
" Alright, alright! Sheesh no need to yell! " Rainbow Dash yelled back as she flew higher up to get a better view, " We're almost there so hurry it up!! "
Twilight was getting exhausted from not getting any rest. She could feel her's and Rarity's magic giving out, soon they wouldn't be able to get him there unless they carried him on their backs, and that would take too long on hoof. She came to a halt and hesitantly looked up at Rainbow Dash, " Rainbow...we aren't going to get there on time...you have to take him from here, we'll meet you there!! " She lifted him up to Rainbow with her weakened magic, " Hurry!! " Twilight shouted, feeling it slipping.
Rainbow Dash was hesitant at first, but then she realized she didn't have a choice in the matter. She gulped and then replied, " Alright! I'll do it, just hurry! " She wrapped her hooves and legs around the stallion and proceeded to hold him on her own, which lowered her altitude as a result, " Yikes... " she grunted, " how heavy are you? " Despite the slowdown, it wasn't enough to keep Rainbow Dash from arriving in little to no time at all. She rushed in carrying him as best as she could, the adrenaline in her system helping her hold the heavy stallion on her back, " Please..we need a doctor! " The nurses rushed to her and lifted the stallion off of her and onto a stretcher, taking him to be looked at and patched up.
It wasn't long before Twilight and the others finally showed up. They ran into the lobby to find Rainbow Dash sitting quietly in the waiting area, " Rainbow!!! " Twilight yelled and ran to her seemingly traumatized friend. Twilight carefully studied her friend's face before saying anything, " Rainbow...what's wrong? You look like you'd seen a ghost... "
Rainbow Dash looked up to Twilight and pulled her into a hug, " It was all over my hooves...his blood, " she said in a hushed tone. " He was hurt so bad...and I didn't even realized cause I was being a paranoid jerk... " he words soon turned to silent sobs, causing Twilight to pull her into a comforting hug.
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had remained quiet during the endeavor. It was fear that silenced Fluttershy and surprise that kept Pinkie Pie quiet. "Once he's all better I'll be sure to throw him the most extra super duper special party ever! " Pinkie Pie exclaimed cheerfully. Even in moments like this, Pinkie's words managed to lighten the atmosphere.
Twilight couldn't figure out why they were so worried about him. He was a stallion they had never met before, a total stranger, but something about him made them want to worry for him, perhaps it was the look of somber and grief held on his face. Her head turned towards double doors that they take patients into, wondering if he would ever come back through them, " ...Please be alright... "
The night had come and gone. The six of them had slept through the night in the lobby, all except for Twilight and the still-traumatized Rainbow Dash. Twilight was reading a book she had found in the waiting area, and Rainbow Dash was huddled close to her. The sounds of hooves walking across the floor caused Twilight to look up from the pages of her book, where her eyes eventually landed on a nurse who had walked up to her. Twilight shook the others awake, a mixed look of worry and anticipation on her face. The nurse looked at them and gave a slight before speaking, " He'll alright, and even better, he's awake. "
Author's Note
I hope you bronies and pegasisters like the new story, I'm gonna be working back and forth between both of my stories so expect delays here and there. Anyways i hope you enjoyed and yes the mystery Stallion is my own character but who is he you ask, you just got to read the story to find out, Till next time everyone!
Chapter 1: Forgotten Memories
" He'll be alright, and even better, he's awake. " These words from the nurse immediately lifted the worry from the hearts of the six ponies.
Rainbow Dash bolted up towards the nurse before Twilight even had a chance to say the exact same words that were about to come out of her mouth, " Is he OK?! Can we see him?! Please tell me I need to know!!" Rainbow Dash said frantically, only to be pried off the nurse by Twilight.
The little outburst from the cyan pony startled the nurse, but as she laid her eyes on the worried ponies, she could see it was a reasonable reaction, and so she nodded. A loud sigh of relief came from Twilight, " Oh thank Celestia, can you show us where he is? " The nurse nodded again before leading them through the hospital, and to a room at the very end of a long hallway.
The nurse stopped outside the door and looked at them, " He's right in there, please be cautious though, he hasn't shown any signs of hostility...but he doesn't seem to trust anypony, " she said before leaving.
Twilight looked at her five friends with slight unease, " Well...do we go in separately or in there together? " she was hoping to get a quick response, but much to her dismay all she got were silent stares. " I-I'm asking...should we introduce ourselves separately and get him to trust us one-by-one...or go in together and hope he'll trust us that way? " Twilight asked in an almost stressed voice.
Fluttershy was the first to speak up, much to everypony's surprise " U-um...m-maybe we should...g-go in together. I'm not saying I don't trust him or anything...It's just...his eyes scare me... " she shivered at the thought of being alone in the room with those blood red eyes looking at her.
Fluttershy felt a hoof placed upon her shoulder, the owner of hoof being Applejack, " Don't ya worry yer pretty little head Fluttershy, we'll all go in there with ya. " She gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile to help show the frightened pony she meant it. " And if this Feller is dangerous, I Pinkie promise ya that nothin' bad will happen. " Applejack could practically feel Pinkie Pie breathing down her neck with these words having been said, " Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. "
" Well be he good or bad, I was up all night in that filthy waiting area repairing his coat, so I intend on returning it to him and showing my hoofwork, " Rarity said while levitating the aforementioned coat in front of her. She stared idly at it, " Although I must admit, whoever made this marvelous coat in the first place must have been an expert, I've never seen such fine materials or stitching, " however the others paid no mind to Rarity as they were more worried about the condition stallion was in and what he was like.
Rainbow Dash had been staring at the door the whole time that the others had been talking. So many things going through her mind, mainly how this pony had gotten in that bad of condition, or how he was still alive. She was pulled from her thoughts when she felt a hoof nudge her, as she looked to her side, she Twilight standing next to her," It's gonna be alright Rainbow, we'll go in there together find out just who he is... We'll introduce ourselves and then we'll see where it goes from there. " Twilight's words had brought a small smile to her friend's face, " Besides, you did save his life, so maybe you'll get another fan out of this, " Twilight said in a slight teasing manner.
" Very funny Twi, " Rainbow Dash said, her usual demeanor having returned shortly, " I guess It's alright if we go in there together...but um...could you introduce yourself first, you know the old saying, save the best for last, " she nervously chuckled. This and the way she had said it made Twilight think she was actually embarrassed to go first.
Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile, " Of course I will Rainbow Dash, don't worry. " She turned to the others, " Alright is everypony ready? " Upon receiving a nod from all five of them, she turned the door, took a deep breath, and slowly opened it. Sitting on the bed was the very stallion that each one of them was thinking about at the moment. He turned his head towards Twilight and gave her a cold glare that said "go away", but Twilight wasn't accepting that. She walked over to his bedside and looked him in the eyes, those blood-red pools that were his eyes sent shivers down her spine, but she couldn't let that stop her. " It's good to see you're alright...we were really worried about you, " Twilight said sincerely while eyeing his body, almost every inch was covered in bandages.
His gaze remained upon her but was quickly fixated the other five ponies with her, making poor Fluttershy jump slightly, " ...Why worry about someone you don't even know... " his voice was low, in Twilight's opinion it matched his appearance, he did have that whole tough as nails look to him even, when nearly covered from head to hoof in bandages.
Something caught Twilight's attention, the way he had referred to himself, he hadn't said somepony, but she decided that now wasn't the best moment to point that out. " Well...we were worried because of how badly you were injured...and we honestly didn't know if you were going to make it or not...but thank Celestia you're alright. " She noticed he had been staring at her the entire time she spoke, as if he were taking in her words one syllable at a time. " Well...anyway I'm Twilight Sparkle, these are my friends, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Da- " her words were caught in her mouth as she looked around for Rainbow Dash, only to find her usually confident friend hidden behind the other four. " ...Rainbow Dash, please get out here, it's rude to hide, " she turned back to him, " I'm so sorry about her...this is Rainbow Dash, the pony who brought you here. "
His eyes were looking at nothing in-particular as she spoke, rather they seemed to be looking off into space. " She saved me huh...thanks, I guess, " Rainbow Dash honestly didn't know whether to be happy not with the stranger's thanks.
Pinkie Pie eagerly hopped forward, " Now you know our names, so now please tell us your name! " she said with a big grin on her face.
" Pinkie!" Twilight yelled in a scolding tone, " You don't just go up front and ask somepony their name! You need to let them warm up... " she paused, " but, while we're on the subject, a name or any form of identification would be helpful to us in order to find out who you are. "
He looked at her with a confusion on his face, " M-my...name? " she nodded, he closed his eyes and slowly moved his head back and forth as we as brought his hoof up to his head, almost like he had a headache. " My name...I-I don't..remember, " a saddened look appeared on Twilight's and the others faces. At the same moment images and words began flashing through the mysterious stallion's head, " Come on Axel! You'll never get stronger if you don't get back up! ", not caring that they were still in the room he began to speak to himself through the severe head pain, although It mostly came out as grumbles and mumbles. " Get your ass up Ryder! We're gonna be late for the scouting party, and you know better than anyone how the captain gets, and don't forget your sword again either, " his eyes clenched tighter, the pain worsening.
Twilight decided to speak up, " So you don't know who you are,,,amnesia more than likely, " she sighed as she looked up at him, only to see he was still suffering, " A-are you ok?! Here I think I know a spell that might get rid of your headache, " her horn began to glow as she cast the pain soothing spell she spoke of. At first it looked like it started to work, but without warning she could physically see his pain worsening. She was about to frantically speak again but was stopped by Applejack tapping her on her shoulder and pointing to his horn, which was glowing red, as if it were reacting to Twilight's magic.
He let out a deep growl of pain and frustration before releasing a red beam from his horn, which shot through the roof. Almost immediately after releasing the burst of magic he collapsed onto his bed, albeit still awake. Twilight could feel a great amount of heat coming from him after he fired off the magic. She could also see it had frightened her friends, or at least made them jump. But what caught her off guard the most was him suddenly speaking, " ...Ryder... "
Twilight looked at him with a confused expression, " E-excuse me...but could you please repeat that? "
He laid his gaze upon her, then sat up and spoke again, " I said, Ryder...my name is Axel Ryder...and if you want more information I'm sorry to inform you that's all I know. " Twilight and the other five stared at the stranger with wide eyes because of what he had just said.
" What in tarnation?!? Ah've never heard a name like that before, " She whistled, " partner you must be special or somethin' " Applejack said while trying to sound as friendly as can be, the others save for Twilight, simply looked at her, " Well shoot, if he trust us enough to tell us his name then I think It's OK to be friendly to him. " Applejack looked at the stallion whose cold glare had softened into a normal glance, she turned to him and held her hoof out, " The name's Applejack, I help run Sweet Apple Acres, we got the best apples in all of Equestria, It's nice to meet you partner. "
He looked at her hoof before hesitantly, and slowl shaking it, " It's...nice to meet you too, " the tone in his voice didn't exactly sound warm but she knew it meant he was opening up even if it was by a little bit. He clenched his eyes shut again as he watched more images speed through his mind, along with more words accompanying them.
" Whoa! What's this? " a small foal asked holding up an apple, he eyed it like a jeweler eyed an uncut diamond. He sniffed it before taking a big bite out of it, " Wow this is delicious!! " he exclaimed with glee as he continued to eat, not noticing the larger figure walk up behind him.
" It's called an apple, " a mature feminine voice said, " and yeah, they're pretty damn tasty", he turned around to see a tall mare looking at him, he couldn't make out their face, but oddly enough, he knew who it was.
" Mama! " He happily shouted, " this apple thing taste really good! They're gonna be my favorite food from now on!!!" the little foal declared with joy and excitement.
He opened his eyes as the memory faded, only to see Applejack waving her hoof in his face" Uh...partner are ya OK? " she looked at him slightly confused.
He shook it off and looked at her, " Yeah, I'm fine...you said before you grow apples, right? " Axel asked.
Her confused expression turned into that of a happy one, " Yer darn tootin! we grow some THE best apples in all of Equestria, er Axel was it? Why are ya wonderin? "
He slightly shook his head, " I...just remembered that I really love apples, they're one of my favorites, " his words brought a big grin to Applejack. He turned to the others and immediately saw Rarity holding his coat, " My coat, that's something I could never forget, even with amnesia... " he said somberly.
Rarity noticed the tone in his voice shift as he spoke about his coat, " Well darling, it was in tattered shreds when we found you...so I personally took it upon my own liberty to fix it for you. " She gave a smile of her own, " I must say, whoever made it certainly knew what they were doing, the stitching that was left intact was flawless, " she placed the coat at the edge of the bed for him.
After staring at it for a few short moments he lifted it up with his hooves scanning over it, a small smile slowly forming on his face, " Thank you..some..somebody special made it for me...I only wish I remembered who they were. " He turned to her with the small, but appreciative smile on his face, " I truly thank you...um what did you say your name was? "
A smile grew on her face as she fluttered her eyelashes, " Why you're absolutely welcome, and my name darling, is Rarity. "
He nodded, " Thank you Rarity, this means a lot to me... " He eyed the coat once more, looking at the sutures in the fabric,
Her curiosity having gotten the best of her, Pinkie Pie shot forwards to the stranger, getting in his face, where she began to ask multiple questions, " Why are you so big? where did you get that scar from? Is your hair really that black? What happened to you last night? Do you have a mare friend? " With the last question being asked, Twilight quickly covered Pinkie's mouth and pulled her away.
" Eheheh, S-sorry about her", Twilight said with a sheepish smile, " She tends to get really excited easily. This is Pinkie Pie, she takes it upon herself to greet all the new ponies in Ponyville, with you being one of those new ponies, " Axel gave a nod. Twilight then went over to Fluttershy, who at the moment, was cowering behind Applejack, " Go on Fluttershy, he won't hurt you, " she said in a comforting voice. " He was probably just confused, I mean he couldn't even remember his own name, " as embarrassing as it was he had to nod in agreement.
Although she had done it slowly, and hesitantly, she did approach him before slowly holding out her hoof. He stared at the shaking hoof for a moment, before reaching his own out to shake hers. The sudden contact made her squeal in surprise, " I..I'm...my...my names... " but the rest came out as an inaudible whisper.
He looked at her with a confused expression momentarily, " I'm sorry, but could you repeat that? "
She shakily nodded, and in a very hushed but audible voice, " My...my names...F-Fluttershy... " she looked as if she could faint at any given moment.
They shared a glance for a brief moment before he spoke up, " ...Do you take care of animals Fluttershy? " She shyly nodded, which earned a slight smile from him, " I figured so, you carry the scent of many different animals, and I do mean that in a good way. " Although she didn't understand why, she couldn't help but blush at his strange compliment.
The "compliment" might not have bothered Fluttershy, but it didn't exactly sit right with Applejack, " Now hold on a darn second, how could ya have possibly know Fluttershy took care of animals if yer just now meetin her?! " She waited for his answer.
He gave a simple shrug of the shoulders, " I honestly don't know, I guess my sense of smell is that good. " Applejack sighed in response, he did have amnesia after all, how could he know? So she gave an understanding nod before walking over to Twilight. Axel's gaze was then fixated Rainbow Dash, who at the moment was trying her best to stay out of sight," You know, you don't have to hide. "
His words made Rainbow Dash jump slightly, causing her to face him " I-Uh...sorry about that, I..I'm R...Rainbow Dash. " She stopped and shook her head, " The fastest flier in all of equestria, " she said the last part in an attempt to keep her calm and cool as possible, yet failing terribly at it. She scolded herself mentally, " Get it together Dash! You're starting to become more a nervous wreck, just like Fluttershy! You just gotta stay cool, It's not like he's anything special...although...he does look kinda strong, I bet he'd make one hell of a pegasus... " she lost herself lost in thought to the point that she hadn't realized she was staring right at him.
After a minute of awkward silence, Axel clapped his hooves in her face to get her attention, " Uh...Rainbow Dash was it? You said you were the one who saved me...correct? " She was blushing madly from having been caught staring. She quickly nodded, and he looked at her for a moment, " I...I truly thank you, I am in your's and Rarity's debt, for saving my life and fixing my most prized possession. " He then surprised everypony present by climbing out of the hospital bed standing on all four legs.
To say he was tall was far from a lie, he stood almost half a head higher than Big Macintosh, and had a body built to match his height. " Well shoot! you're a big feller ain't ya? " Applejack asked, in a surprise and almost admiring way. " You're just as big as my older brother, and he's one of the biggest stallions in Ponyville, " she and the others watched as he removed the bandages from his forelegs, he wasn't the most muscular colt she had seen, but he sure was up there. His body in her eyes looked more like a farm worker's body than that of a typical unicorn.
"Is, that's a bad thing?" he questioned her statement.
She started to quickly shake her head in response to his question, " No, no, no, no, It's not a bad thing. Ya...ya just surprised me," her hectic speech caused him to chuckle.
When Twilight saw him getting unbandaged, she quickly and sternly walked over to him, " Just what do you think you're doing?! You're not supposed to leave this bed until you're bett-" she froze and stared wide eyed at his body, besides the bruises that littered his body and the scars both new and old, there wasn't a scratch on him. She wanted to say and ask so many things at that moment but only one thing came, " but...but how?!?! You were covered from head to hoof in wounds yesterday! N-now you look like you were only in a small scrap... "
He shrugged before clenching his eyes shut once more, feeling another memory force It's way into his head. Fluttershy took notice of this and spoke up, " Um...girls...if..if he can't remember anything, don't you think him doing this is him trying remembering? " Then it dawned on Twilight that he wasn't experiencing headaches, he was attempting to find all his lost and mismatched memories.
Upon getting his composure back he looked at her and said, " I don't know, I guess I just heal fast... " he shook his head and mumbled, "damn that was a pointless memory. " he slid his coat on and made his way to the door, " You ladies coming? " He walked out leaving the six ponies speechless and awestruck, just five minutes ago he helplessly laid in bed, now he was and walking around just fine.
As if by sheer coincidence a single thought popped into the girl's head's, save for Pinkie Pie who was thinking about what sweet she'll eat when she gets home. That thought was, " Just who or what is Axel Ryder?! "
Author's Note
Well mares and gentlecolts i hope you enjoyed this chapter, I worked really hard on it, looking over it with the advice that my readers gave me. I thank all of you and I'll try my best to get another chapter up later today. So stay close by you wouldn't want to miss whatever will happen next
The Town of Ponyville
He had already taken off the last of the bandages as he exited the hospital, " It feels good to be free" Axel said while stretching. He turned his head to see the six mares who he had instantly warmed up to, exiting the same doors he just came out of. He didn't know why, but something inside of him told him that these mares were alright in his book, if he even had a book. He then turned back around and looking at the town the hospital resided within, and as he looked he took in his surroundings. " Hmm so this is Ponyville, It's colorful, I'll certainly give it that, " he turned his head back to look a the girls only to see a face full of Pinkie Pie. " Whoa!!! " he fell over from the sudden close-up of Ponyville's favorite party pony.
She eyed him curiously, but kept her usual smile plastered onto her face at the same time, " What are you doing on the ground silly? " she asked while she bounced around him. Her actions left a very confused look on his face, " Oh don't give me that look, everypony who's new here deserves a party for moving to the bestest place in all of Equestria!!! " Pinkie chimed. To say she had a mile long grin was an understatement, she had the widest of smiles on her face, " Not only are you the newest to be staying in Ponyville, you're also my newest best friend!!", she pulled him into a big bear hug, making his eyes go wide from the sudden pressure put on his bruised back, that and the lack of air he as getting due to the hug.
His eyes stayed wide as he tried to escape the death grip, " Choking....not...breathing!". It took all of the other five members to pry her off of him. He took a few moments to catch his breath then looked at the hyper pony, " A..party huh, I don't think I've ever had one, not that I could even remember", he said with a sheepish smile while he rubbed the back of his head with his hoof, he was expecting her to say something among the lines of, "well we should go ahead and get started then", instead he got an incredible large gasp and a torrent of words.
" Never had a party?!?! No no no no no, I won't stand for this, nopony that's my best friend will go partiless! I Pinkie promise that your party will be the best I've ever planned", she made the motions of a Pinkie promise and recited the phrase, " Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye", and with that Pinkie Pie was gone in A flash, already thinking up as many ideas as she can for his party.
The look on his face was a combination of confusion and slight happiness, on one hoof he confused as to in his words " what the hell was going on", and on the other he was happy that somepony was taking their time to plan a party for him. A party, something that although he doesn't remember, he's sure that he's never had one before, his expression turned to a smile as he started to walk towards town only to walk into a purple see through wall. " The hell? where did this come from", he poked it curiously before getting A strong "ahem" from Twilight.
Twilight looked at him sternly before softening her expression, " Sorry about that It's just, where exactly do you plan on going, I mean you don't exactly know the surroundings and you've got no where to go", he pondered the thought silently, placing his hoof on his chin. Again Twilight caught his attention with a strong "ahem", " If you'd like we can fill you in about Ponyville and-", she was quickly cut off by Rainbow Dash.
"And if you'd like you could stay with one of us we wouldn't mind" she stated in a hasty and embarrassed tone.
After giving Rainbow A disapproving look Twilight turned her head to Axel, " Yes what Rainbow said, we'd be happy to help a friend in need, on one condition" he nodded accepting it, " The condition is we want you to show us your cutie mark and tell us anything at all that you might remember, even the slightest details will do" she stated with a smile.
" The smallest details huh" he questioned, he took a few moments to look through his strung out thoughts getting the occasional sudden memory. He looked at them after sorting things out, " I come from A village in the center of A dangerous desert, I don't remember the name of it or much about it, I remember a tall mare, taller than any of you...my mother, I think", he proceeded to lift his coat up and show them his cutie mark, it was a flame burning as hot as can be with a sword stabbed through the center of it. He himself stared at the mark before another memory hit him.
