Chapter 2: An Unscheduled Reunion

John Redwoods slowly began to stir from unconsciousness, his eyes fluttering open. Automatically, his mind registered two things. One: He was lying on a bed in a white room, one that was lit with natural light from outside. Two: His head hurt like a motherfucker. He rubbed his face, groaning.

“Ugh…” He groaned. “Bad hangover… And one hell of a crazy dream–” John suddenly took note of a major change that had occurred. Instead of feeling his fingers on his face, his hands were now stubby, lacking the usual protrusions that he was used to. He lifted his ‘hands' away from his face, and he saw a pair of stubby appendages with red fur on them. At first, John just stared at them, not sure what to make of it. Rational thinking told him to scream at the top of his lungs and flail hilariously in the bed. But then again, he was used to seeing some pretty weird shit, so this was something that he could just add to the list… Maybe this was one of those dreams within a dream. John laughed as he began to think about a certain movie from his childhood that revolved around that plot; the whole dream within a dream bullshit. “That movie always messed with my head for a while.” He muttered to himself. “I bet someone just put something too strong in my cup… Okay, time to get out of bed…”

John threw the blanket from his body… And the sight of his lower body sent his mind into a panic. His legs were now oddly-shaped, and his feet no longer had toes. Nope, he had stubs on his legs now too. But then, there was his tail; he had a fucking tail. It started swishing back and forth between his legs, seemingly waving at him.

… Okay, something is definitely wrong here. He thought to himself. John quickly tried to get out of the bed… Only to promptly fall face-first onto the linoleum floor with his legs dangling over his head. Okay, pain was not a good sign. This wasn't a dream. Groaning, he resorted to crawling out of the bed before trying to stand up on four legs. Once he was actually standing up, he took in his surroundings. His bed was right next to a hospital screen, one that was designed to separate him from another patient. The room itself was relatively small, as was expected of most hospital rooms… Hold it… He was in a hospital… Why was he in a hospital? Maybe it had something to do with his recent changes. His eyes roamed around the room for a bit before they settled on a mirror that was only a few paces from where he was standing. He started walking over to it when he felt himself lose balance. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” He braced himself and stood completely still, trying desperately to keep his balance. After five seconds, he let out a sigh of relief. “Okay,” he said quietly. “Let's try this again…” John started to walk again, this time putting one leg in front of the other, one at a time. He soon got into the motions, and it was a piece of cake from there. After a few minutes of walking back and forth, he was standing in front of the mirror, staring at himself in disbelief.

His body was no longer human, portraying all the similarities to that of an equine. Now he knew to call the stubby appendages on his legs ‘hooves' instead of ‘things'. He also took in the fact that he now had a strange protrusion on his forehead, which poked out from underneath his now extremely long black hair. His tail was also the same color, which he still found it extremely unsettling that he had one to begin with. His eyes were slightly bigger, but they still had their feral-green color. Then, there was his muzzle, which protruded from his face. That part of his body was actually not the most disturbing. Actually, what he found most astonishing was the scar on his left cheek… and that was it. His body—his human body, anyway—had scars that would range from his back, arms, and legs. But now, the only scar that was on his body was the one on his cheek. By now, his headache had faded away somewhat, but now there was only one thing on his mind…

“... I definitely need something to drink now, preferably bourbon or vodka.” He chuckled as his stomach suddenly growled at him. “And maybe a pastrami Reuben sandwich on dark rye.”

“Che diavolo?!” Exclaimed a familiar voice. “Wha… what is this?! What has happened to me?!”

“Is… is that him?” John reached behind his back for his sword, only for him to realize that he no longer had his sword. “Goddamnit…” Then again, there was pretty much no way he could actually use his sword now that he had hooves; it was bit of a no-brainer. He searched around for some kind of chord or string so he could use it as a tool for strangulation… But he stopped when he heard the most familiar sound in the world: crying. Suddenly, his heart felt heavy for the mystery figure. He was scared and confused, like any other rational human being would be. There was no way John could possibly bring himself to kill him now, but he knew exactly what he could do.

The Assassin slowly walked around his bed and past the hospital screen. Looking to the bed that was on the other side of the screen, he saw another equine being, this one had dark silver fur and a black mane and tail, along with a set of wings. The creature was huddled-up in a ball when John cautiously approached him, careful not to make any sudden movements, lest he wished to incur the wrath of another Assassin… At least, he assumed that he was the same one from before; it had to be him. Once he was at the side of the bed, he slowly reached out to the winged-equine with a tentative hoof. At first, he was hesitant until he remembered that they were in the same boat together. If he attacked him, then he would respond in-kind. And if not, then he would see where everything would go from there. His hoof made contact with his wing, causing him to tense up. He spoke Italian… Perhaps I should say something Italian too so he doesn't freak out.

“Scusi… Signore, per favore non piangere.” The equine turned to face him, his eyes going wide. Yep, he was definitely in the same boat as him. And judging by the scar on his right cheek, he was definitely the same Assassin from last night. “Don't panic, okay? I'm just as surprised as you are.” It turns out that he wasn't crying, but rather, he was freaking out so badly that it merely sounded like he was crying. The dark silver equine narrowed his eyes.

“I was not crying, you baffone. I was just…” He tilted his head curiously. “Wait… I know you…” Oh, Jesus. Don't attack me, please. I'm not in the mood for that shit. “You’re… you're the Assassin who was dressed in white… The Demon Wolf…”

John had to act fast before a fight started. “Yeah, that's me… You're not going to attack me again, are you?” He let out a sigh of relief when he shook his head.

“No,” he said calmly. “I realize that it was childish of me to attack you like I did. We had both lost our targets, and that was not an appropriate way for me to react… And considering the fact that you haven't stolen my soul or tried to kill me while I am vulnerable, I know that I can trust you… for now, at least.”

“Good to hear it…” What John wanted to ask now was why his Sight turned him into an Angel of Shadows, but he knew that there were a few things that he had to get out of the way, first. “My name is John Alexander Redwoods, but my Assassin name is ‘Red Wolf.’ What’s your name?”

When he asked that question, he seemed to tense up as he sat up on his haunches. It was a few seconds before he responded. “I am the Night Angel.”

… Bullshit.

John narrowed his eyes. “Okay, let's act like you're not a dumbass, pal. What's your name?”

“I told you already.”

“No, you told me the name of a man who has been dead for over a few hundred years.” He replied bitterly.

“... I can assure you that I am not dead. I am very much alive, even though I am now in a strange place with no idea as to how I got here.” Night responded calmly, albeit confused. John grit his teeth.

“Buddy, Night Angel is dead, and he has been for quite some time. You want to know how I know? I'm his fucking descendant, that's how.” As soon as those words left his mouth, an uncomfortable silence filled the room. For a long time, Night just stared at him with wide eyes.

“You're my descendant?” He said quietly.

“What?!” John let out an exasperated groan. “No! Did you not hear what I said?! Night Angel is my deceased ancestor, making me his living descendant. Unless you have a certain trait, you are not the real Night Angel–”

“Do you have the Sight?” Night asked suddenly.

“... How did you know?”

“Because I have the same gift.” He explained. “Ever since I was born, I have had the ability to see things that no one else can, hear better than my fellow Assassin's, and even–”

“Know where your enemies hide… No matter who they are, or where they are, you always know. You can also see some things before they happen…” John fell back on his haunches. So many thoughts were reeling around in his head, his mind both confirming and denying that this was not his flesh and blood ancestor… But he couldn't deny the evidence. John remembered reading one of Night Angel's lost journal entries, one that explained his ‘gift’.

Now, normally, John would still call bullshit, but there were certain elements and factors that were at play here. For one, the Sight, or the Gift; not many people have it. In order for one to have the Sight, a person would need First Civilization blood, which was still extremely rare. John remembered stories from his guild about a certain Assassin named Desmond Miles, the descendant of Altaïr Ibn la'Ahad, and Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Apparently, his bloodline allowed him to inherit certain abilities that his ancestors had, like Eagle Vision—or the Sight, and the ability to take control of the Pieces of Eden. Only one in a million people have traces of First Civilization blood, but even then, it only did so much. John still had no idea how far his abilities went as far as his Sight or anything, but he highly doubted that he could control an artifact like the Apple of Eden.

But then, there was the fact that ‘Night Angel' called his gift by the Sight, not ‘Eagle Vision' or some other name. There were only three or four people in the world that John knew personally who called this gift by that certain name… Hold on… Night Angel left a long manuscript behind; a journal… A figurative light bulb suddenly came to life in his head as a brilliant idea struck him. He knew most of the information from what was left behind, so he could quiz this Assassin to find out whether or not he was truly the Night Angel, or merely an imposter that was obsessed with the real legend. It was pure genius!

“Okay, hold on.” The dark silver equine looked over at him intently, tilting his head curiously.

“... Yes?”

“What year were you born?” John suddenly asked. There was a moment of silence in the room, Night Angel giving him a bemused glare.

“... What is the purpose of–?”

“Just…!” He managed to calm himself, taking a deep breath before looking him dead in the eye. “Answer the question… please.”

“The year of our Lord, fourteen ninety-eight.” Okay, that's one.

“Alright. Where were you born?”

“Constantinople.” He replied. There's two…

“What was the name of the Master Assassin in Constantinople at the time of Ezio Auditore?” John was absolutely confident that he couldn't answer this question correctly. After all, this Master Assassin was practically a shadow in the history books, even though he helped solve a major conflict before Ezio arrived in Constantinople. This was simply…

“Yusuf Tazim.”

… There's no fucking way he got that right.

“... There was an Assassin-turned-Templar that attacked the Assassin's in Constantinople shortly after Ezio arrived. What name did he go by?”

