"My Sword is a tool of justice!"

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

Chapter 1 Author's Note

I really, really, really need some constructive criticism.

Chapter 1

You know, going to a convention is supposed to be really fun? It’s one of the few places a video game nerd can enjoy his favorite game with others who enjoy it just as much. Personally, I love Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. The ability to cut up just about anything and everything in the environment was just too cool to not love! And who else to cosplay as from that game than Raiden, otherwise known as Mr. Lightning Bolt, Jack the Ripper, or just Jack. Raiden is the main protagonist of the game, so why wouldn’t I go as him? Also, he shares his real name with me, so I kinda felt a connection with him. Using my engineering and metalshop skills I learned in high-school, I was able to design and manufacture a very rough costume based off of Raiden’s Second Cyborg armor, the one he gets after he is defeated by Jetstream Sam, visor, lower jaw and all.

The only part I wasn’t able to manufacture was the sword and it’s sheath, cause I was designing them at school, but forbidden from manufacturing them. Such bullshit... Oh, shit. Just realized I began spouting this on you without even letting you know who I was. My name is Jack, Jack Crane and I was a freshman in college, before I went to that Comicon.

Going to the Con, it did start out as really fun, that I swear. Tons of other otakus, gamers, and fanatics of everything that isn’t considered fully normal by the social norm, all in one place that we can share our fanaticism without being judged harshly. The one part I didn’t like however, was having to wait outside for entry. God dammit… I had been biking over on my friend’s old Chopper, painted plain black to match the chopper from the game, that he had lent me for the convention, in the full-metal armor I had made for this! The harsh beating sun was heating up the suit, almost feeling like I was cooking underneath my armor. Thankfully, I was able to get inside before I passed out from the heat, the air-con inside the convention hall doing wonders for me.

Beginning to walk around the crowded convention center, I reached inside the small pocket I had made in my armor to make sure my wallet, smart phone, and keys for the chopper were inside. I had decided to bring two hundred and fifty dollars to the Convention today, just in case there was something I really needed/wanted, like some rare piece of memorabilia or prop. Thankfully, each and every single one of them was inside the pocket. With that done, I explored the convention hall.

I had been walking around the hall for the entirety of the day, going to little stalls and stuff, but nothing had really caught my eye, unfortunately. I had been hoping that I could find a suitable prop to use as a sword, for the reasons that I mentioned earlier. Most of the goers to the con had already left, with only the most dedicated of fans staying. Or those who were still trying to find something badass to buy, like me. I had already almost given up hope that I would find a suitable blade today, when I saw a small stand in the corner, with no-one else really paying attention to it, which I found strange. All over the stand was really incredible looking props from various games, animes, movies and everything in-between. I saw a Omnitrix, a Power Morpher, what looked like the iron helmet from Skyrim, and a metric ton of other cool props.

What really caught my eye however, was what I had been looking for the entire day. Right there, on a bloody pedestal, was something that I thought I would never see. The sheath from Raiden’s second-cyborg body, but something was off. The grip of the sword contained within the sheath wasn’t from the normal High-Frequency blade, there actually was a tsuba on the top, and the guard was black and grey.

Lifting the sheath off the pedestal, I moved it over towards my back, where it seemed to snap to the metal of the costume. “Whoa…” I muttered quietly to myself, drawing the blade slowly. As I thought, it wasn’t the default High-Frequency blade, instead it was the Murasama, the blade that Raiden gets at the boss fight. The blood-red blade shined in the bright lights of the convention hall, reflecting my costumed-face. Running my finger across the edge of the blade, I was surprised to see it cut into the metal of my armor slightly. “That’s sharp…” I muttered to myself, still looking over the quality of the blade.

I stood for so long admiring the quality of the blade, that I didn’t notice someone walking up behind me. “Excuse me stranger…” A deep, raspy voice said from directly behind me. To say I jumped would be an understatement, almost taking the guy’s head off with a panicked slash of the blade as I whipped around.

A man dressed exactly as the Merchant from Resident Evil 4 had ducked underneath my swing, “Careful there stranger!” He exclaimed, moving back into a standard position. “You could take someone’s head off with that!”

I let out a breath, trying to calm myself down slightly. “S-sorry.” I said shakily, “You scared me.”

The Merchant let out a snort, “Well most people don’t just up and try to take someone's wares.” He glanced at the blade I had picked up, “It’s a nice sword, innit?.”

I nodded, my gaze almost glued to the shine of the blade, “Beautiful...” I said softly, before tearing my gaze from the sword and back to The Merchant, “How much?”

The Merchant inspected me, remaining silent for what seemed like hours, “$300.” He finally said.

Almost as if I was a balloon being popped, all of the excitement and wonder from the blade drained out of me. “That’s… More than I have…” I said sadly.

The Merchant gazed at me, more intently than before. “Tell you what stranger,” He said, “Despite you almost taking off my head, I’ll take it for $200.” He looked around the emptying hall, “The day’s almost over anyway, and no one else has been over here.”

I almost lit up like a Christmas tree when he said that, “Seriously!?” When he nodded, I couldn't been more ecstatic. “Thanks mate!” I said, handing over the $200, before putting the blade back in it’s sheath. “Have a good evening mate!” I said to him as I began to walk away.

I had my fill of the convention for the day, so I had decided to go back to the hotel to relax and prep for tomorrow. When I walked outside the hall, I noticed that the sun had already set, and the moon was just beginning to rise.

Reaching the location where I parked the Chopper, I moved to turn on the bike, only for a laugh to echo throughout the parking lot. Stiffening, I slowly reached behind my back to grab the Murasama as the laughter began to take on a more manic sound to it. Drawing the blade out of the sheath with a soft shiiiiing, the laughter began to grow in loudness and intensity.

A new sound began to echo throughout the area, the sound of crackling electricity drew my attention to the blade. The once serene blade was now arcing with electrical energy, as the manic laughter grew further in laughter and intensity. I brought my hands up to my ears in an attempt to block out the laughter, only to realize that the laughter was coming from inside my head. I let out an ear piercing scream as the world blacked out around me.

A groan escaped my lips as I began to regain consciousness. “W-what the hell happened?” I muttered, before noticing my voice sounding slightly different. “What the fuck is wrong with my voice…” I groaned as I opened my eyes. My vision was filled with things usually reserved for a H.U.D, such as Health, Energy, and a Minimap.

Staring wide-eyed for a moment, then blinking hard had no effect on the HUD in my vision. “OK… Seriously… What the fuck!?” I exclaimed in a panic as I shot up to my feet, only to move a couple feet higher than I meant to. Crashing down on the earth face-first, I growled, spitting out dirt before pausing. The metal jaw I had attached with face-glue was now moving with far more freedom than it had before.

Moving one of my hands to my metal jaw, I was freaked out to not only feel my finger on the metal jaw, but also the feeling of the metal jaw on my gloved hand. Managing to get into a sitting position, I looked over myself. The once very rough cyborg body looked exactly the same in every detail to the one from the game. Giving a light tap to my chest, I was shocked to feel it as if I was touching my own skin. “W-what the fuck!?” I repeated, this time barely less than a shout. “What the hell happened to me!?”

I was interrupted by the rustling of some previously unnoticed bushes. Trying and partially succeeding to get into a standing position, I stumbled into some other bushes, which gave me some time to examine my surroundings. I seemed to be in a clearing in maybe a forest? No… scratch the forest, not with the massive castle in the distance. Probably a park or courtyard. After a couple more moments, what looked like a little kid rush into the clearing I was in. It only took a second for me to realize that the little kid didn’t look normal. It looked like a little girl, but she had pale yellow fur on her body instead of skin. She was wearing a white formal dress, like a little girl would wear to a wedding as the flower girl, but with a bright red bow on top of her pinkish-reddish hair.

As she ran towards me, I noticed a specific look on her face. That of pure utter terror. Something was chasing this girl. As she sprinted full speed towards me, she tripped over a rock in the glen, falling onto her chest. The next moment, four human-like creatures with grey, chitin-like skin underneath similar armor armed with rough-looking, almost Falmer-like swords poured out of the forest, grinning cruelly at the little girl trembling on the ground.

One of the humanoids looked over to his compatriots, “We were only told to bring her back, no-one specified in what condition…” The rest of his party laughed ominously at what he was suggesting, causing the little girl to shake even further.

As I crouched there, in the bushes, hearing what those… Bastards were saying, I got angry. Angrier than I had ever gotten before. Fuck not knowing what the hell was happening, this girl was gonna be raped, and I needed to do something!

The humanoid closest to the girl leaned over her, a leery grin on his face, which showed the cruel eagerness of what it planned to do. “You’re gonna-” He began to say, reaching out an arm, before screaming out in pain, said arm now on the ground, green blood oozing out of the severed stump.

I stood over the girl protectively, the Murasama arcing with electrical energy, “You even think about touching her…” I growled at the bastards, my uncovered eye flashing red, “You die.”

The one who’s arm was missing didn’t respond to my threat, due to his extreme pain. The other three however responded in the worst way imaginable. For them. As the first one charged me, it’s sword in position for an overhead swipe, I maneuvered my blade enough to block the attack, and when he stumbled backwards from the recoil, I bisected him from groin to head, the two halves landing with a thump on the ground.

The next humanoid attacked me with a diagonal slash, which I ducked underneath. Using the momentary advantage, I thrust the Murasama through his chest, killing it. I looked around for the final humanoid, seeing him wisely fleeing the way he came. Placing the blade back within its sheath, I looked down towards the girl, seeing her frozen, not sure out of fear or shock. That might be better than shaking… I thought idly to myself as I knelt next to her, “Are you alright?” I asked her gently.

She stared up at me, her eyes wide. “W-what are ya?” She asked me, a noticeable southern accent on her voice.

I shook my head, a gentle smile on my face, “Not really sure at the moment.” My expression took a more serious look, “What happened here? Who were they?” I gestured around to the corpses.

The girl looked sick as she saw what I had done to them, “O-oh my Celestia… Y-you killed them…”

She looked about to have a panic attack, so I placed a hand on her shoulder and did my best to calm her down, “Hey, hey, it’s OK! It’s OK! What’s your name?” I asked her as gently as I could.

She took a deep breath, “A-apple Bloom.” She said to me, “M-mah name is Apple Bloom.”

I smiled at her, “Nice to meet you Apple Bloom, my name is…” I paused for a moment. I didn’t want to give my real name, but she still needed something to call me. “Call me Raiden.” I said with a small smirk, before it disappeared, my seriousness returning, “Who were those things, and why were they chasing you?”

Apple Bloom took another deep breath, “T-they’re called Changelings… Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were supposed to get married today… But ah guess Princess Cadence was the queen of the Changelings… They’re trying to take over Canterlot!”

I frowned, “I gotta stop this.” I still felt a bit of the anger rushing through me, “It’s not safe for you here, do you know of any safe places?”

Apple Bloom shook her head, “No… Ah haven’t been to Canterlot very often…”

My frown deepened, “Then you’ll have to come with me.” I said, reaching my hand to her, “I’ll protect you.”

Apple Bloom looked at my hand for a moment, before taking it. “A-alright...”

I smiled, picking her up onto my back and dashing towards the giant castle in the distance.

Chapter 2

I ran through the wooded area with Apple Bloom on my back, the sounds of combat growing louder. The woods seemed to be quite spacious, so it gave me some time to think over what the fuck was happening. ’I feel like I should be freaking out, should I be freaking out?’ I thought to myself idly, wondering if I should be feeling as calm as I was. ’I’m somewhere I’ve never heard of with my body changed big time, and just killed three sentient beings. I should be having a nervous breakdown by this point, but I’m as calm as if I was walking through the park.’ I spared a moment to look back at Apple Bloom, who was holding on tightly to me with her eyes shut tight. ’Poor kid… She shouldn’t be having to go through all this at her age.’ I scoffed mentally, ’I shouldn’t be having to go through this at my age.’

Looking back down at where I was running, I saw that the woods were ending, and I began to slow down. Outside the woods was a group of Changelings surrounding a couple humanoids, similar to Apple Bloom. Stopping by the edge of the woods, I spoke up to Apple Bloom, “Alright. This is where you get off for now.”

She opened her eyes to look at me, “Y-you’re gonna leave me here?” She spoke in a fearful tone.

I shook my head, “I’ll be right back. I promise.” She stared at me for a long moment, before nodding. I knelt down to allow Apple Bloom to get off of my back before stepping out into the open. “Stay hidden.” I told her quietly.

Apple Bloom nodded and ducked down behind a tree as I began to walk towards the group of Changelings. There was about 10 Changelings, most of them armed similarly to the ones I had fought before, except for one. One was taller and more heavily armored, and with a bigger blade than the others. That was probably the leader of the group. He was leaning over the captured humanoids, seemingly taunting them. One of the prisoners attempted to attack the leader, but she was held back by strong chains. Each one of them were wearing white formal dresses, similar to Apple Bloom's. Breaking into a run, I dashed towards the nearest Changeling, alerting them to my presence.

Speeding towards the leader, I attacked with an overhead slash, only for it to bounce off of his larger blade, which was able to move quicker than I could move the Murasama. The sudden recoil threw me for a moment, but that was all the leader needed to land a couple more hits on me, throwing me backwards onto the ground.

I grunted as I hit the dirt, my health dropping to 80%. Growling, I lept into a standing position from my prone position on the ground and sped towards the leader, managing a slash across the chest, only to backflip away from his retaliation, somehow. ’I really shouldn’t know how to do that!’ I thought to myself as I landed. The strike I landed on him seemed to do nothing, even as green blood dripped onto the ground. He stared at me, a smirk on his face, “It’s been awhile since I’ve faced something that challenged me.” He rasped, “Too bad it won’t last that much longer.”

My eyes narrowed at him, “That’s what you think.” I growled as I tightened my grip on the Murasama, “I’m won’t let you hurt anyone else.” I raised the sword over my head and pointed it at him, both hands on the grip.

The Changeling leader laughed at me, a sound that made me shiver. “Don’t interfere.” He told his troops, before looking back at me, “This is between me and him.”