He heard the mare's voice again, his mother's voice. The memory showed him and his mother, whose face was still unclear to him, sitting by a small pond talking, " You need to be more careful Axel alright", she softly rubbed his head while he eyed the bandage on his front right leg, " I know you're excited about it being your's when the time is ready, but you need to remember It's not a toy". Sitting next to them was a large Object, it towered over the foal, leaving A shadow the would intimidate most his size.
"I'm sorry mama, It's just that when I get the sword I'm gonna be the best swordspony there ever was", his proud statement made his mother chuckle as he eyed the blade which he could clearly see now.
" I'm sure you will sweetie just be careful ok, we don't need another incident like with your eye, OK?", She pulled him into a caring hug while getting a nod from him at the same time.
The memory faded as he shook it off, opening his eyes to five mares who were staring at him, waiting for him to tell them what he was remembering. His eyes shot open wider at the sudden realization the memory gave him, " My sword!!!" he bolted off into Ponyville looking for the blade from his memories, of which he was sure it was with him at all times.
Twilight's eyes also shot wide open at his panic filled outburst and his sudden leaving, " Girls whatever he's talking about we need to help him find it and i think i know where to look, Rainbow Dash take to the skies and keep a close eye on him". Rainbow Dash responded with a hesitant nod as she took off after him, " Girls hang on tight", they each placed their hooves on her and in a flash they were at the scene of where Axel had been last night, only to find ponies circled around the mysterious blade. Twilight's eyes widened and her mouth fell open at the sight of the weapon, never before had she seen anything like it, the sheer size alone made it hard to believe it belonged to anypony, It stood a around the same height as Princess Celestia herself, perhaps even bigger, and the size of width of the blade also made her think that it wasn't a simple sword made for fighting but a tool made for hunting beast like hydra and other deadly creatures.
Applejack had a similar reaction to Twilight, " Sweet mother of Celestia that sucker is huge, I'll admit that Axel looks strong but how the hay does anypony lift something that big?!", she couldn't help but stare at the blade, it looked as if some of the townsponies had tried to remove it from the ground, but to no avail.
The more Twilight eyed it the more curious she got about what kind of pony Axel was, she started to get close to it when she heard a commotion. Axel was speeding through Ponyville going as fast as he could, every time he he made a turn he skid across the ground, tearing it apart, " Almost there!!" Axel said in a hasty tone as he sped off as fast as his legs would let him, unaware of Rainbow Dash's eyes in the sky. She marveled at how fast he was going, even for a pony without wings he still ran a bit faster than the average pony, even faster than Applejack now that she thought of it. Axel saw the crowd around his sword and took off faster than before, pushing his still injured body to it's limits, " Make way!!!!!!" he shouted as he ran at the crowd, he hadn't waited for them to move, instead he leaped clean over it clearing it and skidding across the ground in front of his beloved blade.
It wasn't the sight of him making a leap of that size that made Rainbow Dash surprised and impressed, she had seen other ponies make similar physical feats, it was the fact that he wasn't fully recovered and still had the stamina to perform the jump, " This guy is something else. The next sight not only made Rainbow Dash's jaw drop, It made the jaws drop of everpony who was circled around the blade, Axel had stood on his hind legs, took the handle of the sword in his mouth, then pulled the colossal blade from the ground and held it in his mouth as if it were a stick. Everypony was silent until they saw Rainbow Dash land next to him and start to speak, " You just lifted that thing out of the ground like it was nothing, that..that is so cool!!!", Rainbow dash quickly covered her mouth and then put a sheepish grin on her face in attempting to cover up her compliment.
Axel was slightly confused about their shocked looks, " Whats the big deal, It's my sword " he places it on his back so it's easier to speak, " From what my memories told me...my mom gave it to me, and if your all scared of it I'll keep it on my back, I don't want to feel like a threat" he slowly rubbed the back of his head as he heard whispers among the crowd before getting nods of approval and smiles of acceptance. He smiled to their reaction and said something to himself, "That was easier than i thought, I guess this is the town for me ., He turned to the still somewhat shocked Twilight, " I'll try and find an explanation in my thoughts when we get somewhere right now I just want to rest", he said while slumping over.
A facehoof was all Twilight could do at the sight of the stallion who, just seconds ago leaped over an entire crowd with an injured body, but now he looks like he could fall asleep at any moment, " Alright alright, we'll head to the library we can discuss things there, just get off the ground", she quickly became impatient and used her magic to lift him into the air. " I'm sorry if I'm being pushy but I, like you just want some sleep and the sooner we get this done the sooner we can both get some rest" with this she and Axel, along with the other four went to the library.
Once inside Axel couldn't help but marvel at how many books there were more than he expected, despite having amnesia he still knew basic things, like what a library was as well as other things, " I was surprised to see that the library was really a big tree, now I'm surprised by just how many books you got here" his eyes wandered around the room as he took in his new surroundings.
Rainbow Dash chimed in as he was looking around, " Yeah shes a bit of an egghead, but she grows on you" Rainbow Dash said, putting her leg around around Twilight and rubbing her head with her hoof. " Also why are we here when we could be out showing him the town, this place is boring anyways", Twilight could tell Rainbow Dash wasn't being herself but she couldn't figure out why.
" Anyway" Twilight said trying to break the awkward moment, " I brought you here to see if you could or couldn't remember anything else, staring at your cutie mark made you remember...that" she motioned towards his sword. She used her magic to pull some books from the shelves and started to skim through them, " I was thinking maybe something else you liked in the past might be able to trigger your memories, like with the apples and with your sword there, It's a valid theory that it would work, the only problem is figuring out what exactly you liked".
She heard snickering behind her and saw Rainbow Dash and Axel laughing, " Sorry I was just telling him that books definitely aren't one of his favorite things" Rainbow Dash said before laughing again.
Rolling her eyes, Twilight returnws to what she was saying, " As I was saying before somepony interrupted me, I was going to suggest that he do certain task around Ponyville till he found something that reminded him of who he is", she turned to Applejack, " My first suggestion, working at Sweet Apple Acres, you seem to be physically capable of it and maybe if you like it there you'll have a temporary place to stay, what do you say Applejack", Twilight said, waiting for a reply.
The reply came, just not as soon as Twilight had hoped. Applejack stood there for a good bit before answering, " Ah..ah guess ah could, ah mean if yer any good at hard work then it'd be the perfect place for ya, and ah suppose ya could use the guest room upstairs if it means helpin' out a friend" she said in a nervous tone, from having the spotlight put on her so suddenly.
Axel's face grew a big grin to her answer, " You can count on me, whatever it is that you need just say it ".
The look on Applejack's face went from nervous to impressed, she liked this colts determination, "He's willin to work for ponies hes never met before and he acts like it's an everyday thing, I think i like this feller . " Well then i think you'll fit in just fine, we could use another strong worker, my brother can only do so much on his own, It'll be a good thing that ya will be workin there", she could see him literally beaming with excitement, cause his horn was glowing like crazy.
Twilight's eyes grew wide at the sight, " Um Axel? could you calm down, your about to fire off another magic blast like in the hospital", her curiosity had reached it's peak, she wanted to ask him why hadn't he used any magic yet, "He acts like a foal whose never been trained in magic before, never once have I seen somepony so oblivious to magic, he even gets wide eyed when i use it . " Hey Axel why havn't you used any magic yet".
He grew a confused expression, " Magic?...you mean like what you were doing with the books?", she nods in response, " I don't know, maybe i forgot how...I guess i could try". Axel clenches his eyes shut tight;y and grits his teeth as he focuses attempting to cast spell, when suddenly another memory hits him.
"He heard a mares voice, but one different to his mother's, it sounded softer and more fragile. He saw himself as a younger colt standing next to a mare but he was unable make out who it is " Axel you need to be more careful, your magic is dangerous compared to others, you could really get hurt",
" Sorry, " the memory Axel said with a sheepish grin, " guess I got a bit carried away, I mean levitating items and all is cool but I wanna master this fire magic stuff your teaching me about. "
" Magic is not a toy Axel! You or somepony else could seriously get hurt. Now lets start practicing again, set that tree on fire, " she pointed her hoof at the dead tree in front of them.
His horn began glowing red, followed by sparks before finally firing a super-heated magic blast from his horn, burning the dead tree to ashes. The sudden strain was enough for him to fall over from exhaustion, " Can we eat now? We've been practicing for hours. "
The memory eventually faded, " I guess i do know how to do magic but I'd rather not do the advanced spell here", he clenched his eyes shut again focusing, followed by his horn beginning to glow as he picked a book up with it. " Hey I'm really doing it! I wonder what else I can do? " his enthusiasm brought a smile to Twilight's face, but before she could egg on his desire to learn more, she remembered that he's supposed to go with Applejack.
" Oh I almost forgot you and Applejack are supposed to be heading over to Sweet Apple Acres to see if working brings any memories back", Twilight said in a hasty tone.
Both his and Applejack's eyes shot wide open," Oh yeah we were supposed to go there, race you there Applejack!!!", with that he took off out the door.
Applejack took off after him, " Wait do ya even know where yer goin!!!" Twilight chuckled at the scene before getting hit in the shoulder by Rainbow Dash, who in turn started laughing.
Twilight rolled her eyes and thought to herself, "Well, at least he's having fun, today has been a long day after. "
Author's Note
Hey there bronies and pegasisters sorry if this chapter isn't as good as the last one I've kinda been off all day, headaches left and right. I promise that the next chapter will be better, Anyway I was wondering who should Axel be paired with, we already saw that Rainbow Dash is acting oddly around him but why, they just met? Anyway put in the comments who you think he should be paired with, till next time everyone.
Recap,
" Oh I almost forgot you and Applejack are supposed to be heading over to Sweet Apple Acres to see if working brings any memories back", Twilight said in a hasty tone.
Both his and Applejack's eyes shot wide open," Oh yeah we were supposed to go there, race you there Applejack!!!", with that he took off out the door.
Applejack took off after him, " Wait do ya even know where yer goin!!!" Twilight chuckled at the scene before getting hit in the shoulder by Rainbow Dash, who in turn started laughing.
Twilight rolls her eyes and thinks to herself, "Well at least he's having fun, today has been a long day.
After finally catching up to the speedy stallion, Applejack and Axel trotted side by side on their way to Sweet Apple Acres, the awkward stares they were getting were one thing, the awkward silence between the two was a whole other thing. "Well It's just a guess but ah think he ain't gonna talk " Applejack said to herself, " So uh, what do ya think about Ponyville", she had hoped this would park at least A small conversation.
She didn't need to hope for much longer, her attempts bore fruit, " It's a nice town, I only wish the ponies here would stop staring at me".
" Well It's not everyday ya witness a pony jump over an entire crowd without wings, that was some impressive hoofwork you were doin though, I think the only pony I've seen go that fast has been Pinkie Pie on a sugar rush", this got a chuckle out of Axel, " I ain't kiddin, that there was some hustlin you were doin" Applejack exclaimed.
He continued to chuckle, " No not that, what you said about the pink pony, speaking of her, It's nice of her to plan me a party, I still don't think I've ever had one". He looked up at the clouds as they walk, " The sky looks so nice the clouds are in perfect alignment too", Applejack noticed the serene look on his face as he gaze drifted deeper into the sky.
A thought popped in Applejack's head, why not figure out what her new friend thinks of all six of them, and she knew the perfect pony to start off with, " Ya know Axel Rainbow Dash helps put the clouds in the position they're in now, she can do it faster than anypony in all of Ponyville, hay! probably faster than anyone in all of Equestria", Applejack praised her friend, while trying to get an opinion out of the seemingly oblivious stallion.
Her words seemed to have caught his attention, " Rainbow Dash, shes the nice looking one with the rainbow mane right?, that's cool i wish i had wings, all the freedom you'd have", he trailed off getting lost in thought, Applejack however heard his compliment towards Rainbow Dash and her curiosity grew. Before he can say another word A memory hits him right then and there.
" The memory shows an adolescent colt who resembles Axel, resting under a tree during a rainstorm, " My luck, I go out on patrol and I get stuck in a storm, wonderful" , he scoffed at just how unlucky he was, " If she were to catch me like this I'd never hear the end of it. " As he opened his eyes he stared at the clouds and sighed, " I wish you were around mom, you always knew what was best to do, you also knew how much I hated getting wet on certain days", he was so lost in thought that he paid no mind to the sound of another pony walking up to him.
" You know if you stay out here much longer your're gonna get a cold", said a tender female voice. He turned his head to see a mare, from the voice he could tell it was the same mare from the last memory, she was holding an umbrella, " Come on, we're gonna be late for the combat meeting if you sleep all day silly", the mare giggled at him.
A cocky grin grew on his face, " You'd sleep as much as I did if you had recon every night, Hell I even sleep then" the rain began to lighten up as they spoke.
She giggled even more, " You sleep too much you know", she says as she closed the umbrella, " It's kinda cute, you snore like a little puppy dog, " her giggling continued which seemed to annoy him slightly.
"Hey give me a bre-", his words were caught at a standstill when his eyes shifted towards the clearing sky, A rainbow slowly began to form. A small smile took form on his face as he stood up, " Did I ever tell you why I sit outside when It rains, despite the act I hate rain", she shakes her head in response, " It's cause I've always admired the colors of the rainbow, for some odd reason it brings a sense of serenity to my constantly pained mind", he started chuckling at something, this made his friend rather curious.
" Hey what's so funny?" she asked in a confused tone.
He looked at her and grinned then took off, " Just the fact I'm gonna get to the meeting before you do!".
"H..HEY!! why you little!", she shouted as she chased him after him, the memory slowly fades. "
By the time he had snapped out of it they had already arrived at Sweet Apple Acres when A voice spoke up breaking him from his trance, " I'm guessin you just remembered somethin, " he nodded in response. Applejack smiled to his response, " Well that's good, If memory serves me right Big Mac and Granny are in town right about now, and Applebloom should still be on her campin trip, so that leaves me and you to do the chores".
She heard him chuckle, " Sounds too easy, let's get on it", he was sure of himself that he could do any task she gave to him.
"now that's what I like to hear, let's get movin partner", the first chore on Applejack's list was tending to the animals, but she thought of something else that would suit the large colt, " You'll be plowin the fields, normally Mac would do it but seein' as he ain't here I guess you'll do just fine, let's just hope your stronger than you look".
" Sounds simple enough" he said with an excited tone in his voice, " This is gonna be a piece of cake" he half expected the hyper active pink pony to pop up at the phrase.
Applejack pulled the plow over towards Axel, " Alright here she is, sorry if It's A little dull, we've been meaning to get it sharpened".
He started chuckling and pulled his sword off his back, " You didn't have to bring that out, I got the only sharp object i need, It should be enough shouldn't it?", he got a hesitant but assuring nod from Applejack as he grasped the handle of the blade in his mouth. As the blade hit the soft soil it sunk deep enough into the ground for Axel to properly plow the field, " This will be a breeze...now if only I knew how long I'm gonna be stuck doing this", sweat dripped down his forehead at the thought of him being stuck in the field for hours. With the handle of the blade grasped firmly in his mouth he proceeded to pull it through the soil in a neat line, "This is gonna take forever if i take it slow, hmm I wonder how strong I really am, I don't exactly think now is the best time to figure that out but maybe a little boost wouldn't hurt " with this thought he starts a light sprint dragging the blade behind him, the size of the blade and the overall strength he was putting out made easy work of the field. To say Applejack was impressed was to say the least, never once had she seen a pony, colt or mare, move that swiftly while toting something that seemed extremely heavy, it was incredible how he was moving, it wasn't as fast as back in Ponyville but it was some speed, and the strangest thing about it, he seemed eager to go faster as if he wasn't going full speed.
Despite how quickly he plowed the field it took A whole hour to finish the fields, plowing the field was the easy part, It was planting the seeds in the freshly plowed soil that took up most of the time. By the time they had planted the last seed Applejack could tell Axel was eager to do more than this, "Say, you wouldn't mind tryin yer hoof in apple buckin would ya?".
" Apple bucking huh?, never heard of it then again it's not like i would remember", he slowly rubbed the back of his head with his hoof before a serious look appeared on his face, " But what would it hurt if i gave it a try, let's get to bucking some apples then...whatever that means", and with that Applejack led him to the apple orchard. A look of excitement grew on his face when they arrived, there were apple trees as far as the eye could see, each one with a fresh batch of apples growing on them, " I think I'm gonna like apple bucking".
Unbeknownst to them, as Applejack explained the basics of bucking Apples to Axel, they had eyes on them from the sky, " Come on AJ you saw how easily he plowed that field, apple bucking should be a breeze for him", Rainbow Dash whispered to herself. She was asked by Twilight to follow them and make sure he was making progress, in reality Rainbow Dash felt this was more of stalking so it made her rather uncomfortable, " Sheesh, how did i get myself into this, one minute i was just sitting around at Twilight's place, next thing im on this cloud, spying on some stallion i hardly know, that's not creepy at all, " she said sarcastically with a roll of the eyes. She started to remember the events that unfolded at Twilight's which led to her being stuck watching Axel.
"Rainbow Dash was laying on the couch at Twilight's place, her, Rarity, and Fluttershy stayed at Twilight's after Applejack left to catch up with the hasty colt, Rainbow Dash could't help but chuckle at the stallion, " He sure is something else".
Rarity replied with, " He most certainly is, It's rare that you find somepony that can make black work as well as he does", Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as rarity spoke.
"Hey Fluttershy, whats your opinion on him, you've been more silent than usual" Rainbow asked curiously.
Fluttershy opened her mouth to say something but found difficulty, it took her a moment before she finally got any words out, " He looks scary...b.but he, he seems nice" she gave a soft smile as she spoke.
With Rarity and Fluttershy having given their opinions, Rainbow Dash went to say hers when suddenly the door from Twilight's room swung open, " Girls I've come to A conclusion, we need to know if hes remembered anything or not as soon as we can and so I'm going to have one of you keep an eye on him while he works, and I already know the pony to do the job", Rainbow Dash was hardly paying attention, she was more focused on taking a nap while her egghead of a friend spoke unaware of what Twilight was going to say next. " and the pony i chose is, Rainbow Dash", Her eyes shot wide as she sat up, utterly shocked from her actually being picked, but then it dawned on her why once she looked at Rarity and Fluttershy.
She gave out a sigh of defeat," Fine I'll do it, but this is really wrong" with this being said she takes off out the door, and into the air "
" I should have just let one of the others do this, I'm too tired anyways", she looked down and watched as Axel attempted to buck his first tree. What she saw next shocked her more than when she witnessed him leap over the crowd.
On the ground with Applejack and Axel, Axel had been instructed to try and buck the tree she put him in front of, " So i just kick it real hard?" Applejack nodded for confirmation, " Seems simple enough", He reared his hind legs into the air, tensed his muscles, and giving as much strength as he could muster, he kicked the tree and uprooted it. Applejack stood wide-eyed and jaw dropped, he looked at her with an innocent face, sweat running down his head, " oops" he gave out a sheepish chuckle as he looked at Applejack's awestruck face, " Guess i hit it too hard.
Deciding to push the fact that he uprooted an entire tree with a single buck, Applejack decided that maybe it's best they take a break, " You sure are a bundle of surprises aren't ya, never would I have imaged that you would knock the tree over, I thank ya for replantin it though, these trees here are our lifeline, they're what keeps this farm alive, do you think you ever had somethin like that at one time" she knew she probably wouldn't get a good enough answer from the amnesiac, but to her it was worth a try.
To her surprise she actually got an answer, " I was actually wondering that myself, what did i live for before, or what lived for me, It's all a blur when i try and remember any of it and to be honest, it kind of hurts to remember some things, I know you, Twilight and the others are only trying to help..I only wish there were an easier way".
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash who was watching from a distance couldn't help but feel sorry for him, they thought they were helping him by trying to find ways to get his memory back, but in truth they were hurting him," I..I'm sorry, I had no idea they hurt ya,we.., we can stop now if you want and I can take ya back to Twilight's place if-", she was cut off by him raising his hoof in front of her face.
He gave her a wide grin, " Now why would I want to do that now, we got one more thing on the chore list don't we?".
Applejack realized he was right, they had one last chore to do and that was fix the fence surrounding the farm, " You see there are some nasty varmints in those woods called timber wolves, and before ya ask what they are, their nasty wolves made of wood, ya can always tell if they're near cause of the smell they give off", she continued on about the beast as they walked around the parameter of the farm. Eventually they come across a fence that's been knocked down, " Well shoot!, one of the critters knocked A fence down, do ya mind gettin some tools from the barn, I know Big Mac always keeps them there" he nodded and like that he was off.
As he trotted towards the barn a foul odor hit his nose, " Yuck what's that disgusting smell, forget it, Applejack needs those tools", he ran into the barn unaware of the threats that awaited his friends.
"There, that should hold it till he gets them tools out to me, what the hay is that smell, oh no", she turned her head towards the forest only to see, what could be over thirty sets of hungry eyes on hers, she slowly started backing up, the second she took a step back the beast jumped from the shadows and quickly surrounded her, she managed to keep them at bay as best as she could by bucking the ones that get close, " What the hay am i gonna do", she saw one try to snap at her from behind, it was quickly pushed back by a good buck to the face, while she kicked its comrade, a large timber leapt over the rest and right towards her, teeth and claws bared.
Right as it was about to strike Applejack, Rainbow Dash dived down and grabbed her friend and went to fly her to safety, only to have her wing clamped down on by the larger wolf, making them tumble a few feet away. The initial pain from the bite made Rainbow yell and cry in pain, " Sweet mother of Celestia this hurts!", tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at her wing, it was bleeding and had some of it's feathers torn off forcefully by the wolves jaws. She crawled closer to Applejack, thoughts raced through her head of how she was soon going to meet her end at the claws and teeth of the wolf pack. The two ponies hugged each other as they awaited their demise, the alpha wolf leaped at them with the intent to kill, "This is it,the end of the line, I'll never get to be a wonderbolt, I'll never get to live any of my dreams " .
Similar things were going through Applejack's head, " It can't end like this, Big Mac, Apple Bloom, Granny..I'm sorry".