“They called him The Sentinel.” Night said nonchalantly. But he didn't stop there. “My name is meaningless. The only thing I have left are the Assassin's, the memory of my mother and father, and the name that God blessed me with: Night Angel. You are my descendant, correct? Then you must be friends with the Mariaki family. I personally know Antonio Mariaki, the Sangue Camminatore. He saved my life, and there was a promise that was made between us and our families. Do you know what it is?”

John was absolutely speechless. He answered every question spot-on, and also mentioned the Promise, a sacred vow that was made between the two families. “‘No matter what happens, and no matter where you go, I will always be there to defend you. I will fight by your side, and I will die with you. We will always be together as brothers, no matter how many years and generations lay between us. As the time goes on, this promise shall live on in our descendants and it shall run in our veins forever…’” He stared at him in disbelief. “You… You really are the Night Angel… You're my… my ancestor…”

Night Angel chuckled. “I believe that I said that already, bambino.” He suddenly found himself pinned down by a very angry red pony.

“Don't call me that, okay?” John said in a dangerous tone. “I know Italian too, so don't you call me a fucking ‘little one’ ever again. Ancestor or not, I will end you. Capische?” The Italian's expression remained stoic, seemingly unfazed by his threat.

“You do realize that I have more experience than you as an Assassin, yes?”

“I may not have been an Assassin for my entire life like you have, but in my time, I'm the deadliest Assassin in the world…” John loosened his hold for a moment as he suddenly realized something. “Then again… If I killed you, then I wouldn't exist– Holy shit!” In the time span of only a few seconds, the tables were turned with Night Angel pinning him down to the bed. There was an amused look in his sky-blue eyes.

“Like I said,” the Italian said wistfully. “More experience.”

John was about to reply with a snappy comeback when heard the sound of the door opening, along with the familiar sound of conversation.

“I'll check on the newcomers in here, Nurse Redheart.” Said a male voice. “Could you please check on our usual patient, please?”

“Sure thing, Doctor Red Cross.” Responded a female voice, one whom he presumed to be Nurse Redheart. “I might as well check on Soarin while I'm at it.”

John looked up at Night Angel with a stern expression. “We have to get out of here. But in order to do that, you have to do as I say and follow my lead, alright?” Night responded with a nod. “Good. Now, first things first. Hide under the bed. I'll go to the other side and hide from the doctor. We're going to try and take him by surprise, alright?”

“Soarin is in here? What for?” John waited until Night Angel rolled off of him and over the side of the bed before he did the same, landing on the floor and rolling through the curtain and underneath his own bed.

“He was injured during the panic last night. A few citizens said that one of those strange creatures attacked him. His injuries are not too serious, thankfully, but he has a mild concussion and a bruised wing.”

“Ah, I see…” The doctor sighed. “Alright. I'd better check up on these two in here. I'm supposed to report back to the princesses once I am aware of their current condition. Otherwise, they’ll probably have my head if I procrastinate any further. Carry on, Nurse.” John heard the door close, followed by the sound of foot– hoofsteps coming towards the foot of his bed. “Okay! How's our patient doing today–” The clipboard Red Cross was holding fell to the floor in front of a pair of grey hooves. John swore under his breath. He hoped that the doctor wouldn't cause a commotion. If he raised the alarm, then their chances of getting out of this hospital would be impossible. He looked over at Night Angel to see him looking back at him. John nodded to him, and his ancestor nodded back. “Wha… where did he go?” Doctor Red Cross walked over to Night Angel's bed, only to find that it was also empty. “They're both gone?!” How?!”

Now was the perfect opportunity for John to strike. He quickly slipped out from underneath his bed and lunged at Doctor Red Cross, tackling him to the ground. “Hold him down!” He ordered in a hushed voice. Night Angel quickly crawled out from underneath his own bed and hurried to his side, assisting John in keeping the unicorn pinned to the ground. The task, of course, was easier said than done, as trying to restrain the equine was like keeping a huge trout from escaping a net. It took a bit, but the two newly-transformed equines finally managed to pin the unicorn down.

“What is this?! Unhoof me!” He shouted angrily.

“Now, now, Doctor,” Night responded calmly. “We just want to talk.”

“Indeed, we do.” John concurred. “However, we have a few conditions regarding said-conversation. First things first, don't shout. We don't mean you any harm, so don't start screaming like we're about to kill you, got it?” After a few uncomfortable seconds of silence, the doctor merely nodded. “Good. Second, we have a few questions that we need you to answer, so please answer them to the best of your ability…”

Meanwhile, in the Waiting Room, Twilight Sparkle and her friends were sitting and waiting anxiously for any good news about the mysterious warriors who appeared last night. Princess Celestia and Luna were there as well, although they were mainly there to make sure that anyone who was injured last night was treated. Applejack was holding her hat in her hooves when she finally spoke up.

“What ‘n tarnation is taking th' doctor so long?” She said anxiously. “He shoulda’ been back by now!”

“I do agree, Applejack,” Rarity said quietly as she combed her mane. “It is rather strange that the doctor has been gone for quite some time now, but we mustn't rush him, darling. After all, our new friends are not the only ones who were involved in the incident last night. Speaking of which… Rainbow Dash? How is Soarin, by chance?”

Rainbow nodded. “He's doing alright, but he's going to be on concussion watch for the next week, and he can't risk over exerting his wing for the next few days. It's not as bad as we all thought it was, thankfully.”

“I can't believe so many ponies were injured last night.” Fluttershy added. “I thought that everypony was away from the fighting except for us.”

“Aye, young Fluttershy.” Luna took a seat next to a sleeping Pinkie Pie. “We thought so as well, but it seems that in the enemy's haste to escape, they injured many of our subjects in the process, some being guards while most were merely innocent bystanders. It seems that these humans show no respect for sentient beings.”

“Except for Red Wolf and Night Angel,” Twilight quipped, which earned a small laugh from the lunar princess.

“Indeed,” she responded. “Although, they are very unorthodox, much more so than the prophecy foretold them to be.”

“Not all heroes are as orthodox as many of the stories make them out to be, Sister.” Celestia sat down in a chair next to her sister. “Or do you forget the stories that mother and father told us when we were younger?” Luna crossed her fore hooves.

“I still believe that the Tale of the Hooded Ponies is false.”

Twilight sat deep in thought, still mulling over the information from Starswirl's prophecy, as well as the events from last night. It was still far too confusing for her to comprehend, but then again, no one else really knew that this would happen. If anything, she had a right to be confused, but she still wanted to figure out how these strange beings came to their world, why they were here, and why the supposed prophesied pair of warriors were trying to kill one another. Furthermore, why did they wear those hoods and masks? How did they make those strange weapons that she saw last night? Why were they trying to kill her friends? Twilight groaned and massaged her temples with her wing tips. It was no use trying to answer any of these questions now, especially when she hadn’t had any sleep for the past twelve hours or so. What she needed right now was a fresh, piping-hot cup of coffee, and a daffodil sandwich.

“Hey, Twilight?” She turned her head to see Spike walking up to her with a cup gripped tightly in his claws, and from the smell of it, she automatically knew what it was: coffee. “I went down to the cafeteria and got you something. The staff recommended that I bring this to you instead of a warm glass of milk.” He offered the cup to her with a smile, in which she gladly accepted it with a happy sigh.

“Thanks, Spike. I really needed this.” She took a quick whiff of the steamy liquid and the heavenly aroma filled her nostrils. She took a small sip as she continued to listen to everything around her. Celestia and Luna were still discussing the events of last night, Fluttershy was talking to Rarity about the mysterious visitors, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were sitting quietly, and Pinkie was, surprisingly, still asleep. Twilight took another sip of her coffee. She could already feel her sleep-deprived mind begin to awaken. And as her brain began to work once more, she thought back to what Red Wolf had said to her last night when she had saved him from that explosion. He had said that the force field that she had conjured up was, quote unquote, “scientifically impossible.” He looked like he had never seen a force field, and he said that it wasn’t possible. Did that mean that there was no kind of magic like that where he was from? The question sat there in her mind for a moment before a thought suddenly came to her. She looked down at Spike. “Hey, Spike? Can you do me another favor?”

“What do you need?” The purple dragon smiled at her.

“Can you go check to see where Doctor Red Cross is? He’s taking a little longer than expected, and I’m kind of anxious to hear how the newcomers are doing.” Twilight took another sip. “If you see him, then please tell him that I would like to hear what he has to say.” She giggled when Spike replied with a salute before walking down the corridor, disappearing around the corner.

Hopefully the doctor isn’t too tied-up with his work… She thought to herself.

“Mmm mmph! Mm mmm mmph!” Doctor Red Cross attempted to break free from his restraints, but the rope held him down to the bed, merely rustling the bed sheets and banging the metal headboard against the wall. The doctor glared daggers at John. “Mm mm mmph mmmm!” He merely shrugged.

“I said that we weren’t going to hurt you, but I never said anything about letting you go.”

Night Angel looked at his descendant with a bewildered expression as he stuffed the rest of his things into a set of saddlebags. After interrogating the doctor—at least that’s what he called it anyway, they found out that their things were in a chest at the far corner of the room, and they quickly raided it and retrieved their equipment and such, strapping their swords to their backs and securing their hidden blades as best as they could onto their new wrists. However, that was all the information the doctor gave them before he started calling them crazy and insane for asking questions like: ‘What world is this’ and ‘what year is it.’ “You can understand him?”