I said nothing to this as we began to circle each other, the Changeling forces watching us with excitement. Looking him over, I desperately tried to find a weakness on him. ’One good thrust through the chest might end him,’ I thought to myself, ’But I’d need to get past his armor first.' My train of thought was abruptly disturbed as the Changeling leader charged me, his sword raised high over his head. Having been forced onto the defensive quickly, I barely managed to block his massive attack. Backstepping quickly, I tried to get some more room, but he was having none of that. He kept as close to me as he could, landing attack and attack on me, each one barely blockable.

Thinking hard, I ducked underneath a horizontal slash of his and kicked his legs out from under him, causing him to fall flat on his face. Moving fast, I lept overhead and as I came down, used the added force to stab right through his armor, ending him. Landing on my feet next to the corpse, green blood pooling around him, I glared at the troops, who stared at me with a mixture of fear and disbelief. “Who’s next!?” I growled, pointing the blood-stained blade towards them.

Predictably, after killing their leader in a most gruesome of ways, they all turned tail and ran towards the castle. Scoffing, I sheathed the Murasama and turned towards the captive humanoids. There were six of them, two with horns, two with wings, and two with neither. ’What the hell is this place!?’ I thought to myself, ’And what the hell is everyone?’ Shaking my head almost imperceptibly, I walked over to them and kneeled down infront of the first one. She had a horn, and lavender colored skin. Her hair was a dark purple, with a pink stripe running down through it. She was bound with just rope, unlike the one who had tried to attack the leader, who was bound with chains. Her horn was encircled with a strange, ring-like object, and her mouth was bound with what looked like a filthy rag. “I’m gonna get you out of these,” I said, hoping she wasn’t going to freak out. “Alright?”

Slowly, and after a moment, she nodded. Gently, I reached around her head to untie the rag. She took a deep breath as it came away from her mouth, “Th-thank you.” She gasped, clearly a bit needy for air. “You saved us.”

"Don't mention it." I told her, snapping the ropes that bound her wrists. "What's that thing on your horn?” I asked her.

As she rubbed her wrist, she groaned, “It’s called a magical inhibitor. As you can probably guess, it cancels out a Unicorn’s magic.”

I blinked, “Unicorns and magic… Yeah, sure…” I muttered, ’What the hell is this place?' Shaking my head, I spoke up again, “Need some help taking it off?”

She nodded, “Yes. When someone places it on a unicorn, it syncs itself with that user's magic, so that it can’t be removed by the one it was placed on.”

I nodded again, “This is so fucking weird…” I muttered quietly as I reached up and grabbed the inhibitor. “What’s your name?” I asked her, “And what are you?” I added, trying to be the least rude-sounding as possible.

She paused for a moment, “You… Don’t know what I am?” She sounded like I was crazy.

“Would I have asked if I didn’t know?” I said, finally managing to get the horn inhibitor off, “Ahh, there.” I said, crushing it in my grip.

She blinked for a moment, “I’m a Unicorn…” She said, poking her horn. “This kinda gives that away.”

I shrugged, “Alright… And your name?”

The Unicorn paused, “Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.”

I smiled, “Nice too meet you Twilight Sparkle, you can call me Raiden.” A muffled yell from next to us drew our attention. The blue one with wings was glaring at us angrily, the chains that bound her rattling. “You said Unicorns had magic, right?” I asked Twilight, who nodded, “Can you use it to get these guys unbound? I’ve got someone to get quick.” I told her, as I began walking back towards the woods, where I found Apple Bloom peaking out from behind a tree.

She looked up at me as I approached, “Is it safe?”

I nodded, “Those Changelings aren’t gonna hurt you now.” I picked her up gently, and placed her on my shoulder, before walking back to the group.

As I approached the group, one of the humanoids that was bound, an orange furred, blond haired woman with a stetson let out an incredibly large gasp and raced towards me, “APPLE BLOOM!” She all but roared.

Apple Bloom lept from my arm and was swept up by the woman into a fierce hug. “Applejack!” Apple Bloom yelled, “Yer Okay!”

“Course Ah’m alright ‘Bloom,” The woman, Applejack, said, “You think some Changelings would hurt me?”

“I’m assuming you two know each other?” I inquired, touched by the closeness the two shared.

“This is mah older sister!” AppleBloom told me, before turning back to Applejack, “This is Raiden! He saved me from some Changelings.”

Applejack looked down to her, surprise in her eyes, “He did?” At Apple Bloom’s nod, she looked up at me, thankfulness in her eyes, “Thank ya.” She told me.

“Don’t mention it.” I said again, before looking over at everyone. “Now. What’s going on? Apple Bloom told me about a queen and that she’s taking over Canterlot…”

Twilight gasped, “That’s right! We have to hurry!” She looked towards me, “Raiden… I know you’ve done so much for us already… But could you help us?”

I did my best to smirk with my metal jaw, “You didn’t even need to ask. Alright, which ones of you can hold your own in a fight?”

The blue woman with wings gave a cocky smirk and pointed to herself with her thumb, “I can!” She boasted, “My names Rainbow Dash! I’m the fastest flyer in Equestria, and I have a black belt in Karate!”

Applejack looked towards me, “Ah reckon ah can hold mah own against these varmints.” She pulled out a whip from… somewhere and did a few roundhouse kicks to demonstrate.

The pink woman with neither a horn or wings smiled hugely, “Ooh ooh!” She bounced around with her hand in the air, “I can! I can!” She pulled out a cannon, a fucking cannon from literally nowhere and started swinging it around like it was nothing. I heard Applejack mutter something about Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie, so I assumed that was her name.

Finally, Twilight spoke up, “My magic will help a lot.” She looked away, “At least, I hope so.”

I nodded, then looked towards the two who hadn’t spoken up, “And what about you two?” I questioned.

The butter yellow woman with wings hid behind her long pink hair, “My... my name’s Fluttershy…” Her voice went so quiet that, had I still had my normal hearing, I would not be able to tell what she said. Thankfully, now with my cyborg senses, I could clearly hear what she said.

The white Unicorn pushed up her curls, “My name is Rarity, fashion designer extraordinaire!” She paused, “And while I assure you, I could hold my own against these… Ruffians…” She shuddered as she spied the dead corpse, “Wouldn’t it be prudent to have somepony or two bring Apple Bloom to safety?”

I nodded, “Good idea. You two, go bring Apple Bloom somewhere safe and stay there. We’ll find you once it’s all over.” They nodded, one brimming with confidence and the other very nervous, before heading off with Apple Bloom to find somewhere safe. “Alright,” I spoke, looking back at Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “Let’s get going.” And so we went off to take back Canterlot.

Chapter 3

The streets of Canterlot were eerily silent as Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and I snuck through them. It was honestly really creepy. The houses, clean, white and obviously taken well care of now seemed more appropriate for a horror movie. Doors stood ajar, and shutters on the upper windows creaked ominously in the slight breeze.

It did make it easier to stay undetected though. The sound of every footfall from a nearby patrol seemed to be magnified a hundredfold, causing us to freeze in panic, waiting in absolute silence for them to pass. We crept past a playground, a swing still swinging and a merry-go-round still moving slowly in the breeze. At one point as we were walking, I couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “How close are we?” I quietly whispered to them.

Twilight glanced around, “We’re getting close.” She whispered back, “There should be a back entrance that we can sneak through. It leads to the kitchens.” I nodded, but she wasn’t done talking yet. “What are you, Raiden?” She asked me, “In all of my studies, I’ve never seen anything like you.”

I thought for a moment, ’How to tell her…’ After a minute, I replied, “Do you know what a robot is?”

Twilight nodded, “A machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, especially one programmable by a computer.”

I nodded, “And are you familiar with the concept of a cyborg?”

She nodded again, “Yeah, somepony with robotic enhancements. But that’s all fiction, there isn’t such a thing as a real cyborg.”

I snorted, deciding to ignore the use of “somepony”, “Well, you’re looking at a fully fledged custom made cyborg.”

Twilight stopped short, “T-that’s impossible!” She exclaimed way too loudly, her voice echoed loudly throughout the nearby area, “The technology needed to create something like a cyborg is far beyond what we have on Equus!”

I made to reply, only to hear a bunch of footfalls from a couple streets over. “They’re coming!” I hissed, grabbing Twilight and pulling her into a nearby alley. Everyone else seemed to also get the hint, running behind other objects in an attempt to hide.

Twilight and I crouched behind a dumpster, which smelled terrible by the way, her still staring at me with a mixture of shock and scepticism, “There’s no way that you can be a cyborg!” She whisper-yelled at me, “It’s scientifically impossible!”

I groaned, turning back to face her, “I think we have more important things to worry about!” I hissed, “We can talk after we take back Canterlot.” After a moment, she nodded, and I turned back to face the street, Twilight thankfully pacified for now.

The sounds of footfalls became louder, and soon enough, a large group of Changelings came into view, at least four times larger than the group I faced. “Are you sure the voice came from here?” The squad-leader asked. He was similar to the one I had faced before, taller, more heavily armored than the others, and a massive two-handed sword. This one had a scar running across his face and one eye. This one was a veteran fighter.

One of the other Changelings nodded. He was less armored than even the standard footsoldier, with what looked like the Changeling equivalent of leather armor, and with two short-swords on his hips. “Yes sir. They must of heard us coming and hid.”

The squad-leader nodded, “Spread out! They can’t have gotten far!” He ordered his troops. They spread out, moving around the street and the nearby alleys. A few came over to the alley that Twilight and I were hiding in.

They came closer and closer, until suddenly, a loud yell drew the attention of the small group of Changelings from us. Moving quickly, I leaped up and stabbed the Murasama through one of the Changeling’s chests, before punching the other in the head, knocking him out cold. Looking into the alley, to my horror I saw Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack being held with swords to their neck, the leader Changeling staring straight at me. “So, you’re the unknown warrior that my troops have reported.” He said, “You took out Commander Strike. Impressive.”

I did my best to keep calm, even as I leveled my sword at him. “Let them go,” I said, “This doesn’t have to end in bloodshed.”

The squad-leader nodded, “You’re right on that regard. This doesn’t have to end in bloodshed.” He glanced at the three captive Ponies before looking back at me, “Surrender, and I won’t harm anyone. I swear upon my queen,” He told me, “But if you don’t…” The soldiers holding Pinkie, Rainbow and Applejack brought the swords closer to their necks, “I will have no choice but to kill them.”

I snarled at the leader, “You son of a bitch!” I tightened the grip on my sword, “They’re unarmed combatants! Face me, and let them go!”

The squad-leader glared at me, “Do you think me for a fool? Commander Strike was a skilled combatant, but he was too easily riled up, too easy for one to trick him into one on one combat. You will not find me the same. Now.” He motioned to his troops, “Surrender, or I will be forced to kill them.”

I growled, trying to think of a way out of this, ’Come on… What to do…’ There was no way out of it. If I didn’t surrender, there was no way I could make it to them in time, but if we did, they would bind us, and we would be in the same position as we were in before. Even if the squad-leader keeps his word, we would still be brought to the Queen... ’Wait a minute…’ I stopped as a thought hit me. It was an absolutely insane plan, but if it worked…

I sighed, lowering my sword, “Fine. I surrender.”

Twilight gaped at me as troops moved to bind us, “What are you doing!?” She screeched, trying to push the soldiers off of her, “We need to fight back!”

I made no move to stop the Changeling soldiers binding my wrists with similar chains to that Rainbow had been earlier, “We can’t fight back if we’re dead.” I told her as my sword was taken away.

Twilight continued to resist as she was bound. She, along with everyone else, were glaring at me as I was pulled over to the squad-leader, who looked at me in a different light, “Thank you.” He told me quietly as he began to pull me along, the murasama in his other hand. “I did not wish to kill anyone else.”

I snorted, “Coulda fooled me.” I muttered, before turning to him, “Make sure you make good on your promise.”

He nodded, “I swore that I would not harm them, and I shall keep that oath.” We all walked along, Rainbow, Applejack and Twilight still trying to get free. Pinkie was, strangely enough, conversing with the troops that were keeping guard on her. They seemed surprised that she didn’t seem scared of them, even as they held her at swordpoint. “Answer me something, warrior.” The squad-leader said to me without looking at me.

I glanced at him before looking back ahead, “My name is Raiden.”

The squad-leader snorted, “Fine then, answer me something, Raiden,” He said the word like it was exotic, which I suppose it was, “You clearly are from somewhere far away. Why come to the aid of the Ponies? It wasn’t your fight.”

“The first thing I saw of the invasion was three Changeling troops chasing a little girl with the intent to rape her.” I growled, making him look at me in shock, “What did you expect me to do?”

The squad-leader’s face set itself into a hard look, “I will make sure that they are court-martialed for that.” He growled, which took me by surprise.

Shrugging off my surprise, I snorted, “Good luck when two thirds of that group are dead.” I fell silent as we moved towards the castle. “Since I answered one of your questions, I’d like it if you answered one of mine.” The squad-leader nodded, so I went on, “Where are we going?” He gave me a disbelieving look, “All of us are bound. It’s not like we can break free.”

The squad-leader sighed, “Queen Chrysalis wishes to see the Elements of Harmony before her, and the one who killed some of her children.”

It was easier than I had expected to keep the smirk off of my face, but something he said caught my attention, “Her… Children?” I questioned, unsure, “Do you mean in a literal sense or…”

The squad-leader snorted, “I’ve said enough.” Then, he refused to say more. We walked in silence, other than the endless chatting of Pinkie Pie, which I quickly tuned out. Surprisingly easy when you’re mostly machine. We rounded a corner, and the main palace came into view. It was almost like a long corridor, with buildings on either side and Changeling troops milling about. Everyone moved to the sides as we approached, hissing and jeering at the girls, but snarling at me. Clearly, no one liked me.

At the very end of the ‘corridor’, there was a set of stairs that led to the main entrance. As we approached, a few Changelings attempted to grab the girls, but the squad-leader’s glare made them think otherwise. “No one is to touch them,” he intoned, “Is that understood?” The Changelings nodded, but didn’t seem to like it.