They waited for deaths embrace to take them, but it never did, all they heard was a loud yelp. They opened their eyes to see the alpha timber wolf impaled on Axel's sword which he held firmly in his mouth, " Are you two gonna sit there or run, go!!", they were hesitant but they did as they were told, they saw the other path was blocked by the wolves so they took a short cut into the forest. They turned back to watch the action unfold, Axel tosses the alpha off his sword, into a tree making it fall to pieces, then turns his attention towards the smaller wolves, " You guys hurt my eyes and nose", the all lunged at him at him at once but were quickly cut off literally from an underside strike from the sword, " Are you predators or fire wood", three wolves lunged from behind knocking him over and clawing him on his exposed underside, making the girls gasp before running off.
Rainbow dash felt conflicted about leaving him behind, " We've got to go back for him, he could be hurt", she didn't know why she was worried other than the fact that another pony was in danger.
" What can we do Rainbow, you saw how many were there, yeah he took out most of them, but where one comes from another comes and so on, plus yer not in such good shape with that wing, I just hope he can hold them critters off till we get help", Applejack said in a concerned tone.
The wolves piled on top of the downed stallion , "I can't fall not to weaklings like this, that memory showed me what i was capable of...what I can do to those who stand in my way!!! ".
"The memory shows what seems to be a war torn field, soldiers of different kinds lay around each other, ponies, griffons, minotaur, all different races aligned under one flag, fighting a common enemy. A rag tag group of soldiers are all that stand against the endless hordes of shadow like beings that resemble ponies, among the surviving soldiers is Axel, his sword grasped in his mouth as he stares death in the face, " so who goes first", one of his allies said.
Axel spoke up, " Leave it to me" he trotted forward before crouching down and focusing on something.
" when doesn't he show off", said a pegasus colt wearing a bandanna around his face and a scythe strapped to his back, his allies shrugged in response.
Once he lifted himself up he leaped almost 20 feet in the air, sword held up above his head, " Let's see how well you like the grand slam!!!", his sword slices through the forces upfront and makes contact with the ground, splitting the ground for a few feet, " The funs not over yet! " they were about to make a counter strike at the same time he pulled his head back, he quickly swung it aorund throwing it at the crowd, cutting through anything in its way.
A large Minotaur wearing armor stepped up, "I suppose it's our turn to join the fray", he lifted a heavy battle ax onto his shoulder before running forward being joined by his comrades, save for the masked pegasus.
" Am I the only one who thinks things through before we strike, if you can't beat them join them as they say", he spread his wings and flew fast towards the waves of shadows, his scythe held up high to strike.
Axel stood up over the numerous bodies that feel before his blade, " It's rare we see Cyrus so pumped for anything", he spotted his blade flying back at him, " welcome home" he ran straight towards it as the blade shifted to his side at the correct moment, allowing him to grab the handle in his mouth. His attention shifted to the skies where his pegasus ally and what griffons remained dodged a hail of arrow fire, without thinking he hurls his blade into the crowd again striking the archers, he gave chase to the blade as soon as it hit the archers, " Way to easy!", a large hulking figure came running at him while he was too focused on the blade.
The memory quickly faded as he felt the pain of a timber wolves jaws on the back of his neck, " You know, you guys really piss me off!" another quick memory formed taking place right where the last one ended.
"The hulking figure slammed into him, throwing him to the side and barreling through enemy troops, " Talk about a head rush" he shook his head and regained his focus, before staring down the hulking unicorn in armor. The longer the two stared down one another, the angrier Axel grew, he could feel his anger reaching it's peak, his eyes began to glow A deeper shade of red than they usual were, " You're really starting to piss me off!!! " he caught his sword which was flying back towards him, then took off full speed at the armored menace "
Like in the memory, Axel's eyes began to glow deep red, " Now get off!!!" he shot up, tossing the wolves off in the process, " Now you've really done it!, Begone!!!", with A swing of his sword he cleaved through the remaining timber wolves, like a hot knife through butter. After regaining his composure he looked around for Rainbow Dash and Applejack, only to find a trail that lead into the forest, " Oh for the love of..", he rushed into the forest, unaware that he was being watched by two pairs of eyes this time.
" Most interesting, don't you agree sister", said the taller one.
" Agreed, did you feel the presence he gave of when he became enraged, truly remarkable", said the shorter one
The taller one flew down to the remains of the timber wolves, " Such tenacity and power, I've only ever seen such power from us Alicorns, yet hes lacking something we have, I know its the wings but..it's something in his head as if he were using a primal instinct".
The shorter one landed next to her sister, " You do not jest Tia, they fought as if it were predators fighting, such an interesting stallion".
The one know as "Tia" started to giggle, " Exactly how interesting is this stallion Luna, so interesting you couldn't keep your eyes off his flank", she continued to giggle at her sister who was now furiously blushing,
" Thou surely is jesting right?!, we would never stoop so low to stare at a colt's flank!", Luna said in a defensive tone, which made her sister laugh more.
While this is going on Axel has managed to catch up with the wolves chasing after Applejack and Rainbow Dash, " Hey stump-for-brains, Eat this!!", he stopped in his tracks to throws his sword like a boomerang at them, striking each one, save for the largest one who had managed to jump over the blade, " You mutts just can't make this easy on me!", he focused in on his horn, gathering as much magic in it as possible, " Let's hope this transportation spell thing can get me in the air", his horn began to glow and in a flash he was gone.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash had run as far as their legs would carry them, how cruel and ironic it was that their legs just happened to take them to a cliff's edge. " Oh great now what are we supposed to do, if only I had gone to Twilight's when i had the chance to get help", Applejack was going to say something but before she got the change they saw the large timber wolf emerge from the woods and leap at them, once again they were ready to embrace deaths cold grasp, but again it never came.
The Timber wolf lunged at them, and right as it was only a few feet away from them Axel reappears above it, sword ready to strike, " Take A hike, or better yet, Go jump off a cliff!!!", he spun in mid air, striking the wolf in the center, splitting it in half and knocking it over the ledge. Axel slid towards the ledge of the cliff, stopping right at the end, " Whoa that was a little too close", he turned and smiled at the mares, " you ladies OK ", they ran up and hugged him, both of them saying thank you over and over again, " Uh girls I appreciate the thank yous and all but I'm on the edge of a cliff!!!!", they backed away with sorry looks on their faces.
" Sorry about that partner, It's just we thought we were done for, then ya went and saved us, where did you learn to do those things anyway?"
He rubbed the back of his head looking for an answer, "Let's just say i remember some things an old friend taught me", before he could say anything else he heard the sound of claws against rock, he looked over the ledge to see the timber wolf, now bigger than ever, was scaling the cliff side to reach the stallion who destroyed its pack and practically humiliated it, " This thing is like a bad itch, doesn't it ever go away", a serious look grew on his face as he pulled the sword off his back. Once the behemoth of a timber wolf had it's eyes fixated on Axel, he could easily tell he no longer cared about eating Applejack or Rainbow Dash, now it was personal, " Aww i made the little pup cry, I guess its bed time", he crouched down, the ground cracking beneath his hooves, " Don't worry this shouldn't hurt long" he jumped high enough into the air to stare the wolf in the face, " Nighty nigh-", he was cut off by the wolves paw slapping him to the ground. He coughed as he stood up, " Correction, this should hurt for a while", he got up on all four legs, ready to fight the beast, this time with a plan. " What comes up must come down!", he hurled his sword straight into the air and followed it by jumping into a nearby treetop before leaping into the air above the monster wolf, " If it takes too long to come down, make it come down!!!" he catches the sword in mid air and then throws it at the wolf's face, striking its eye. The beast let out a howl of pain, stumbling closer to the edge, while it was distracted with It's injury Axel fell towards it's back and gracefully landed on the center of it, " Sheesh you smell worse close up. "
The wolf felt the stallion on his back and began to buck wildly, despite the fact they were close to the edge, " Yikes, you got some issues if you'rewilling to throw yourself off a cliff just to take me out!", he hastily jumped from the back to the wolves head, slamming his hooves onto it's muzzle, then leaping onto the cliff, " I'm starting to get too close for comfort, any closer and that thing would've taken me down with it".It could easily be seen that the wolf was getting annoyed, it wanted the stallion gone and it wanted him gone now, It lunged at him forcing Axel to quickly leap to the side, taking Applejack and Rainbow Dash with him, " why don't you girls get to safety while i take the dog for a walk, with a hasty nod from them, they were gone. Both stallion and beast stared each other dead in the eye, waiting for one another to make a move, " How sweet you want me to make the first move, maybe you should have bought me flowers and candy before you ask me to dance", he dashes forward dodging the claw swipes from the wolf, who at the moment wasn't his prime priority, he was focused on the blade that would finish off the wolf, " i'm tired of that smell, let's end this!!".
He rushed underneath the beast, swiftly grabbing his sword and then rolling out from underneath it, with a great leap backwards into the air Axel was high enough to get the perfect shot off on the wolf, " Here boy, go fetch!!!!!" he pulled his head back as far as he could, and with all his strength he threw the blade at the beast, striking it in the same eye as before, but unlike last time the sword kept flying and went towards the ground, cleaving through the cliff. While the wolf was busy swatting at the sword Axel took the opportunity and made a great leap above the wolf, his sword flying right at him, " I'm getting fired up!!", his horn glowed a deep red and began to spark.
With a bright flash a flame shot from his horn at the sword, lighting the sword ablaze and forcing it back and straight at the wooden beast. The blade pierces through the wolves head, lighting it on fire from the inside, but the blade also did something else. The fracture line the sword made the first time it hit the ground was struck again, the impact was too much to handle and thus the cliff began to crumble with the wolf on it. The timber wolf desperately clawed at the ground attempting to get a grip on the solid ground, but failing to do so. Axel watched from the air as the beast fell to it's doom, "It's on fire and falling off a cliff, I'd love to see it recover from that, say..shouldn't I be on the ground by now", he looked down and saw he was falling towards the bottom of the cliff, where he had just sent the burning timber wolf, " This is gonna hurt!! " With his eyes closed he awaited the impact, but instead felt something different, when he opened his eyes he saw he was enveloped in a dark blue magical aura.
"See sister I told you we would catch him" Luna said as she lifted him onto the ground, she looked him over before speaking, " Thou displayed incredible ability and heroics when facing that beast".
Her taller sister stepped forward, " Yes you truly are a hero, thank you for saving those two, I am Princess Celestia, and this is my younger sister Princess Luna, together we are the rulers of Equestria".
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with his hoof, " That's quite alright your highnesses, I'm no hero, just somepony looking to do what's right is all" he said as he smiled at the princesses.
" I have but one question, may I ask it? " Celestia asked.
He kept smiling, " Sure thing, ask away. "
Celestia's face kept its calm polite demeanor but instead of her smile she had a serious look on her face, " What are your ambitions, what is your goal, why save two ponies you hardly know, are you expecting something out of it, what is the reason you fought for them", Luna looked at her sister, she knew she was just being cautious, but did she have to be so stern about it.
The last question Celestia asked struck Axel straight in the heart, forcing a memory into his head.
" The memory shows field of flowers, in the center of it stands a terrified foal, that foal is Axel, even at a young age he has looked death in the face. A winged shadow wielding a spear just a few feet away from him, the urge to kill being clearly seen in it's twisted luminescent eyes. Axel closed his eyes awaiting the cold hard spear to piece his body, he heard the sound of blood hitting the ground, but not his own. In front of him stands an ash colored Stallion, a beard adorned on his face and a short mane on his head, " Kid,..how many times have i told you....when you freeze up, you become, you become vulnerable", Axel's eyes grew wide, he wanted to scream but couldn't. The older stallion used the spear against the shadow being, throwing it to the side and impaling it with the other end.
Axel watched as the stallion rolled over into the flower field, " M-master!", he rushed over to his side, " Don't worry master, we'll get you back to the village, the doctor will heal you", he couldn't help but let the tears from his eyes pour down his face.
"S...suck it up, n-no student of mine...will be crying...on my w-w-watch", the bleeding stallion coughed up blood and stared at his pupil, " Tell me Axel, what will you...d-do once I'm gone, what will..what will you fight for... " the pain came in incredible amounts.
The tears continued to stream from Axel's eyes, " I'll fight for you cause your not going anywhere, I won't let you!...you can't go" he buried his face into his teachers side, still bawling his eyes out.
His master put his leg and hoof around him, patting him on the back, " You've got to, got to be strong, strong enough to fight for your's and my dream, strong enough to avoid..this", he watched as his crying student looked him dead in the face, " Now..tell me, what..what do you fight for, what reason will, keep you going.
"I fight, I fight for those who cannot fight, for those who haven't the strength, so that they can live on their lives without worry, without pain or strife", he continued to cry as he spoke, " And my reason to keep going is...is so that I can protect those who need protection the most".
Again the stallion coughed, feeling his last few breaths coming, " Your cause...your reason, are both noble...Axel, I want you to grow into..A strong warrior, so that you can fulfill your reason, for me, for our home, and mostly, for you", his vision grew blurry quickly, " This world, is a cruel one, you have to be stronger or else...or else this world will slowly tear you apart, until your...nothing but a hollow...shell". He began to shed his own tears, " But,..your as strong as they come,to think when i first found you, you were some...bratty kid with no..parents or family, the longer i kept you around, the more it felt like....like I had a son of my own, never forget your reason, never forget..why it is...that you fight", he slowly closed his eyes one final time, " Never forget....your dreams", with one final breath, he was gone.
Axel felt something crack inside him, the tears came more and didn't seem to stop anytime soon as he buried his face into his teachers torso, " I won't master, I won't!....I'll always...follow my dream, bot mine..and yours". "
Tears were rolling down his face as the memory faded, the princesses looked at him in shock, had Celestia's question in a way hurt him emotionally, " Tia I think you over did it".
Celestia went to apologize, when suddenly Axel turned to face them, tears still running down his face, " I fight for those who cannot fight, for those who haven't the strength, so that they can live on their lives without worry, without pain or strife, and my reason to keep going is...is so that I can protect those who need protection the most", the princesses were taken aback by his answer.
Celestia closed her eyes and nodded, " I see, you have a most noble reason to fight, yet you say you are not a hero, how odd". She opened her eyes and looked the warrior in the eyes and gave a sincere smile, " I know this may sound sudden, but would you mind accompanying my sister and I to our palace, we have much to discuss", he nodded in response. " I shall be waiting for you there, I shall also send for Twilight Sparkle and her friends, till then warrior" she then teleported back to the palace, leaving Luna there to bring Axel with her.
Luna walked over to the stallion and looked him in the face, " Forgive our sister, she tends to act like this round figures like yourself whom contain such power, and forgive us for making you shed those tears of sorrow, thou art truly a noble soul", she gives him a light kiss on the cheek before stepping back leaving Axel speechless, " We must hurry, Tia will want to talk as soon as Twilight sparkle and her friends arrive". Axel gave a hasty nod and places his hoof on her shoulder, and in a flash the two are gone.
Unbeknownst to them, A dark figure was watching the whole ordeal from the shadows, " So Celestia has gotten to the stallion before I" it says in a distorted voice, several hisses are heard around it, " Do not fret my children, soon we will have enough power to rule all of Equestria and more!!" the figure starts to cackle maniacally before being joined by other wild cackles and hisses.
Author's Note
Sooooooooo sorry that it took forever to get out, I got writers bloc in the middle of writing this so it took a while for me to clear it up, but i finally got it done, I've decided a ship but I'm not giving away who but some of you might guess if you do don't say, you might spoil it for yourself or others, anyway there may be errors in my spelling and grammar but each time i wrote It was late so I'll go back and fix it if I'm not busy with the next chapter, until then sit back and enjoy the chapter, later bronies and pegasisters.
Recap
Luna walked over to the stallion and looked him in the face, " Forgive our sister, she tends to act like this round figures like yourself whom contain such power, and forgive us for making you shed those tears of sorrow, thou art truly a noble soul", she gives him a light kiss on the cheek before stepping back leaving Axel speechless, " We must hurry, Tia will want to talk as soon as Twilight sparkle and her friends arrive". Axel gave a hasty nod and places his hoof on her shoulder, and in a flash the two are gone.
Unbeknownst to them, A dark figure was watching the whole ordeal from the shadows, " So Celestia has gotten to the stallion before I" it says in a distorted voice, several hisses are heard around it, " Do not fret my children, soon we will have enough power to rule all of Equestria and more!!" the figure starts to cackle maniacally before being joined by other wild cackles and hisses.
Upon arriving, Axel was amazed at the size of the palace, never once would he have imagined something so large, Luna turned to him and gave slight smile at his stare of awe, " What seems to be the matter, hast thou never stepped hoof inside a palace before", he remained silent for a few moments before speaking up.
"Truth be told I'm not sure, from what Twilight says, I've got a thing called amnesia, I can't remember much of anything, except of course what few memories come to my head every now and then", Axel explained, Luna nodded taking in everything he was telling her, " The good news is the more I remember, the closer I get to finding out who i was".
The princess of the night felt sympathetic for the stallion, the fact that he is living without a clue of who he really is must pain him greatly, " Tis a shame, I'm sure thou hast many tales of wonder to speak of, what with the abilities demonstrated against the wooden giant", he chuckled at the thought, Luna however was thinking of something else, " Perhaps our sister has a way or removing that which curses your mind". His chuckle came to a stop as he took in the words one at a time, " We are sure there is a spell that can remove your affliction" Luna added.
A smile formed on his face at the thought of there actually being a chance at restoring what hes lost, " So there is a chance, but why help me?". It was a question that cycled throughout his head from the very minute he stepped hoof inside the palace, in fact his whole scenario confused him, first it was a group of six ponies who he had never met before, now it was two princesses who are the rulers of the land he currently resides in.
He could tell her answer would not be exact due to her being silent for a short moment, " Since the night before, Sister has felt something peculiar coming from Ponyville, at first she hadn't the slightest idea what to expect, we thought it was a dark force from the kind of magic that sister described, once we had come to a conclusion we set off, that is where we came across thou, a dark aura covered the entirety of your being, at first we hadn't a clue what you were doing in a peaceful such as Ponyville, until thou told us your intentions, as for why we would help thou, think of it as a reward for saving Twilight Sparkle's friends". It took the colt a minute to process everything the lunar princess was telling him before he fully understood it all, when all the information settled in his head he gave a big nod showing the princess he fully understood what she was telling him. The continued to chat as they walked the halls of the palace, most of the conversation was commentary on the size of the castle, or what life as royalty was like, Luna smiled inwardly at how innocently clueless the colt seemed, " Despite having the body of a ruthless warrior, he seems to just be a kind soul " Luna thought to herself.
Sooner than they thought, they had arrived at doors leading to the throne room, where Celestia was awaiting the two of them, " It seems you decided to take the scenic route sister", Celestia said, while holding in a small giggle, " Not need to worry, I expected this much, It's only right that our guest is shown around", she kept a welcoming smile on her face when looking at Axel, " There is some disappointing news concerning the meeting we were to have with the elements of harmony, the train that leads to Canterlot is running slowly, so Twilight Sparkle and her friends will not be here until tomorrow, so I hope you do not mind staying the night in the palace".
He quickly shook his head no, " That sounds perfectly fine your highness", he stood firmly with casual look on his face, he wanted to ask her if she could fix his memory so badly, but something inside him not to, Princess Luna could see the inner dispute going on through his eyes, so she decided to speak of for him.
"Dearest sister, this stallion has a request he wishes to ask, yet he seems to be too nervous to speak it himself, so i shall for him", at first Axel was surprised by Luna, but quick nodded, going along with what the princess was saying, " It would see he has been afflicted with amnesia, and has been stripped of his memories, he wishes to know if there is a way to regain what he has lost". Luna watched her sisters face carefully for an answer, the fact that it was taking Celestia longer than anticipated to answer worried her, "Sister, what is thou thinking of " Luna said in her thoughts.
Celestia had finished thinking then turned her attention towards her sister, " Very well, besides I myself am curious as to what secrets your mind hides, whether they be good or bad", she stated, still keeping her gentle smile and kind demeanor. Her horn began to glow as she prepared the spell, " One last thing, if you do not wish to keep your memories once you have them, i can gladly return them to how they are now and you can simply start over," Axel nodded in agreement, " Then if everything is in order, we shall proceed," she then blasted the spell at him, where it made contact with his horn and swirled around him rapidly.
Images sped through his mind, flashing quickly throughout his mind. Even though he attempted to process the information, it was too much for him to handle, he stumbled in place before falling over and passing out before he hit the floor.
" The memories finally finished flooding into his mind once they had settled on one single image, A small scrap made home in the middle of a desert, a pond nestled cozily in the small back yard, the front yard littered with dying grass which surrounded a single healthy tree, and laying underneath the tree, a soccer ball made for young fillies and foals. Inside the house a tall unicorn mare with coal colored fur, A black mane, and light red eyes, her name, Psyin. She was attempting to cook her child's favorite meal, desert stew, which consisted of various desert fruits, fish from their pond, and sand hawk eggs, " It's days like this I actually enjoy spending hours over the stove," she said while stirring the stew. She stared at the sky through one of the holes in the scrap metal ceiling, " Things just aren't as easy as they use to be...the summer is going to be harsher than it's ever been, and we're low on funds," she sighs before looking at a picture of her and a small foal who resembles Axel down to the last hair on his head, " I won't even have enough bits to pay for his doctors visit, that eye of his won't regrow on his own until he fully understands what he is, Damn all those responsible for trapping our kind here," she felt a strong stinging sensation in her heart at the thought of having her son live here for the rest of his life, she was pulled from her thoughts by a high pitched voice.
" Mommy, mommy!,"the foal from the photograph in the kitchen said, he had a bandage over his left eye, having lost it in a tragic accident. The excited foal ran up to his mother, one hoof behind his back, " I found something pretty for you," he said, he proceeded to pull a golden cross out from behind his back, " I don't know what it is mommy but it's pretty," he said while admiring the object.