“Well, after tying people up for seven and a half years, you start to understand death threats and cursing through mufflers and such.” John nonchalantly replied. He stuffed a few magazines into his backpack and slipped one of his forelegs through one of the straps. “Help me with this, will ya?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Just grab the other strap and help me slide it on. I can’t really do it anymore due to the lack of human mobility– Ack!” Red exclaimed as he tumbled to his side. He glared at Night Angel. “Not like that! Slide it over my back and help me get my other leg through the strap!” The dark pegasus rolled his eyes as he got back up.

“Well, forgive me for not knowing how these damned things work!”

“Dude, it’s not rocket science! It’s a fucking backpack!”

“Why do you keep calling me that? What is a ‘dude’?” Night grabbed the strap once more, this time walking around with it and slipping it over his back. John snorted, sliding his leg through the strap and shaking himself a bit to see if his backpack was secured tightly enough.

“It’s just a slang term from my time, that’s all.” He walked up to Red Cross and patted his forehead. “Thank you very much for your hospitality, Doctor, but I’m afraid we’ll have to cut our visit short and check out early. Later.”

“Mmm mm mmph!”

“Yeah, yeah. I love you too.” John waved back dismissively as he made his way to the door. “C’mon, Nighty. We gotta get outta here.”

“Don’t call me ‘Nighty’.” Night said with a scowl.

John ignored him as he slowly pushed the door open. He was used to stealth and infiltration missions, as well as escaping restricted areas undetected; he was in his A-game. But that was only because he knew where he was and he knew his enemy. Here, however, he was flying blind, and he would have to rely solely on gut instinct if he was going to get him and Night Angel out without raising the alarm. “Alright, Night Angel. Just follow my lead, and act natural.”

“We’re two ponies with an arsenal of weaponry on our backs. Yes, I believe that is very natural, my dear descendant.”

John laughed. “Witty repertoire? Check. Definitely my ancestor.” He let out a sigh before looking out the door. “It doesn’t matter. What matters right now is that we get out of here, okay? We can worry about our appearance once we’re far away from here.” He looked down both ends of the hallway before nodding. “It looks like everyone’s too busy to notice us, so the odds may be in our favor. Keep an eye out for guards. I highly doubt that there won’t be any in here. And if there are, we have to do our best to evade them without harming them.” Night Angel popped his head out.

“It seems that you have experience with these kinds of places.”

“You have no idea.” John nudged him. “Let’s go.” He pushed the door open and walked into the hallway with Night Angel close behind him. As they walked down the corridor, they encountered a pair of pony nurses; one a smoky shade of grey, and the other being a pale shade of red. They looked like John and Night if they were gender-bent, if not slightly paler and a lot cuter, and no horns or wings. But as they walked by, John couldn’t help but watch them… Well, more like watch their flanks as they swayed from side-to-side. Night Angel also watched for a brief moment before shaking his head madly, then proceeding to deck his descendant in the side.

“C’ cazzo?” He scolded him. “What are you doing?”

John shook his head. The nurses seemed to hear him, but they merely giggled in response. But then he saw the grey one wink at him, even flicking her tail to the side for a brief second before walking away. Even with his dark red coat, he knew that he was blushing like crazy.

“They’re not even your own kind, and yet you stare at them like you want to bed them!” Night said more quietly. “What demon has possessed you now?”

“Hey, don’t yell at me!” John snapped back. “It’s probably just this new form. Maybe our minds are just treating these horses as humans, like us… Then again, we’re not exactly human, either… Not anymore at least.”

“I suppose I can see you’re reasoning…” Night chuckled. “I can admit that I looked as well.”

“Ha! It looks like I’m not the only guilty one.”

“Vai a farti fotterre, maniaco.”

“E ti amo, padre.” John said sarcastically, which earned a smirk from Night.

“I see that you are my descendant.” He said proudly. “But I must ask where you learned how to speak such fluent Italiano when you are not native to the land yourself.”

“From the Mariaki’s, of course. Well, from Antonio Mariaki’s descendant, Kysuf, to be more precise. He’s also an Assassin. Funny enough, though, he was with me the night all of… this happened.”

“Then why isn’t he here?” He asked curiously.

“My guess?” John started. “He wasn’t sent here with me and Rosland because he wasn’t actually there. He was watching from somewhere outside of the warehouse I was in. No doubt he’s looking for me right now…” He suddenly stopped, his ears twitching as a certain sound filled his ears. Night Angel stopped as well, looking back at him and waiting for an explanation.

“What is it?”

“Ssh…” John listened carefully, and the sound became a little clearer. He hear the sound of metal armor clinking down the hallway, towards them. “Guards…” The red unicorn looked around for a place for them to hide. He spotted a door and opened it. “Quick! In here!” The two of them rushed inside and closed the door just as the guards rounded the corner, their armor clanking more loudly as they walked past the door and down the hallway. John kept his ear pressed against the door to listen for more guards. He didn’t hear any… But he could hear the sounds of heavy breathing and moaning… And he could also smell a very heady scent, which smelled a lot like sex… Oh fuck. John looked behind him to see two ponies fucking on a hospital bed. One of them was a white pegasus stallion with a blue mane, and the other one was a pale white mare with no wings or a horn and a pink mane. They didn’t even know that there were two other ponies just watching them with deadpan expressions.

“Oh, fuck yes! Harder! Please, Soarin!” John recognized the voice to be Nurse Redheart’s.

Holy shit, he thought. It looks like the nurses here are a lot like the ones back home… If not a little sluttier. John quickly shook his head and swung the door back open, dragging Night Angel out with him before slamming the door shut. The two of them leaned up against the doorframe, their eyes wide and their expressions still flabbergasted.

“What. The. Hell?”

“I second that notion.” Night Angel concurred. “Question? How did you know to look behind you?”

“I smelled the sex in the air.” The Italian looked over at him, perplexed.

“How can you smell sex?”

“I’ve had to fight in sex clubs before.” Night Angel looked even more confused.

“Wait… What?”

The two of them barely had any time to respond when they heard a door down the hall burst open. John Redwoods looked to see a very angry Red Cross glaring at them, as well as two guards standing at his side with spears at the ready. At that moment, his eyes just screamed: “I’m going to fucking hang you.”

“There they are! Arrest them!” The doctor shouted, pointing an accusatory hoof at them.

“Why does this suddenly seem so familiar?” Night thought aloud.

“You too, huh?”

John and Night Angel got onto their hooves and pelted down the hallway, and judging by the heavy clanking of armor, the guards were now in hot pursuit. Usually, John would be confident in these situations. But right now, he was completely lost. He didn’t know where they were, who they were going up against, or if anyone was on their side. All they could do right now was… Follow the signs that said “Exit” in bold, red lettering. Way to be a fucking idiot, Johnny boy.

“Come on, Night! We have to get these guys off our back!”

“I fear that they are not the only ones pursuing us! There are more on the left!”

“Then take a right up here!” John and Night Angel made a sharp turn at a four-way hallway. And in their haste, they nearly knocked over the nurses they had seen earlier… Well, Night Angel managed to avoid the nurse with the red coat by jumping right over her, but John unfortunately fell to the floor with the grey mare on top of him. He didn’t find it so bad, though, and flashed her a cocky grin as he got up. The nurse was blushing madly, but still gave him a small, shy smile.

“Heh, hey there, cutie. Tell me, what time do you get off toni– Oow! Alright! I’m going!”

“Instead of flirting, start running!” Night Angel scolded, pulling on his ear with his teeth. “Corette!”

“Va bene!” John shouted with an exasperated groan. They set off once more, but he stopped at the end of the hallway and looked back at the grey nurse with a smirk. “Call ya later, cutie.” He winked at her before galloping down the corridor, leaving two blushing nurses to just stare at the empty hallway. The grey unicorn mare sighed dreamily.

“He’s certainly a looker, isn’t he?” She said quietly.

The red nurse leaned closer to her, not even taking her eyes off of the end of the hallway. “Which one?” The grey one giggled.

“Both of them are quite handsome, but I was talking about the one that looks kinda like you.”

“Hm… Maybe we should find out who they are, huh?”

“Agreed.” She nodded.

Doctor Red Cross burst into the Waiting Room, his glasses crooked and a small length of rope still tied to his left forehoof. Twilight Sparkle was the first to look up at him, albeit rather strangely. She watched as he rushed over to her, panting heavily.

“Princess Twilight…” He said with a quick bow. “The patients… They ambushed me and… They escaped! The guards… They’re chasing them now, and…” The doctor suddenly collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily and desperately trying to catch his breath. Twilight’s eyes went wide at this news, however, and she immediately threw her empty cup of coffee onto the floor before galloping at full speed for the exit, her confused friends not far behind. Rainbow Dash flew up beside her as they ran.

“Yo, Twilight! Where are you going?”

“Ah might as well ask ya th’ same thing, Twi.” Applejack added. “C’mon, sugarcube. Where’re we goin’?”

“Outside!” She answered quickly. “Doctor Red Cross said that they escaped, so we have to find them quickly before they…” Twilight skidded to a halt, causing the others to do so as well as a group of Royal Guard’s galloped past them.

“Quickly!” One of them howled. “They’re heading for the roof!”

Rarity looked over at Twilight. “Well, dear, it looks like they haven’t left yet.”

Back with Night Angel and John, the two ponified Assassins were evading an entire squadron of guards, each one armed with a very, very sharp spear. It seemed that no matter which direction they went, the guards would be one step ahead of them. Every single turn would be blocked-off, leaving them with only one other option: Go up. They had already climbed up at least three flights of stairs when they burst through a door, and the only thing that greeted them was the bright sunlight, a clear blue sky, and a large, flat rooftop.

“Damnit!” John exclaimed. “It’s a dead-end!” The unicorn slammed the door shut and ran to the edge of the roof. “Now what do we do? They’ll be bound to burst through that door any second now.”