We walked up the stairs, and the ornate golden doors began to loudly creak open. “Someone needs to use some WD-40 on that thing…” I muttered, somewhat irked by the loud noise. I was pushed forwards for my quip, causing me to stumble slightly. Regaining my footing, I glared back at the squad-leader, whose face was just as it was before as he walked past me. Sighing, I walked forward, the squad-leader pulling me along. “I never got your name.” I said to him.

The squad-leader shook his head, “It would do you no good to know it now.”

“Dying man’s last wish?” I asked him, feeling strangely curious to know his name.

He snorted. “My name is Mandible,” was all he said before he fell into silence as he led us through the corridors of the palace. All of us walked in silence, even Pinkie Pie.

The hallways were dark, silent, and oppressive, and we passed by many a room filled with glowing green cocoons. I turned to Mandible, “What are those cocoons?”

It was Twilight who spoke up, “Changelings use them to hold Ponies in while they drain the positive emotions from them for sustenance.” She basically growled. “Leaving them as no more than husks who can feel nothing but negativity.”

I had glanced back towards Twilight as she said this, but I still noticed Mandible grimacing. Thinking on it, I decided to keep my mouth shut. We reached a set of very ornate, not to mention huge, doors. Seriously, these doors made a fucking Semi look small! The doors opened as we neared, this one a deep groaning rumble that shook us all to the core. “I would recommend being polite to the Queen.” Mandible advised us, “And she might be disposed towards showing you mercy.”

We entered what looked to be some kind of event hall, which was filled with masses of the same green cocoons. The room seemed to be bare of any living creatures, barring a small group on the other side of the room. Most of them seemed to be kneeling, while one stood over them triumphantly. As the door closed behind us, the figure took notice of us and smirked. “You were saying?” A decidedly female voice said, but there was something… Off… About it? The figure sauntered over towards us, and I was able to make out her figure better. She was a good few inches taller than me, with a figure that most females would kill to have, with breasts about the size of my head, and an ass to match.

Like all other Changelings, this one had chitinous skin, albeit slightly smoother looking. She had more differences than the average Changelings too. She had hair, for one, and a crown-like growth going through her hair, as well as a horn. As she came up to us, I could see her eyes actually had pupils, unlike the other Changelings, who had more compound-looking eyes. Her smirk grew as she regarded us, revealing fangs. “You do realize the reception’s over?” She said to her Changeling minions, “Go! Feed!”

Her minions nodded, and did some weird bow with their fists on their chests before leaving the room, save for Mandible. The figure regarded me once more, “So, you’re the one who slayed my children?” She said to me, her voice reaching a deadly tone. I assumed that this was Queen Chrysalis.

I stared back into her eyes, “When you see them attempting to rape a young girl, it kinda colors your perspective of them.” I said calmly. I took a bit of pleasure seeing the slight widening of her eyes, “Also, are you really their biological mother?” I questioned, “Cause Mandible mentioned it, and it’s been bugging me.”

Chrysalis stared at me, and I imagined that everyone else was, too. Suddenly, Chrysalis began laughing, “I may not like you,” She said as she calmed down slightly, “But at least I can respect your courage before you die.” She took a breath, “As to your question, no, I am not their biological mother.” She said, “But I treat every Changeling born in my hive as if they were my own child,” I finally realized what was off about her voice. It was as if two people were saying the same thing, slightly out of sync.

I frowned, “Is that voice thing normal for you, or is there something extra that makes it happen?” I asked. “‘Cause it’s kinda tough to understand what you’re saying sometimes.”

This time, I didn’t have to imagine everyone’s reactions. I could hear the group behind me make noises of disbelief, besides a giggle from Pinkie. Chrysalis stared at me, “I do believe I will enjoy killing you.”

I shrugged, “Good luck with that.” I said, almost nonchalantly. “I mean, the first time I’ve ever fought for my life was maybe an hour or two ago,” I said, “But…” With a quick flick of my wrists, I broke apart the chains holding them. Roundhouse-kicking to the side, I caught Mandible across the side of the head, knocking him out, before grabbing my sword and holding it to Chrysalis’s neck. “I’m incredibly tough to kill.”

Chrysalis reacted quickly, knocking me backwards towards the group. I took the sudden distance between us to cut the ropes binding Twilight. “All of you, go help them over there!” I told them, pointing to the group kneeling where Chrysalis was. They nodded and rushed over there.

Chrysalis attempted to stop them, but was forced to backstep as I attempted a leaping vertical slash at her, the Murasama slicing into the solid stone floor. Chrysalis’s horn lit up, and a halberd appeared in her hands, with which she managed to block my next horizontal slash. She then tried to stab me with the spear part of the weapon. I jumped over the stab and managed a diagonal slash on her face, causing a wicked scar. Turning around as I landed, I saw green blood drip onto the ground as Chrysalis held her head. She whipped around to face me, moving her hand from her face to hold her blade. The wound I had dealt her was already beginning to heal, and as she charged at me not a moment later, it was as if it had never happened. “I’ll kill you!” She roared, using the blunt end of the blade to knock me upside the head, stunning me.

That was all she needed to deal a multitude of hits on me. My health rapidly drained, from 80% down to 40%. With one final blow, she knocked me back. I flew backwards, landing just short of the group that I had sent Twilight and the others to help. Groaning, I managed to stand and hold my sword in a good stance. Chrysalis laughed, her previous smug confidence back in full force. “When you die, I’ll have the pleasure of draining each of the beautiful mares behind you…” She licked her lips, “It’s sure to be… delectable…”

As she said that, something snapped. Like before with Apple Bloom, the thought of this bitch raping the women behind me got me pissed. My mouth twisted into as much of a snarl as it could manage, I gripped the handle of the Murasama tighter, and my single showing eye flashed red. “Just try it,” I growled, “They’ll be scraping you off the walls when I’m through.”

She laughed once again, “I’ve broken stronger than them. By the time I’m done, their only existence will be serving-” I’d had enough of her bitchiness. With a roar, I charged at her, sword aimed straight at her heart. She managed to block just in time, but I wasn’t done. I kept up, slashing and stabbing at each possible moment. Although Chrysalis managed to block each one, I could see a crack appear in the halberd where my blade continually struck it. ’One last strike!’ I thought to myself, ’That’s all I need!’

With one final roar, I swung, impacting the halberd with a loud clang. The weapon flew into two pieces, the blade impaling itself into the wall, leaving Chrysalis with the bottom half of the polearm.

I punched Chrysalis with my free hand, sending her flying onto the ground. Leaping up, I stood over her, my sword pointed at her head. “It’s over.” I said emotionlessly. “You’ve lost.” She stared up at me, before her face twisted into a maniacal grin.

The next second, all I could feel was a massive impact in my abdomen. Chrysalis had morphed her arm into a spike and had impaled me. With a laugh, she threw me across the room, impacting the wall and dropping my health to 5%. I somehow managed to stand, but Chrysalis was already striding towards me. ’Is this really how it’s gonna end?’ I thought to myself, ’Fighting a magical shape-shifting bug queen?’ My vision fell upon the group of Ponies. All of them were staring at me with worry and horror. My vision locked itself with Twilight’s. Her eyes seemed so sad… ’I’m not going to die.’

A new rush of determination hit me as Chrysalis pulled back her arm, now changed into a blade, which she raised above her head. “Enjoy the afterlife!” She yelled as she brought her arm down. My vision became tainted with blue, time appeared to slow down, and my energy meter began to drain. I smirked as I aimed for the center of Chrysalis’s blade-hand. I swung, cleaving straight through her arm. She screamed as the top half of the blade fell to the floor and the bottom half changed back into her arm, or at least a stump slightly above the elbow.

My vision turned back to normal as she fell to the floor, still screaming as I stood over it. “Yeah… I’m told that hurts.” I said, a slight smirk on my face. I turned back to the group, then grunted as I remembered the hole in my stomach. “Thank god for pain inhibitors.” I muttered.

Twilight suddenly rushed over. “Raiden!” she yelled, clearly distraught, “Raiden, are you alright?”

“Not… fully,” I grunted, turning to her. She gasped as she saw the hole in my stomach, “I won’t die from it, but unless I can heal this up, it will not be a fun time.”

Her horn lit up in a second, “I know a few healing spells. Let me help you.” As she cast the spell, my health didn’t go up, but my energy, which had been left at about 50%, began to rise drastically.

I put out a hand to stop her, “Stop.” Reluctantly, she did so, “I don’t have enough organic parts for that to work. I have a self-repair system of little nanomachines, but they need a specific energy type to activate.” I looked away, “Unless we have something like that here…”

Twilight thought about that for a moment, “Let me try something.” She finally said. Her horn lit up a bright Magenta color, and a moment later, I was enveloped in an aura of the same color. It felt… weird. And inconsistent. “Tell me if you can feel them activate.” She told me.

I rolled my eyes, but nodded, not really expecting anything to happen. And for a few moments, nothing did. But all of a sudden, I felt something change. Looking down, I saw the hole in my stomach beginning to shrink, and my health beginning to rise. “It’s working!” I said, amazed.

My health eventually capped out, leaving me just as healthy as before my fight. Twilight, however, was looking drained. She was swaying where she stood, and would’ve fallen had I not caught her. “That…” she said, “was tougher than I had imagined it would be… I’ll have to find a way to make that easier if I have to do it again.”

I nodded, before glancing back to Chrysalis, who was still on the floor as her hand slowly regenerated, her grimace of pain evident as she scowled at them. “What do we do with her?” I asked.

Twilight shrugged, and looked back to the group, prompting me to follow. Apart from Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, there was a Unicorn male with white fur and blue hair, and two beings I hadn’t seen before. Both were female, judging by the huge breasts on their chests, one white and one pink, but they both had wings and a horn. The white woman spoke up, “There has been enough death today.” She looked to Chrysalis, “We will lock her up in the dungeon while we figure out what to do with her.”

I nodded, then a thought occurred to me, “Wait, what about the army currently invading Canterlot?” I asked, “The rest of the snake doesn’t know we’ve just cut off it’s head.”

This time, the pink woman spoke up, “Changelings have a hive-mind. Chrysalis can inform the rest of the swarm, if she hasn’t already.”

I looked back towards Chrysalis, whose hand was almost done healing. After making sure Twilight could stand without me, I walked over to Chrysalis and squatted down next to her. “That hurt, didn’t it?” I asked. She spat at the ground in response. I ignored this and carried on, “If you don’t want to feel it again, I would recommend telling the rest of your swarm to stand down.” She refused to respond. I frowned, “Look, there's been enough bloodshed today. I promise that if you surrender, I’ll make sure your swarm is treated fairly for what they’ve done.”

She glared at me, “And what good is your promise!?” She spat the word, “You’ve killed my children!”

I stared back, “Because I fight for justice.” I said calmly, “I only killed when I saw no other option. You’ll be punished for what has happened, that’s irrefutable, but I promise you no more will happen to you than that.”

Chrysalis stared into my eyes-hers were actually very pretty-before sighing. “Fine…” She said, “My Children…” She said aloud, “The fight is over. Surrender.” She slumped down.

I spied a window showing a courtyard outside. Walking over and looking out it, I saw Changeling soldiers surrendering themselves to white-furred Ponies in gleaming gold armor. “They’re surrendering.” I informed the room.

Pinkie Pie started bouncing in joy. “WE DID IT!” she yelled excitedly. I couldn’t help but chuckle, sharing in her enthusiasm.

I walked back to the group, making sure to keep an eye on Chrysalis. Each of the new Ponies looked at me, not sure what to make of me. “Warrior,” the white woman said, “I am Princess Celestia, and on behalf of all Equestria, I wish to thank you.”

I started, not knowing that I was in the presence of royalty. I gave a bow, “It is a pleasure to meet you.” I paused for a moment, then decided it was time for the truth. “I told Twilight my name was Raiden, but that is not fully true.” Twilight gave me a look, “My true name is Jack. Jack Crane.”

Celestia nodded, “Well, Mr. Crane,” she began, “Once again, I wish to thank you for your help in saving our city.”

I smiled, “It was no trouble. As I said to Chrysalis, I fight for justice. Now...” I looked over the assembled Ponies and Changeling, “...I believe I remember something about a wedding?”

Chapter 4

Shortly after I had mentioned that to the assembled ponies, a small group of guards came to escort Chrysalis and the still unconscious Mandible to the dungeon. They put a nullifier-ring on her horn to nullify her magical powers and placed enchanted chains on her that she couldn’t break in her current condition. As she was escorted out of the room, she kept her head down to the floor, but I could see the small puddles created by the tears she was currently shedding.

Frowning, I turned away from her, looking back to Twilight and the rest of the group, who was animatedly discussing the things that needed to be done to get the wedding going again. “We’ll have to clear out the hall.” I caught Twilight saying as she looked around the wrecked room. “And get the ponies out of the cocoons.”

“I can help with the clearing up,” I said, taking in all of the wreckage. Large chunks of stone wall had been blasted apart, and thick stone columns had been knocked down. Moving over to one of the larger columns, I knelt down and grabbed it. Slowly but surely, it rose until it was resting on one of my shoulders. “Where would be a good place to put this?” I asked the group.

They all collectively blinked, seemingly shocked by my feat of strength. “Uh… Just over to the side.” The pink woman with wings and a horn said, pointing at a wall that seemed mostly intact.

I nodded, walking over nonchalantly before placing it down. I walked back and started to pick up another one, “Speaking of which, I don’t think I ever got your names.” I said, speaking in particular to the white man, and the pink woman with a horn and wings.

“My name is Cadence.” The pink woman said, “And this is my fiancee, Shining Armor.” She gestured to the white man. I took a glance at him. He looked rather… Dazed.

I looked back at Cadence, a slightly concerned look on my face. “Is, uh… is he alright?” I questioned, “He looks rather…” I searched for a suitable word, “...disoriented.”