A slight smile formed on Psyin's face as she kept her eyes on her innocent son, " So innocent, he doesn't deserve to be here, Axel is not a normal demon like the rest of us," she said inside her head, she shook her head forcing herself out of thought, " Axel you've just found a crucifix, they were used to keep us away from the ponies of the outside world," she regretted telling him this the second she uttered the words.
Axel stared at the object in his hoof, " How can anything so pretty be bad though," it was easy to tell that sadness was in his voice.
He was about to start crying, but a gentle hoof wrapped around him and pulled him into a warm hug, " You didn't let me finish, they are no longer used, because the outside world no longer believes in demons, its the sad truth but they are still kept around anyway". She looked carefully at her sons face, she could easily tell he was stuck in thought. She decided to speak to break him form his thoughts, " Even though the outside world no longer believes in our kind anymore we keep them for other uses, such as inverting the cross, it's a sign that one day we might be able to share a world with them instead of being stuck in Tartarus our entire lives," she let out a sigh of relief upon seeing her son's eye dry up. " Son do you want to help me with dinner, I could use my special helper," A large smile grew on his face as he nodded and bounced around with excitement, and with that they cooked the meal they would be eating for the next few days.
The night went by as it usually did, the bandages on Axel's eye were changed, he was bathed outside, fed and then laid down for bed. Of all the things to elude the young foal, sleep was one of them, rarely did he ever get a good night's sleep, he was frightened by the very world he lived in, Tartarus was such a forgiving place, not many fillies or foals lasted in the region of which he resided in. As he stares out his window he notices something in the normally blank night sky, A glimmer in the sky, something that hasn't been seen in Tartarus for years upon years. A star. Stars were rare in Tartarus do to it being it's own pocket world, whenever A star were to pop up it was said that if you grant a wish upon that star, your wish will come true, " I...I wish i could be like them...like the ponies outside of this place....where there's no war, no suffering, where everypony can grow up with a chance of seeing their adult years," A single tear shed from his eye as he made his wish, as if by the magic of an alicorn, the star began to glow brightly after he spoke his wish. It glowed for An entire minute before dying out, and as it died out, It seemed that even the star felt sorry for the dying world, it was as if it was crying when it faded, as if it didn't want to leave this world the way it was, " Even the sky cries upon this place," he said before slowly drifting off to sleep. "
Whilst Axel was unconscious, other events were going on, Celestia and Luna sat in the throne room discussing what to do with their guest. " But sister, what if the spell had some serious effect on him, though he is a mighty warrior, one's mind can only handle so much, who knows what laid in his mind," Luna said.
" Calm yourself Luna, he will be fine...though when i unlocked his memories, I was able to see some of them unfold they...they disturbed me to be honest, the colt has been through much more than most could even imagine, and what worries me more, he said many times the name of his home," the expression on Celestia's face became a very worried one, " He said his homeland was Tartarus".
A long silence filled the throne room before Luna spoke up, " Thou must surely be jesting, sister we thought that Tartarus was no more than a barren realm made into a prison for the worst of beings, how can such a noble warrior be from that retched place, in fact how can anything call that prison their home, it would be unable to sustain life".
The look on Celestia's expression quickly turned from a worried one that that of a remorseful one, " That my sister, is A very....A very dark subject...one that not even I myself would like to look back upon," She looked at her sisters face, knowing one way or another she would have to relive what she witnessed in her head, whether it be by choice or by nightmare. " Very well sister, I shall tell you what I witnessed," she took a deep breath to regain her composure and began to speak, " Long ago in the time when our mother and father still called Equestria their kingdom, when I myself was nothing more than a filly and you were an infant, there lived a race of ponies far different than any other, though their appearance was generally the same as that of any other pony, they held powers, some of which would make that of most alicorn magic seem like nothing more than mere fillies play, they were dubbed as Demons, a war-born race, birthed from dark magic in the oldest days, although most wanted nothing more than to burn the world, there were those who just wanted to co-exist with the ponies of our world, mother and father saw this, but what they saw more than that was the demon's constant thirst for blood and war, to them, no amount of wanting peace was enough to want to spare the lives of those who wanted nothing to do with the conflict," she shuddered as she went on. " Mother and Father saw a war over the horizon, A war that would leave Equestria weakened and scarred, or perhaps worse, so they devised a plan, pull as much magic from the alicorn council and themselves as possible and attempt to create a rift and send the demons to a place where they can do no harm to anypony except themselves, I begged and pleaded them to spare the peaceful ones, but my pleas fell on deaf ears, they had planned to execute the plan at sunrie the next day, when the demonic armies would be at their doorsteps, they didn't know that they had non warriors with them, oh how i cried out for them to stop and find some other way, but my cries too were ignored," she turned away from her sister, trying to keep herself from crying. " When the demon armies camped that night the council and our parents were setting up for their plan, they crafted a crystal, made to amplify their magic, yes they could have easily fought the armies, but even they knew that demons never stopped till their bodies could no longer move, the warriors were relentless, they had admirable determination, even if it was for the wrong cause, when they were in position, they charged their magic to their limits, aimed at the crystal, and fired, the resulting wave of combined magic ripped open the dawning sky, and creating our first encounter to the world we know as Tartarus, each and every demon was sucked into the rift, every Stallion, mare,filly,foal, nopony was spared the tragic fate, I felt my heart shatter as i watched them forcefully pulled into the rift, I could hear their pleas for help as they tried to hold on for dear life, I turned my head to our parents only to see them turned away from the sight, even they themselves were shamed by their actions, myself.....I was left heartbroken, in the time i had gotten to learn about the demons, I....I met a sensible foal". Now she couldn't help it, tears streamed from her eyes as she spoke in a broken voice, " His..his name was Cloud, A name I chose myself, he was orphaned as an infant....he believed that violence was useless, he believed that we could all live in harmony if we tried, he was such a free spirit...that's how i came up with his name, Cloud, as free willed and spirited as the clouds in the sky, he.....he too met his fate on that day," she collapsed onto the floor, her words turned into sobs.
Luna was shocked, only once had she ever seen her sister break down into tears like this, she quickly trotted over to her sister, placed her hoof on her back and softly rubbed it, " Do not cry dearest sister, perhaps..perhaps if what his memories show is true, then maybe, maybe there is a chance that you can find this, Cloud, once more, we can go to Tartatus ourselves and see if there is a way to find these demons you spoke of," Luna said.
Celestia slowly shook her head in response, " It's impossible Luna, I have tried on multiple occasions, their are great barriers that not even I can pas through, that block their part of Tartarus from the rest, so it confuses me, how was this colt able to make it through on his own, yes he may have great power, yet it does not explain how he got through, not even my strongest spell would work," she stood thinking for a moment, " Is it possible, can this colt really be from the same place as him, he seemed so calm so caring, just like... ," she was taken from her thoughts by a tap on he back from her sister.
" We know what thou are thinking about sister, can this colt really be from a place as terrible as Tartarus, the way you described these demons, it makes them sound like the vilest of creatures, yet he in no way acts this way," she looks at Axel's limp form and cast a spell so that she may see into his dreams.
"The first thing Luna sees in his dream is a large field of flowers, they are in bloom, with a single tree in the center of the field. Everything seems normal, until she looks at the scenery around the field, what she sees sends her into utter shock, the fields surrounding the flowers were littered with corpse after corpse. The corpses looked similar to the native life of Equestria, except hey had more hellish shapes, Pegasi had skeletal and bat like wings, only a few looked normal, Unicorns had horns of different shapes and sizes, the most recognizable horn shape being the same shape as Axel's horn, griffons were more beast like, the Minotaurs were noticeably bigger in muscle mass than their Equestrian counter parts, and lastly, creatures of undefinable terror, their shapes and sizes varied from creature to creature, most had equestrian bodies, but their features were all wrong, they had claws, fangs, multiple eyes, some even wore armor, hiding their gruesome features underneath. As she scanned the gruesome landscape that was Axel's dream, she heard what sounded like sobbing, as she followed the sound, she found red flowers, the flowers were not the odd part, it was the color of the flowers, unlike the rest of the flowers that were white, these were red, unnaturally red. Her jaw slowly fell agape as she followed the red flowers, which led to the tree in he center, laying there was the fresh corpse of a mare, her fur, white as snow, her mane, black as the night sky, she lay limply, A sword embedded in her chest, with her blood pouring throughout the flower field, staining the once white wonders of nature, and by her side, A familiar colt, Axel.
He sat there, holding the corpse to his bloodied and battered body, sobbing into her, but something was different about him, it was a small difference, buts till noticeable, his tail was lacking the red stripe that he dawns now, her questions were soon answered as she witnessed him lay his tail in the puddle, whether it have been on accident or on purpose, and watched as some of the blood soaked into it, forming a long streak down his tail. He made pleas to a deity of sorts, but they only came out as inaudible sobs, yet Luna could decipher exactly what he was saying, " Dear god above if there is one, please don't take her from me, she is all I have, if you see fit then take me instead, just leave her here," yet there was no reply, no answer, just silence. The scene she was witnessing stayed the same for some time until something caught her eye, warriors dawned in similar attire to Axel, minus the coat he wears, walked closer, some mumbling things, others just staring at the ground.
A pegasus colt with a hood over his head, and a scythe on his back, walked over to Axel, " You couldn't have just kept an eye on her, you had to play the hero, well i hope your happy, cause of you shes dead!," others soon joined in accusing him of their comrades death before the hooded colt spoke up again, " Nia didn't have to die, but you couldn't just keep your eyes on the prize, those villagers didn't matter, what mattered was keeping your allies alive," he grabbed Axel by the collar of his coat and shook him violently, " Then tell me you coward why did you do it!".
A long silence rang through the air until suddenly Axel spoke up, " Because she asked me too, because she asked me to be the hero that she couldn't, because it's what we do!! we fight to protect everypony not just ourselves," he raised his hoof slowly, it trembled with rage and sadness, he lifted his head to look his ally in the face, " Because its who we are!!!!," he slammed the hoof into his allies face knocking him over, sending the crowd, who just seconds ago, were shunning him and blaming him. He turned to look at his beloved's corpse, picked up his sword, and walked off into the sunset, the streak of blood in his tail slowly staining to be that color permanently. He walked, facing away from the direction he had just left, his pace of walking soon became quick trotting, and soon the trotting become a full on sprint, a heavy stream of tears ran from his eyes as he sprinted away from everything he knew, " I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, please forgive me," he sprinted into the sunset and out of view.
It was at this moment that Luna found out that this was no mere dream, she had just witnessed one of his lost memories, she had just witnessed the last memory he held onto before coming to Equestria. "
When Luna had awoken from her daze that the spell put her in, she found herself no longer in the throne room, but in her wing of the palace, in her room, she turned her head to see another bed in her room, in it laid the unconscious form of Axel. A strong look of sadness and pity took form on her face, the stallion before her had overcome the hardships of war, but he also faced the pain that is regret, he was shunned by those who once respected him and called him a friend, and in the process, he lost everything he once cared about, " Thou may have an exterior of steel, but thou heart are as fragile as my own," she softly petted his head, as she did, she couldn't help but notice he had tears running down his face, " Sleep now, let all thy pains go,". She was about to enter his dreamscape again, in attempts to calm his mind, when suddenly one of her night guard walked into her room.
" Your highness your sister requires you in the throne room, Twilight Sparkle and the elements of Harmony have arrived,".
Luna sighed as she turned towards the guard, " Very well let us go at once, we should not keep sister waiting," she turned one last time to look at Axel before walking to the throne room with the guard, she lowered her head as she thought of something, "Rest easy now child of Tartarus, let thy pains leave thy mind while thou rest, ". She used her magic to project an image of her in the room to look at him one last time before she entered the throne room. As she stood next to him she couldn't help but feel a strong sense of remorse, she lowered her head, pressed her muzzle against the side of his, and kissed him on the cheek, " Rest well warrior, let thy heart be at ease, " he projection disappeared as she arrived at the throne room doors, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, opened her eyes, then opened the doors.
Author's Note
Hey bronies and pegasisters, it's been too long and i am so sorry this chapter took forever to get published. It's not that it was hard to write, it's just that its hard to write when your as sick as a dog, so i hope you guys and gals can forgive me, I hope you enjoy the chapter, leave a comment of what you think, And if you see any errors I will fix them. I'm still getting over my stomach bug so I know i made some, until next time everyone, later!
Revelations Underneath the Moonlight
Revelations Underneath the Moonlight
Recap,
She was about to enter his dreamscape again, in attempts to calm his mind, when suddenly one of her night guard walked into her room.
" Your highness your sister requires you in the throne room, Twilight Sparkle and the elements of Harmony have arrived,".
Luna sighed as she turned towards the guard, " Very well let us go at once, we should not keep sister waiting," she turned one last time to look at Axel before walking to the throne room with the guard, she lowered her head as she thought of something, " Rest easy now child of Tartarus, let thy pains leave thy mind while thou rest,". She used her magic to project an image of her in the room to look at him one last time before she entered the throne room. As she stood next to him she couldn't help but feel a strong sense of remorse, she lowered her head, pressed her muzzle against the side of his, and kissed him on the cheek, " Rest well warrior, let thy heart be at ease," the projection disappeared as she arrived at the throne room doors, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, opened her eyes, then opened the doors.
Twilight Sparkle and her friends had arrived just a few minutes after Princess Luna had entered the dreamscape of the slumbering stallion, they had received an urgent message from Princess Celestia herself. Upon arrival, they were escorted directly to the throne room where the princess was awaiting them. " I wonder what Princess Celestia called us for, her message made it seem like some major disaster was going to occur, something worse than Discord ever," said Twilight as she tried to remain calm. While she was receiving different looks from her friends, she was thinking of what Celestia needed from them for, " Whatever it is that the princess needs, I hope It's not another crisis like with Discord, I don't think i could bare to come that close to losing my friends again, " she stayed in her thoughts a she walked alongside her friends.
An ecstatic Rainbow Dash was looking pumped to take on anything the princess would throw at her, " Whatever it is, it won't stand a chance, we're the elements of harmony, the coolest ponies there are. "
Applejack simply rolled her eyes and spoke, " Dash I doubt bein cool is gonna help when it comes to a crisis. "
Twilight remained in her thoughts as they walked, until she felt a hoof tap her. She turned to see Fluttershy, looking as timid as ever, Twilight could tell that Fluttershy wanted to say something, just by how her lips were quivering. " T..twilight, what if it's something like Discord again, " it didn't take much to tell that Fluttershy was terrified at the thought.
A reassuring smile could be seen on Twilight's face, " Don't worry Fluttershy, it won't ever happen again, I swear, " Twilight said sincerely. Fluttershy gave a small smile in response, which in turn made the others smile, " Whatever the problem is, we can overcome it if we work together. " They all turned their attention to the large doors that lead to the throne room, they stared at it for what seemed like the longest time, the same thought was going through all six of their heads, including Pinkie Pie. What dangers lie ahead for us once we take this task.
" Come on girls, lets do this so we can get back to Ponyville and relax, " Rainbow Dash said in a confident voice.
" I just hope this exploit doesn't lead us to the Everfree forest, that is the last place i would want to go, it's absolutely dreadful, " Complained Rarity.
Pinkie Pie simply hopped in place, she seemed to be in an absent-minded state, the others looked at her in confusion, wonder as to why their normally chatty friend, wasn't speaking at all. Pinkie Pie looked at them, " what are all you silly billies looking at, I'm just thinking of the party I was planning, I didn't exactly get to finish it you know. "
Applejack patted her on the back, " Don't ya worry yer little tail off, when this is all over, we'll all work with you to finish that there party, alright sugar cube? " Applejack's response brought a wide smile to Pinkie Pie's face, along with bringing smiles to the rest of her friend's faces.
They all turned their attentions to the doors of the throne room, " Alright girls, lets do this, " Twilight said. Upon opening the doors they were greeted by Princess Celestia herself, they all bowed before her, save for Twilight who bowed then hugged the princess of the sun, " It's so wonderful to see you again princess. "
" It's so wonderful to see you too Twilight, It's wonderful to see all of you again, but we must save catching up for later, I called you all here to speak of a crisis that could happen, if the proper precautions are not taken, I shall inform you of what my sister and I have found out so far, and this does concern the stallion you found in Ponyville. "
Twilight and her friends shared confused looks as they wondered what the princess meant, " What do you mean Princess Celestia, how does this concern Axel? " Twilight asked.
The princess looked at them for a moment, then at the guards who were in the room, she nudged her head to the side signalling for the guards to leave. Once the room was devoid of anyone other than the princess and the main six, Celestia began to speak, " We have discovered the origin of the mysterious colt, as some of you may have already witnessed, he possess powers beyond that of a normal unicorn. " All six of them stared at the princess with anticipation in their eyes, they wanted to know what she was saying. " Your new friend is not even of our world, Equestria that is, he is in fact a being known as a demon from the prison realm of Tartarus, a place my sister and I used to seal away some of the worst beings long ago. Only I knew of the existence of demons, they were sealed behind a great wall of magic where they could never escape....I fear that wall is weakening. "
The main six, with their eyes as wide as can be, stared at the princess wondering if she was telling the truth. Twilight was the first to speak up, " I-I've read about demons in an old book, " it wasn't hard to tell that she was nervous to the point of stuttering, " T-they're vile creatures who, who destroy everything in a mindless warpath...It's impossible that he would be one...he-he's just too kind. "
Applejack spoke up next, " Twilight is right, that feller saved me and Dash from timber wolves, he can't be one of them demon things. "
Celestia closed her eyes and simply shook her head, " There are two kinds of demons, those that Twilight described, and those who only wish to live in peace...I know this because I use to be acquainted with such A being. " There was a collective set of gasp from the group.
" A princess of such divine stature, friends with a being who is a member of race of creatures who only destroy. How is that even possible?! " asked Rarity who was still clearly in shock.
" Not all demons were as bad as they appeared, yet they were all imprisoned, once my sister arrives we shall all see exactly how a single demon managed to escape the wall that surrounds them, and if there is no evidence that he escaped then perhaps there is another explanation, " Princess Celestia explained.
As if on cue, Princess Luna then walked into the room, "Sister I have arrived, " she spoke as she made her way towards Celestia.
" Princess Luna! " Twilight exclaimed with a smiled as she bowed before the princess of the night.
Luna smiled at the gesture, " Greetings Twilight Sparkle and friends, we see thou hast arrived in good health, then we shall proceed," she stated.
Celestia nodded, " Now that we are all here, we are going to use a spell to project astral versions of ourselves and delve into the realm that is Tartarus. We shall then see if there has been a breach in the great wall, are we all ready,". She looked at all six of them, who in turn gave nervous nods. Her horn then began to glow, " Then we shall begin our astral journey into the realm of the imprisoned. " The spell enveloped both princesses, and the main six, who then passed out before awaking as an astral projection floating in the air above their sleeping bodies.
" Wow!!! this is so super-mega-ultra-funtastic!! " exclaimed Pinkie Pie in an ecstatic voice and sparkles in her eyes as she floated around in random patterns in the air. As soon as her friend's got adjusted to the feeling of floating they joined her before getting stopped with a loud, ahem, and a stern look.
They all replied with an apologetic look and a simultaneous "sorry" .
Celestia's stern look returned to her usual kind look, " Forgive me for that, but we must stay focused. " Both her's and Luna's horns began to glow causing a portal to open in front of them. Inside the portal laid the most barren of land that any of the six had ever seen. Dead trees littered the landscape, dying grass and unearthly vines that seemed to move on their own, raven like birds littered the area, their eyes glowing an eerie red, and in the distance howls of various beast could be heard.
The main six just stared into the portal, Fluttershy looked as if she'd pass out, Pinkie Pie was absolutely silent, Rarity's mouth hung open wide, Applejack and Rainbow Dash hugged each other for comfort, and Twilight just stared into the portal. " This place, it's filled with nothing but an evil presence...if their were good demons, why would they be sent here? This place looks like it would tear apart the purest of souls and spit them out as nothing but a hollow broken shell..." Twilight stated fearfully.
Celestia looked at her pupil, " Yes this barren place is where they sent those peaceful souls...my sister and I have only ever been here twice, both times gave us a feeling of great unease. " She took a long look at the land before them, " But do not fret, this spell makes us nothing more than specters, unable to be seen or harmed by the beings here, now come we must find the wall. "
Luna nodded in agreement, " Yes let's, onward then, " they nodded, although in a hesitant manner.
As they traversed the dead world they all took notice of their surroundings, " This place looks as if it died ages ago, " Twilight stated.
Celestia simply nodded, " When Luna and I were young our parents founded this place, it was meant to house the demons in an environment where they could do no harm to anypony, but what they didn't know was that life did exist here. Although it doesn't look like it there is indeed a vast variety of life in the dying plains of this world. " She was about to start talking about the wildlife, when suddenly one of the inhabitants became visible, emerging from a pit of lava, it resembled a cragadile, except instead of its skin being green and rocky, it was black and glowing like a volcanic rock, and instead of only being a few meters long, it looked as big as an entire island.
" T..th...that's A big..monster, " Fluttershy stuttered in a hushed tone, hiding her face behind her mane to avoid looking at it.
Rainbow Dash, who in an attempt to be brave spoke up, " He doesn't look that tough I bet I could handle him without breaking a sweat, " she had sweat running down her face as she spoke.
A hoof covered Rainbow's mouth. The pony who the hoof belonged to was Applejack, who was trying to stay calm and collected, " Hush up, ya can hardly handle Pinkie Pie's pet....what makes you think you could handle that there thing. "
Princess Celestia turned to them all, " Yes, however that fearsome beast isn't even one of the deadliest creatures here, now let us regain focus we are nearing the wall," these words nearly brought everypony to a halt.
"Princess, what exactly are we looking for at this wall? " Twilight asked.