“Calmare, amico. We will think of something.” Night Angel looked over the edge. “I don’t see any safe place for us to land, sadly.”

“Yeah, no haystacks… Kinda ironic, especially since we’re in a place filled with a whole bunch of sentient, talking ponies… What about that town over there?” John pointed his hoof at the town in the distance. Night followed his gaze, but merely looked at it questioningly.

“What about it?”

“Well, why don’t we head that way so we can get rid of these guys?” He suggested. “We can blend in there and then we can evaluate our current situation, right?”

“Assuming that we even make it that far, John Redwoods.” The Italian said grimly. Almost instantly after he had said that, the door burst open, and a wave of pony guards poured out onto the roof and assembled around them both. Once they were in position, they lowered their spears, and they were trapped.

Damnit, he thought. They’ve got us cornered. John lowered himself into a defensive stance, lashing his tail back and forth and growling like a cornered dog. Night Angel looked at him questioningly, but followed suite nonetheless, glaring menacingly at any of the guards that tried to get too close. One of them stepped forward, this one showing signs of a higher rank, which John assumed from the blue shield insignia on the front of his armor. He was a white unicorn with a blue mane, and had a sword instead of a spear.

“By order of the Royal Sisters,” he shouted. “You two are hereby under arrest! Do not try to resist!” The guard stomped his hoof once, and the rest of them slowly started to close in on them.

“Get back!” John barked. “I’ll fucking end you all!” I want them all to go away…

“It’s no use, Lupo Rosso. They have us surrounded.” Night Angel straightened up a little, submitting himself to the guards, which only served to anger his descendant even more. But as his anger grew, John felt something building inside of him; like a weightlessness that filled his entire body that made him feel stronger and lighter than air. He couldn’t see it, but there were ribbons of glowing red light swirling around his hooves and soaking into his fur. The edges of his vision grew dark, consumed by a film of red. But despite the sudden anomaly, the guards were unfazed, and continued to corner them.

“I said…” The intensity of the red light began to grow, and his eyes took on a bright red color. The air began to swirl around him and the ribbons circled his body. It seemed that now the guards began to actually notice that this unicorn was charging up what looked to be a very powerful spell; a spell that could have some very destructive effects. John could feel it now; a power that he had never experienced before. It welled up inside of him like an explosion ready to go off, and all it would need is a simple spark to set it off. He wanted them to go away; to stay away from him and Night Angel so they could escape. He didn’t want them to die, though, just to keep them back; to push them all away from him.

“Get…” He raised one of his fore hooves up. The light only grew more intense, his eyes glowing brightly and the ribbons of blood-like color swirling faster with the air, which began to gather around John Redwoods in a small ball. Everyone watched in awe and fear, including Night Angel. The white unicorn looked at his fellow guards frantically.

“Stop him! Quickly! Before he–“

“Back!”

John’s hoof came crashing down, and the area around him was engulfed in a bright red light, the air bursting like a balloon being popped and expanding rapidly to create a small, but powerful shockwave. The force blew the guards back a great distance, some of them even flying off of the roof. The white unicorn was sent flying back into stairwell, slamming into the door before falling over the guard rail and down the gap between the stairs.

“Twilight, dear, I understand that you wish to talk to these ponies, but don’t you believe that you should wait for the guards to apprehend them first?” Rarity galloped next to her lavender friend. “You saw what they did to those… things last night. What makes you think that they won’t do the same to us?”

“I know they won’t.” Twilight responded confidently. “You saw what they did, and you saw them trying to protect us.” She opened the door to the stairwell with her magic and stepped inside. “I can assure you that they won’t try to harm us.”

Suddenly, a bright flash of red light appeared at the top of the stairwell, and a pony wearing golden armor fell from over the railing. At first, all they could do was watch in shock as they fell farther and farther down the gap, but Twilight quickly snapped out of her stupor and cast a quick spell, her magic summoning a giant pillow to appear. And not a moment later, the guard landed on the feathery cushion with a POMPH! She decided not to waste any time and rushed forward to see if he was okay, only to find that it was…

“Shining Armor?”

“Huh? Twily?” Shining Armor looked up at her and smiled. “Oh, hey! Sorry for ‘dropping in’ like that.” He chuckled at his terrible pun before heaving himself off of the pillow. “So, what are you doing here, anyways?”

“Wha… What am I doing here?” She asked angrily, glaring at him and shoving a hoof into his chest. “No, what are you doing here?” Despite his sister’s angry expression, Shining’s expression remained stoic as he brushed her hoof away.

“Princess Celestia asked for me to come after last night’s incident and provide extra protection for our new… guests.” He sighed and looked up. “When I heard that our V.I.P’s had escaped and were heading to the rooftop, I assembled a squad and we pursued them. However, before we could apprehend them, one of the ponies cast a powerful shockwave.”

Applejack gave Twilight a bemused glare. “Still so sure that they won’t hurt us like they did those other fellas?”

“They’re obviously scared! Sending armed guards to apprehend them only made it worse!” She was now so close to her brother that their foreheads were pressing against each other. “If you hadn’t approached them the way you did, this wouldn’t have happened!” Twilight turned around and bolted up the stairs, leaving the rest of her friends behind as they watched with flabbergasted expressions.

“Well then…” Rarity said quietly. “She’s very passionate about this, isn’t she?”

“It sure looks like it.” Applejack concurred.

“Oh, hey guys! Wassup?” They turned around to find Vinyl Scratch leaning against the doorframe with a grin. “I heard something about the dudes that I accidently blasted heading to the rooftop. Are you going up there too?”

“Um… Yeah?” Rainbow Dash said confusedly. “But why do you care so much?”

“Well, duh!” She laughed. “They kinda saved us, remember? So why shouldn’t I care?”

“Wait a minute.” Shining Armor interjected. “Are you saying that you were the one who assisted the two V.I.P’s last night? You had that… that…”

“Bass Cannon.”

“Yes, that.”

“Yep!” Vinyl said proudly. “That was me. Pretty cool, right?”

“Well, yes, but…” His voice trailed off as a soft ahem interrupted him. He looked to see who it was, and he found out that it was Fluttershy. “Yes, Miss Fluttershy?”

“Um… Well, I don’t mean to be rude, but…” She swallowed. “Shouldn’t we be following Twilight upstairs? I mean, it does sound like it’s pretty important.”

Shining Armor chuckled. “Of course. Forgive me for getting distracted. Come on!” He rushed for the stairs. “We need to get up there, and fast!”

“Oh! I’m coming too!” Vinyl followed the others as they ran after the Royal Guard Captain. “Hehe! This is gonna be so sweet!”

John struggled to control his ragged breathing. Whatever the hell he just did, it took a lot energy out of him. He looked behind him to see if Night Angel was there, and sure enough, he was still where he had been a few seconds ago, even though he looked like he saw a ghost.

“Heh… You… You okay there, Nighty?” He laughed weakly.

“What was that?” He asked suddenly, his expression returning back to its original, stoic state.

“I… have no clue… But whatever I just did… It took a lot out of me…”

“Halt!” Oh, you have got to be kidding me! John looked back towards the door to see a huge alabaster pony with both wings and a horn, a weird rainbow mane and tail, and it looked like she was wearing a… crown? Well, it looked like he was going to have to fight royalty now.

“Who… the fuck… are you?” He said between breaths.

“I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria, and Princess of the Sun.” She said dryly. “And you are under arrest!” Celestia quirked a brow at him when he laughed at her declaration.

“Sorry, lady…” He replied. “But it’ll take a lot more than that to make us surrender, as you must’ve saw with your guards.”

“Indeed.” Celestia nodded. “I can tell that you won’t back down without a fight. So…” Her horn glowed with a golden light, and a sword was suddenly levitated in front of her within the light’s grasp. “It seems that I will have to resort to violence in order to apprehend you.” The sword suddenly burst into flames, causing both John and Night Angel to flinch slightly.

Alright, he said silently. Time to evaluate the situation. I can’t attack her and hope to weaken her; I’m not familiar with how this body works yet, so that’s suicide. Night Angel said that there were no haystacks, so a Leap of Faith isn’t exactly an option unless I can find another safe place to land… His ears perked up at a faint sound; the sound of a rickety, old wagon wheel. Sounds like there’s some kind of cart pulling up. Hopefully, it’s a hay cart.

“There’s a cart filled with hay that’s slowly approaching the hospital.” Night Angel whispered to him.

Okay, that’s awesome. Now we have a method of escaping, but let’s hope that it doesn’t fail us… Alright… We’ll try to fake our surrender first, lull her into a false sense of security. John took a few deep breaths until he could control his breathing again. He then smiled at Celestia.

“Alright, Princess.” He said calmly. “You want us to surrender?”

“Well, I believe that is what I said, yes.”

“Okay… We’ll surrender...” Celestia sighed and smiled, sheathing her sword.

“I’m so happy to hear you say that. Now, if you will please follow me back downstairs, we will sort all of this out–“

“Red Wolf! Night Angel!”

John looked back at the door to see that purple unicorn with wings that saved him last night. She was standing there, her expression one of fearful concern. He stared into her violet eyes, tilting his head curiously.

“Um… Hi there?”

Realizing that she was now the center of attention, she smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. She opened her mouth to speak, but she was suddenly interrupted by a very familiar unicorn.

“Stay away from the Princesses!” The white unicorn dashed onto the rooftop and in front of the lavender pony, his horn glowing with a bright blue aura, gritting his teeth as he glared daggers at him. “Try to dodge this!”

“Captain Shining Armor! Stand down!” Celestia’s order fell upon deaf ears, and Shining Armor fired a ball of bright blue light that crackled with electricity… Which was heading straight for them!