Cadence sighed, “A side effect of Chrysalis draining him for an extended period of time,” she explained, “He should be better after a little while.”

I nodded, placing another piece of rubble off to the side. “What’s the easiest way to locate all of the people trapped in the palace?” I asked, grabbing another. “Can’t have a wedding without the guests.”

Celestia sighed, “Without a guard to cast a scanning spell that would scan large areas, we will have to search every room individually, and that would take us a long while.”

After placing down the last piece of rubble, a thought occurred to me. ’I wonder if I have the AR vision…’ Deciding to put my theory to the test, I concentrated on the visor. After a moment, the visor quickly flew in front of my face. My normal vision shut off for a moment before it was replaced by the blue of the Augmented Reality Mode.

Turning to face the other ponies, I saw that they were, instead of the normal red outline, each of them were a soft blue color. Looking at the still closed door and through the floors, I could see the too still figures of ponies most likely trapped in cocoons.

Deactivating AR mode, I turned back to the group. “I can see figures in a small amount of rooms on this floor and numerous on the floors below.” I said to them, “I can’t tell which ones specifically though.”

They all stared at me, “Now, how in the sam hell do you know that!?” Applejack exclaimed.

I activated the visor and tapped it. “Augmented Reality visor. It scans everything in about a 100 meter radius and sends it directly to my ocular implants.” I deactivated the visor, “It even lets me see things through walls and floors. I can’t tell you which rooms directly though. I can only see the people with any real definition. The rooms themselves are very basic outlines.” I shrugged, “From what I can tell, they all seem to be alive and well.”

Celestia nodded, “I’ll have a guard come by, so you can show him where they are.” I nodded as her horn lit up. “Is there any other special things you can do?”

I nodded, “I have something called Blade Mode. It supercharges my reflexes and supercharges the artificial muscle fibers in my arms.” Noting their blank expressions, I explained further, “The former allows me to slow the apparent passage of time, allowing me for super accurate attacks. The latter increases my strength exponentially, allowing for more lethal attacks.”

Applejack snorted, “Ah don’t think ya need to be more lethal, partner.”

I chuckled, “Here, probably not.” I paused, “It still saved my life against Chrysalis. If I hadn’t been able to activate that, Chrysalis would’ve killed me, and you’d have to stop her.”

Now, Twilight spoke up, “How are you acting so calm?” She asked me, “You just said you could’ve died, and yet you’re talking with us like we’re discussing the weather.”

I shrugged, “It could be adrenaline, or this… thing that cyborgs have that let them keep a clear head during a fight.” I reasoned, “I might be freaking out later though, cause if it is the things, I don’t know how long they last for.” I looked at the rest of them, “Any other questions?”

“Yeah, I got one.” Rainbow Dash said, “What’s up with that cloth?” She asked me, “You wear it to look ‘cool’ like a dork?”

I scoffed, “If only.” I lifted the cloth away from my face to show what was behind it. A few of them gasped as they saw the empty socket where my eye should be. “It was cut out. Completely destroyed.” I told them as I put the cloth back. “The fabric is laced with tiny micro-cameras, which lets me see better than if it was an actual eye.”

Rainbow looked away, abashed as the door opened. A small figure rushed past me and tackled Applejack to the ground, “Applejack, you’re alright!” The youthful voice of Apple Bloom cried out.

Applejack laughed as she hugged her younger sibling tightly, “Course ah am, ‘Bloom. No evil bug Queen gonna get the drop on us.”

“Yes, well,” The sophisticated voice of Rarity said from behind us, “I would rather that never happen again.” I turned around to see her and Fluttershy, slightly dirty and scuffed but unharmed. Behind them was a blue unicorn man, dressed in the same guard armor I had seen down below.

Rainbow snorted, “Knowing us, it’ll happen next week…” She muttered, before regarding Fluttershy, “You’re alright, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy blushed slightly, “Y-yes.” She squeaked out.

The guard walked up to me, saluting, “Sir, Corporal Shining Steel at your service.”

Slightly unnerved at the sight of someone saluting me like they would a general, I spoke up, “Uh… At ease.” His arm came down to rest at his side, “So, I’ll be showing you where the ponies trapped in cocoons will be?”

He nodded, “Yes, Sir.”

I shook my head, “Don’t call me sir. My name is Jack, or Raiden. Whichever is easier for you.”

He nodded hesitantly, “Alright… Jack.”

I nodded, turning to face the door, “Alright, follow me.”

So, it took a while, but we finally managed to find each and every pony trapped in a Changeling cocoon and bring them to medical assistance. Shining Steel and myself managed to get back in time for the wedding to start up again. Steel had to go with the guards, and I opted to stand in the back and watch. Celestia had just began to speak. “Mares and Gentlestallions,” she began, “We are here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza-”

Cadence interrupted her with a sheepish grin, “Just Cadence is fine.”

Celestia gave her a knowing grin as I looked at Cadence in a new light. ’She’s royalty, too?’ I thought to myself as Celestia started speaking again, “The union of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor,” She spoke, “The strength of their commitment is clear. The power of their love, undeniable.” She looked off to the side, “May we have the rings please?”

She looked over to the side where a youth in a tuxedo and top hat stood. His skin was purple with a small bit of green, but it wasn’t fur. It looked closer to Chrysalis’s chitin. He also had green fins where ears would normally be, and his bright green eyes were slited. ’We have equine races here, so why not a reptilian species?’ I reasoned to myself. In his hands, he held a small pillow with two rings on them.

The youth walked over to Celestia, and the rings lit up in a light gold color, as did her horn. The rings were slid gently onto the horns of both Cadence and Shining Armor, “I now pronounce you stallion and wife!” An almighty cheer broke out, both inside the wedding hall and outside in the courtyard as both Princess Cadence and Shining Armor walked over to a balcony that I had missed. The outside cheers grew exponentially as they waved to the crowd, big smiles on their faces.

As the rest of the service continued, I found myself not able to process what was happening fully. Eventually, as the wedding died down and the after-party began, I could only keep myself calm on the outside. Inside, I was panicking and having a general freak out. I managed to get out of the party hall and outside onto a balcony, where the moon and stars were shining brightly. Gasping for breath, I gripped the stone railing of the balcony so hard that it began to crack. ’Damnit… I can’t break down now!’ I tried to calm down and take longer, slower breaths.

“Art thou alright?” A voice said from behind me, making me jump. Behind me was a being like Cadence and Celestia, both wings and a horn. This newcomer was a dark blue with black, with hair of a deep blue hue with white spots, like stars in a night sky. Her eyes were a light teal, which seemed to shine with a inquisitive light. Her dress seemed to be the opposite of Celestia’s. Where the white Princess’s was white with gold highlights, almost like the sun, this one was a dark blue, similar to her fur, with silver highlights.

I gaped for a second before I got slightly back under control. “Uh… Yeah.” I say, “But… Uh… Who’re you?”

The blue mare gasps slightly, “Ah, please pardon us. Our name is Luna.” She gave me a small bow, “And we art a co-monarch of Equestria, alongside our sister, Celestia.” I nodded slowly as she studied me, “Art thee sure thine is alright?” She spied the crumbled railing, “Thy balcony could attest otherwise.”

I glanced back at the balcony, where the stone railing I was holding was now rubble, “Uh…” I rubbed the back of my head, “Yeah, sorry.”

Luna gave me another dubious stare, “Now, why doesn’t thou tell us what is troubling thee?”

I sighed as I turned back to the railing, looking over it to the night view of Canterlot City, “I’m… having a hard time coping with what happened today.”

Luna walked over to the balcony with me, “Yes, sister told us of what thou did. Quite brave, fighting the Changeling Queen in single combat.”

I snorted, “Fucking stupid if you ask me.” I groaned, “I’d been fighting for less than a hour and challenge someone not only far more experienced, but far, far more powerful.” I sighed, leaning over the railing, “I only won because she underestimated me.”

Luna smiled, leaning up against the railing next to me. “Still, incredibly brave of thou to risk thine life to save those of strangers they had just met.” Her shoulder rubbed up against me, “Some might say…” Her voice had lowered into a seductive whisper, “Attractively so…”

I yelped and leaped backwards towards the door, and if I had an organic face, I was damned sure it would be as red as a drunk leprechaun. “What!?” I stared at Luna, who had begun to laugh boisterously, “What the fuck!?”

Luna doubled over, her blue face turning a shade of purple from laughing, “Oh gods! Thou should’ve seen thine face!” She slumped against the stone railing, her laughter dying down to hiccup filled giggles. “Oh… Apologies, but we couldn’t resist.” She said with a good natured smile.

I growled, “Please don’t.” I said as she shakily stood up, still shaking slightly with laughter.

“Our apologies once more,” Luna said, smiling, before quieting down. “If thou truly are having trouble coping, then maybe thou should speak with somepony.”

Instantly, I was reminded of what I had said to Celestia and the others before, “That sounds good!” I said, with more calmness than I had been feeling for the past couple hours, “God, I can’t believe I forgot!” I turned to the door, pausing once I had opened it, “Thanks, Luna!” I said to her, before rushing back inside.

Instantly, as the door closed behind me, every single eye in the whole goddamned place was upon me. I felt myself freeze. ’You can tank a Changeling queen and yet you freeze up at this?’ I groaned mentally, ’God, I’m pathetic…’ Before I could make a move, a massive cheer went up throughout the room. “Three cheers for the hero of Canterlot!” A voice somewhere in the crowd rang out. “Hip Hip!” The voice yelled.

“Hooray!” The entire room finished.

“Hip Hip!”

“Hooray!”

“Hip Hip!”

“Hooray!”

As the final cheer died down, the room more or less died down to what I assumed it was before I came in. I walked through the crowded hall, towering over most of the people there as I attempted to find Celestia and Twilight. Unfortunately, in the massive hall, I couldn’t spot the white head of Celestia anywhere. “Greetings!” A voice to the side of me sounded. Turning, I saw a white unicorn with blond hair and incredibly expensive clothes, according to my built-in scanners. “My name is Prince Blueblood,” He said, “And I, for one, would like to thank the savior of Canterlot personally for his help.”

He looked around at everyone else, as if shaming them for not doing what he had done. “Uh… Hi,” I said finally, “My name is-”

“Raiden, or as you seem to prefer, Jack Crane,” Blueblood said, cutting me off, “Yes, I know. Information travels incredibly quickly to those who know what they’re doing.” He told me, giving me a slight smirk as he did so.

I eyed him suspiciously. There was something I didn’t trust about him, “Um… yeah, sure...” I said slowly, “I’m looking for Celestia, so if you’d excuse-”

“Oh, I know where she is!” Blueblood exclaimed, “Why don’t I show you where she is, to further show my appreciation for your actions?” Once more, he looked around disdainfully, shaming those who weren’t as grateful as he.

“Um… no, I think I’ll be ok with just you telling me,” I said, not comfortable going anywhere with this creep. ’Is this that stranger danger everyone talks about?’

Blueblood’s eyes narrowed for a moment, “Really, I must insist…” he said slowly, “The palace is very large. It is incredibly easy to get lost in such a magnificent palace.”

I frowned, “I’ll be fine. Trust me.” I pushed past him, “If you won't tell me, then I’ll find her myself.” I said just loud enough for him to hear me. I heard him snort as I walked away. Looking around, I located a guard at the wall of the hall. “Excuse me, sir?” I said walking up to the guard.

He jumped at the sight of me, giving me a hasty salute. “Sir! Yes, sir!” he said once he had regained his cool.

I frowned, still not fully comfortable with all the respect I was being given. “I’m looking for Princess Celestia,” I told him, “Do you know where she is?”

The guard nodded, “Yes, sir. She and Twilight Sparkle went to study a strange object that appeared during the invasion.”

My frown deepened, “Strange object?” ’Something of Chrysalis’s?’ I shook my head briefly, “Can you take me to this… Strange object?”

The guard nodded, “Of course, sir, I’ll take you to where the Princess and Ms. Sparkle are.” He walked out of the room, me following close behind. As I exited the room, I spotted Blueblood staring at me, almost inspecting me. With the metaphorical chill down my spine good and clearly there, the guard and I walked down a hallway leading god knows where.

We walked in silence for a long while through a hall of windows. Outside, we could see the rebuilding of Canterlot, or at least the start of it. I could see the telltale glow of unicorn magic starting to repair the buildings. Looking back at the guard, I could tell that he was a brown pegasus with tan wingtips. “What does this ‘strange object’ look like?” I asked the guard as we walked into an outdoor courtyard. “Does it look like it could be dangerous in any way?”

The guard shrugged, “It’s painted a dull black, and it has two wheels and a place where you could sit down.” He paused in his speech, “Other than that, no, it doesn’t look very dangerous. But it’s something we’ve never seen before, so it bears investigation.”

The second he said dull black with two wheels I knew exactly what it was. ’So, the chopper made it here too?’ I mused to myself, ’I wonder if the things in the saddlebags are ok…’ Deciding to place that specific thought to the side, I reached down to my left thigh to see if the pocket I had made was still there. In the excitement of the battle, I had completely forgotten about everything I had in there. Thankfully, the pocket was still there, but now, instead of an actual pocket, it was a container that slid into my leg, and when my hand was brought near, it slid out smoothly, revealing my phone, wallet-with only fifty dollars in it-and keys to the chopper.

Pulling the phone out of the pocket-which slid neatly back into my leg-I pushed the power button to turn on the display. Same lock screen I remembered from before. Entering the PIN-also feeling really glad that my new metal fingers worked on the touch-screen-I brought up the camera and set it to ‘selfie-cam.’ As the display showed what my face truly looked like, I let out a small sigh. Exact copy of Raiden. Some part of my mind had been hoping that this wasn’t actually happening, that this was all some dream and that, by the phone showing my face, it would all prove to be in my head.