There was a long silence before she answered, " We are searching for any breaches that may be in the wall, even the slightest, anything that would allow one of them to escape. " Princess Luna and the main six could tell there was great distress coming from within Celestia, but they couldn't tell what she was worried about.
" Sister, perhaps you could tell us exactly troubles you? If it were only a small breach that he made to escape then perhaps we could mend it shut, " Luna said in an attempt to calm her sister.
As they floated further the wall soon became visible in the distance. The sight made everyone save for Celestia freeze, the monolith of a wall shot up into the sky till it became shrouded within the clouds, making it impossible to tell how tall it was. It looked as if it covered endless miles with it's length, how could it be possible for anything to escape such a barrier was beyond the thoughts of anypony, " P...princess, are you sure hes actually a demon? This wall looks like it could take even the strongest of magics and not even receive a scratch... " Twilight said.
Celestia kept her eyes glued to the monstrous wall, " These walls were created with the strongest of magics that only an alicorn could produce, although in the process of creating it...three lives were lost....that is how much magic was poured into making this behemoth. " The princess of the sun just stared at the wall before speaking again, " We will do a full check around the parameter of the wall, there has to be a breach somewhere, " she was determined to know if the colt who she left back at her castle, was who his memories say he was.
Luna on the other hoof was worried about two things, her sisters behavior and why shes behaving the way she is, and the colt whose dreams she had recently been in. " Sister, perhaps we should go back, somepony must be there to watch over the supposed demon, we shall volunteer ourselves so that you and the elements of harmony may continue searching. " She looked her older sister in the eye as she spoke, hoping it would convince her.
Celestia turned to her younger sister, " As noble of a suggestion as that is, you are needed here sister as both of us are needed to open the portal back home, " Luna sighed and nodded in understanding.
As they were about to start their check of the walls outside, Twilight noticed that Fluttershy was not standing with them, this made her worry greatly until she heard Fluttershy's voice. " Girls! " Fluttershy called out in her loudest voice, " I found something...it looks like a flower. "
The princesses and the other members of the main six trotted over to see her standing in front of a red, crystalline flower. It looked as if it were simply implanted into the ground, and in the center of its crystal body laid what looked to be a piece of black cloth. " My goodness, Fluttershy dear that flower looks simply divine, it almost looks like a gem, " Rarity said as she stared admiringly at the flower.
They stepped aside as Celestia walked towards the flower, " I've seen a flower like this before, they're called memorial blood roses...as they hold a single memory of whoever's blood they grew from. "
Luna stared at it curiously before tapping it with her hoof, " It holds a memory? " she looked very confused as she attempted to wrap her head around what her sister meant, " Sister what do you mean? "
No answer was given, instead Celestia's horn began to glow, which in turn caused the flower to glow for several seconds. The shiny light from the flower erupted into a flash of blinding light, the area around them had changed from a dead wasteland, into that of a derelict village. Most of it had been burnt to the ground. They could see only a few houses standing but what caught their attention the most was the sound of screams, both from fear and also some of the most unearthly sounds they had ever heard, " Princess whats going on?! Are we in the memory?!? " Twilight asked in a panicked tone.
The princess slowly shook her head, " This is nothing more than a mere illusion of the past, we are but witnesses to the tragic events held within the flower, " she and the others looked around to see what was happening. They saw 2 fillies running for their lives past them towards what appeared to be the center of town. They were about to give chase, when suddenly a cloud of black passed by them. The creatures in the cloud of midnight were mangled beyond comprehension, as if they were more than one creature molded into one abomination. It was in Rainbow Dash's instincts to save anypony who was in trouble, then she remembered that this was only an illusion, yet she couldn't help but want to rescue the fillies.
The mangled creature had the two fillies cornered. It opened its maw which was filled with several hundred serrated teeth, several tongues left it's mouth to pull them in, it seemed like the end for the fillies as they let out pleas and cries for help while the tongues pulled them closer to the beast's mouth. Right as they were to be consumed a blade, far larger than the two fillies combined came crashing through the creature, impaling it through the head and killing it on impact. The main six instantly recognized the massive blade and then heard the voice that matched its owner, " You kids get out of here, there's a circle in the center of town where the villagers are at, " it was Axel! The same Axel who had saved Applejack and Rainbow Dash, even in Tartarus he was saving lives. They watched as he galloped off towards the center of town in a hurry.
" Why in Tarnation is he runnin? If he can do that to one of them critters why can't he stay and fight the rest of whatever they are?" Applejack questioned, Fluttershy tapped her with her hoof and directed her head in the opposite direction. It was an endless sea of black from all directions, the unholy beast were closing in on the village. The main six couldn't help but flee towards the center of the village where they saw, not soldiers as they expected, but four to five rag tag warriors, ranging from griffons, to minotaurs to just ponies in general, once Axel arrived it made six of them.
The Princesses followed the fleeing main six, not out of fear but to witness what was happening. The two princesses watched Axel's actions as he and the other warriors round the villagers into what seemed like a barrier, " Alright ladies and gentlecolts we got company from all sides! Don't let a single one of them near this forcefield, we fight with our lives!," Axel shouted, he had a valiant look in his eyes as he picked his sword up in his mouth and faced the oncoming sea of death.
The eight witnesses of the memory noticed a mare in the forcefield, she was wearing a similar uniform as the warriors, Luna on the other hoof, recognized the mare as the same one from the memory she witnessed just recently. The pegasus in the memory spoke up to get Axel's attention, " They're here! We mustn't let them through! " he raised his scythe and readied himself.
The six warriors outside of the barrier held their weapons high, their eyes filled with determination, " They were willing to throw everything away to save the smallest of lives... " Celestia said in a hushed tone.
They stood and watched as the first wave of the vile creatures rushed towards the barrier, only to be bisected by Axel's blade, " It's us or them, decide now! " With this, the six warriors rushed the sea of death. One by one the dark demons fell to their hooves and claws, yet their numbers seemed endless. They slaughtered what seemed like thousands of the beast, but still they pushed with the desire to kill. They watched as Axel became overwhelmed, a spear in his side, a sword in his hind left leg, yet still he fought It was a battle that they knew they couldn't win.
" Why did they try so hard..? They couldn't win from how this is playing out.... " Twilight said solemnly.
Celestia was quick to answer, " The same reason you fought so valiantly for friendship, It's something they believe in, they believe that all things should have a chance to live in happiness, so they fight the darkness with all their might. "
The Minotaur was the first to fall, he had been stabbed multiple times with spears and swords, many of which still stuck out of his torso. He was already dead as he fell to his knees and spoke his final words, " ...F-forgive me....my brothers in arms....I have failed you..." the shadowy beasts rushed past him towards the field.
The main six and the princesses watched closely at how Axel reacted to this. He began to glow red, the pupils in his eyes became mere slits, and his expression turned into pure rage. He charged through the hordes to his fallen ally's body, striking down all those in his path, he was like an unstoppable force of nature. The attacks that seemed to wound him before simply bounced off, he was determined to reach his friends body, " I'll make you pay!!!! I'll make you all pay!! " he pulled his neck back with his sword and looked towards the earth before him ready to strike, and with a single swing he cleaved through the ground and anything standing there. As the bodies fell before him he rushed forward. Right when he was to reach his fallen friend's body, something caught his attention, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention, a ball of red light, slowly falling towards the force field, " No!!! " he quickly altered his course and ran straight towards the barrier, cleaving through anything that tried to stop him.
Time seemed to stand still for everypony, including those witnessing the memory. Those fighting turned their heads to see the orb get closer and closer to the barrier. The mare inside the force field looked up, her eyes grew wide with fear, Axel was only a meter away when the orb made contact, a bright flash consumed the battle field, stunning everything that was in combat, an explosion had just gone off. When the light had faded and the smoke had cleared, they saw that the barrier was no longer there, and anypony inside it was either unconscious, or dead. Axel crawled towards the still breathing body of his love, picked her up on his back and turned towards the resuming carnage.
The beast had pushed forward, they all watched as another warrior fell, the griffon in the group. His death was enough to make them want to vomit, had their bodies been with them. " How can anything so gruesome ever happen... " Twilight said with utter fear and shock in her voice. They had all been told the terrors of war before, whether it had been from a relative or from a book, but never once had the imagined it being like this.
The beast drew ever so close to the villagers, or what was left of them, Axel could tell that he and his remaining allies were rapidly losing the strength to go on. As he struck down another demon he looked back at the villagers, then to his comrades, and finally to the mare on his back. He tightly clenched his eyes shut, letting tears slip, out his horn began to glow, and he opened a portal. " Retreat!!!! " He had tears in his eyes as he and his comrades fled towards the portal, leaving the villagers to their demise. With that the memory ended, and the flower shattered.
Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up, " So that's it?! He fights that hard just to give in at the end, what kind of cowards does that! " the princess of the sun placed her hoof on the shoulder of the element of loyalty.
" He fled because he thought of his friends lives...he had already lost two...and those who he had sought to protect were long gone...that explosion made sure of that. " She looked at all of them, including her sister, " We can't always save everypony...no matter how hard we try, there will always be those who are just out of our reach... " the solar princess's tone became soft and somber.
Twilight looked at the expressions on her friend's faces, they didn't know what to think of what they had just witnessed, " I think he fought his hardest and in the end...he made a choice that few of us could even think of making. He fought with everything he had... I mean, at least saved his friend's lives, that's what mattered to him. " She looked at the ground and felt as if she were going to cry, " Had it been me....I'm sure I would have made a similar choice. " She was surprised to feel that she was pulled into a group hug by her friends.
" And if ya did we wouldn't think any less of ya sugar cube, " Applejack said.
" Yeah no matter what choice you make, we'll always be okie dokie loki with it, " Pinkie Pie said, with her usual cheerful tone.
Celestia smiled at the sight, but was surprised to feel her sister hug her, before returning the hug herself, " This is a touching moment indeed, we shall continue it back in the palace but we must do one last thing, find exactly how our guest escaped this prison of a barrier. " They all nodded in agreement, and thus they continued the search.
As they searched they came across a lone set of hoof prints, " I think it would be the best action to follow these prints, maybe then we'll find something, don't you agree princess? " Twilight asked. In response the princess gave a nod, as they followed the tracks, they found large pieces of rubble, they were unlike the stones they had seen, these seemed to be giving off some kind of magical glow. The sight instilled a greater worry and fear within Princess Celestia, they had to make haste and went on a full sprint while following the hoof prints.
As they reached the end of the trail they found more rubble, Princess Luna looked around but couldn't find anything, " This is useless there is noth- " she was cut off as her sister put her hoof over her mouth. She looked at Celestia and saw her sisters eyes widened, and her mouth hanging agape, she then looked at the main six and found them all with similar expressions. She closed her eyes for a moment, opened them, and looked where their eyes were. Her pupils shrunk with fear, her jaw seemed to unhinge as it fell open like the rest, her legs trembled.
The wall had not been breached like they had thought, the wall had been split open all the way to the top, leaving a massive hole in it, and it was no longer a single set of hoof prints they saw, it was hundreds upon thousands, perhaps millions, of prints molded into a single path, " .... We are doomed... " was all Celestia could say.
Author's Note
Well ladies and gentlecolts, I've successfully finished another chapter, and I'll start working on the next one right away, but i had news. I will be writing a side story to this one, it will still have Axel but its going to be a whole different tale, but don't worry, this story will remain as my main story, so until next time bronies and pegasisters, I bid you farewell.
A Crisis Is Born, A Solution Planned
Recap,
As they searched they came across a lone set of hoof prints, " I think it would be the best action to follow these prints, maybe then we'll find something, don't you agree princess? " Twilight asked. In response the princess gave a nod, as they followed the tracks, they found large pieces of rubble, they were unlike the stones they had seen, these seemed to be giving off some kind of magical glow. With a greater worry instilled inside the Princess Celestia, they had to make haste and went on a full sprint while following the hoof prints.
As they reached the end of the trail, they found more rubble, Princess Luna looked around but couldn't find anything, " This is useless there is noth- " she was cut off as her sister put her hoof over her mouth. She looked at Celestia and saw her sisters eyes widened, and her mouth hanging agape, she then looked at the main six and found them all with similar expressions. She closed her eyes for a moment, opened them, and looked where their eyes were. Her pupils shrunk with fear, her jaw seemed to unhinge as it fell open like the rest, her legs trembled.
The wall had not been breached like they had thought, the wall had been split open all the way to the top, leaving a massive hole in it, and it was no longer a single set of hoof prints they saw, it was hundreds upon thousands of prints molded into a single path, " ...We are doomed... " was all Celestia could say.
The longer Celestia stared at the hole in the wall, the more she could feel the terror welling up inside of her, " My fears have come true, the very force that brought Equestria to it's knees all those years ago....has been freed... " She spoke with a great sense of dread and defeat flowing through her body, she could do nothing more than collapse to her knees.
Luna on the other hoof was more curious as to what exactly it was that they were to be afraid of, " Sister, what exactly did this wall hold? "
The terrified princess of the sun looked at her younger sister, a mortified expression on her face, " Those....creatures we saw in the memory were only children compared to what this wall could truly hold....and speaking of those creatures, it seems that they escaped in mass quantities but they have yet to reach our world, and that is but a small feat from here. With their strength and numbers, passing by Cerberus should be an easy feat... " It was as if the horror that Celestia was feeling was spreading to the others, they began to think of the terrors that would happen if those beast were to escape, the havoc that they could wreak upon the world. " We must hurry, precautions must be made. Luna once we arrive I want you to awaken our guest, he knows these creatures better than anypony, so he would be the one to help us, " Luna nodded in response. " Twilight, I need you and the other element bearers to get your Elements in case they are needed, " they too nodded, " Good, now that everypony understands the crisis we are being faced with, let us hurry back to Equestria...before it's too late... " Upon agreeing to head back immediately, they started off as fast as they could go in their current states.
It only took half an hour to get back to the opening point. Upon returning to their bodies, they were relieved that all was how they left it, " Tis a good thing that everything is as it should be, We shall go and awaken him now, " Luna said as she began to walk off.
Celestia turned her attention towards Twilight Sparkle and her friends, " So that precious time is not wasted, instead of sending you back to Ponyville to retrieve the elements, I shall bring the elements to the six of you," and with the flash of her horn, the case that held the elements that was once in Twilight's library, now sat before them. " I fear that the elements themselves will not be enough to stop this threat... " this shocked the six of them, as far as they knew the Elements of Harmony were the strongest magical items in all of Equestria.
" Princess how is that possible?! The Elements of Harmony stopped both Discord and Nightmare Moon, how could they not be enough to stop these...these..things?! " Twilight said in a loud worried voice. Fear had begun to well up inside her the moment she saw the hole in the wall. They were facing a threat that they knew little to nothing about, other than that they live solely on destruction and that they come in mass numbers, enough to overrun the largest of armies.
The princess slowly shook her head, " Twilight, the elements were made to open up a beings heart, with my sister it released her true self, and because Discord's heart is stone, he became stone, but these creatures, their hearts are nothing but pure and utter destruction, they thrive on the destruction and death of others, they have no hearts, no stone cold hearts, no inner feelings, they are mindless, heartless, soulless beings who just want to destroy, consume, and burn everything that lay in their wake. " Celestia's response, truly and utterly shocked her student, never once had Twilight heard her strong, willful, and caring teacher, talk as if she had lost all hope, as if there were not a way to solve this.
The room grew quiet, everypony in the room was shocked to the core, if the Elements of Harmony wouldn't be enough to stop such creatures, then what would? " Come on girls, if we could whip Discord, then we can beat a bunch of monsters, whose with me!? " Rainbow Dash said, in an attempt to lift everyponys spirit, but to no avail.
Once again the princess could only shake her head, " Dearest Rainbow Dash...these creatures pose a much larger threat than discord, where as he could ruin all life in Equestria....why.....why these beasts they could- " She stopped for a moment and took a deep breath to keep up her composure, " ...These creatures could end all life in Equestria as we know it... " Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, her pupils shrunk, all courage drained from her body, it seemed that they truly were doomed.
Meanwhile in the lunar wing of the castle
Luna was just now reaching the sleeping stallion, " Please, hero of Tartarus, thou must awake...thou are needed... " her horn began to glow, levitating him in the air, if he wouldn't wake up then she would be forced to wake him up on her own. But before she could finish the spell, his horn began to glow red. The two mixtures of magical aura went from red and blue to that a solid purple, and as the two auras mixed, Luna couldn't help but lower the stallion to the ground. It was as if their magics were reacting to one another, " By the moon above...what are we witnessing?! " As his hooves touched the ground, Axel's eyes slowly opened, he looked well rested and yet he still seemed half asleep.
He turned his attention towards the lunar princess, " Princess Luna? ...Is it morning already? " he slowly rubbed his eyes as he looked at the expression on her face. " What? What seems to be the matter princess? Whatever it is, it can't be that bad, " she didn't speak, she didn't move. Her horned glowed softly as she went towards him, and touched her horn to his, quickly the images of what she and the others had witnessed flashed into his head, dread instantly filled his whole being, " No.....no not again...I can't let them get here! " He exclaimed, he desperately needed to get back to Tartarus and stop them before they could reach the outer gates that lead into Equestria. With a single flash of red something had appeared before Axel, Luna looked at what he had summoned, it was the same behemoth of a blade that he used to slay the giant timber wolf.
" We do not doubt thou abilities warrior, but our sister is devising a strategy that involves using your talent for slaying these creatures to our advantage...It would seem that not even Equestria's greatest source of magic would be enough for such a thing..." Luna said, she would rather tell him straight make him wait and find out.
He looked her in the eyes, " So let me get this straight, you want to use me as a weapon to stop these things? " Luna slowly nodded, it was easy to see the shame on her face. It took a few minutes before he replied, " Sounds like a plan to me, " never once did she ever think that she would hear a pony voluntarily agree to becoming a weapon on behalf of Equestria. He looked at her with a smile on his face, " Hey if I don't then who will, besides it could be fun, " his smile turned into a big grin, and as if his cheerful mood were contagious, Luna too now had a smile on her face, albeit a small one it was still a smile. He looked Luna in the eyes one more time before heading through the door, " Another thing, your lucky I think your cute, otherwise it would've taken one hell of a reason to convince me to do this, I'm not a weapon for just anypony, " he winked at her and kissed her on the cheek, shocking the lunar princess, " And another thing, try talking in a modern voice alright it kinda confuses me with the whole thou art the greatest speech. " He chuckled and left the room, leaving a still shocked Luna, standing their, her hoof on her cheek.
Many thoughts rushed through Luna's head as he left the room. One such thought being as to why he kissed her for the only reason she had kissed his cheek while he slept was out of kindness, and he thought she was...cute? She was very confused, and yet for some reason she couldn't help but smile, " Perhaps we finally have a chance. " She made haste in following him to the throne room, " Thou hast confused me greatly Axel Ryder, but perhaps in due time...I will understand your motives. " Upon arriving at the throne room doors she was greeted by Axel who was just standing at the doors. Luna couldn't help but blush as all she could think of was his previous actions.
He looked at her and smiled, " Well let's head on in we got plans too make, " and without and second thought he bucked the door, knocking it down with ease. " Oops, maybe I should've just opened it instead... " sweat ran down his forehead as a sheepish look formed on his face. Luna was astounded at how innocent he could act after doing such a thing, on accident, this colt truly did confuse her. Axel's expression became a serious one in a matter of seconds as he walked towards Celestia, " So you need me as a weapon, is that correct? " Celestia did not hesitate when nodding, she wanted to be up front this was no time to be beating around the bush. " Your lucky I'm experienced in these sorts of situations. So where do I sign up, " his grin came back, but she could tell he was serious by the look in his eyes.
Just as her sister was, Celestia too was shocked by the answer, " You...would willingly let yourself be used as a weapon," he simply nodded, keeping the same look on his face. " You truly do astound me, to think that we are mere strangers to you and yet...you would help us for nothing in return. Such nobility is hard to find these days. " She took one more look at his face before giving a sincere smile, " You have my most humble gratitude, I truly thank you. "
His grin grew wider, " Your most certainly welcome, besides I need the exercise and I'm gonna have fun whooping your soldiers into shape, " the expression he used confused the princess.
" What exactly do you mean by whooping them into shape? They all seem as fit as can be," Celestia replied in a confused tone.
He chuckled at her response, " No I mean getting them battle ready, because to tell the truth your highness, your soldiers are lazy. They've never really been in a real combat situation especially not one of this magnitude. " What he was saying slowly dawned on Celestia, he was right, in fact hardly any of them had ever been in a real conflict besides the occasional petty criminal here or there but other than that they had no combat experience.
This time Luna spoke up, " Sister, he is...uh..he is correct, our soldiers are ill-prepared and would surely be wiped out in a short time when faced against such threats, " Celestia thought about it for a moment, then turned to face both Axel and her sister.
Before saying anything through she looked towards the main six who, until even now had remained silent. She then turned back to the two of them, " Very well you may train the royal guards into soldiers but only on one condition, " the look on Axel's face told her that he was listening. A smile formed on her face, " The condition is that along with training the royal guards, you train bearers of the Elements of Harmony in the way of combat as well, is that agreeable? " she unfolded her wing towards the element bearers, who at the moment looked completely shocked, save for Pinkie Pie who was bouncing in excitement, despite the fact that she didn't exactly understand what they were talking about.
Axel's grinned at the princesses then turned towards Twilight and the others before turning his attention back to Celestia, " Your highness, you got yourself a deal. "
Twilight nearly fell over, just what had the princess set them up for, " Your highness I respect your judgment and all.....But why on Equestria would you make us do something like this?! We're not warriors, we don't know the first thing about this sort of combat! " she exclaimed. The princess however, expected a response such as this, in fact this was the very response she was hoping to get.