“Night Angel! Jump!” The two of them jumped from the ledge just as the projectile made contact with the roof, setting off an explosion that pushed them pushed them farther through the air. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!” John swore all the way down as they plummeted towards the cart filled with hay. Hopefully, they would survive and land in it instead of going KERSPLAT! onto the ground below.

“Well, Miss Heartstrings,” said a grey Earth Pony nurse. “It looks like you have made a full recovery after a week of treatment. I am happy to say that Doctor Red Cross has given you permission to return home.”

Lyra Heartstrings let out a sigh of relief and smiled, brushing a strand of her cyan mane out of her eye. “Oh, thank you so much, Nurse Storm Cloud.”

Storm Cloud giggled. “I’m sure that your family will be glad to know that you will be coming home. Now, the Doctor has said that you stay off of that leg for at least another day or two to make sure that you don’t agitate something, and then you’ll be okay to do any kind of strenuous physical activity.”

“No painkillers?”

“No painkillers. I believe we drugged you up enough while you were here, so you don’t need to worry about taking anything else for a while.”

Lyra laughed. “I appreciate that. Again, thank you so much for the help. You are always so kind…” Her voice trailed off as her ears picked up the sound of an explosion, one that shook the room gently before subsiding.

“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!” Lyra turned around just in time to see two streaks of color, one dark silver, and the other a dark red. She hurried over to the window to see what was going on, quickly opening it and sticking her head out. Looking down she saw two ponies land in a cart filled with hay, the wagon wheels giving out and allowing it to crumble to the ground.

“What was that?!” She exclaimed.

“I believe that those were the two good-looking ponies my sister and I ran into earlier.” Storm Cloud poked her head out next to hers. “I guess they love the adrenaline rush. No wonder why they were in the hospital.” Her eyes grew lidded as she let out a dreamy sigh. “But heavens above, they were so handsome.”

“Really?” Lyra smiled for a moment. “Think you can introduce me to them?”

John Redwoods groaned. “Holy shit… I can’t believe that actually worked.” He poked his head out from underneath the hay and looked around, right as Night Angel did the same.

“Well, I’ve done this for almost my entire life from heights greater than that, so this is simple for me.” He said with a laugh. John rolled his eyes and laughed with him.

“Oh, who am I kidding? We’re Assassins. We do this almost on a daily basis.”

“Woohoo! This is awesome!”

Suddenly, another person landed in the haystack with them, causing both of the Assassin’s to jump back in surprise. Seconds later, a unicorn with a crazy blue mane and white fur popped out of the straw in between them. “Damn, that was fun!” She said with a tomboyish voice. “I didn’t know you guys went Hay Diving, too!” She started laughing, which led John and Night Angel to trade skeptical looks.

“Excuse me, Miss?” Night Angel started. “Um… Would you mind telling us who you are?”

“Huh?” The tomboy looked at him and smirked. “Oh, what’s up, hottie? I’m Vinyl Scratch!” She held her hoof out to him, in which he just stared at it for a moment before he bumped his hoof against hers.

“I’m Night Angel…” He replied slowly. “And this…” He gestured to John. “Is my descendant, Red Wolf.”

“Um… Pleasure to meet you, Miss Scratch.” John held his hoof out to her.

“Well, it’s awesome to meet you guys too!” Vinyl bumped her hoof against his, and she followed them as they walked out of the broken haycart. “So, what are you guys doing? Practicing for some darepony contest?”

“Erm… Not exactly.” He said sheepishly. “You see, we’re kind of running from–“
A bright light suddenly flashed a few feet away from them, and a very angry Shining Armor appeared. “… This douche.”

“Stop running!” He barked. “You can’t escape!” John could have sworn that he saw a vein bulging from his forehead when he saw Vinyl move to stand in front of them. “You?! What are you doing?! They’re dangerous! Get away!”

“Dude, chillax!” She said calmly. “These guys are cool. They haven’t done anything to hurt anypony.”

“They injured an entire squad of Royal Guard’s! Saying that they haven’t hurt anypony is a lie, Miss Scratch!” Despite being yelled at, Vinyl kept her cool.

“Bro, that’s because you guys started chasing them.” She replied. “Plus, I mean, you’re kind of attracting the attention of every patient that’s in a hospital room on this side with all your shouting and shit.” She pointed behind him, and sure enough, there was a pony poking their head out of every single hospital room on their side, curious to see as to what was going on. This, however, did not faze the Captain.

“I don’t care! Get away from them!” He fired a blast of energy at Vinyl, and her eyes went wide as it raced towards her. But before it could connect with her, John pushed her out of the way, and he was sent flying into a nearby tree when the projectile hit him. Seeing his opportunity, Shining Armor drew his sword and started walking towards him. “You are a threat to these ponies, the Princesses, and the entire nation of Equestria!”

John groaned as he pulled himself onto his hooves. “Yeah? Well, you’re not exactly being ‘Role Model of the Year’, buddy.” He planted his hooves on the ground and crouched down, ready to rush forward. But suddenly, a familiar rock song began to fill the air, confusing the hell out of both him and everyone else around him. “Huh? What the fuck…? Oh! That’s my phone. It must have turned the shuffle function on when I hit the tree... Oh, nice! It’s playing The Offspring. Nice song choice, too.” He crouched back down. “So, you ready to apprehend me, soldier?”

Shining Armor twirled his sword around a bit, smirking. “Hit me with your best shot.”

John remained in his crouched position, listening to the song as it played. First, it was just a short guitar solo; that was where he would analyze his enemy, sizing him up. Then, the drums kicked in, providing a soft beat. Finally, the rhythm guitar rang out, signaling him to rush forward at his opponent. Shining Armor galloped towards him with a battle cry, his sword at the ready. Once they were close enough, he stabbed at him, aiming for his chest. But John managed to sidestep his attack and countered with a fierce punch to the side, denting his armor and sending him tumbling to the ground. Shining Armor quickly got back up, twirling his sword before lunging forward once more, swinging furiously, but with coordinated precision. Even with his skill, however, he failed to strike John; all he hit was air as he skillfully evaded his blade. And every time his sword hit the ground, he was struck by another counter attack, each blow leaving another dent in his armor. John knew that he was facing an obviously seasoned veteran with a sword, but he also knew that Shining Armor wasn’t fighting very well, and he had two reasons to back that up. One, he was angry, so he wasn’t thinking very clearly. Two, his movements were repetitive, which made him too predictable. Shining swung his sword from above, and it met the ground once more. John moved in for another counter, but it seemed that his opponent was ready for it this time, head-butting him away then driving his hoof into his chest, sending him tumbling to the ground. He raised his sword and brought it down on him. But before it could connect, another sword blocked his. John stared for a moment, following the black-stained blade all the way up to the hilt to where Night Angel stood. The Italian Assassin glared daggers at the unicorn, his grip on the blade not faltering in the slightest. And through the handle of his sword, he managed to speak.

“Do not harm my descendant!” Night Angel pushed Shining away and then turned around and bucked him square in the chest, sending him skidding to a halt at least ten feet away from them. The shield on his armor was now cracked down the middle, but it seemed that he didn’t care; he was only focused on them. John quickly got back up.

“How the hell do you know how to fight with a sword in this form?” He asked quickly before jumping away from another energy blast.

“I don’t! But it’s just a natural instinct! You don’t forget years of training with a sword!” Night Angel rushed Shining Armor, their swords colliding with one another and sending sparks flying. John thought about what he said for a moment before shrugging.

“That’s a very good point.” And with that, he rushed back into the fight.

At this point, the song was already at the beginning of the second verse, and the battle was heating up. Shining Armor began to incorporate more energy blasts and different methods into his attacks, making him a lot more challenging to counter and leaving John and Night Angel to simply evade the attacks as best as they could. But even they began to take some blows, and it was starting to show in the form of bruises and small cuts.

Night Angel rushed Shining Armor again, slashing for his chest and legs. But he was prepared for this attack, and he jumped back before firing a large energy blast into his chest, sending him flying backwards and tumbling until he lay at Vinyl’s hooves and his sword landing at John’s. He stared at Night for a moment before looking at Shining, his gaze bearing one of rage and contempt. John then looked at the sword, imagining that he still had hands that could grasp onto it. If only I could use this sword without having to hold it with my fucking mouth! With that thought, something inside of his mind clicked, and he could feel a surge of power and energy channeling itself through his body, to his mind, and finally, through his horn. His eyes went wide as a crimson glow engulfed the handle of the sword and lifted it into the air in front of him. Holy shit… Did I just master telekinesis? How the fuck did I do that?!... This is so fucking trippy, but I’ll figure this out later. John flourished the blade around and crouched down, smirking.

“Right on time…” He murmured. “It’s time for the guitar solo!”

The song transitioned over to the guitar solo, and he rushed forward like a bullet, swinging his weapon with more accuracy and speed than he thought was possible. He could now see a hint of fear in Shining Armor’s eyes; the fear that he could lose this fight. This pushed John to fight even harder, their blades creating sparks that filled the afternoon air. Shining Armor managed to knock Night’s sword from his grasp, but that didn’t stop him from drawing his own blade and blocking his stab attempt, causing his eyes to go wide.

“Checkmate!” John used this moment to knock Shining’s sword away and buck him square in the chest once again. He was sent flying straight into the door of the hospital, cracking the glass a little upon impact. But this didn’t stop him from staggering onto his hooves once more and rushing forward, his horn charging another energy blast. John rushed forward to meet him, his sword at the ready. And as the song ended, so did the fight.