Shaking my head, I looked around. We were still in the courtyard, but just up ahead was a large group of royal guards inspecting the chopper. God, it still looked as good as when I left the convention. Feeling a genuine smile fill my face, I sprinted ahead of the guard who was leading me towards the chopper. “Raiden!” I heard Twilight’s voice yell as I got closer. Turning, I spotted her and Princess Celestia talking with a large, deep grey earth pony with steel colored eyes. Changing course towards them, my smile grew as Celestia turned to face me, a gentle smile on her own face. “Apparently, this appeared sometime during the invasion,” Twilight told me, “We were just about to go and find you, actually. Do you have any idea of what this is?”

I stiffened uncontrollably, “Motorcycle: A two-wheeled vehicle that is powered by a motor and has no pedals.” I said in a slightly more robotic tone, before relaxing and shaking my head, “What the fuck…?” I shook my head a bit more strongly before looking back at the bike, “It was my transportation to the convention, before I found myself here.” I informed them.

“Sir!” Came a voice from nearer to the chopper. I turned to see a dark purple unicorn with bright red eyes addressing me, “There seem to be two locked boxes near the back wheel, but we didn’t think it wise to open it without knowing what the thing was first.”

I nodded, “I’ve got that.” Moving towards the chopper, I ran my hand across the matte black surface of the gas tank, smiling in fond reminiscence. I shook my head with a frown though, as I remembered that I might never see anyone from Earth again. Moving to the saddlebags, I grabbed the keys to the chopper from my pocket and opened the right saddlebag with the correct key. Inside was my laptop, charger, Xbox controller and a few other gaming accessories. Smiling-as I knew I had a number of games on steam to play that were already downloaded-I figured I was good on that front.

Closing the saddlebag and opening the left one, my sleeping bag-I never slept in a hotel bed after an incident while at a school trip-some toiletries-mostly useless at this point-and… My eyes became sad as I picked up a small photo album from the saddlebag. I knew what was inside. Pictures of my family and good friends from over the years. Something that I had always done was take pictures of important events, outings with family and hangouts with friends.

Shaking my head, I put the album, unopened, back into the saddlebag. After closing and locking it, I turned back to Celestia and Twilight, remembering that I came looking for them for a reason. “And I believe I owe you two an explanation as to where I came from.”

Celestia’s eyes hardened for a split second, “Yes, you did say that.” She turned to a guard, “Please bring this… Motorcycle, to the impound. Sir Jack will be around later to pick it up.” The guard nodded, and Celestia turned around to me, “Follow me. We can speak somewhere more private.”

I nodded, and Celestia turned away, walking back into the palace, with Twilight and I following closely behind. “How is the rebuilding going?” I asked Celestia, “Earlier, I didn’t notice much in the way of property damage.” ’Emotional and psychological damage though…’ I finished in my head.

“Smoothly,” she replied, “As you said, there wasn’t as much damage to the infrastructure of Canterlot. Chrysalis and her hive must’ve wanted to keep accidental deaths to a minimum.”

“That makes sense,” I agreed, “She wanted to harvest love. Hard to harvest that from a corpse.” I said as a thought struck me, “Unless they were a sentient zombie…” I trailed off, my mind planted in that line of thought.

Twilight shuddered, “How could a zombie be sentient? Even if they did exist-which they don't-all they are is corpses reanimated by dark magic, forced to do their master's bidding.”

“Unless someone cast a spell which returned a soul to a decomposing body,” I countered, before pausing, “If that’s how it works, because magic is completely new to me.” I noticed that Celestia had stopped in front of me, which made me halt as well.

In front of us was another white door with gold highlights, with a stylized image of a sun embossed onto the center of the door. “This is my personal study,” Celestia said, “The walls and doors are enchanted with the highest quality soundproofing, anti-scrying, and anti-espionage wards available to ponykind.” She opened the door to reveal a room.

Honestly, it was simpler than I was expecting. It had bookshelves lining the wall, but apart from that, and a well worn wooden desk and comfy looking chair, it was actually very plain. Not what I would expect from a ruling Monarch. We walked into the room, where Celestia sat down in the chair, also the only chair. She looked at us still standing for a moment before seeming to realize this fact. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said abashedly, “Not many other people use this room besides me.” She looked around the room fondly, “This one of the few places here that I can simply be alone.”

I nodded, leaning up against the wall, “It’s cool. I get it.” The door closed shut, and a subtle hum filled the room for a second. “So, no one will be able to hear anything we say?” I questioned, getting a nod in answer. I sighed, “Well, I’m not fully sure where to begin. I suppose starting at the convention would be the best place to start, at least for right now.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, “Convention? Like a comic book convention?”

I nodded, “So you have the basic idea of what a convention is in this regard. That makes it far easier in this regard.” I paused for a moment, “People dressing up as their favorite characters, buying fan merch related to the series, stuff like that.”

Twilight nodded, “Yeah, my brother and I actually went to an Oubliettes and Ogres LARP convention when I was younger.” She smiled, “It was actually a ton of fun.”

I blinked, but shrugged off my slight surprise. ’She likes to LARP? Guess we have a thing in common.’ “Anyway, this wasn’t any a con for any specific series. It was just for a fantasy/sci-fi series. People dressed as knights and wizards, jedi and clones, amongst others. I was there amongst all of them the hours before I came here.”

“Wait wait wait,” Twilight stopped me. “You were at a convention for Fantasy and Science Fiction series?” She questioned, “Aren’t you a powerful cyborg? Shouldn’t you have been liberating countries from evil tyrants and dictators? Helping to install regimes more beneficial to the ponies living there?” She blushed slightly at the stares she received, “I like to read Science Fiction…”

I shrugged, “I do enjoy Sci-Fi, but fantasy is more my thing. Anyway,” I continued, “You’re assuming that when I went there, I was a powerful cyborg ninja.”

I let that sink in as the shock appeared on their faces. “I was just another nerd in the crowd, dressing up in a costume to have fun with everyone else.” I gestured to my body, “Before I got there, this was just a costume. It was an elaborate cosplay-still metal mind you-but much rougher and with none of the extra features. I didn’t even have a sword!”

I gestured to the Murasama, “I bought the sword near the end of the day, from some guy dressed as another character from another series.” I shook my head, “After buying the blade I was planning on going back to the hotel that I was staying at, when I began to hear disembodied maniacal laughter. Then, the sword-which I drew because I was getting creeped out-began to emit a red energy. The laughter became deafening, and I blacked out. Then, I woke up near the palace with Apple Bloom.” I shrugged, “The rest you know.”

The room was silent as I finished my story. I looked between Celestia and Twilight. Twilight looked like she wasn’t sure what to think, but Celestia looked at me in a new light. “Who were you dressed as?” Celestia asked me, “I suppose his name is Raiden, but a name is just that: a name.”

I exhaled, “That, would take a very long answer. Right now, I’ll just tell you the basics.” I sighed, thinking back to the information that I knew about Raiden. “Well, the name his birth parents gave him is unknown, even to him, or at least, he’s never said it. He was born in Liberia, and at the time, it was a pretty war torn country. At an incredibly young age, his parents were murdered by the forty third president of another country, George Sears, or more commonly known as Solidus Snake.”

I took a breath, “He gave Raiden the name Jack and ‘enlisted’ him as a child soldier in the civil war.” I paused, giving them time to take in the very basic info. “Under Solidus’s training, Jack became a deadly killing machine. His foes on the battlefield called him both ‘White Devil’ and ‘Jack the Ripper’, due to his high kill ratio and his brutality while dispatching them. Solidus imposed the fact that blades were a ‘nobler’ weapon than a gun, by way of slitting another soldier's throat in front of him.”

Twilight opened her mouth once again, her face wrinkled with disgust, “How can a weapon be noble? And what the hay is a gun?”

Like before, I stiffened and spoke in a robotic tone, “A gun is a weapon incorporating a metal tube from which bullets, shells, or other missiles are propelled by explosive force, typically making a characteristic loud, sharp noise.” I groaned, holding my head as I shook it, “That’s… Annoying… Anyway, imagine a bow, or a crossbow, in terms of damage, but done by miniature handheld cannons, some of which can fire multiple shots per second.”

Twilight sucked in a breath, “That kind of violence would be devastating…” she whispered, “And these weapons were common?”

I nodded, “Where I’m from, it’s the primary weapon of war, and self-defense.” I shrugged, “If I was ever in a duel with someone, I would prefer to use a blade. It’s less about who could get in a lucky shot and who's actually skilled.”

Celestia spoke up for the first time, “And is this how you knew how to fight before becoming this… cyborg?” She asked, “Participating in duels?”

I shook my head, “No, actually. I have had no formal training in any sort of combat, but I’ve played enough video games and watched enough movies to know basic moves.” I explained.

“What are these video games?” Twilight asked, “I know what a movie is, there's a theater in Ponyville, but I’ve never heard of a video game.”

I paused, “You said you knew what a computer was, right?” Twilight nodded, and so I continued, “Well, imagine Oubliettes and Ogres but simulated on a computer, where each player has a device that allows you to control what the character does. Literally being able to see the characters in action while you control them, instead of just having to imagine the results. That would be a basic game in the RPG genre of gaming.” I explained, “Many RPG games are set in a fantasy setting, which for me would be wizards and warriors. From watching these characters, I learned the basics of how to use a sword or other weapons in different ways.”

Celestia was nodding, but Twilight had another question. “Magic is fantasy on your world?” She asked, “Your world has no magic?”

I shook my head, “No. To humans, magic is simply myth, a legend of older civilizations to explain things that they couldn’t. Things such as why it gets colder and snowy during the winter and thunderstorms.”

“Well, that’s easy,” Twilight said, “The pegasi bring us the thunderstorms and other weathers, as well as the seasons.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what?” I said, not fully understanding that, “Pegasi control weather?” Twilight nodded. “Well… That’s different. On Earth, we don’t control the weather. It moves by itself, via atmospheric temperatures and other factors. We can track storms and other weather to some degree of accuracy, but we have no real control over the weather.” I paused, “And we’re getting off topic here. We were discussing how blades were ‘nobler’ than guns, correct?”

Twilight nodded, “That man… Solidus? Sounds absolutely horrible.” She shuddered, “I don’t want to think about what would happen if someone like that came here…”

I shrugged, “I don’t either. Anyway, after the liberian civil war ended, Solidus placed Jack into a relief center, I guess to give him to a foster home. The center didn’t want to place Jack into a home, because of the trouble he could give to the family.” I paused for another moment, “Without Solidus’s knowledge, he was taken by a non-governmental organization and brought to the United States, where they attempted to give Jack and the rest of the small boys unit as much counseling as they could, until they were at least outwardly stable.”

Celestia frowned, “Just outwardly stable means less than nothing to somepony’s actually mental well being,” she said quietly, “I know that better than most…”

I felt concerned, but said nothing. It felt like a personal thing, so I dropped it. Looking at the window on the wall, I noticed the moon was now slightly higher than it was before., “How long have we been talking?” I wondered.

Celestia looked outside as well, her eyes narrowing as she calculated how much time had passed. "I would say about an hour has passed." she said finally before looking back to us, "If you would like, we can continue this another night, after you're settled in more."

I nodded, even as I felt my metaphorical heart drop into my stomach. ’Right… Settled in…’ I rubbed the back of my head, “Speaking of which, I don’t really have a place to stay, do I?”

Celestia seemed to ponder that, placing her chin in the palm of her hand, “Well, we do have numerous guest rooms in the pal-”

“He can stay at the library!” Twilight shot out quickly, before slamming her hands over her mouth, apparently in horror that she interrupted Celestia. Looking not used to this, but not mad at all, Celestia gave Twilight a smile and motioned for her to keep going. “W-Well, with me knowing how to recharge him, as well as the same for his self-repair, it only makes sense for him to stay close to me until we can figure out a way to do the same without me,” she said, gaining more confidence the longer she spoke, “And not to mention what we can learn from him!” Her eyes turned sparkly, “A cyborg being could do wonders for science, not to even mention the medical applications of it!”

She let out an excited sigh as I warily stared at her, “Uh… is this… normal for her?” I asked, wondering what my possible future roommate/landlady would be like.

Surprisingly, Celestia sighed slightly. “You have no idea…” she muttered, before smiling, "That sounds like an acceptable idea, as long as you continue to tell your tale to Twilight, and she tells it to me." I nodded as Twilight snapped out of her science-dream. "Anyway, you two should head back to the party,” she told us, “You can stay in a spare room in the palace until it is time for you two to head back to Ponyville.”

I nodded, “Will my chopper be sent there as well when we leave?” I asked. That thing was one of my few past possessions left, I wanted to make sure I would still be getting it back.

Celestia nodded, giving me a small smile. “Of course. Now, I hope you don’t mind, but I do have some things to discuss with my sister. Please, return to the party and enjoy the rest of the night.” We said our goodbyes, and Twilight and I went back to the party.

Chapter 5

Twilight and I walked back through the hallways of the majestic palace in relative silence, both of us still silently processing the events of the past day. Deciding that the silence was getting a bit oppressive, I decided to speak up. “So…” I began, grabbing her attention, “You mentioned you lived in a library?” She nodded an affirmative, so I continued, “What’s that like? Do you also curate the library, or does someone else do that?”

“Somepony.” Twilight corrected me, “And yes, I curate the library with Spike, my younger brother.”

I rolled my eyebrows at the correction before speaking, “You have a younger brother? I don’t think I remember seeing him.”

We approached the doors to the party hall as Twilight responded, “He was the one who gave the rings to Shining and Cadence earlier.”

An image of the purple and green reptilian being from before shot itself across my mind, “He’s your brother?” I asked, slightly surprised, “I’m going to assume that he isn’t related by blood.”

Twilight smiled, shaking her head as she opened the door, “No. It’s a long story. I’ll explain it to you on the train home.”

That last part hit me harder than she had meant. I stopped short as she walked into the room. ’Well… I guess home is where ever you make it.’ I reasoned to myself, ’If I can’t find a way to my old home… I might as well make a new one.’ With that, I walked through the doors into the party hall.

It was almost completely deserted. Apparently, the party was almost over when I had left it, because the only people in the entire hall were the Bride, Groom, and Twilight’s friends. Twilight was making her way over to them, and I made haste to follow her.