She looked at her faithful student, " Well Twilight the reason I am doing this is because of how you just acted now," Twilight felt scolded, but a the same time she didn't know what Celestia meant. " You're all too use to solving your problems with friendship, yes that will help you in the future but this is not the future, this is now and we need you and the other elements prepared for this situation more than anything now. Can I rely on all of you to follow Axel's training? " They were hesitant at first, but in the end they all nodded, " Good, now we will continue to strategize, as for now let us enjoy a nice meal, I shall have somepony to set up a room for each of you. "
Luna then spoke up, " Sister if you would allow, it we would like to share a room with our demon guest....just to make sure he is alright, after all he did just wake up his previous slumber. "
Celestia gave a small giggle, " I shall allow it Luna, besides even if I hadn't you needn't ask me for permission, " Luna looked embarrassed as her sister giggled at her as if she were a mere school filly.
" Tis not what thou think sister! We are just worried about his well being, he has clearly been through enough already. We are only looking out for him, " Luna exclaimed, blush could easily be seen on her face, making her sisters giggles grow.
Although she was still confused by the princess's decision, Twilight still respected her teachers choice, " Princess Celestia, not that I'm questioning you or anything but are you sure this is what's best? " the princess only smiled and nodded.
Applejack came up behind Twilight and put her hoof on her shoulder, " Calm down sugar cube, we can do anything together even a little physical trainin. "
Rainbow Dash then chimed in, " Yeah we're the best of the best and if anypony can ace that training it's us! " the others nodded in agreement but unbeknownst to them, Axel was listening in on their little talk from the other side of the room.
He walked over to them, the same grin hes had, plastered on his face, " So you think your gonna ace my training? " Rainbow Dash proudly nodded in response, a grin of her own on her face. He patted her on the back, which to her felt more like a heavy slap that made her want to fall over, " That's the spirit! You're gonna need a lot of that to get past my training cause friend or not, I have no intentions of going easy on any of you. "
Despite the pleas her friends were silently saying in their heads, Rainbow Dash was more than happy to oblige, despite still cringing from the pat on the back " ...Then prepare to see it get aced, cause noponies got more spirit than the six of us... "
" Hahah! That's what I like to hear, " he gave her another hardy "pat" on the back and walked off to find the dining hall.
Luna couldn't help but silently watch the actions of the stallion. She didn't know why, but she was interested by him, she had seen him fight, she had seen him hurt, and now she had seen how he treats others. His heart was just as big as her sisters, in fact, it didn't take a spell capable of reading someones heart to tell that Axel's heart was as big as they came. She pulled her gaze away from Axel as he left the room, her eyes then were laid on her older sister, who was staring right back at her, " Sister, what are thou staring at? Is there something on us? " she asked in a confused tone.
Celestia only smiled at her sister which only furthered her confusion, " It's nothing Luna, just thinking about something. Why don't you go along with Twilight Sparkle and her friends to the dining hall, I shall be there shortly. " Although she was still slightly confused by her sisters actions, Luna obliged and walked out of the room towards the dining hall, Twilight and friends following closely behind her. Once Celestia was alone she looked out the window, and towards the night sky, " My dearest sister, I think you've just developed your very first crush. You may not know it, but I most certainly do, " she chuckled to herself before heading towards the dining hall herself.
Dinner came and went, it was generally louder than it usually was for instead of the two sisters dining alone, it was the princesses, the main six, and Axel all at one table. Conversations were a'many were being shared among one another other. Despite the threat they faced, Celestia found joy in the fact that they could still enjoy small moments like these together, without and worry of danger or harm, " These are the moments that we shall cherish always, " she smiled as she watched the ponies enjoying their meal, and watching Pinkie Pie and Axel, give an amusing comedy act on the table, which made the princess herself giggle a couple of times . The night went by with dinner ending, and everypony going to their own room, but not before saying goodnight to one another, this would be another moment that she would always cherish, " Yet another moment where even with a crisis right on the horizon, we can all find moments of peace to share with one another in peace and harmony, " she turned to see Axel saying goodnight to the main six and walking towards the lunar wing where he would be sleeping at, " No matter who or what we are, " she held a soft smile on her face before going to her own room.
Once in Luna's room the first thing Axel did was literally hop onto the bed, throwing everything else that was on the bed into the air. yet he didn't seem to mind, he let out a loud yawn right as Luna was walking into the room. He rubbed his eye and grinned at the lunar princess, " My imaginary hat is off to you, princess of the night, if it weren't for you I wouldn't be able to do this, " his head fell towards the bed quickly, he was asleep before it touched the pillow.
She let out a small giggle as she watched him quickly doze off, a pony who appreciated her wondrous night was a rare thing to her. She began to blush again, and like the last time the reason was unknown to her, " Perhaps we are coming down with a fever... " a memory came to her suddenly, albeit was only a voice and not an image, it was still a memory, one from when she had woken Axel earlier.
" And another thing, try talking in a modern voice alright it kinda confuses me with the whole thou art the greatest speech. "
She then began to stutter as she tried to attempt what he had suggested, " We...I-I mean...Perhaps I'm coming down with a fever," the foreign feel of the accent was strange to her and yet at the same time it felt right, as if it were how she was supposed to be talking. As she went over multiple sentences in her head using her new accent, she couldn't help but turn her attention to the sleeping stallion, how he interested her yet she knew not why. She wanted to know more about the mysterious demon whom was sleeping in her bed at the moment. she walked ever so closely to him, to where she could see his head resting peacefully on a pillow, " You certainly are a fascinating colt, the way you act around royalty...how care free you are...but...at the same time, how serious you take matters, as well as knowing what true pain is, what true regret is....just as I do.. " unbeknownst to the princess herself, her face was drawing closer and closer towards the sleeping colts face.
Twilight Sparkle hadn't even gone to sleep yet, she was to worried about the crisis at hoof. No matter how hard she tried to sleep she couldn't, so her last resort was to see if princess Luna could cast some kind of sleeping spell on her. " I hope the princess doesn't get mad about me dropping by her room so late...oh who am I kidding...anypony would be mad about being bothered at this hour but then again, Princess Luna isn't just any pony, " she arrived at the princess's door and knocked on it three times, but there was no response, she knocked again, yet there was still no response. " Maybe shes asleep, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a peak and find out though. " Although when Twilight went to " Take a peak", she accidentally opened the door all the way, and didn't find the princess asleep but what she found shocked her greatly.
Princess Luna, the princess of the night, was kissing a sleeping Axel or she was until she heard her door open. She looked as if she were in a trance. She pulled away from the sleeping colt before then turning her eyes towards a very shocked Twilight Sparkle, " ...What in Equestria did I do... "
Author's Note
Hey there ladies and gentlecolts, sorry that this chapter came in so late, I've had things to do at home, also I'm writing tow stories at once, so theres that. I hope you all like this chapter, it's kinda slow but i still worked really hard on it, so please enjoy. Well bronies and pegasisters, this is where i bid you farewell, I'll talk to you once i have the next chapter up, and that will be very soon, until next time everyone, later.
Tensions Rise.
Recap,
She then began to stutter as she tried to attempt what he had suggested, " We, I mean, Perhaps, I'm coming down with a fever," the foreign feel of the accent was strange to her, but at the same time, it felt right, as if it were how she was supposed to be talking. As she went over multiple sentences in her head, using her new accent, she couldn't help but turn her attention to the sleeping stallion, how he interested her, but she didn't know why, she wanted to know more about the mysterious demon, whom was sleeping in her bed at the moment. she walked ever so closely to him, to where she could see his head, resting peacefully on a pillow, " You certainly are a fascinating colt, the way you act around royalty, how care free you are, but at the same time, how serious you take matters, and at the same time, you know what true pain is, what true regret is, just as i do," unbeknownst to the princess herself, her face was drawing closer towards the sleeping colts face.
Twilight Sparkle hadn't even gone to sleep yet, she was to worried about the crisis at hoof, no matter how hard she tried to sleep she couldn't, so her last resort was to see if princess Luna could cast some kind of sleeping spell on her. " I hope the princess doesn't get mad about me dropping by her room so late, oh who am I kidding, anypony would be mad about being bothered at this hour, but then again, Princess Luna isn't just any pony," she arrived at the princess's door and knocked on it three times, but there was no response, she knocked again, yet there was still no response, " Maybe shes asleep, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a peak and find out,". Although when Twilight went to " Take a peak", she accidentally opened the door all the way, and didn't find the princess asleep, what she found shocked her greatly.
Princess Luna, the princess of the night, was kissing a sleeping Axel, or she was, until she heard her door open. She looked as if she were in a trance, she pulled away from the sleeping colt, and then her eyes turned towards a very shocked Twilight Sparkle, " What in Equestria did I do,".
Twilight just stood there, her eyes widened from shock, she didn't know what to make of the scene, one side of her wanted to question the princess for what she was doing, while another knew that it would be wrong to question a princess. Unfortunately her curiosity got the best of her, and she started to speak before she could even think of a proper question, " Princess Luna, what in the name of Equestria are you doing?!," Twilight mentally slapped herself, it wasn't right of her to question one of the leaders of Equestria, but something inside of her wanted to know what was happening before her eyes.
Princess Luna on the other hand, was extremely embarrassed and extremely ashamed, not only had she just kissed a colt she had just recently met, she had been caught in the act, but she didn't even know what drove her to kiss him, it was as if her body made her do it. She turned to look Twilight in the eyes, her mouth opened to speak, yet no words came out. The two stood there, awkwardly staring at each other, neither one moving a muscle, until Luna decided to finally speak, " We...I uh mean, I...I honestly don't know," because, in all honesty, Luna hadn't the foggiest idea for why she was kissing Axel, it was as if she had blacked out for a short while, like she wasn't in control of her body. " I am being honest, Twilight Sparkle,".
She believed the princess completely, but she was still in shock from what she witnessed. After another few minutes of awkward silence, Twilight decided respond, " I believe you princess, it's, just kind of a shocker to see what I just saw," Luna nodded in response, she still wore a shameful look on her face from what she had done. Twilight could easily see the look, she walked towards the princess and placed her hoof on Luna's shoulder, " It's alright princess, I won't tell anypony, my lips are sealed,".
Luna let out a sigh of relief, the last thing she wanted was for news of this getting out, but before she could express her thanks towards Twilight, they were cut off by a scream of pain form within the very room they were in, both of their attentions turned towards the screaming colt who lay in the princess's bed, " Oh no, a nightmare,".
" What's wrong with him Princess Luna, he looks to be in pain," Twilight said, concern could easily be heard in her voice.
The princess walked up to the screaming stallion and gestured for Twilight to walk in, but also for her to shut the door behind her, which she did. " He's having a nightmare, it's not the first time I've seen him experiencing one," her horn began to glow as the readied up the very spell that put her inside his dreams the first time, " Twilight I will need you to come into his dream with me, it may be a knowledgeable experience for you," Twilight was hesitant at first, she didn't know what to expect, but she nodded anyways. Luna simply nodded to her response, her horn began to glow brighter, and suddenly Twilight became enveloped in a similar aura to the one that came from Luna's horn, " Do not fret Twilight Sparkle, this is the only way for you to see inside of another's dreams unless you know the spell like I do," and in a flash, they were no longer in Luna's room, but instead they were in what seemed to be an endless abyss of black.
" P..princess, where are we," Twilight said, traces of fear could be picked up in her voice, despite not getting a vocal reply from the princess, she still received a response, Luna had placed her hoof atop Twilight's shoulder to calm her down.
They had entered Axel's dream, although not seeming like much at first, it soon expanded before their very eyes, but what appeared before them was something that they soon wouldn't forget. The dream which they had entered, looked eerily similar to Ponyville, but there was one major difference, the town had been set ablaze, and through the fire they could see a figure, it looked like an Alicorn, but even though it was a mere silhouette, it looked very different than the shape of the princesses, instead of one horn on its head, the figure had three, one where the usual horn would be, and two sticking out of the back of its head, and instead of majestic, feathery wings, its wings were bat-like and torn in places. " P...princess...what's going on," Twilight said, she was attempting to stay strong, despite what she was seeing, she turned to look at the princess, expecting a grim look on her face, but instead it was a look of deep concern, " P..princess?,".
The princess of the night stared at the scene as Twilight tried to get her attention, from what she could see, the figure in the fire was the one who caused this, but she hadn't the foggiest clue as to why Axel was dreaming of such a thing, until something hit her, " Could it be possible that...," she was cut off by a slight nudge from Twilight Sparkles hoof, which snapped her out of her trance-like thought. She looked to see the worried look that Twilight wore upon her face, " Forgive me Twilight, I was just in thought, and i now know this isn't a mere dream, this is a soon to be reality that Axel is warning us about, a vision if you will,".
Before Twilight could ask the princess what she meant, they had been flashed out of Axels dreams, " Princess, what did you mean that was a reality?!, whats going to happen to Ponyville?!," Twilight asked in a frantic but hushed voice.
" Ponyville could very be destroyed at anytime, we need to start preparing..and soon, before it's too late," and as if her words were an alarm, Axel shot up out of the bed onto all four legs. Both Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle were startled by his sudden awakening, " Your awake, and so suddenly too, it would seem that fate is in our favor,".
The first thing Axel did before speaking, was cracking his neck. The very sound made Twilight cringe, " I guess you could say something in my dreams made me wake up," he said while eyeballing the two of them, they both looked slightly embarrassed for having been caught. Although the two expected him to be mad, their expectations were indeed very wrong, instead of getting mad or looking angry, the large grin which Axel had adorned last night at dinner, was now upon his face, " Say, your voice sounds different, did you take my advice and drop the ye olden accent thing, that's great, your voice sounds really great," Luna suddenly began to blush, somepony had complimented her on her voice, and it wasn't just somepony, it was the same pony who she had kissed, her first kiss to be exact. " Hey are you OK?," Axel asked her, he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with his hoof, then he turned his head to Twilight, " Get your friends together, we got alot of work to do if we're gonna whip you and a whole army into shape in just three days," he then walked out the door, leaving the two ponies flabbergasted.
Twilight was the first to speak up, " Did he just say three days," Luna slowly nodded in response, " How in Equestria does he intend to do that," Luna had no response. Something then dawned on them, when he left, he was going to the courtyard of the castle, the place he had planned to be the new training fields, they rushed out the door to catch up with him, if he had a plan to train hundreds of soldiers in just three days, they had to know what it was.
Meanwhile, events elsewhere were transpiring, deep inside a cave, on the furthest outskirts of Equestria, a hive belonging to the changelings was in a panic, not to long ago, a mysterious figure guarded by seven creatures in cloaks, waltzed right in as if they owned the hive, any resistance given by the changelings guarding the center of the hive, were swiftly stricken down by the mysterious figures cloaked guards. They quickly paved a path of death and destruction as they made their way to Queen Chrysalis' chamber. Upon arriving one of the cloaked beings knocked the door down with ease, where they were met with a battalion of changelings, they reeked of desperation as they protected their queen. It wasn't until the figure guarded by the cloaked creatures spoke up, that all hostilities ceased, " No need for anymore needless killing," her voice was dark, and had what seemed like an echo to it, " I've simply come to talk politics with Queen Chrysalis, nothing more, nothing less," a devious grin formed on her face as she simply walked past the changelings.
Queen Chrysalis gritted her teeth together and bared her fangs at the oncoming "guest", " Tell me one thing before I have my hive tear you apart, what made you come to my hive exactly, revenge, pure blood lust?, tell me!" the Queen was furious, not only had they merely walked in as if it meant nothing, they had made her highest soldiers look like mere children, taking them out in a mater of seconds.
The figure began to chuckle rather darkly, " What reason?, why, because there was no other way to set up this meeting, besides, insects like that have no place in my plans, and what made me come here, why, I'm here to form a simple alliance," this greatly confused the queen of the changelings. What force in Equestria would make anypony or anything for that matter, to come to the changeling hive and seek out it's queen, only to form an alliance. " As i thought, your befuddled as to why i would want an alliance with you, well the reason is simple, we both know of the power the rulers of Equestria have come across, at first glance a simple colt, but with further inspection you an feel a great power within him, and i also know you hold a deep hatred towards ponykind, with my power and the numbers of your army, we could become an unstoppable force, what do you say," her grin grew into a wide malicious one.
Queen Chrysalis thought things over rather quickly, it was clear that these guest meant business, " Say that i were to say yes to this deal, how exactly do we strike against Equestria,".
Again, another malicious grin, this time twice as wide as the first, appeared on the figures face, " By making an example of course, an example of what will happen to those that oppose us," she moved from within the unnatural shade that hid her face, to reveal a mare, around the same height as the Queen of changelings herself, and another interesting trait, was the fact that her horn was curved, " And what would make a better example than the peaceful town of Ponyville,".
Author's Note
Hey ladies and gentlecolts, sorry for my disappearance and sorry that this chapter is short compared to the others, a lot of things have been going on in real life, I'm moving soon and I'm having to do a lot of packing and unpacking, and I'm getting ready to take a major test soon. Although I will not stop the story, But, I am shortening it for one reason, not only would it take longer than i thought to reach the Equestria girls part of the story, but I also wouldn't be able to implement my new idea, A sequel. So instead of dragging this story out as long as possible, I'm going to make it to the Canterlot wedding, and the events After that will be in the next Demon Heart story, which interestingly enough, doesn't have Axel as it's main protagonist, but instead his father. Who is his father you might be asking, well his name was mentioned in a past chapter and if you still can't figure it out, well he should be mentioned in the next chapter, and for those of you who like Axel, don't worry he'll still play a major part in the story. Any way everypony, it was nice getting to make this chapter before i had to get back to packing, I'll try my best to get another one out soon, hopefully longer than this one. I will talk to you later bronies and pegasisters, until next time, this is the Dark Lord, signing off.
Recap,
The figure began to chuckle rather darkly, " What reason?, why, because there was no other way to set up this meeting, besides, insects like that have no place in my plans, and what made me come here, why, I'm here to form a simple alliance," this greatly confused the queen of the changelings. What force in Equestria would make anypony or anything for that matter, to come to the changeling hive and seek out it's queen, only to form an alliance. " As i thought, your befuddled as to why i would want an alliance with you, well the reason is simple, we both know of the power the rulers of Equestria have come across, at first glance a simple colt, but with further inspection you an feel a great power within him, and i also know you hold a deep hatred towards ponykind, with my power and the numbers of your army, we could become an unstoppable force, what do you say," her grin grew into a wide malicious one.
Queen Chrysalis thought things over rather quickly, it was clear that these guest meant business, " Say that i were to say yes to this deal, how exactly do we strike against Equestria,".
Again, another malicious grin, this time twice as wide as the first, appeared on the figures face, " By making an example of course, an example of what will happen to those that oppose us," she moved from within the unnatural shade that hid her face, to reveal a mare, around the same height as the Queen of changelings herself, and another interesting trait, was the fact that her horn was curved, " And what would make a better example than the peaceful town of Ponyville,".
It wasn't long after Axel arrived in the courtyard that Twilight and Princess Luna met up with him there, and it was there that they waited till morning for the rest of the main six to arrive and all the would be soldiers that Axel would be training. Both Twilight and Luna could tell just how excited Axel was, just from the look on his face, and the reason why he was excited was one that Luna found out from his memories. It was clear that combat has been a major part of this stallions life, another thing that Luna knew was the fact that Equestria hasn't faced a threat that had called for a war in centuries, so it was fair to say that the soldiers were ill prepared. She turned to speak to him, " Pardon me Axel, but what exactly do have in mind to train so many ponies at once," Twilight wanted to ask the exact same thing, but the princess beat her too it.
Axel let out a hearty laugh, this confused them, although their confusion was quickly resolved with an answer as to why he was laughing. " Sorry about that, it's just that i kinda expected you to ask me that question, so i have an answer prepared already," there was a long awkward pause between them. Luna let out a loud "ahem" to catch Axel's attention, " Oh uh, sorry, well my plan is, I'm gonna train them the same way I was trained, just...a lot faster than I was trained, so to shorten it all up, I'm gonna squeeze 15 years of training into A few days,".
To say that the two of them were astounded by how insane he sounded right then and there, was an understatement. Luna stared wide eyed at Axel for a good five minutes before speaking again, " You must be joking, there is no possible way to train so many warriors in such little time with the sort of training you speak of,".
Again Axel laughed at her remark and gave the two of them a big grin, " Sure there is!, look I see my recruits now,". Just as Axel said, at least four hundred soon to be soldiers, came into view, with the main six, and Twilight's older brother, Shining armor, at the front. Another hearty laugh left Axel's mouth after he laid his eyes upon the crowd that had drawn to him, " Now this is what I call a turnout!,".
Upon seeing both he friends and brother, Twilight immediately ran straight towards them, " Girls!, Shining!, your here!," she was pulled into a big group hug by her five best friends, and upon leaving the group hug, she practically tackled her brother to the ground with a large hug, " Shining, what are you doing here!," she said in A rather excited tone.
Shining Armor couldn't help but chuckle at how his sister was behaving, " Calm down Twilie, and to answer your question, I'm here cause I'm the head of the royal guard, so I was obliged to show up, plus I need to make sure my little sister doesn't hurt herself," he said with another chuckle, and making Twilight blush from slight embarrassment.
Applejack was the first to speak up towards Twilight, " Not to ruin the moment sugarcube but what exactly does Axel expect outta us, we're not exactly fighters," but before the others could chime in, Axel spoke up answer her question.
" Your right Applejack, you girls aren't fighters, not yet, but don't you worry, that's where I come in, I'm gonna train every last pony here for the up coming danger,".
It was these last few words that brought confusion to many of the ponies there, most had shown up because the princess had called them there, they had little knowledge of why they were there. Rarity decided to ask him what everypony was thinking, " Um, pardon me darling, but what exactly do you mean by, danger,".