“Enough!” John skidded to a halt as a blinding flash of light appeared before him, and he suddenly found Celestia standing between him and Shining Armor, her wings flared out and her horn glowing with energy. At that moment, whatever had enabled John to hold his sword with his new telekinetic ability vanished instantly, and his sword clattered to the ground. Celestia glared at Shining Armor, and then John. “You two are acting like foals fighting over a bit you found on the street! I understand that you are afraid and confused, Red Wolf, but that does not mean you can harm one of our own!” John remained silent and stoic as she then turned her attention to Shining Armor. “And you. You are my most decorated and valued officer, and you are also a prince! And here you have not only blindly attacked two random ponies who have no idea where they are, but you also endangered the life of an innocent pony who had nothing to do with this!”

Shining Armor’s gaze fell to the ground, obviously ashamed. “Forgive me, Princess Celestia. I was not thinking correctly.” He cringed when she scoffed.

“More like you were not thinking at all. I am very disappointed in you…” She sighed as she turned away from him and looked at John, Night Angel, and Vinyl Scratch. “I apologize for all of this. Forgive me for not seeing to it that I was the one who came to you first when you woke up.” At that moment, the hospital doors opened, and six more ponies came rushing outside, including the purple one that saved his life last night. They stopped once they were at her side.

“Ah, right on time, girls.” She said with a smile, not even taking her eyes off of John, even as Night Angel walked up next to him. “I think that it is time we informed our new visitors of their situation. But first, I believe introductions are in order, yes? As you already know, I am Princess Celestia.” She gestured a hoof to the purple pony. “This, is Princess Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic, and Princess of Friendship.”

“Greetings to you, and welcome to Equestria.” She said with a warm smile, one that John couldn’t help but return.

Celestia continued the introductions, pointing to a white unicorn with an extremely well-groomed purple mane. “This is Rarity, Element of Generosity.” The white unicorn took a courteous bow as the princess moved on to the next pony. “Applejack, Element of Honesty.”

“Well, howdy, y’all!” She tipped her hat to them.

“Next is Fluttershy,” she gestured to a buttercream pegasus with a flowing pink mane and tail. “Element of Kindness.”

“Um… H-hi there…” She said timidly.

“Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter.” She gestured to a pink pony with a mane that resembled a certain sweet treat back from John’s home. “And finally, Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty.” She gestured to a cyan blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, who flapped her wings a couple of times and puffed her chest out.

“Yep, that’s me.” She brushed a hoof against her chest, which earned a roll of the eyes from John and Night Angel.

“I believe you’ve already met Shining Armor rather personally. He is Captain of the Royal Guard, Prince of the Crystal Empire, and Twilight Sparkle’s brother.” He merely bowed his head, and Celestia looked back at John and Night Angel. “Well, now you know who we are, so may we have your names as well?”

John and Night Angel looked at each other for a moment before nodding in unison. The American Assassin was the first to step forward. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “I am John Alexander Redwoods, a.k.a: The Red Wolf, and I’m an Assassin.” He tensed up when he saw that their eyes went wide, causing him to shake a hoof defensively. “Now, before you get any ideas, I’m not the kind of Assassin you may think I am. We’ll explain all of that later…” He took a step back and nudged his ancestor. “You’re turn, pops.” Night Angel glared at him for a moment before reluctantly stepping forward.

“I am Night Angel, and I am an Assassin.” He said.

“And…?” John rolled his hoof.

“And what?” Night thought for a moment before he nodded. “Ah, I get it. I am also John’s ancestor.”

Celestia tilted her head. “What do you mean ‘ancestor?’”

“Allow me, Night.” John interjected. “You see, Night Angel is my ancestor from at least five hundred years before my own time. Now, before you ask me how and why he’s here, I will kindly answer you by saying that I have no fucking clue, okay? So save that question for when I can produce a genuine answer.”

Celestia nodded. “I see… But Night Angel, may I ask what your real name is?” Night flinched.

“… I cannot tell you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I keep my identity a secret from everyone, my descendent here being no exception.”

“Wow, thanks a lot.” John retorted with sarcastic gratitude. “That makes me feel so fucking special, y’know that?”

Night ignored him. “I have sworn to keep my true name a secret because it no longer holds any meaning whatsoever. If I were to tell you my real name, you would have no use for it, because I would never respond to it. After all, I have gone by the name Night Angel for as long as I can remember…” He cleared his throat. “Anyways, there is my introduction. Now, I believe you owe us an explanation as to why we’re here, yes?”

Celestia nodded. “I understand completely. But, um…” She looked back at all of the ponies still watching them from the window. “I believe we should move this conversation to a private location, that way nopony hears any of this. Please, if you would all follow me.” She turned around and headed for the doors, Twilight and her companions doing the same. At first, John and Night Angel just stood there, trading glances with one another and determining whether or not they should follow them or not. While they were idling, Vinyl waltzed past them.

“Well, let’s see what she has to say, guys. Can’t deny royalty.” She looked back at them and winked.

“Are you sure we’re following her?” John said with a smirk as they picked up their swords and followed her. “Because it feels like you want us to follow you.” Vinyl replied with a chuckle as they walked inside.

“Hey. Keep it in your sheath, pal.”

John Redwoods found himself inside of a conference room at least five minutes later, his head in his hooves. Apparently, he and Night Angel had been transported to the magical world of Equestria, as well as Derrik Rosland and his own forces. Here in this world, there was such a thing that they called ‘magic.’ At first, John laughed at them, asking if they had been smoking the ‘good stuff,’ only for the ponies to give him so rather nasty glances, excluding Vinyl, for some strange reason. The six ponies that Celestia had introduced to them were also the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, a power that was used to banish evil and keep Equestria in the balance. To John, this sounded a lot like the Pieces of Eden, only instead of causing civil disorder and worldwide power struggles, they were used to bring peace and prevent things like world war. But out of all the information that John and Night Angel had obtained, the one thing that threw them off was the mention of an ancient prophecy, and the fact that they were involved in it somehow, being the supposed prophesied warriors that would save their world. Now, John has stopped civil wars, assassination attempts on the lives of world leaders, even going as far as eliminating terrorist cells in as little as a month, but saving an entire world was something completely different. Apparently, Desmond Miles saved the world in twenty-twelve, but even that wasn’t proven to be true, so for John to be told that he was supposed to save the world was something that triggered a few alarms inside of his head. And he thought turning into a pony was suspenseful.

John rubbed his temples with his fore hooves. “Jesus… This is a lot to take in. I mean, holy shit…” Night Angel, who was sitting in a chair next to him, sighed in response.

“I agree. This sounds like a difficult task. How are we supposed to save your world? Not even God said that something like this would happen to me.”

“I understand,” Celestia said with a nod. “But I want you to know that we are not trying to stress you with all of this. We did not summon you into our world on purpose, as Starswirl the Bearded was the one who wrote this prophecy. We had no idea you even existed until last night.”

“If that’s the case,” Vinyl piped in from the seat next to Night Angel. “How could Starswirl even know about Wolfy and Nighty here? I mean, Starswirl’s, like, thousands of years old, isn’t he?”

“Indeed,” replied a dark blue alicorn named Luna; she was Celestia’s sister. “That is what confused us the most. But in the end, we concluded that Starswirl must have had a vision of this event in history taking place.”

The red unicorn nodded. “I guess you have a point.”

“Now, I have a question for you.” Twilight said suddenly, earning the attention of everyone in the room. “Who were those ponies you were fighting last night?” John and Night Angel looked at one another for a few seconds before nodding and turning back to look at the other ponies in the room.

“Well, I might as well explain first.” John started. “The men that I fought last night were Derrik Rosland and his subordinates. Where I’m from, Derrik is the leader of a faction that call themselves the Red Artist’s, a group of Rogue Assassin’s from all over the world that have turned away from the Assassin Order and fight both us and the Templar’s, whom are the Assassin’s oldest enemy. While they claim to still value some of the Assassins’ beliefs, they merely alter them to their own liking, even going as far as murdering innocent people if they do not bow down to them. Derrik was a former Assassin… And he had betrayed his fellow Assassin’s and turned away from them, even going as far as killing my mother and father.” The room went silent, and he could feel everyone’s eyes going wide at this new information. “We have been enemies for as long as I’ve been an Assassin, and I’ve sworn my life to bring him to justice, as well as any other Red Artist that I find…” He cleared his throat. “Well, that’s my side of the story. I believe that now it’s my ancestor’s turn to share.

“I suppose it is, isn’t it?” Night Angel said with a chuckle. “While I do not know much about my enemy, I can tell you a few things. The enemy that I fought call themselves by the Order of Blood, and like these ‘Red Artist’s,’ they are Rogue’s who care not for the lives of the innocent, and have turned away from both the Assassin’s and Templar’s. The man who leads them is Severino Stornello. At first, I did not know who this man was. But after I thought about it for a while longer during your explanation, I realized that I had heard his name before, and I remembered that he is one of the men who used to fight alongside my mother and father, and inevitably betrayed them. So like my dear descendent, my mother and father were murdered at a young age. But unlike him, I have no idea who murdered my family, only that Severino was one of the men that betrayed them.”

The room was silent. Everyone stared at them with wide eyes, all filled with sorrow and disbelief. It seemed that their stories had more of an effect on them then they thought. Rarity was the first one to speak up.

“It seems that you two have been through some rather unspeakable tragedies throughout your life.” She said with pity. “I am sorry you had to go through it all.”

John smiled. “I appreciate your concern, Miss Rarity, but trust me when I say that we’ve learned to get over it… Well, I have at least. I don’t know if Night Angel has as well.” Night responded with a simple nod. But even so, John couldn’t but feel bad for lying to these ponies. He had told the truth when about his identity and his enemies, but…

“There is something else you should know.” Celestia interrupted his train of thought. “Last night, our guards apprehended two of your enemies, one from each side of your timeline, I suppose you could say. They are both transformed into ponies like you have been, but they have not awaken from their unconsciousness yet. I was wondering what you would like to do with them when they wake up.”