As I moved closer to the table, Cadence and Shining Armor both rose and made their way towards me. Cadence spoke up as they finally reached me, “We would both like to thank you for you saving our wedding.” She told me gratefully.

Shining nodded his head in agreement, “You did great today.” His face took a sorrowful look, “Much better than I should’ve been doing.”

Instantly, Cadence was comforting him. “Shining, Chrysalis was affecting you with mind control magic. You shouldn’t feel so bad about this.”

Shining sighed, “I know. I just feel I should’ve done something more. I’m the captain of the guard for a reason, and yet, I couldn’t protect Canterlot when it was needed.”

I felt slightly uncomfortable just standing there, so I cleared my throat and spoke up, “Well, it wasn’t a big deal.” I said, rubbing the back of my head with my hand, “I just did what anyone would do if they could.” I smiled, “Plus, it was actually kind of fun. Terrifying, but being in a life or death fight like that was kind of thrilling.” I saw everyone’s disbelieving expression and shrugged, “Fighting isn’t for everyone.”

Shaking her head, Twilight spoke up, “Well, anyway, Jack is going to come back with us to Ponyville tomorrow, barring any unforeseen complications.”

“Unforeseen complications, Twi?” Applejack said skeptically, “Our lives for the last year or two have been the definition of unforeseen complications.” She looked at me, “Well, let me be the first to welcome ya to Ponyville, partner.” She leaned back in her chair, “I work at Sweet Apple Acres with mah family: Apple Bloom, who ya met earlier, Big McIntosh, my older brother, and Granny Smith, our granny.”

I nodded, tucking that little bit of information away, “What do you farm?” I asked her, “I’m assuming apples are a part of it at least.”

She smiled, “Yep. Sweet Apple Acres makes some of the best apples in Equestria, but we also grow corn, squash and a few other crops.”

“And the cider is to die for!” Rainbow Dash cut in, a look of pure bliss on her face as she-I guessed-recalled the aforementioned cider.

I chuckled at Rainbow’s reaction to the cider, “I’m imagining it isn’t easy to work the farm with just the four of you.” I said, “Unless you’ve got some workhands that you aren’t mentioning.”

“Workhooves,” Applejack corrected, which caused another eyeroll, “And no, we ain’t got any of them. Plus, Apple Bloom is too young to help out with anything major, and Granny is getting too old.”

I digested that piece of information, “Maybe once I’m settled in, I could help out a little bit more, bring the workload down a bit.”

Applejack smiled, “Well, I’d be right thankful for that, if you’d be willing to do that. Twilight can help ya get to the farm if you need help.”

I nodded, finally taking a seat at the table, only for a rush of pink to fill my vision. Jerking backwards, the pink changed into… Well, still pink hair and face, but with light blue eyes and a smile that would look too big for The Joker himself.

“Hi! Do you like parties? What’s your favorite flavor of cake?! Can you see through my clothes with that special eye of yours?! Do you have any hobbies?!” She said to me with a single breath.

I blinked, glancing over to Twilight, who gave me a ‘just go with it’ kind of look. “Uh…” I began, “I’m not the biggest when it comes to parties, but I don’t hate them. I like chocolate cake.” I paused for a second when I got to the next question, “No… No, it can't. That would be rather perverted… and yeah, I enjoy reading, playing video games, and building things.” I gave her a look, “Why did you ask me about cakes and parties?”

Her smile continued to put The Joker’s to shame, “Well, I’m one of the main bakers at Sugarcube Corner and the main party planner of Ponyville!” She exclaimed excitedly. “And I wanted to throw you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville Party’ when we get back to Ponyville tomorrow!”

I nodded, somewhat wary of this overly pink woman. “Alright then… I look forward to it?” I said, not really sure of what to think.

A noise from my side drew my attention. I turned to see the white woman with the well maintained hair smiling at me, Rarity. “Darling, when you were saying your hobbies before, you said… Video Games?” She said the two words like she had never heard them together before, which I suppose she never had. “Can you tell us what those are?”

Like I did with Twilight and Celestia before, I explained to them the concept of an RPG genre game. Most of them seemed less interested than Twilight did, though Rainbow Dash in particular showing an interest. Most of what I said seemed to go over Rarity’s head, but she smiled nonetheless as I finished my description. “That sounds… Interesting, darling.” She said to me, “But I also had another topic that I would like to discuss with you.”

I motioned for her to continue. “Well, as you may or may not know, I am the premier fashionista of Ponyville, and as a small token of thanks for your help during this troubling time.” I raised an eyebrow as she continued, “I would like to make you an ensemble outfit for any formal outing that you may have to go to in the future. Not that your current look isn’t…” She struggled to find a word that probably didn’t seem insulting, “...unique, but formal outings just about everywhere require you to wear a more formal tuxedo or something of a sort.”

I was caught unawares to say the least. “Well, I wouldn’t want to impose…” I said, “Not to mention that the suit would have to be strong enough not to tear on my body itself, and be good enough to fight in, or take off at a moment's notice.”

Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but Rainbow Dash interrupted her, “Why would you need to fight in a suit?” She asked me, leaning back in her chair with her feet on the table. “If you’re at a formal party, wouldn’t you let someone who isn’t at the party handle it?”

I frowned, before motioning for Rarity to continue. “W-well, yes, those are very good points that you bring up, but I always enjoy a good challenge, and yours might be one of my greatest yet!”

I thought for a moment, before sighing. “Alright. If you really want to, sure. But I’ll pay you back eventually.” I looked back at Rainbow Dash, “And in response to your question, if I see anything going wrong, no matter what I’m doing, I’ll do something about it.” I told her, “Hell, earlier today, I basically proclaimed to the freaking heavens that I fight for justice. It’d be really hypocritical if I went back on that. Plus,” I gestured to the room, “they invaded on a wedding. An outing where you normally wear dresses or tuxedos. I can’t fight very well in restrictive clothing.”

Rainbow Dash thought about that for a moment, before shrugging, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She paused, as if remembering something, “Speaking of the wedding, did you see my sonic rainboom from earlier?”

I thought back to the wedding ceremony. I vaguely remembered a dulled explosion, but my fermenting panic made me have more things to worry about. “Must’ve missed it.” I told her, “What is it exactly?”

Rainbow opened her mouth excitedly, but Twilight beat her to it. “A sonic rainboom is something normally only heard about in legends, until Rainbow here. The pony who does it goes from Mach one to Mach ten in less than a second, and combined with a little bit of Rainbow’s Pegasus magic, lets her break the sound barrier and the visible light spectrum simultaneously.”

I stared at Twilight. I knew I shouldn’t be so shocked, seeing as how this was a different world that ran on magic, but what Twilight just said flew in the face of everything I learned in any engineering or physics class that I had ever taken. Rainbow Dash’s slightly despondent voice broke me from my shock, “Well, yeah. If you want to sound like an egghead,” she quipped, “But, being the only mare alive who can do the Sonic Rainboom doesn’t pay the bills very well, so I work as a weather manager in Ponyville.”

I nodded, “Twilight told me that you control the weather here,” I said, “Back home, we can’t control it. The weather does what it does, and we can track it to some degree, but not much more than that.”

Rainbow actually shuddered, “That sounds… Horrible. What happens if some massive out of control storm hits a populated area?”

I sighed, “We warn the people as best we can, get them ready, and then after the storm hits, we send in relief workers to try to fix things up as best we can.”

Rainbow fell silent, apparently trying to imagine such a thing. A small almost imperceptible cough hit my ears. I turned to face Fluttershy, who had remained silent all this time. She shrank away from my gaze momentarily before sitting straight up again. “I would like to ask you something, if that’s alright with you…” she said, trailing off.

I gave her what I hoped was a comforting smile, “Go ahead.”

She gulped, before her eyes filled with determination, “I was wondering how your sword was able to slice into the floor of the wedding hall,” she asked me, “I’ve never heard of a sword that was able to do that.”

I drew the murasama after a moment, admiring it idly in the bright light of the banquet hall. The iridescent red of the blade gleamed brightly, and not a speck of green changeling blood remained on it. “This sword is known as the Murasama. It was named after a famous swordsmith in the late 14th to 16th centuries.” I had no idea where this was coming from, but at least it wasn’t coming out like a robot. “The sword maker was known as Muramasa. Slightly different, I know, but this sword was from a game, they probably didn’t want to get copyrighted.”

I shook my head briefly, “Anyway, Muramasa was a brilliant swordsmith, but was incredibly violent, verging on madness, and that was supposed to be passed into his blades. They were believed to hunger for blood, to the point that they drove their wielders to murder and suicide.” I paused, letting that sink in. “This sword supposedly came from the same time. Recently, the sword was converted from a normal blade to what is known as a High-Frequency Blade.”

“A High-Frequency Blade is a sword reinforced by a powerful alternating current and resonated at extremely high frequencies.” I told them. “This oscillation weakened the molecular bonds of anything it cut, thereby increasing its cutting ability. Striking, cutting, and thrusting attacks were performed with the blade, with the sharpened edge and point used for lethal attacks, and the blunt edge used as a clubbing weapon.”

I saw the blank looks on most of their faces and sighed, “The blade vibrates so quickly that it cuts through almost anything, the vibrations breaking apart the force that holds materials together.” A chorus of understanding noises greeted my ears. “Proficient users were also able to wield the blade with such accuracy and speed that they were able to deflect projectiles, even ones that travelled passed the speed of sound.”

I gazed at the sword for a moment longer before re-sheathing it, “Of course, while I wield the Murasama, it will be my instrument of justice where it is needed.” I let out a yawn, “And now, I think it’s time for bed.” I stood up, everyone else following my example. “I suppose I’ll see you all tomorrow on the train?” I round of nods greeted me, but a niggling thought hit me. “Uh… Would anyone know where the room Celestia gave me is?”

Twilight walked forward. “I know the general area. There should be spare rooms near mine, if the past trips are anything like this.”

I nodded, moving next to Twilight. “Goodnight, everyone.” I said to the rest of the group, who said their goodnights to me in turn. Twilight and I walked out of the banquet hall and through the maze of hallways that made up Canterlot Palace.

We walked in silence for the most part, the quiet of the night only interrupted by the occasional patrolling guard or maid cleaning a statue. Eventually, we came to a hallway filled with doors. Twilight stopped at one. “This one is mine. Yours is right next door,” she said, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” I said with a smile as I moved to my door.

Twilight smiled as she opened the door and revealed the sounds of snoring. “Aww, he’s fast asleep…” She cooed at something as she walked in and closed the door behind her.

I shook my head as I opened mine, revealing a queen sized bed, a medium sized dresser and a balcony with a view over Canterlot. Taking off the sheath, I placed it in the dresser where it barely just fit. Next, I opened the pocket that held my keys, wallet and cellphone, and placed them in a smaller shelf. Finally, I laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. ’Well, shit could be worse.’ I thought to myself. ’I could’ve been seen as an enemy from the start and hunted with the changelings.’ I thought with a small smile as I finally closed my eye.

Chapter 6

I felt my eyes slowly open as I felt the dawn light start to hit me. I let out a small groan as I sat up, stretching as I did so, more out of habit than anything else. Glancing around, I saw through the glass doors leading out to the at the sun had just come up over the horizon, making the land gleam a bright gold.

I smiled as I saw this. It brought back memories of home, a home which I would most likely never see again. Frowning, I shoved those thoughts aside as I prepared to get ready, only to realize that I didn’t really have to get ready. I didn’t have to pee, didn’t have to try to tame my hair, just grab the stuff I had placed in the dresser last night.

I first grabbed the sheath from the larger drawer, which attached itself to my back with a small metallic click, same as it had before. Opening the smaller segment of the dresser, I grabbed my wallet, keys and phone, which I put in my pocket.

Opening the glass doors, I beheld the glory of Canterlot in the early morning. The brilliant shine of the daybreak sun made the tall spires glint like pieces of gold. I paused as that thought ran through my head. ’That was rather… eloquent.’ I thought to myself, ’Cyborg thing heightening my vocabulary?’ I thought about that for a moment, before shrugging. ’Sounds better than when I normally talk anyway.’ I continued to stare out over the cityscape of Canterlot until a knock at my door drew my attention.

Turning back to the door, I heard Princess Celestia’s calming voice flow through. “Hello? Mr. Crane?” she asked, “Are you awake?”

I walked over to the door and opened it. She was standing there in an identical dress to yesterday, a white garment of the finest silk. “Yes, I am.” I responded, hoping this new heightened vocab wouldn’t make me sound too weird while talking. “Just woke up a few minutes ago, as a matter of fact.” I smiled, “And please, call me Jack. Mr. Crane sounds far too formal.”

Celestia smiled back, “I shall endeavor to remember that.” Her smile became serious. “As much as I enjoy talking with you so casually, I have a matter that I need to talk to you about.”

My smile also vanished, replaced by a slightly concerned look. “What’s wrong?” Scenarios played out quickly through my mind, from Chrysalis escaping to a new foe on the horizon to fight.

Celestia sighed, “Chrysalis wishes to speak with you. What about, I don’t know. All she told the guards was that she wished to speak with you and no one else.”

Now, I was curious, along with mildly irritated at the thought of the bitchy woman. Why did she want to talk to me? The guy who almost singlehandedly took down her invasion. ’That’s still a wacky thing to imagine. Me stopping an invasion.’ I thought for a moment before responding. “She’s locked up tight?” I asked. “No way she could escape by letting me in?”

Celestia shook her head, “Her cell is built with stone inscribed with magic-nullification runes. It would take the power of an Alicorn to break out of the cell.” She informed me, “It’s completely safe. Don’t worry.”

I sighed, rubbing the back of my head with my hand. “Well, I guess I should talk to her then.” I said, “See what’s so important that only I can be told.” I stepped outside the room and closed the door. “Shall we go?” I asked, to which she nodded.

We began to walk down the hallway in relative silence. I could still hear snoring through Twilight’s door, so I imagined both she and whoever else were in there were still asleep. “How did you sleep?” Celestia asked me once we were a bit further down the hallway.