Both Twilight and Axel exchanged looks, then nodded as Axel backed away from the crowd and Twilight turned to face all of them, " Allow me to explain," she said. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and began to speak, " As of last night, Princess Luna and myself learned that Equestria is in grave danger, starting with Ponyville, our new friend here," She raised her hoof towards Axel, " Has shown us the fate that would befall Ponyville, and soon all of Equestria, if we do not take action now,". Some of the ponies nodded as they carefully took in every word Twilight was saying, while others still didn't understand what she was getting at. " It has come to my attention that we're not exactly ready for a war, in fact if my knowledge on Equestrian history serves me correct, there hasn't been such a conflict in thousands of years, so we are VERY ill-equipped for this situation, but thanks to my friend here, we have a plan, not the best plan, but it's the best we got," the ponies who didn't get what she was talking about, now understood the situation they were in, and if it meant protecting their home, then they were ready for whatever Axel had in store for them.
Rainbow Dash, being her flamboyant self, flew into the with her hoof raised high, " Well what are we waiting for!, lets get to it," her enthusiasm was just enough to earn a loud cheer from some of the ponies, which in response put a proud grin on Rainbow Dash's face.
" Now that's what I like to hear," Axel said with a big grin, but the grin quickly faded and was replaced by a rather serious face, " We got three days to whip all of you into fighting condition, got it!," his sudden seriousness made a few at the front, including the main six, minus Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash, stiffen up. Axel cleared his throat before looking all of them dead in the eyes, " Now three days may not sound like a lot, but I've come up with a solution, a very precise training schedule, and if we can prevent the destruction of Ponyville then we'll have alot more time to train and prevent any further attacks,". He could already see many unsure looks among the crowd, so he devised his plan B right then and there, " Well if you babies don't think you can do it in three days, then maybe i can lend some magical assistance, a spell that my first teacher used on me and my comrades when I first trained for combat, although I was a foal at the time, I don't see why it wouldn't work on you,".
This spell he spoke of, peeked both Twilight's and the Princess Luna's interest. Almost instantly the entire crowd fell to their knees as the Princess of the Night walked towards Axel, who received angry glares from a few of the guards, for not bowing to the princess, but their glares ceased when they heard the princess speak, " Pardon me for interrupting you, but this spell you speak of, what does it do exactly,".
A confident grin appeared on Axel's face, " I'm glad you asked, oh so beautiful Luna," he continued on, although his remark caused Luna to blush slightly, " The spell I speak of, pushes the mortal body past it's previous limitations, so that growth is increased rapidly, so I'd say if we used the spell for....two days, you'd have received at least a months worth of training, although the strain may make you want to rest the entire third day,". The ponies looked slightly more confident, however at the same time they were wondering if the spell will hurt, or if it would even work.
Luna stared in slight awe at Axel as he spoke about the spell, " Astounding, never before have I ever heard of such a spell,". As of last night, many thoughts circulated inside of Luna's mind, some she didn't understand, some she'd rather not think of, but the thought that had been on her mind all day, was her growing fascination with the hellish stallion who just days ago, was a complete and utter stranger to her.
She was pulled from he thoughts by the sound of Axel explaining the origin of the spell, " Luna? were you listening?, eh I'll just say it again, as i said, the spell was made by my teachers teacher, the spell was made for the purpose of readying up warriors for battles in a short time, at the cost of straining the body of those whoever the spell is cast upon, although the strain can easily be fixed with a whole day of rest,". Upon finishing his explanation, he looked at Luna to make sure she got all of it, and in return he received a nod from her, " Alright then, starting now, we do this my way, so that means, " as he began to speak he removed his sword from his back, and firmly planted it into the ground, " No weapons, no armor, just your raw natural ability, we'll train with weapons and armor tomorrow, if you make it that long," the last added part had caused several ponies to gulp, and nearly made poor Fluttershy faint, " Ah I'm just kidding, I'm sure all of you will do just fine,". Several sighs of relief could be heard from the crowd, making Axel chuckle slightly, " This is gonna be fun,".
Twilight walked over to Princess Luna after hearing Axel inform her, and everypony else, " Princess, are you sure this is a good idea, I mean he might scare everypony off before we're even ready,"she hadn't meant her statement to offend the princess if it did, she only asked with nothing but raw concern.
Luna however, understood completely, although she had more of a level head about what was going on, " It will be alright Twilight Sparkle, I feel as if that we actually have a chance now, we just need to believe in ourselves and the brave soul readying us for the dangers ahead,". Twilight nodded in response, Luna knew that Twilight questioned her motives in her mind, and that was understandable, but at the moment this was the only shot at survival.
After the last of the explanations Axel had ordered ever guard who had shown up to relieve themselves of their armor and their weaponry, and for the ponies who possessed no such thing, he had passed around red sashes that they would wear on their front right hoof to show that they had little to no combat experience. " Alright Ladies line up," and on his command, the main six, and any other mares in the crowd lined up in a long row, a visible vein could be seen on his forehead, " When I mean ladies, I mean every last one of you!," his outburst made most of them jump out of surprise, and it seemed to be just enough to get them to line up in an orderly fashion. " That's better, now I'm gonna cast the spell on all of you, i only need to cast it once so i shouldn't be worn out, it wouldn't be training if the trainer didn't get involved too now would it,". His horn began to glow brightly, and in a matter of seconds, every single pony there began to glow with a red hue and almost immediately each and every one of them felt a great strain on their bodies, but as soon as they felt it, it had begun fade away as if it were never there. " Surprised?, well the strain is still there, you just can't feel it, but you sure will be sore after tomorrow," again there were worried looks, but only from a few of the frailer looking ponies, " Alright!, lets get started!," and like that, the first day of training had begun.
In all honesty, Axel didn't want to put too much pressure on their bodies, seeing as they were already under the strain of the spell, so he decided on something easy. " Alright, we're gonna do something a little simple for exercise, fifty laps around the courtyard, no flying, no magic, just the four legs you were born with," although to some it seemed a bit much for a simple exercise, they decided to do as instructed. Everypony, including Axel himself, made an orderly line and took off to start their first lap.
Applejack, who was running side by side with Rainbow Dash, seemed to have no trouble at all with this task, " What's the matter Dash, upset that yah can't use yer wings, guess we know whose gonna get fifty laps done first," she said as she looked at Rainbow with a competitive look on her face.
Rainbow Dash looked Applejack dead in the eyes with a cocky expression, " Is that a challenge, cause if it is then you are on!," and like that, the two of them were off like a bullet.
The rest of the main six never really understood why those two were always so competitive, to them it made no sense, " Must they always turn something into a competition, I mean, it serves no purpose whatsoever," stated Rarity, who at the moment was jogging alongside Fluttershy, and Twilight.
Twilight only shook her head as she spoke, " Just leave them be Rarity, it's only them being them, still they should at least take it nice and easy at first, if they run at full speed from the get-go then they'll be doing nothing but wearing themselves out faster,".
Fluttershy, being her ever-so quiet self, had little to say during the conversation, many things were on her mind, the biggest being the thought that her animals could be in great danger if she didn't do this. " I've....I've got to do this, for them," she mumbled, however, while she was in her thoughts Pinkie Pie had trotted right up behind her.
A big grin formed on the party pony's face, she took in a deep breath, so deep her face changed from pink to blue. after about fifteen seconds of holding it in, Pinkie screamed right next to Fluttershy's face, " ISN'T THIS EXCITING!!!!!!!!,". Her outburst resulted in Fluttershy letting out a terrified squeak and making the shy pony shoot ahead at rather surprising speed, even running past Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who just stared in confusion as Fluttershy sped past them. Pinkie Pie's little joke however, didn't exactly earn positive reception from her friends, while Rarity said nothing, Twilight looked at Pinkie with a rather cross expression, Pinkie Pie's only reaction was a simple "oops", which in turn, made Twilight facehoof.
Axel couldn't help but put his hoof to his face as he watched the events going on, " This is gonna be a long three days,"
After a number of minor setbacks, the last of the soldiers in training had finished their laps, and had begun on the exercises that Axel had assigned to them. The exercise given to the earth ponies seemed simple enough, but was easier said than done, they were to test their physical skill and ability, by individually moving massive boulders, from one destination, to another, the only difficulty to this was that the boulders were massive in size, some being big enough that even a minotaur would have trouble moving it. The Pegasi on the other hoof, had a seemingly harder task, they were use to working with weather and storms, but could they individually create a wind storm, was the question Axel had asked them. Their task was to test and work on increasing the strength of their wings, together this wouldn't seem to be much of a task, but in some situations that just wasn't the case. Lastly was the task given to the unicorns, test their magical prowess against one another, Being a unicorn himself, Axel saw no harm in this at all, the goal of this was to push them past the limits that their own bodies placed on them.
Most would question such task, but they seemed simple enough that arguing over it looked pointless, Rainbow Dash was one of these ponies. " Why do I, have to do these exercises, I'm already the fastest flyer their is, I'm sure my pure awesomeness is all I need," Rainbow Dash boasted.
Applejack only rolled her eyes at the broad statement, " Yeah sugarcube!, cause that's gonna get ya real......far in this here situation," she gritted her teeth as she slowly, but surely, dragged the boulder across the courtyard.
Much to their surprise, Pinkie Pie was having much less trouble compared to the Earth ponies, perhaps all that sugar that's in her system helps her out. Most of the other Earth ponies only stared with their mouths opened wide, Pinkie stared at them before a big grin formed on her face, " Come on you silly billies these rocks aren't gonna move themselves, Oh! but if they did that would be soooooo cool, but then why would we have to move them if they could move themselves, it wouldnt make any sense, it's like if," she was cut off by Applejack putting her hoof over her mouth.
" Alright sugarcube I think they get the picture," Applejack said with sweat running down her face.
While everypony was doing their assigned exercises, Axel was circling the courtyard, watching each and every movement that each of them made, every motion, every action that they would make. He stayed deep in thought as he watched their progress, that was until a certain lunar princess walked up to him, " Pardon me Axel, I just wish to ask you a few questions," Axel looked at her and nodded, this was his sign to her that he was listening. " Thank you, I have a total of three questions I would like to ask you, the first being What exactly do you hope for them to achieve by doing these task you have assigned to them,".
Axel nodded once more before speaking, " It's not what I'm hoping for them to achieve, it's what I know they can achieve by doing these exercises, if you watch closely you can see that their slowly getting better at the task, the Earth ponies are having far less trouble moving the boulders, the pegasi are getting closer to the goal ive set for them, and the unicorns are strengthening one another by testing their magic on each other, even with such a deadline as two days,their already making impressive progress, albeit small, but progress is progress,".
Luna nodded as she took in each and every word that left his mouth, " now for my second question, how do you intend on keeping all of these ponies, focused on training with such a strain on them, eventually they'll tire out when all the strength has left their body," Axel could hear the concern in her voice.
To ease the princess of her worry, Axel decided to give her an answer on just how he planned for this to work, " I'm going to have them go until the moon is at it's highest point in the sky, then they are going to eat a meal that should replenish their lost strength, they might not like it but if they can muster that and the entire training tomorrow, then they'll be rewarded with a feast along with a day of rest," he could see the worried expression leaving her face, which led to him letting out a sigh of relief, the last thing he needed was an overly worried princess, even though he knew she was only thinking about the well being of the ponies that she and her sister live to protect.
With her worries resolved, she was ready to ask her final question, although this was more of a personal question which relates to what happened last night while he slept, the thought of the kiss had stayed with her the entirety of the day. "And now, my final question, I do no know if you were awake when this happened, but late last night, we...," she cut herself off, not knowing how to word what she had to say. Upon taking a deep breath she was ready to finish speaking, " Last night our lips touched, I never intended for it to happen, if you are angered i understa-," she was cut off by a hoof covering her mouth.
Axel had placed his hoof over the princesses mouth before she could finish her sentence, " First let me go on and say I was only half awake, so I thought I was having a wonderful dream about an angel, guess it's wasn't a dream, and secondly I'm not even the slightest bit mad," . He moved his hoof from her mouth to her shoulder, and gave her a grin, " Say, how about when today's training is done, I show you my idea of fine dining, I only hope your OK with your food being roasted," this remark earned a chuckle from the princess. Despite how calm he was as they spoke, Axel was actually quite stressed deep down, he didn't know if these ponies had what it takes to take on the forces that were coming there way, there were also feelings deep down inside him, one was a constantly growing sense of dread, while the other was an odd warmth that appeared whenever he was near Luna. He didn't understand much of anything as of recently, but what he did understand was, this world was in danger, and he was the only one who could stop it, but how was his only question.
Author's Note
hey ladies and gentlecolts I'm back, sorry if this chapter took too long to come out. As of recently ive had alot going on, we're moving into a new house as I type this, I just recently got back from a trip out of state to my family reunion, and I've been working on new story ideas. As for this chapter, I've been working on it in and out, it took me a bit to find my train of thought every time i started working on it, so it might not be as good as the other chapters. As for my story ideas, I will also be putting this in a blog, so think of this as me just saying it once just to say it again. To commemorate Fallout 4 coming out, I shall be making a crossover story, that is all I'm saying here, I'll put the blog out tomorrow most likely. Also I have one last thing to say to my readers, I am accepting artwork for the story, so to any of my readers who would like to make images for the story, send them to my deviantart account with this link, http://darklordaxel35.deviantart.com/ , no one has too but it would be appreciated
That Night, Inside Canterlot Castle
The day had been long and painful for everypony on the training field, their bodies had been pushed to their limits in beyond, some had even required medical treatment because of said training. This didn't mean the training field was totally empty, a single " pony " had remained their, hoping to ease his mind.
Axel sat against his monstrous blade, contemplating the day over, such as, was it worth it, or would it even be enough. He looked upward towards the night sky, he had always admired the stars and their many constellations. " They're so beautiful, almost like the ones from home, and Luna's moon, such a spectacle, if my heart wasn't filled with such dread It would easily make me smile, " he spoke out loud, uncaring if anypony else was capable of hearing him or not.
And it was just so that he wasn't alone, standing on the balcony looking over the field, was Luna. Her intrigue with the demon was a mystery to even herself, he was practically a stranger who she had kissed by accident, and yet, she wanted to know more of him. " ...There is one thing I know of you my dear Axel...you too know what pain is... "
Despite being several yards apart, their eyes had met as if they were mere feet away, " Hello princess, " Axel said, as if she were standing before him.
Deciding to respond to his greeting, Luna teleported down from the balcony and right in front of Axel, " Twilight Sparkle said you had not went to bed, so I chose to search for you myself, " Luna partially lied.
" Forgive me, " he replied in a hushed apologetic tone, " I simply came out here to do some training of my own, but that soon turned into very deep thinking. "
" I understand completely, I too find myself being caught up in thought as of late, " Luna replied truthfully this time.
Axel stood himself up and lowered his head, " There's another reason I'm out here though.... " his tone quickly became that of a saddened one.
" And what reason would that be Axel? " She asked curiously.
He didn't reply at first, instead her turned away from the princess, instead he turned towards his blade, looking at his reflection in it. " ...I can't sleep... " he started, " ..The visions...the nightmares..the memories...everything hurts, every thought, every voice...sleep is impossible... "
" Shhhh " Luna pressed her head against his, silencing him immediately, " I know that pain all too well Axel, please allow me to help once more. "
But Axel could only deny her request, " ...I cannot allow that princess... " he suddenly cringed and placed his hoof on his head, " ...This is pain I must bear on my own... " Axel shut his eyes, trying his hardest to ignore the stabbing pain in his head, " ...Besides there is another pressing matter. "
" Another pressing matter? " Luna repeated.
" ...Yes... " he solemnly replied, " ...I fear the ponies will not be ready for what lays ahead, what's coming is the same thing I fought in Tartarus, and we were barely capable of fending it off then ". His tone quickly darkened, portraying the seriousness of the situation, " A group of ponies who received demonic training won't be enough. "
Luna was speechless, what was he saying, that their was no hope? That they should just surrender, " So...that's it...we cannot fight this foe so we must simply surrender, allow them to slaughter us like defenseless lambs?! "
" No " Axel grasped the handle of his sword in his mouth before placing it on his back.
" Then what? What are we to do Axel Ryder? " she continuously questioned him as concern quickly overcame her.
He looked looked her in the eyes briefly and started walking in the opposite direction. " You'll do nothing, I'll fight in your stead, " he stated ever so boldly and nonchalantly.
" Y-you alone?! " Luna quickly warped in front of him, " Tis suicide to try such a thing though! " Luna exclaimed.
" What other choices do we have princess, a ragtag group of ponies is not enough to stand against the forces that wish to consume your world! " Axel's crimson eyes met Luna's blue, where they locked.
Luna stared into the blood red pools that were Axel's eyes, she saw much in them, pain, anger, strife, but most of all, concern. " ...Why are you willing to do all this for us...you know so little of us and us you, yet you're willing to put your very life on the line for us...why? "
Axel finally broke their visual contact by shutting his own eyes, " ...Because Equestria feels just like my home in Tartarus...and you..and the other ponies....you've accepted me even though you know I'm not entirely a pony. "
" ...I can understand this...but why must you go now...even if you were to do this on your own wouldn't it be best to spend the next day preparing? " Luna asked him, wanting an explanation as to why he had to leave now of all times.
" That's right, I forgot to tell you, " he started, something dawned on him during the day whilst he was tending to the ponies training. Luna was incredibly curious as to what it was that had slipped his mind, but her curiosity starved long, " I have the capability of detecting portals in and out of Tartarus. My memory is still foggy but that's how I got here in the first place, " he stated.
The lunar princess was at a loss for words at what she heard. While it was incredible that he could sense such things, what shocked her more was the fact that multiple portals in and out of that dreaded world existed. " ...You mean there's more than one way into Equestria from there...? " she fearfully spoke, althought she'd rather not hear the answer she had to know.
Axel merely nodded, only worsening her fear, " But, " he started, easing up some of Luna's newfound fears, " Not all of the portals are open, and some can only be opened from within Equestria. "
She let out a small sigh of relief upon hearing this, " Such knowledge eases my mind...but that still doesn't explain as to why you must leave now... "
This time a sigh left Axel's mouth, albeit a small, slightly exasperated one, " ...When I was in Ponyville I could sense two portals, the one I came out of, which is closed now, and one somewhere within that large stretch of woods near the town. "
Luna's eyes widened at the thought of an entrance to Tartarus so close to Ponyville, " ...By the moon no... "
" That's why I'm going, " he readied himself to start walking off once more, " If I can find that portal before anything comes out, then that'll save us a whole lot of trouble. "
The confidence in his voice brought comfort to Luna, and the fiery look in his eyes burned brighter than any flame ever could. She watched him walking off, she so desperately wanted to talk to him about one last matter, but could only hold her hoof out towards him before turning away. " ....Thank you....Axel Ryder... " She lowered her head and began walking away herself, but suddenly stopped and gasped as Axel was now standing in front of her, " You..but..you were..how did...? " she was completely befuddled, she hadn't heard him teleport nor see him run ahead of her.
" You don't need to thank me, but you can do something else for me, " he stated.
" ...Th-there is..? " Luna had no idea what it was that he could possibly need her to do, but whatever it was she was sure she could manage it.
He rubbed his hoof against his head for a moment before speaking again. " Well actually two things but I'm sure you could do one without me telling you, but anyway, " he paused himself, shutting his eyes for a brief moment before opening them, this time with a dead-serious look. " First of all, I need you to make sure the ponies keep training all through tomorrow, the spell I used is simple to emulate, keep them readied, and lastly..... " He stopped one more, but this time it was to press his head against Luna's, " Stay alive and keep safe...just because I close the one portal doesn't mean the threat is immediately over...don't let any harm befall you...please...can you do those two things for me..? "
She didn't know what to say, he was genuinely worried for her well being, as well as entrusted him with a task that he originally claimed to be his own. " ...Yes...I can...so long as you yourself promise to stay alive...as well as safe... "
Axel replied with a nod, " You don't need to worry about me, I'll be fine. " He looked her in the eyes one last time before kissing her, catching Luna off guard greatly resulting in her blushing throughout the duration of the kiss as well as leaving her speechless. " Be seeing you around, sweetheart, " he suddenly took off running followed by him making a mighty jump up to a nearby balcony and finally over the castle walls, leaving the still shocked princess's sight.
" ...S-s-sweetheart? " she shakily repeated, still blushing as bright as ever. Suddenly something dawned on Luna, Celestia was expecting Axel to still be present in the following days, " ...Oh how will I ever explain this to Tia... " She made her way back into the castle and immediately headed towards the lunar wing where she then stared out her window. It was in the distance she saw the shape of a stallion standing on the roof of one of the many buildings within Canterlot, " ...Be safe...Axel Ryder... "
Ponyville, The Very Next Day
The day had been a peaceful one within Ponyville, ponies lived out their lives as they normally would without a care in the world. Out of all of the ponies who resided within the little town, three particular fillies would be having the most eventful day of anypony. The three fillies had just gotten out of school by this time of day and were doing what they do everyday. " We should try taking over the world! That would be an awesome cutie mark!! " the filly known as Scootaloo exclaimed without giving any thought.
Her two friends Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom just eyed her like she had just said the dumbest thing they've ever heard, which it might just have been. " Scootaloo as cool of a cutie mark that, that would make- " Sweetie began speaking but was cut off by Applebloom.
" That is the most ridiculous idea you've ever said Scootaloo! " Applebloom exclaimed.
Scootaloo brought her hoof to her face and shook her head, " Don't you two know a joke when you hear one? "
The expressions on her friends faces turned into disbelief and annoyance to a very understanding "oh" face. " Well if that was a joke you shoulda just went an said so, " Applebloom said in response.
" Yeah! Otherwise we might've went and told Rainbow Dash, " Sweetie Belle added on.
Scootaloo's eyes widened at the thought, " You two wouldn't dare! "
The two fillies started giggling at their friend's expression, " Of course not you silly filly, " Applebloom replied with a giggle before pulling her winged friend into a hug.
" Besides, " Sweetie joined the hug, " If we told Rainbow Dash you'd probably go into hiding, and then the three of us wouldn't be able to get our cutie marks together. "
" Speaking of that you girls never got to hear my real idea because you were to busy riding my case! " Scootaloo yelled out in a comedic manner.
" Tell us then! " both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom said in unison.