John thought about this for a moment before responding. “Keep them here. Once they wake up, we’ll try to see if we can’t persuade them to rejoin the Assassin’s. If they say ‘no,’ then we’ll have to let them go.”

“What?!” The entire room exclaimed, including Night Angel.

“Have you gone mad, amico?!” He shouted. “Why are you so willing to let them go?! They are our enemies!”

“Even so, you have to understand that they don’t pose much of a threat at the moment.” The American responded calmly. “We can’t really get any information out of them because they don’t know where their leaders are hiding, and killing them won’t exactly solve anything. And as long as we don’t tell them where they are, we can drop them off in the middle of another town or city and let them find their way back to Derrik and Severino. Then, they have no information to give to them because they don’t know anything, and we can have one less problem on our hands if they don’t renounce their allegiance.”

“But… but they are rogues! We cannot trust them so easily!”

“Night, I know that you don’t agree with me right now, but understand that where I come from, strategy and information is everything. Besides, what’s the point in killing them?” A thought suddenly occurred to them. “In fact, I have a better idea! Is there any way we could track them wherever they go? Like some kind of spell or potion?”

Luna nodded. “I know the spell you speak of, and I know your purpose. Brilliant strategy, young knave.” John deadpanned for a moment.

“Um… Not sure why you called me a knave, but thank you for the compliment.”

“Wait, what is he talking about?” Night asked Luna.

“The Red Wolf is suggesting that we place a tracking spell onto your enemies if we release them. Think of it as magically branding them, so no matter where they go, we will always know where they are in Equestria.”

Night fell silent for a moment before falling back into his chair. “… Fine, but your plan is still risky.” John chuckled.

“Taking risks is in our mandate, Night Angel. Didn’t you remember that?” Celestia cleared her throat, attracting the attention of everyone in the room.

“Now that we have all of that out of the way, there is one more issue that needs to be addressed, and that is where you will be staying for the rest of your time here. Girls? Can any of you offer them a place with you?”

Rarity shook her head. “As much as I want to, I’m afraid I can’t. The boutique only has two bedrooms, and the other one belongs to Sweetie Belle.”

“I can’t, either.” Said Fluttershy.

“Same here.” Pinkie Pie added.

“Unless they want to sleep in the barn, or house is full.” Applejack tipped her hat sadly.

“Eh…” Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly. “I could give Night a place to stay, but I don’t think John would be able to come too since my house is kinda high up.”

“Yeah…” Vinyl rubbed the back of her neck. “I couldn’t do it even if I wanted to. My place only has two bedrooms, and one of them is my roommates. I could let them crash on the couch, but I think Octy would flip if she found out that we were letting two alien’s crash at our place.”

“Then I can do it.” Everyone looked at Twilight Sparkle. “The castle has more than enough room, and I’m pretty sure I could house a small army in there if I needed to.” Celestia smiled.

“Then it’s settled.” She looked at the two Assassin’s. “Red Wolf. Night Angel. You will be staying with Twilight Sparkle at the castle for the time being.” The two nodded in unison, and everyone got up as Celestia and Luna made their way to the door. “I wish I could stay longer, but I’m afraid that I have more business to attend to. I will make sure to keep an eye out for anything that I can find out about the whereabouts of Rosland and Stornello. But until then, please stay out of trouble. Come along, Captain!” And with that, they walked out of the room with Shining Armor following them. But before he left, he made sure to give them a stern look and a gesture that said “I’m watching you.”

“… Well, that went pretty well.” John murmured.

“So, now what do we do?” Night Angel asked curiously.

Twilight stood up from her seat. “Well, I suppose the only thing that there is to do is bring you back to the–“

“Hold on.” Everyone’s attention was now centered on Vinyl as she stood up from her chair. “Now, your enemies are running about here in Equestria, and they already know who you are by name, right?” The two Assassin’s nodded. “So, shouldn’t you guys be going by completely different aliases now that you guys are here? I mean, they won’t know what you look like because you’re ponies, but they’ll know your real name if you use that.”

“That… is actually a very good point, Vinyl.” John chuckled. “That is a great idea, but… What would our names be? As far as I can tell, everyone’s names here are exotic and unique, so we would need a name similar to yours wouldn’t we?”

“Well, it’s kind of a no-brainer.” She said nonchalantly. “A lot of ponies’ names are based off of their cutie marks.” John and Night Angel deadpanned.

“Excuse me…” Night replied. “A cutie what?” His eyes went wide as Vinyl turned around and presented her flank to them, a dark blush staining his cheeks. She pointed to the mark on her butt.

“This is a cutie mark. It symbolizes your special talent; what you’re good at. I mean, you guys could base your names off of your… Oh…”

“What?” John looked down at his flanks, and sure enough, they were blank. “Okay… We don’t have tattoos on our asses. I’m betting there are a few ponies who don’t have their own yet, right?”

“If you’re a foal, yes.” Twilight added. “But if you’re already an adult, it’s just weird.”

“So, it is considered a taboo?” Night inquired.

“You could say it like that, I guess.” She said with a nod.

“It’s not like a crime or anything, though. Some ponies may look down on you and make fun of you for not having your cutie mark.” Rainbow Dash said suddenly.

“So, it’s like a forty-five year old not having his high school diploma?” The room went completely silent, and John could feel everyone’s eyes on him because of his comment. “… It’s a comparison from my world.”

“… I don’t get it.” Night said with a confused tone. John scoffed in return.

“Of course you don’t.”

“Well, I guess we can cross that bridge when we get there. Hopefully, it won’t cause a problem later on.” Twilight sighed. “But for now, I think we should all go back to the castle and rest. It’s been a long day for all of us, and I think we all deserve a good night’s sleep.”

“Um… Sugarcube?” Applejack coughed into her hoof. “It’s only two o’clock in the afternoon.”

Rarity giggled. “I think our dear friend is the only one who needs the rest. You really haven’t slept, have you?” Twilight merely responded with a blush. “How about this, Twilight? You can lead these two back to the castle, and then we can give our new visitors a tour of the town once they drop off their things.”

“I can show them around.” Vinyl volunteered. “I mean, I don’t really have anything better to do, and my roommate won’t be back from Canterlot for a couple more days. So you guys can go ahead and do whatever you need to do, and I can give them the grand tour of Ponyville.”

The fashionista smiled. “Why, thank you, Vinyl! That is such a relief.”

“Now I can plan a ‘Welcome to Ponyville Party’ for them!” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down excitedly.

“… Something tells me that she does this a lot.” John said skeptically.

“You have no idea.” Rainbow whispered.

“Hey, Twilight? I found Doctor Red Cross in the Waiting Room, but he told me to find you. Is something wrong?”

“What the fuck is that?!” John and Night Angel exclaimed in unison, falling from their chairs and drawing their swords at the strange bipedal creature. Twilight quickly jumped in front of the thing.

“Stop! It’s just my assistant, Spike!” She said frantically. “He’s a dragon!”

“A dragon?!” John exclaimed.

“Yes! But he’s completely harmless!” Twilight hugged Spike close, fearful that they might attack him. “So… You can put the swords away now…”

The Assassin’s looked at each other, and John’s sword fell from his magical grasp once more. He let out an exasperated groan. “Son of a bitch!” He muttered under his breath before picking it up with his mouth and sheathing it. Twilight let out a sigh of relief and let Spike go.

“Now… Can we please go back to the castle?”

After exchanging goodbyes and apologizing to Spike for the scare, the Assassin’s followed Twilight Sparkle back to the castle with Vinyl Scratch in tow. Now, when Twilight said that they were going to be staying at a castle, John imagined an ancient structure built from stone. But boy was he surprised when he saw that it was made entirely out of fucking crystals. Yeah, he did not see that one coming. Once they were inside, Twilight showed them to their rooms and retired to her own. After discarding their weapons and equipment—save for their trusty hidden blades, they headed for the front entrance of the castle, only to be stopped by Spike, who wanted to come with them. At first, Night was against the idea, but John managed to convince him that this would be their way of apologizing for nearly attacking him in the hospital. And after a full minute of debating, Night Angel agreed to let Spike accompany them, albeit rather reluctantly, and they joined Vinyl outside.

The tour was rather enlightening for the two Assassin’s, even though most of the entire walk was just them talking amongst themselves and sharing more information about their world, as well as answering the question as to why they were wearing ‘greaves,’ which were attracting the attention of every citizen that they walked past. Talking about his hidden blades made John feel a little weird. To him, explaining these things that were so complex to another species was like giving ‘the talk’ to a five year old. Then again, it was always nice to explain Assassin technology; it made John feel smart for some strange reason. But then Vinyl brought up the point that they would be kind of useless in their current forms. Night Angel felt a bit embarrassed since his blade design required a ring to go around his ring finger, which he no longer possessed, in which John assured him that he could fix that with a little time, energy, and patience, as his blades had the same problem. They soon found themselves in front of the town hall, sitting on a bench by a large fountain.

“So, let me get this straight.” Said Spike. “You guys are Assassin’s, but you are more like super heroes. You know? Fighting bad guys and saving the world.” He gave them a confused look when they laughed at him. “What? What’s so funny?”

John was the first one to speak up. “Well, here’s the thing, Spike. Y’see, we’re nothing like super heroes, since we don’t really have super powers and all that fancy stuff. Sure, we fight bad guys, as you said, but we’re nothing special.”

“But you have gadgets.” Vinyl added.