“I slept well,” I replied, “Nothing woke me up, thankfully.” A smile came to my face as I recalled the visage of Canterlot bathed in the golden gleam of the early sun. “The sunrise was beautiful though.” I told her.

Her smile grew almost exponentially. “Even after these many millennia, it still always feels good when someone compliments how I raise the sun.”

I raised an eyebrow, “And by raising the sun, you mean…” I asked, thinking she had a different meaning behind ‘Raising the Sun.’

“What I said,” she told me, “I raise the sun in the morning and lower it in the evening.”

I stopped in my tracks. Yes, ponies like Twilight and Celestia could break the laws of Physics with this ‘Magic’ of theirs, but come on! Was everything I knew about physics going to be destroyed by this world? “That’s… impossible.” I said shortly. Celestia’s face showed her confusion at my remark, so I explained further. “A planetary body, such as the earth, revolves around the sun because of the sun’s much higher weight and mass.” I said, “Also known as gravity. By the same mark, the moon revolves around the earth because the earth is so much bigger than the moon.”

She stared at me for a moment, before shrugging. “Maybe in your world, it works like that, but here the sun revolves around the earth with the moon due to mine and my sister’s magic,” she said, “If we didn’t, then both would fly off into space.”

I stared back at her, before shaking my head. ’Magical ponies controlling celestial bodies bullshit…’ I grumped to myself before speaking up. “Nevermind… What’s the situation with my chopper?” I asked her, “How is it getting back to Ponyville with us?”

Celestia smiled, “It’ll be on one of the cargo cars on the train.” She informed me as we reached the dungeons. Her smile turned serious, “One last chance to change your mind.”

I sighed, steeling my determination, “No, I should see what she wants to talk about.” I told her as we walked down into the dungeon. The walls, previously made of a shining white stone, were now made of a darker, depressing grey stone, lit by torches at equal intervals.

Numerous cell doors lined the walls, and all of them were filled with the same thing. Changelings filled every single cell as far as I could see. A few of them hissed as Celestia and I passed, but the majority of them either ignored us or tried to get away from us as fast as they could. I noticed Mandible in one of the cells, and he gave me a look that almost bordered on respectful. I gave him a small nod as we passed, which he returned.

Eventually, we came to an actual metal door that glimmered slightly with what I assumed to be magic. Two heavily armored guards stood on either side, holding a sword and shield each. Upon seeing the Princess, they bowed low and placed their hands upon the door, where fiery lines of magical energy shot through the door, before slowly fading away.

Sounds of heavy locks unlocking began to ring out, clanking heavily to my auditory sensors. Eventually, the sounds died down, and the door smoothly slid open. The inside of the cell was darkened, so I could only see inside due to my enhanced vision. A bed lay inside, with the figure of Chrysalis sitting on it. On the walls, I could see a few unpowered electric lights. At least, that’s what my sensors told me.

As we began to walk inside, Chrysalis’s voice spoke out. “I’d ask you both in, but I’d rather not be tempted to hide under a rock from the sun.” She said in a sarcastic tone. “I want to talk to the warrior. Alone.”

Celestia looked at me, wordlessly asking if I still wanted to continue. I gave a subtle nod, and she backed up. “Knock on the door, and we’ll let you out.” She informed me as I walked into the room, the heavy metal door closing behind me. Chrysalis smiled as best she could, wincing after a second as the electric lights activated, revealing her to me. She looked weary, on top of incredibly nauseous.

I didn't return the smile. The thought of her threatening to rape Twilight and the others was still sharp in my mind. “You wanted to speak to me?” I said, draining all the emotion out of my voice. It sounded cold, and robotic.

She nodded, noticing my tone. “I did. On top of everything else, I wanted to apologize for my words yesterday during our fight.” She paused, thinking her words through. “Angering your enemies is a good way to make them sloppy, for them to make a mistake.” She looked up at me, “I didn’t mean a single word that I said.”

At first, I didn’t believe her. It seemed too coincidental to be true. But then, these pop-ups appeared on my H.U.D., telling me that she was, in fact, telling the truth. ’So, I can tell when people are lying or not?’ I mused, ’Handy.’ I sighed, letting go of the anger I held was harder than I felt it used to be. “I believe you,” I finally said, “But I still don’t like you much.”

Chrysalis nodded in understanding, “I thought as much. Although that makes this next part harder for me to ask you.” She looked away for a moment, “I need your help.”

I sighed again. ’Yeah, it makes sense that she needs help, but why ask me?’ I wondered, ’She knows I don’t particularly like her, and I don’t imagine she’s too big of a fan of me.’ After another moment of mental debate, I decided with a response, “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Chrysalis nodded again, “Changelings, when absent from positive emotions for too long, start to turn feral,” she told me, “If somepony would volunteer to share positive emotions every so often, my mind would be at ease just a little more.”

I looked at her skeptically, “That seems awfully risky on my end. What can you promise that will make me be even willing to suggest this to the princess?”

Chrysalis frowned, “The knowledge of who had me attack Canterlot in the first place.” She said with a slight snap.

To say I didn’t expect that to come out of her mouth was a severe understatement. “What?” My H.U.D. pop-ups helpfully told me that she wasn’t lying. ’That’s really helpful. Almost cheatingly so.’ I thought to myself, before mentally shrugging, ’Not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.’ After I calmed myself down some, I made a motion for her to continue.

Chrysalis paused for a moment, apparently not expecting me to believe her so easily. “W-well, every night when I went to sleep, this voice spoke to me,” she told me, “It was strange. I couldn’t tell its gender, or keep it out for very long.”

She looked suitably concerned as I took that in. “What did the voice say to you?” I asked, “Surely not looking for grandma’s old cookie recipe.”

She gave me a strange look before continuing. “No, it wasn’t looking for cookies,” she said, shaking her head, “The voice told me that the ponies were planning an imminent attack on my hive, with the intent to wipe us out.”

If I hadn’t already been paying attention before, I was now. “An attack?” I asked, “From what little I know of Celestia, she doesn’t seem to be the one to wage an unprovoked war upon someone else.”

Chrysalis nodded, “Celestia’s not a warmonger. Everyone knows that much. The only reason she would fight is to defend her ponies… But…” she sighed, “The voice’s persistence on top of the things it showed me…” A small tear rolled down her cheeks, “I succumbed eventually… and I marched my whole hive here to stop what I thought was my hive’s total doom.”

I stood there, silent for a moment as I digested this new tidbit of information. ’So, there’s someone who wants a war between ponies and the Changelings… But what could anyone gain from that…?’ I shook my head, deciding to tell Celestia about it when I saw her. “This is definitely some important information,” I said finally, “I’m gonna tell Celestia about it when I leave,” I said to her, the last of my dislike slipping away, “We’ll find out who did this. And I’ll talk to Celestia about getting volunteers for your changelings.” I said before walking up to the door. I knocked a few times, hoping that they would get the idea.

Sure enough, I heard the fiery rush of magic, and a moment later we both heard the heavy locks begin to unlock. As I stood waiting, I heard Chrysalis speak up. “Warrior.” I turned to see Chrysalis looking down at the floor, almost nervously.

“Jack,” I corrected her. She looked up in confusion. “My name isn't warrior. It's Jack. Jack Crane.”

“Jack… Crane…” Chrysalis said slowly, testing the word out, “That’s a… unique name.” I chuckled silently. If only she knew how common it was. “I just wanted to say…” she paused for a moment, before sighing. “I wanted to say thank you. For all that you’ve done.”

I finally smiled, “Well, despite all the things you did, I can tell that you did them all for the good of your Hive, so the least I could do is help you out.” The locks finally opened, with the door swinging open as silent as the moon rising in the sky. “I’ll talk to you soon,” I promised before walking out of the cell.

“I look forward to it,” I heard Chrysalis say as the door shut behind me.

Celestia was leaning against the wall near the cell as I had come out, and walked over to me. “So, what did she want to tell you?” She asked me.

The small smile that had adorned my face after leaving the cell vanished quickly, replaced by a serious frown. “Chrysalis believes that she was tricked into attacking Canterlot.”

Like myself beforehand, Celestia was shocked at hearing this news. “Tricked?” Her tone betrayed her dubiousness at the mere idea. “And you’re sure she wasn’t lying?”

I remembered back to the H.U.D. pop-ups that told me she wasn’t. “Positive.” ’Those really are almost cheating…’ I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. “She said that a voice spoke to her in a dream, telling her of an incoming attack by the ponies to wipe out her hive. An unnatural, recurring dream at that.”

Celestia was suitably troubled at the news. “But… Who would do such a thing, and why?"

I shrugged. “Anyone with a grudge against either Equestria or Chrysalis’s Hive,” I theorized, “And as for why, that's easy. Whoever did this wanted a war.”

Celestia’s face took a grim turn. “What could anypony get out of a war?” she questioned, “All wars do is cause death and destruction.”

“Create jobs,” I said, causing Celestia to look at me strangely. “You need one thing to fight a war, supplies. Whether those supplies are munitions, food, armor or troops, someone needs to make them, and be paid for it,” I said, “Could also be to topple an oppressive regime, but I don't think that's the case here.”

Celestia sighed, “Well, we won't know until we find out more about this mysterious voice, whoever it is.” Her face shifted to a kinder look. “I'll keep you up to date on information as we get it. Your outside perspective would be a large help, if you were willing.”

I nodded, glad I was able to help in some way. “Of course. I was going to offer my assistance anyway.” I decided to run Chrysalis’s request by Celestia. “Another thing she brought up, Changelings go feral when absent from positive emotions for large periods of time.” I said, “She would like for volunteers to lend Changelings positive emotions so that they don’t go feral.”

Celestia sighed, “While I don’t want to see a horde of feral changelings rampaging through Canterlot, I can’t think of anypony who would wish to show Changelings any form of positivity at all.” She sighed again, “I shall look into it. In the meantime, you should head to the banquet hall for breakfast.” She said before turning to a guard, “Please, bring Mr. Crane to the banquet halls, and make sure that the Elements of Harmony are awake and ready for breakfast.”

The guard nodded and began leading me back through the dungeons and up into the main castle. After another minute or two, the guard brought me to the same hall that we were eating in last night. “Please enjoy your meal, Sir.”

I nodded to the guard, saying, “Thank you,” before walking into the room. Currently sitting at a table was Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, each with something different to eat. Applejack had a few apples, Pinkie Pie had a large… cupcake? ’Not the best breakfast…’ And Fluttershy had a simple muffin and banana. “Good morning.” I said, pulling over a chair and sitting down.

After the few various forms of ‘good morning,’ Applejack began talking. “So, how’d ya sleep sugarcube?”

I shrugged. “I slept pretty well. The morning sunrise over Canterlot was beautiful,” I said to the group as a waiter came up to me.

He was dressed in the standard waiter getup: white shirt, black vest, red bowtie. “What would you like for breakfast this morning?” He asked me. With the accent he was speaking in, I expected him to say something like, ‘It’s wafer thin!’

I thought about it for a moment, before deciding, “I’d like a glass of apple juice, please.” I noticed Applejack give me a look of approval on my choice of drinks.

The waiter gave a stiff nod. “I live to serve.” He said, his overdone french accent filled with contempt for… something.

I raised an eyebrow. “That guy needs a day off from work,” I muttered, before looking up at the rest of the group. “What's on the agenda for the day? Once we get to Ponyville, I mean.”

“Ah gotta check on the farm,” Applejack said first, “It's only been a few days, but ah’d like to make sure everything's going just fine and dandy.”

“O-oh. Well, I have to check on my animal friends. They can get so lonely without somepony to care for them,” Fluttershy said next, “Not to mention Angel Bunny can get so overworked in my absence.” I saw that Applejack grimace at the mention of this rabbit, but she said nothing about it. I made a note to ask about it later.

Pinkie spoke up next, and, whoa boy, can she talk. I honestly couldn’t tell what she said, and instead followed the actions of Applejack, who nodded while smiling congenially. “So that’s why you need to be ready-ready-ready for when you get to Sugarcube Corner!”

I blinked, wishing I knew what she had said. I opened my mouth to say so, but Applejack beat me too it. “Sounds mighty good Pinkie!” She gave me a look that read, ‘drop it.’

As the other three went back into a relative silence while eating, a noise outside the banquet hall stirred my sensors. It sounded like a small group of people. Concentrating, I discerned what they were saying.

“They’re too dangerous to even keep locked up!” A voice I recognized as Rainbow Dash said vehemently. “You were there with me, Twilight. How can you say they deserve any mercy!?” She sounded royally pissed.

“Yes, Rainbow, I was there.” I heard Twilight’s voice reply. She sounded annoyed. “I also remember them not hurting us. Clearly, they didn’t want to harm us any more than they had to.” Their argument was heard by the others, who looked up from their meals as Twilight and Rainbow walked in. With them was Rarity, and the purple and green scaled ringbearer from yesterday. I think Twilight said his name was Spike. “Look, all I’m saying is that we shouldn’t overreact until we’re positive we know all the information.”

“What other information is there!?” Rainbow exclaimed, making Fluttershy give off an eep as she hid in her sweater. “They’re evil emotion stealing bugs who should be treated with as much care a spider in your food!”

I looked over at the others who were eating. They all looked less interested in their food, now that Rainbow had said that glorious little comment. “Great thing to say during breakfast, Dash,” I called, drawing her attention, “Everyone wants to think of spiders in their muffins.”

She looked excited to see me, “Raiden! Finally, someone who’ll speak some sense.” She said as she pulled up a chair. “You agree with me, right? That the Changelings are nothing but love sucking evil monsters that should be squashed.”

I gave her a surprised look as the rest of them sat down. “That’s sounding rather vicious, coming from you,” I said, before looking away, “And besides, no, I don’t agree with you.”

I turned back to see her face agape. Maybe she expected me to agree because I fought so hard against them yesterday? “How can you say that after fighting so hard yesterday!?”