They both let her go and gave her room to speak, " My idea was we should go NEAR the Everfree forest, " her friends gave her very skeptical looks this time. " I overheard some ponies saying they saw some animal they've never seen before! I bet if we find and catch it we could earn a cutie mark in weird animal catching! "
" Weird animal catching? " Sweetie Belle repeated in a not-to-sure tone of voice.
" Well the name is a work in progress but I'm sure we'll figure something out, " the flightless pegasus replied.
And so the three set off the course of Applebloom's families farm, and instead changed their route towards the edge of the Everfree Forest.
Scootaloo rubbed her head with her hoof, a confused look was on her face as she tried to look for what Applebloom was talking about. " I dunno, " she replied simply, causing Applebloom to bring her hoof to her face.
" Well, for one thing I don't hear any animals, " Sweetie Belle said.
" Yeah, now that you mention it, I haven't heard a single bird on the way here, " Scootaloo added.
Unbeknownst to the fillies, in a tree not far off, something was hungrily eyeing them with four glowing red eyes, " ....I ssssseeeee you little filliesssss... " Something hissed quietly within the crown of the tree.
An idea suddenly popped into the young apple ponies bright little mind, " I know what we should do girls! Let's find out what's causing all the animals to hide! " she declared whilst raising her hoof into the air.
" Yeah! Let's do it! " Scootaloo eagerly agreed.
However, rather than agree with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle took a few steps back and quivered slightly, " But girls, what if it's a monster..I mean we're not even supposed to go in their anyway..at least not without somepony older with is. "
This time it was Scootaloo who raised her hoof, " Zecora! "
" Zecora? " Sweetie Belle repeated not understanding what her friend was getting at, at first.
" Scootaloo you're brilliant! " Applebloom praised her friend. " We could just go to Zecora's hut and ask her if she'll help us! She's gotta have some way of running a nasty monster away if that's what's causin the forest to be so quiet! "
" OH! " Sweetie Belle finally understood what Scootaloo meant, " Well if Zecora's with us then we should be perfectly fine. "
" Yeah then let's do it!!! " all three of them exclaimed loudly and in unison before running towards a path leading into the forest.
However the fillies weren't the only ones gleeful at the moment. The creature stalking them was ecstatic as it watched the three fillies run into the woods, " ....Yesssss, yessss, Lunch....isss ssserved.... " it leapt from treetop to treetop silently, making sure to keep the fillies in it's line of sight at all times.
Back at Canterlot Castle
With Axel no longer present, the task of overseeing the ponies training had fallen into Luna's hooves, and while she had doubts that she could do it alone, she knew that Axel believed in her. The lunar princess stood upon her balcony, watching over the ponies as they rigorously trained themselves for the oncoming threats. She had to admit they were making impeccable progress for having such time, but she was finally understanding what Axel meant by it wouldn't be enough. Luna let out an audible sigh and lowered her head slightly, " Just how exactly am I supposed to keep track of all these ponies while also attending my royal duties... "
A chuckle came from behind Luna cause her to quickly face towards the sound of the laughter. Much to Luna's surprise, the laughter ended up belonging to her sister, " It seem's you've bitten off a bit more than you can chew Lulu, perhaps I can help you, " Celestia smiled at her little sister as she was always happy to help her.
But despite her sister's offer Luna could only shake her head. " Forgive me sister but this is a task I must tend to myself, for I alone was given responsibility for these ponies in Axel's stead, " she proudly admited, albeit with a hint of self doubt in her voice.
Celestia walked to her sister's side and looked over the balcony to observe the progress herself, " Even so sister, this task is still a daunting one for even an alicorn. "
Luna lowered her head even further as she knew her sister spoke the truth, " ...I know...but I must do it...he's counting on me... "
A small filly-like giggle escaped Celestia's mouth even though she did her best to keep it in, " How sweet, you care for him like a school filly with a crush. "
Luna practically hopped away from her sister in response to her teasing, her cheeks were nearly as red as Axel's eyes. " Sister! Y-you sure jest...he is m-merely a friend for whom I have grown close to in a short time... "
" A friend whom you've kissed on two separate occasions, " Celestia said in a cheeky, teasing manner, causing her sister's blush to deepen.
" T-tia!! H-how do you know of this? Who told you? " Luna humorously demanded.
Celestia kept smiling albeit in a manner in which she meant no offense towards her sister, " Nopony told me Luna, I merely saw with my own two eyes. "
A now flustered and embarrassed Luna clenched her eyes shut, avoiding eye contact with her teasing older sister, " ...That is enough of this subject...you came out here to offer assistance, not mock me for my love life, isn't that right dear sister? "
Celestia nodded, " That it is, however there's a more pressing reason as to why I'm out here with you, " she admitted.
" A more pressing reason? " Luna repeated, " And what exactly would that reason be sister? "
The expression on Celestia's face quickly became that of a serious one, surprising her younger sister, " Axel left for a reason, and told only you, I know not if this has anything to do with your relationship but I must know what troubled him so much that he left while training was still going on. " At first Luna didn't respond, she merely turned her head away from her sister, wanting more than anything to keep it a secret as to not cause panic. " Luna please if there is something you know please tell me, " Celestia pleaded to her younger sister.
" ...Fine, I'll tell you... " Luna did not face her sister, she couldn't look her in the eyes when telling her about as to why Axel abruptly left. " ...Axel left because he felt something...a portal from deep within Tartarus that leads into Equestria... " This alone shocked Celestia to the point of silence, but there was still more to take in. " ...He also fears that the force we are raising at the moment won't be near enough to combat the threat...and...and so...he's taken the matter into his own hooves and is going to attempt to close the portal near Ponyville before anything escapes it... "
Celestia's eyes were as wide as could be, dread filled her body entirely, " ...They have...portals into our world....h-how many...? "
Luna continued avoiding eye contact with her now frightened sister, " ...He does not know...he told me he could sense them but he didn't say how many he could sense...he only spoke of the one.... "
Celestia shuddered at the thought of those horrific beast having such easy access into her beautiful world, " ...I pray he can close them....if he cannot then all is lost... "
Inside the Everfree Forest
The group of three fillies continued wandering down the "path" to find Zecora's hut. Despite thinking they've made any progress though, something had warped the forest from within, causing the fillies to become lost in what would soon become their worst nightmare. " Applebloom, are we there yet?! " Sweetie Belle loudly complained as she wanted more than anything to just get out of the forest.
" Yeah Applebloom you've said that we were close to being at Zecora's three time's now and so far we haven't seen hide or hair of her or her hut! " Scootaloo added on in an irritated tone.
Applebloom too was beginning to think they'd never reach Zecora's at this point, " ...b-but I could've sworn it was this way, I mean it's not like her hut just grew legs and trotted off. "
" Well it certainly seems that way, either that or the forest just decided it wanted to look differently today, " Sweetie Belle commented.
But before the three could say another word on the fact they were lost, something came over Scootaloo. The young pegasi had become cold and felt as if something had been watching the three of them. " H-hey girls...d-do you feel like theirs something in these woods with us..? Of if it had just gotten really cold all of a sudden...? "
" You know, now that you mention it, " Applebloom started, " ...It did get a little chilly just right now...a-and it does feel like I'm bein watched... "
Four piercing orbs eyed them from within a nearby tree, and deep, excited breathing could just barely be heard coming from in it. " ...Thatssss right little filliesssss...let the fear overcome you....Ssssso that I may take pleasure in feasting on you... "
Scootaloo's head shot around as she could've sworn she heard something, " ...D-did you girls hear something....cause I think I did... "
The three fillies huddled together as fear spread among them, " ...Applebloom...I wanna go home... " Sweetie Belle said with tears in her eyes.
" ...M-me two..." Scootaloo fearfully added.
" ...Me three... " Applebloom said as well.
The three frightened ponies all nodded in unison and looked at the direction they had been walking in for the past few minutes, " ..Th-then let's get outta here girls.. " Applebloom gladly suggested, a suggestion that her friends couldn't agree with more.
" ...Awwww...but if you go now...then who will sssstay with me for dinner... " A dark and frightening voice hissed from behind them, causing the three to slowly, and hesitantly turned to face the source of the horrific voice, and what they saw cause their bodies to go pale and their hearts to sink. The creature before them was unlike anything the young fillies had ever seen. It had four limbs like them, except instead of hooves each foot was covered in razor sharp claws like that of a dragon, it even looked more reptilian than anything, save for the thick patch of fur on its back. The nightmarish creature was easily twice the size of the largest ponies, and had four crimson eyes on it's face and a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, and despite having having sharp opposable thumbs on each front limb, it remained in a crouched quadrupedal position, eyeing the fillies hungrily.
The fillies wanted more than anything to scream, but the sight of the creature was more than enough to silence them. The creature began creeping towards them, and in response the fillies took small steps backwards, trying to keep as much space as possible from it. It was then that something caught Applebloom's attention from the corner of her eye. It was Zecroa's hut! The hut they had been searching for was just in running distance, it was their only chance of fleeing to safety. Applebloom looked at the hut and then back to her friends, “ ...Girls...Zecora’s hut is right behind us...if we could make a run for it we could get to where that thing couldn’t get us... “ she whispered, to which her friends gave subtle nods. “ ...Alright then...when I give the signal...we run for it.. “ Applebloom gave her plan while still whispering, hoping that the monster wasn’t catching on.
The beast hissed and whipped around it’s eerily long tongue as it closed in on the fillies, “ Don’t worry...it’ll be- “
“ Now!!! “ Applebloom shouted followed by her and the other two fillies taking off in the direction of the hut as fast as their small legs could carry them.
“ QUICK!!!!! “ the beast shouted as it pounced towards the fleeing ponies.
The fillies fled through bushes and under tree branches, trying their best to evade the monster while still running as fast as they could. “ Is it still behind us?!?! “ Sweetie Belle nearly screamed in a panic.
Applebloom looked back, hoping that they had put some distance between themselves and the creatures. Unfortunately that just wasn’t the case, the monster was tearing through the trees and the brush with ease as it chased the fleeing fillies with great ferocity. “ EEYUP!!! “ Applebloom screamed in response.
“ Theressssss no running filliessss!!!! “ it tore through just about everything the ponies were fleeing through, toppling trees and tearing the forest floor apart with general ease.
It didn’t take long before the three made it to Zecora’s door and just in the nick of time as well. Applebloom quickly began banging on the door to Zecora’s hut, hitting it as if her life depended on it, which it did, “ Zecora!! Zecora!! Zecora!! Zecora!! Zecora!!!! “ Applebloom shouted at the top of her lungs for the zebra to open the door.
And luckily enough for the young ponies, Zecora opened the door as quickly as Applebloom began beating on the door, “ Applebloom this visit is out of the blue, what is it that is trouble you? “ she asked while rhyming as she always did.
“ Zecora no time to explain, please let us in!! “ She pleaded.
The rhyming zebra was greatly confused as to what was causing the fillies strange behavior, that was until she caught a glimpse of the beast just mere feet away from breaking through the forest. “ A nightmarish creature is near! Hurry into my hut to escape the beast you fear! “ she exclaimed, allowing the three into her home before swiftly slamming the door shut.
“ ...Th-thank you so much Zecora...if ya hadn’t opened that door... “ Applebloom was sobbing so much that she couldn’t finish her sentence.
Zecora placed her hoof over the crying fillies mouth and gave her a soft “ shhhh”, “ ...Safe inside we should be, from the beast who wishes to eat you and me... “ She peaked out the window of her hut her, checking to see if it was still outside. Her blood ran cold when two of it’s four eyes passed right back the window she was peering out of. She huddled the fillies into the center of her home, wrapping her hooves around them just to make sure they’d stay safe, “ ...Quite the beast there is outside...wise you were..to run and hide... “
“ ...W-we got lost...Applebloom suggested that we find your hut...but then we ran into...that thing.. “ Sweetie Belle explained in a hushed tone.
Zecroa was just about to respond when suddenly great claw came through her window, wildly swiping towards whilst the other tore away at the bark of the tree. She pushed the fillies and herself to the ground, keeping them just out of the claws reach, “ ...Please keep your heads to the floor..if you wish to keep them anymore... “
The monster began biting away at the outside of the tree, tearing large chunks out of the zebra’s home with it’s powerful jaws, “ I can ssssmell your fear poniessss!!! “
The three ponies began loudly crying in fear of their lives, tears poured from their eyes as they so desperately wanted it to go away. “ These fillies are not for you to feast!! I will not let you have them vile beast!!! “ Zecora shouted at the monster.
Unbeknownst to the bloodthirsty beast, something was approaching it from behind, something quite intent on catching it’s attention, “ Gotchya. “
The demon had torn it’s way through the walls of the tree to the point where its entire arm and upper body could fit into the hut, “ Now I’ve got you!!! “ Zecora held onto the fillies tightly and shut her eyes, hoping to shield the fillies from it as it swung it’s powerful claws right at them. But suddenly something gripped the demon’s tail, pulling him out of the tree and away from the ponies.
There was nothing, no pain, no blood, no death, “ ...could it be...something has saved I and you three... “
The demon flailed angrily as whatever had gripped it’s tail kept pulling it, “ RAAAAH!!!! Let me go!!! “ it’s eyes darted back towards it’s tail and then quickly widened as it spotted what was pulling it.
A stallion as black as the night sky with a matching mane and blood red eyes had it’s tail gripped in it’s teeth, a stallion it recognized, “ I won’t let you spill innocent blood!!!! “ Axel gritted his teeth around the demon’s tail, pulling with incredible strength.
“ You!!! The coward who fled from tartarus and broke the- “ but it was cut off by a great jerk-like motion, resulting in it being swung into the air.
“ Enough!!! “ Axel swung the demon against a nearby oak tree, smashing it’s body through the entirety of the ancient tree followed several others as he released it from his grip.
The demon cried out in pain as it went crashing through several tree’s before smacking into a moss covered boulder, “ ...D-damn you!!! “ Blood fell from the injured creature’s mouth as it lifted itself off the ground.
However Axel was far from finished it it, “ I’ll make every last one of you pay!! “ he once again gripped the demon’s tail in his mouth, but this time it wasn’t so willing to be tossed like a ragdoll. Instead it gripped it’s claws onto Axel’s face, holding on as tightly as it could, but this didn’t deter Axel, he swung the ground upwards into the air, causing it to lose it’s grip and rake it’s claws across the stallion’s face, before being swung downwards onto the boulder and crashing right through it. “ Trash like you doesn’t deserve to live!! “ he hurled the downed demon back towards the hut it was previously attacking, letting it hit against the front of it and collapsing to the ground.
The demon hacked up blood and raised it’s head, staring down it’s attacker, “ ...A demon that fight’s demons...have you no honor... “
Axel chuckled, “ You dare speak to me about honor, you and the rest of your disgusting “scouts” would gladly attack defenseless beings, hoping for a quick kill, because you’re too afraid to face anything that can fight back. “
Axel’s taunting only seemed to infuriate the demon, “ ...How dare you call me afraid!! I am Lieutenant in the greatest army Tartarus ever produced!!! “ It’s four eyes widened with rage as it picked itself up and leapt towards the other demon.
A grin, almost filled with glee appeared on Axel’s face as he pulled his sword from his back. This was exactly what he wanted, “ Perfect! “ Axel swiftly swung his enormous blade, meeting the demon’s body mid leap, cutting it’s legs and most of it’s tail off.
“ RYAAAAAH!!!! “ the demon screeched in agony, flailing what remained of it’s body around causing blood to spray out, some of which that hit Axel’s face, splattering the stallion with bodily liquid that matched his eyes. “ What!!! What have you done to me!!!! My legs!!! My tail!!! “
The three fillies peeked out the door of Zecora’s hut, only to watch the grisly scene, their eyes widened as the only blood they had ever seen before was a scrape or a scratch. “ ...Th-there’s so much of it... “ Scootaloo stated as she looked like she could get sick at any moment.
“ Your eyes you must shield..for the outside has become a battlefield... “ Zecora covered their eyes and held her close to her.
Axel wasn’t finished with the creature, crippling it wasn’t enough for him. He stepped towards the creature and began to bash his hooves against it’s head out of pure rage, “ I want some answers!! Where’s the portal!! Where?!?!?!! “
Despite being brutally stricken repeatedly the demon didn’t reveal anything, instead it chose to mock it’s attacker. “ ....You hit like a bitch.... “ it wasn’t a very smart move.
Axel was getting tired of the demon’s mouth, “ I hit like a bitch huh?! “ he stood up on his hind legs and raised his right hoof high into the air. “ Let’s see how big of a talker you are once I crush your windpipe!!! “ he furiosly brought his hoof down onto the demon’s neck, crushing it on impact.
The demon scout’s eyes widened as it felt it’s throw give way to the force of the hit. It gave out a loud wheeze as it gasped desperately for air and knew that it didn’t have much time left at this rate, “ ...I...I’ll talk.... “ it gasped.
The stallion looked down on the demon with his crimson glare, “ Seems you’ve finally come to reason, now spill it, before I spill your guts across the forest floor. “
Blood dripped from the downed demon’s mouth as he did his best to speak, “ .....C...castle....middle of....forest.... “
“ A castle in the middle of the forest? “ Axel repeated, “ Seem’s like it’ll be easy enough to find. “
A raspy laugh left the demon’s crushed throat, “ ......A hundred.....scouts........in the....forest.......more than...me... “
The demon’s raspy rambling caught Axel’s attention, causing his eye’s to widen, “ ..A hundred more of them...it’s worse than I feared.. “ he faced away from the crippled beast who he had left on the ground to bleed out.
The demon scout saw it’s attacker face away, and new this was the only opportunity it would get to strike. Using all it’s strength it elevated it’s body and let out a raspy hiss. “ ...DIE!!!!!! “ it gave a powerful pounce towards Axel who was still facing away from it, it’s outstretched claws yearned to tear into the stallion’s body.
It didn’t get the chance to though. Axel had caught it by the mouth in mid air with his hooves, “ I give you the chance to run off and you use it to attack me from behind, bad move. “
It desperately swiped it’s claws at Axel and tried it’s hardest to shut it’s mouth around the other demon’s hooves, “ ....Why...can’t...I...kill you...?!?! “
A chill went down what was left of it’s spine as it looked into the eyes of the “pony” that had put it in such a pitiful state. All the demon saw was rage and a yearning for vengeance, “ You can’t kill me because you’re a vile insect, something that preys on the weak and defenseless. “ He watched as blood dripped from the demon’s battered mouth and it was as if it inspired his rage. Axel gritted his teeth and used his mighty hooves to pull the demon’s jaws further and further apart until the sound of it’s jaws audibly snapping could be heard, “ Die, “ and to finish the broken creature, he gave a swift twist of it’s neck, snapping it with ease and letting it’s corpse drop.
Zecora and the fillies stuck their heads out the door of the hut as quietly as they could to see if it was safe to come out, and to a degree, it was. “ ...I do not know if you are quite right in the head...but if it were not for you we would quite surely be.... “
“ Dead, “ Axel finished the zebra’s rhyme and glanced at the fillies.
The three gulped and hid behind Zecora, “ ....Look at him...he’s got..bl-blood..all over his face... “ Scootaloo pointed out in fear.
“ ...Look at him? ...Look at the monster...it’s like it got put in a blender... “ Sweetie Belle commented.
It was then that Applebloom got a good look at Axel and recognized him as the pony who had worked on the farm a couple days back, “ ..I-I know you...you’re one of Applejack’s friends...aren’t ya? “
Axel nodded, “ I am, and you must be Applebloom, she described you to a T, “ he glanced away from the ponies and towards the corpse of the demon, and finally to the forest around them. “ It’s not safe here, there’s more of them, “ he started walking the way he came from, “ Cmon I’ll get you four back to Ponyville. “
It was then that Zecora stopped him, “ Your face, it is covered in the blood of another, surely the you will frighten ever father child and mother. “
“ ..Y-yeah...won’t the ponies of Ponyville freak out if they see you like that..? “ Sweetie Belle asked him.
Axel gave a small grin in response to the concerned fillies question, “ Listen kid sometime’s what you look like doesn’t matter, let them be scared of me all they want, I’ll keep em’ safe all the same. “
The three fillies looked up at the blood covered stallion with admiration in their young eyes, “ ...he’s cool... “ Scootaloo said out loud as the four of them followed him out of the forest.
“ ...What’ll ya do after we get back to Ponyville..? “ Applebloom asked him while still being a bit shaken up.
“ Simple, I’m gonna go and hunt the rest of those things, “ he boldly admitted bringing shock to the four behind him.
“ Surely you must jest, how would one kill the rest?! “ Zecora asked while still continuing to rhyme.
A serious expression had formed on Axel’s face as they neared the edge of the forest, “ I just will, if any of those things get out of the forest Ponyville is as good as gone, understand? “ he looked back at them while still walking.
The fillies were in the midst of giving small nods when the sight of daylight suddenly came into view in the near distance, “ Look everypony there’s the exit! “ Applebloom pointed and rushed towards it, dramatically jumping through the brush and landing outside of the Everfree Forest.
Axel watched as the four safely exited the forest before turning back in the opposite direction, “ You four get somewhere safe, see ya later. “
Applebloom watched as their savior slowly faded into the darkness of the forest. She quickly hopped up on her hind legs and waved her hooves in the air, “ Come back safe ya hear?! “
The sound of the fillies voice echoed into the demonic ponies ears, “ Sure thing kid, “ he gave a grin before making his way further into the forest, fully aware that there were eyes peering at him from every direction, “ Time to go hunting. “
Author's Note
Well this is a story I haven’t worked on in...ages. And for good reason too, a reason I spoke of in a blog, but for those of you who didn’t read it, long story short. I didn’t like how things were going, didn’t like my writing style, decided to push it far to the side till I got better at writing, finally came back, oh and a plethora of technical and social issues as well. Well i’m finally confident enough in my skill to continue writing one of my first stories, so I hope you all enjoy the comeback story of the year. I’ll see you all again soon, until then enjoy reading, so long