“That we do,” Night Angel responded with a nod. “But we do not ‘save the world,’ as you had put it so bluntly. Yes, we are the keepers of the peace, but we do not exactly affect the entire world around us. When we die, the world does not fall into an uproar over our passing. After all, we work in the shadows, and no one knows of our sacrifices.”

“Doesn’t that ever bother you?” Spike asked them. “Don’t you get upset if you do something good and nopony acknowledges it?”

“Sometimes, yes. But even if we don’t get credit for what we do, we still keep moving on. Because even if no one knows about the sacrifices we make for them, we’re content with knowing that we’re helping people and keeping them safe. And even if they view us as heroes at first, they will eventually hate us.” John ended with a sigh as a scream filled the air.

“Help!” A female voice shouted. “That pony stole my purse!”

“Could you all excuse me for a moment?” He looked over his shoulder to see a young unicorn stallion with a tan coat and a dirty black mane galloping around the corner of the town hall and past where they were sitting. He quickly hopped out of his seat and chased after him at breakneck speed. The stallion peeked over his shoulder and his eyes went wide when he saw someone chasing after him.

“Buzz off, pal!” He shouted.

“Not a chance!” John turned sharply on his hooves as he followed him down a dead-end alleyway. The stallion skidded to a halt, his eyes filled with fear.

“Nononononono!” He said fearfully, earning a sigh from the red unicorn behind him.

“Look, buddy, I don’t feel like fighting anymore today, alright? So how about you just hand over that purse, and we can act like this never happened.” His eyes narrowed as a knife was levitated out of the pony’s torn saddlebags with a blue aura. He turned around, his eyes filled with uncertainty, but also anger.

“N-no! I can’t let you stop me! I need the bits!” He grit his teeth and he let out a guttural cry of rage as he lunged at him with knife at the ready. John waited until the last second before ducking under the knife. This stunned the thief, allowing John to wrap his forearms around the young stallion’s neck and put him in an arm lock. This didn’t stop the knife, though, but he had a pretty good idea as to what would. Without letting go of his neck, John brought one hoof back and punched his horn hard, causing the young stallion to cry out in pain and drop the knife. Huh… I’ll keep that in mind next time I fight a unicorn.

“Come on!” John Redwoods held on tight to the now-crying unicorn as he walked out of the alleyway, practically dragging him all the way back to the fountain and to a weeping mint-green unicorn mare. He smiled when he saw Vinyl and the others trying to comfort her. “Excuse me, miss?” He stopped in front of the bench and let go of the stallion, thrusting him forward until he was practically kneeling at her hooves. “I want you to tell her that you’re sorry, then give her purse back.”

The stallion looked up at her. “I’m… I’m s-sorry for taking your purse…” His saddlebags were opened with his magic, and a small purse was levitated out of it and hovered in front of the now wide-eyed mare, who gently took it and held it close. He then turned around and looked up at John, who smiled.

“Thank you. You’re free to go now.” And with that, the young pony ran off, leaving John and the others to watch him go. Once he was out of sight, the red stallion sighed before looking back at the mare. “Are you alright, ma’am?”

The mint-green mare smiled shyly and brushed a lock of her cyan mane out of her eyes, her cheeks glowing red. “Y-yes, I am…” She wiped a few stray tears from her eyes. “Thank you very much.”

John smiled and nodded. “It was nothing at all. After all, I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to help a cute lady such as yourself.” Night Angel let out an exasperated groan, but the mare simply giggled.

“Vinyl, you never told me that you’re friends with such a handsome stallion.” She said to Vinyl.

“Oh yeah, totally!” Vinyl hopped off of the bench and wrapped a fore leg around the Assassin. “My buddy right here is a hot one, isn’t he? This here is… is…” Jesus fuck, Vinyl. Could you not be any more subtle? “Double Shot.” John deadpanned on the inside. Wait, what? “Double Shot? This is my good friend Lyra Heartstrings, the local lyrist and one of the prettiest mares in Ponyville.” Lyra’s blush only intensified, and Night Angel began to bang his head into the fountain ring.

“Heh, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Heartstrings.”

“Likewise, Double Shot.” Lyra smiled at him. “You know… I saw you earlier today at the hospital, but other than that, I haven’t seen you in here in town before. Are you new here?”

Once again, Vinyl spoke for him. “Yeah, he just moved here from Manehatten with his brother, who’s still back at their house waiting for him.”

“Okay… But… Why were you fighting with that guard? Were you in trouble or something?” It was John’s turn to lie this time.

“No, it’s nothing like that.” He said with a chuckle. “You see, my friend and I were hired by the Royal Guard to participate in an ‘unofficial’ training exercise. We’re combat experts, I guess you could say, and they wanted for us to make it as real as possible for the new trainee’s that they had posted at the hospital.”

“Is that why Princess Celestia was there? She looked kind of… Well, mad.” Oh, fuck. Think, think, think! Right as John was about to break his composure, Vinyl stepped in and saved him again.

“Things just got a little outta hand when I accidently got involved, so the Captain got mad which caused them to start fighting, which then pissed Celestia off.”

“Ah, I see…” She let out a contented sigh before carefully standing up. “Well, as much as I would love to stick around, I have a couple of things I have to do. But… Maybe we can hang out some other time?” John replied with a warm smile.

“I would love to.”

Lyra giggled to herself as she walked away. “See ya later, Vinyl!”

“Later, Lyra!” Once she was out of earshot, Vinyl started snickering uncontrollably. “Damn, I didn’t know you were down to start banging a mare!” John let out an exasperated groan, and she began to laugh out loud.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. But Double Shot? Where did you come up with that name?” Vinyl held a hoof up until she could regain her composure.

“Hoo! Yeah… Okay! So, I was thinking about a few names that I could give you, but none of them sounded very good. Then I started thinking about alcohol, and then I thought about a double shot of whiskey and then BAM! There’s your new name!”

John was silent for a minute before he chuckled. “I like that name, actually. It kinda fits since I used to be a bartender as one of my undercover jobs back home… Double Shot… Yeah, I like that! But what about Mister ‘Stop flirting with ponies’ over there?”

“I only disapprove because they are ponies, not humans!” Night Angel snapped back in a hushed tone.

John smirked. “Says the one who admitted to staring at a pony’s ass.” Night’s cheeks turned red, and John and Vinyl laughed.

“Okay, okay, let’s get serious… Hm…” Vinyl scratched her chin. “How about… Moonlight… Shadow?” John looked at her confusedly.

“Which one is it? ‘Moonlight’ or ‘Shadow?’”

“Well, duh! I’m talking about both! Moonlight Shadow!” Vinyl smiled. “I mean, come on, dude! That’s a pretty badass name!” Her smile grew wider when she saw Night Angel’s face scrunch up in thought, and her eyes beamed when he smiled and nodded.

“Bene, I like it. Moonlight Shadow is now my new alias.” He smirked at Vinyl. “You know, you would make a pretty good Assassin. You seem like a natural with your ability to create stories to mislead your enemies.” Vinyl waved a hoof at him dismissively.

“Eh, it’s just something that I learned how to do growing up, you know? But thanks for the compliment.”

John smiled. “I think this day has been rather nice, even though it was pretty confusing and rather eventful since we’re in a new world and all that jazz. But you know, I think the best part was meeting you guys… Thanks a lot for being there for us, Vinyl, and thank you for being nothing but helpful, kind, and understanding.”

“Holy shit, dude… Did you just get sappy on me?” Vinyl said with a laugh, one that everyone joined in on.

“Yeah… I guess I did…” He smiled. I like this place already…

“I think we should all head back to the castle.” Spike said suddenly. “If you want to, Vinyl, you can stay with us until your roommate gets back.” Vinyl’s eyes went wide.

“A chance to stay in the Princess’ castle?” She grinned. “Fuck yeah! That would be sick!” Her grin then turned into a sly one. “Maybe I can stay with one of you guys tonight…”

John laughed. “You told me to keep my dick in my pants, and apparently now you want to sleep in my room tonight? Why the hell not! You can have the bed, and I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Sure! Sounds like a plan!” She responded with a laugh of her own.

And so, John and the others walked back to the castle, laughing and throwing jokes at each other the entire way. Today, John thought that this day would bring nothing but trouble, but it turned out to be quite the opposite once again. He had made a few new friends, and he was now talking to his infamous ancestor. This day was probably one of the best ones he had ever had… Okay, yeah, forget that. He had just gotten transported to a world filled with talking ponies, and he was even starting to flirt with them… But still, today wasn’t that bad.

Let’s see where this road takes us… He thought to himself.

Author's Note

So, I know that there might be a few questions here and there, and I will be answering those in the comments. But first, there's the issue behind John and Night Angel figuring out how to engage in swordplay with Shining Armor in their pony form.

Guys... John and Night Angel are Assassin's. They have been trained to fight using so many different weapons, especially with the sword. You don't just forget that training; it's a natural warrior's instinct. Then, there's the situation in which John is able to pick up the sword with his magic. This is just a sudden burst of magic, one that he doesn't know how to control yet. But, that doesn't mean that he won't eventually. This was just a simple surge of magic that enabled him to fight with his sword more effectively, but even then, he didn't know how to use it correctly because he dropped the sword every time he relaxed. This happened not once, but twice because he lost concentration on the magic he was using to hold his sword. He'll learn how to use it correctly, eventually. But until then, don't get mad at me about that, alright?... Okay, we're good!

And so, this is where I leave you! I'm currently working on the third chapter now, so hang in there, guys! Oh, and for those of you who are asking if there will be clop in this story, my answer to you is that there will be cloppy scenes here and there, just not in every chapter, okay?

Well, that's all the time I have for now. I'm Silver Chord of The Adventure Crew! And remember:

Adventure Awaits!