’Called it’ I shrugged, “Cause I’d do the same against ponies that were doing the same thing. Besides-”

At that moment, the waiter came back with a glass of apple juice. “Your drink.” He said, barely hidden contempt in his voice, as he placed the glass down, “Sir.”

I glanced up at him with an eyebrow raised, “Thank you.” I raised the glass to my lips and took a long quaff. ’Damn. This shit’s good.’ I thought as I placed the glass down again. “Besides,” I continued, “It’s like Twilight said, you don’t know everything that happened.”

Rainbow glared at me. “And you know? Is that it?”

I nodded, taking another long drink. “I do.” I said, “However, it’s most likely classified, so if you want to know, I’d recommend taking it up with Celestia.”

Rainbow glared at me before slumping back in her chair, looking defeated. “Whatever…”

The waiter moved to her and asked-in a much nicer tone, I might add-what she wanted to eat. “A bowl of Oats,” she mumbled, the waiter nodding and leaving once he got the orders from Twilight, Rarity and Spike.

Taking another sip of my apple juice, I turned to Twilight, “So, what needs to be done before we can leave?”

Twilight grinned, “Good morning to you, too. This wasn’t a very long trip, so most of us just have to pack up a few things, then wait for the train. What about you?” she asked me, “Do you have anything you need to pack?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I have everything with me. I just need to make sure Celestia gets the bike on the train before we leave,” I said, taking another sip of my apple juice. “I don’t know how this works, being mostly robot and all, but this tastes fucking amazing.”

Everyone let out a gasp, and the waiter gave me his strongest glare yet. ’Man, this guy could give Cyclops a run for his money…’ I thought to myself, wondering what had set them off.

Twilight seemed the most upset, “Please, Jack, there are kids present!” She gestured towards Spike, who looked like he was going to fall asleep at the table.

’Oh, right. Children.’ I berated myself. “...Right. Sorry, my bad,” I said sheepishly, “I’m used to hanging around guys my own age, who don’t care about vulgarity.” I snorted, thinking back to my college buddies, “Honestly, I’m probably the most prudish out of all of them.”

Rarity huffed, “Well, I don’t think I speak for only myself when I ask you to try to tone down the language.” She turned her nose up into the air, “Especially when there are children around.”

I nodded, holding my hands up in what I hopped was a placating manner. “I’ll work on it. No promises though if something slips out.”

Spike, who seemed to have managed to wake himself up a little bit more, cast a bleary gaze in my direction. “You’re Raiden… Right?” He asked, a yawn punctuating his statement, “Twilight mentioned you when she woke me up.”

I nodded. “People do seem to be calling me that,” I said, honestly kinda amused by the whole thing. ’I told them my real name is Jack Crane, but they still insist on calling me Raiden.’ I shook my head. “If you want, you can call me that, or my real name, which would be Jack.”

Spike nodded, the waiter having finally come back with the rest of the table’s orders. Placed in front of him was a plate of… gemstones? “Oh, sweet!” Spike exclaimed, his previous exhaustion seemingly forgotten. He grabbed a handful of the gems and shoveled them into his mouth. While doing so, I noted the lines of large, sharp teeth that lined his mouth. As he brought his mouth down on the gems, I fully expected them to break. Instead, the gems were crushed, and he devoured them like he would a piece of rock candy.

I stared at the sight for a moment before sighing. “Not even gonna ask…” I muttered, resigning myself to probable eternal confusion over how this world works. I took another drink, noticing with slight sadness that it was almost all gone, before speaking again. “So, Spike….” I began, wondering how to phrase my question without seeming rude. “...as someone from another world, could you please tell me what you are?”

Seeing no bursts of outrage from the others, I assumed that I had worded it well enough. Spike opened his mouth to speak, but instead burped. As he did so, a torrent of flames shot from his mouth, startling me. “Excuse me,” he said, “Anyway, I’m a dragon.” Spike's chest puffed out in some degree of pride.

By the burst of flames, I figured as such. Still… “This world is so weird…” I muttered, finishing off my apple juice and laying my head down on the table. After a moment, I lifted my head and inspected Spike. ’That sounded creepy.’ I thought to myself after a moment of retrospection, ’Inspection is a bad word, especially when it’s a younger person.’ During this inner monologue however, I noticed something odd about Spike. “Spike… You said you were a dragon… Don’t dragons have wings?”

Spike nodded, “Well, from what I’ve seen, they do.” He glanced at his back before taking another handful of gemstones. “But… Ponykind doesn’t know much about dragons, so there's no real way of knowing when they’ll grow in.”

“From what little friendly interaction that we’ve had with dragons,” Twilight cut in, “It would seem that they grow in sometime between birth and adolescence. Which, for a dragon, can be anywhere from twenty to forty years.”

I nodded, tucking that little bit of information into my mind. “That’s an interesting bit of information. Thank you.” Looking around, I saw that everyone was still in the process of eating. “I’m gonna go find where Celestia has my bike stored,” I told everyone, standing up. “I’ll meet you at the train station?”

I got acknowledgments from most of the group, and a small, half-hearted glare from Rainbow Dash. ’She’ll calm down soon…’ I thought to myself, ’I hope…’ Walking towards the doorway that I had entered before, I looked around, hoping to spot a guard that could help me. Unfortunately, there was no-one in sight. Groaning quietly, I resigned myself to searching through the castle until I found her.

Thankfully, it didn’t take that long. I had barely moved around the corner when I spotted Celestia walking towards the breakfast hall. “Princess!” I called out, jogging over to her.

Celestia paused at my voice, smiling once she turned to me, “Oh, hello Jack.” She said, “Was there something you need?”

I nodded, returning the smile as best I could. “Yeah, actually. I was wondering if you could tell me where my motorbike is?”

Celestia smiled, “Even better, I can show you.” She said, starting walking and gesturing for me to follow.

I eagerly complied, but something struck me as I did so. “Don’t you have princessy things that you need to do?” I questioned, “Large affairs-of-state that need to be addressed after an attempted invasion?”

Celestia gave me a small, but wry smirk. “Yes, I would, if I was the sole ruler of Equestria. My sister’s return has afforded me many opportunities to not have to work as hard on occasion.”

I nodded, “Ah. Alright. That makes sense.” We had reached the gates of the castle, and was about to head into the city of Canterlot proper. Despite it not being my first time in the city, it would be the first when it wasn’t being invaded by changelings. “How far is my bike from the castle?” I asked, not entirely sure how the city would react to my presence.

“Well, I have it stored in a warehouse near the train station, so it should be a ten minute walk from here,” Celestia informed me before pausing. “Oh, I almost forgot. Give me one moment.” Her horn lit up, and her figure shimmered. In the next moment, the almost seven foot tall alicorn shrunk down to under six. Her horn disappeared, her long extravagant dress became a more modest sundress, and her hair changed from a multichromatic flowing rainbow to a simple paleish pink that hung down past her shoulders.

I must’ve made quite the image, cause I only snapped out of my staring once Celestia started giggling. “What in the name of the holy hand grenade was that?!” I exclaimed, “How did you do that?!”

Eventually, Celestia calmed down enough to speak. “A not-so-simple illusion spell,” she told me, “I simply appear as I am not. I use this when I walk among the people of Canterlot without wanting to raise excitement.” Celestia smiled. “When I am like this, please refer to me as Sunny Spark,” she requested of me before she began walking.

I nodded, following Celestia through the busy city of Canterlot. It was exceedingly pleasant, seeing the city at least somewhat full of life, as compared to what it was the day before. “I gotta say… I’m really impressed, Sunny.”

She looked over at me, a small smile adorning her features as she did so. “They are an impressive bunch, aren’t they? Not one full day, and they’re already back to a semi-normal state.”

A smile found its way onto my own features, “They are stronger than they look.” After that, the two of us fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the walk. Eventually, we came to where my bike was being held.

Stopping out of sight from where the Royal Guards were posted, Celestia changed back into her full Alicorn form. “Now, we should be able to enter without too much trouble,” she told me before walking back into the open.

The guards, upon seeing Princess Celestia, stamped their spears on the ground and saluted. “Princess!” they barked out in respect.

Celestia gave them a motherly smile, “At ease, my little ponies. I’m just here to show Mr. Crane his ‘motorbike,’ and move it to the train station.” She then turned to me, “And now, I shall take my leave. If I find any new information into that lead you found...” she nodded towards the guards before taking off into the skies and flying back to the castle.

I watched her fly away before turning back to the guards. “So, I guess you’ll be showing me to the bike?”

One of them nodded. “Yessir!” he exclaimed, saluting to me. “As you probably already know, the object was found in a courtyard sometime during the invasion.”

I nodded, still not completely comfortable with being saluted. “Yeah… I’d just like to see it, and ride it to the train station if I could.”

The guard nodded once more. “Yessir. If you would just follow me,” he said, walking into the Warehouse, and after a moment in which I nodded to the other guards, I followed him.

Inside the warehouse was the standard assortment of wooden boxes, along with what looked like Changeling weapons and armor. “The warehouses are being used as storerooms for the Changeling armaments?” I asked the guard, “Is that the safest place for them?”

“Normally... no, they wouldn’t be,” the guard informed me, “But due to the sheer amount of items recovered from the attack, we just don’t have enough room to hold them.” He sighed. “We’ve temporarily taken over warehouses like this around the city until we can figure out what to do with them.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but then, we came into sight of my chopper. It amazed me how it looked just the same as it had before. Sleek, black with the elongated front end, the only difference between it and the original was the saddlebags, which I figured I would need to carry things to and from the convention. ’Damn… it feels like the convention was years ago…’ I shook my head. ’No point in getting sad about it now.’ I turned to the guard. “Nothing seems damaged on it?”

The guard looked at me uncertainly, “Well… as far as we can tell, it looks okay… but we’ve never seen anything like it before. Something could be broken, and we just wouldn’t know.”

I sighed, reaching into my pocket and grabbing my keys out of it. “Well, time to test her out then.” I muttered, sitting down on the bike and placing the key in. After going through the main steps, I hit the kickstart on the bike twice before it started, the loud roar of the engine making nearby guards back away in shock. “She missed me…” I muttered, running a hand alongside the fuel tank. Turning to a nearby guard, I revved the engine slightly, “So, how do I get to the train station?” I asked, spotting a nearby open door.

The guard stepped forward, looking nervously at the chopper, “It’s just a few streets straight out that door, and then, you make a right, you can’t miss it.”

A notice appeared in my vision. New Primary Objective; Get to the Train Station A path had appeared on my minimap that showed me the path to take. ’That’s useful.' I thought to myself before nodding, “Can you clear the streets? I don’t want to accidentally hurt someone.”

The guard looked at his fellows, looking uncertain of what to do. After a moment of frantic looks being thrown, the guard nodded, “Yes… just give us a few minutes.” They rushed out, and I could hear them telling everyone to temporarily stay indoors. Eventually, they came back. “You’re good to go.”

I nodded, revving the engine before gunning it, sending me hurtling through the door and out onto the streets. The cobblestone streets of Canterlot made for a fairly bumpy ride, but to my new cybernetic body, it was next to nothing. ’Chrysalis’s drone’s hit harder than these bumps!' I thought with a slight smirk.

Sooner than I’d have liked, my turn came, and as I made it, I saw Twilight, Spike, and everyone else waiting at the train station. Smiling, I brought myself to a stop close to them, enjoying their shocked looks. “Eh… What’s up guys?” I asked them, idly moving the kickstand to let me get off the bike.

Dash was the first one to recover fully. “That is so awesome!” she squealed, her eyes literally sparkling. “Where did you get that!?”

I smiled, “Friend lent it to me from back home.” My smile turned wistful, “I don’t think I’ll have a chance to give it back.” I shook my head, “Anyway, the train is supposed to be here soon?”

Twilight had managed to recover next, with the rest shortly following. “Uh… Yeah, it should be here within the next few minutes,” she told me, everyone else nodding along.

I nodded and leaned against the bike as we waited for the train. True to Twilight’s word, within the next few minutes, the loud whistle of a train could be heard. As it came into view, I could see the train, which had a cargo compartment in the back. “I’ll meet you guys in the passenger compartments in a bit,” I said to the rest of the group before walking off towards the rear of the train.

It took another moment before the train fully stopped, but by that time, I was already in location for where the cargo compartment was. As the train came to a full stop, the rear doors opened up, and a ramp came down. Down the ramp walked a light blue female pegasus with a brown curly mane. She wore white and blue striped overalls, a similarly colored hat, and a plain white undershirt below her overalls. “Are you the special cargo we were told about?” she asked me upon seeing me, her voice an almost stereotypical manhattan accent.

I nodded, patting the bike, “Yep. Here she is.” I looked up the ramp, “Want some help getting it up there?” I asked, “This thing isn’t light for most people.”

The mare nodded, “That’d be nice, yeah.” She moved to the other side of the motorcycle and helped me keep it balanced as I pushed it up the ramp. “So… what is this thing?” she asked me, “Looks like a bicycle with an engine attached.”

I smiled as I moved it upwards, “You aren’t that far off. The original prototypes of this were literally just that, a bicycle with an engine attached. Thankfully, we have a few hundred years worth of updates to that original prototype.”

The mare nodded again as we got it up the ramp. “So, what’s your name Spikes?” she asked me.

I raised an eyebrow at the nickname, “It’s Jack. Jack Crane, and really, Spikes was the best you could come up with?”

She shrugged, extending her hand to me, “You’re spikey. It fits. I’m Little Harmony, but I’d prefer it if you just called me Harmony.”

I nodded, taking her hand with my own and shaking it, “Nice to meet you, Harmony. I should probably get back to my friends.” I told her as we let go.

She nodded back. “Just as well. It was nice meeting you, Spikes,” she told me as she started binding down the chopper.

I nodded before walking through the door that led from the cargo compartment into the passenger compartment. After a few more doors, I found the compartment that Twilight and the others were staying in. “Everything settled back there?” Applejack asked me.

I nodded. “Yep, it should be smooth sailing from here on out,” I told her with a smile, “Now, onto Ponyville.”

Chapter 7

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