Chronicle Genesis

Sparklink was confused to say the least. Ever since the failed invasion of Canterlot, Changelings were viewed as a menace by a majority of the populace in Equestria. While he could understand why, and also lauded the efforts of Fancy Pants in his crusade for equal rights for every being, not just the ones that weren't 'enemies of the state' as changelings were regarded by most. He could also understand the reasons behind the ponies outrage over the affair; had any one nation invaded his home, he too would want some form of recompense. Sadly, his talents did not lie in politics or social settings (oddly enough he would admit later).

His awkward meeting with his new 'mentor' was off to a terrible start. The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony were quite insistent that he be imprisoned, “Lock that VILE monster away! How could the Princesses agree to this travesty, especially after what happened less than a month ago?!” were the exact words of Rarity if the coat and mane were correct.

“So,” began the stallion, “You think you could kill me?”

“Beg yer pardon?” asked Applejack.

“Simple question kids. Could you six kill me?”

“Why would we ever resort to killing? That ain't cool! Hero's don't kill!”

“Rainbow...Girls, remember what happened in the dream? How he lashed out and killed those bipedal sharks? How he fought off THREE beings who house Aspects?” started Twilight Sparkle. When her friends had nodded and muttered their responses, she continued. “He is asking if we could STOP him, and since he is capable of those feats of power on his own against some...one,” after looking at Sparklink, she amended her near usage of somepony, “With enough power to move the SUN or MOON...

“Are you and the others you mentioned going to be HIS guards or OURS?” the mare finished looking at the changeling; her eyes softening as she came to a realization.

“You really are the bright one aren't you?” stated the new changeling. “We are being sent here to learn from him and in a worst case scenario, contain or kill him should he go insane. Us Changelings are being sent as a relation building thing-a-mabob.” His response caused Twilight's mane to begin having hairs pop out and look disheveled.

“Why would Princess Celestia or Luna agree to what amounts to a hit squad?” asked Rainbow.

“Simple, if I go off my rocker even more than Aah am now, the amount of collateral damage I can cause is much more than anything you have dealt with. And unlike many of this place's 'villains' I am more than willing to kill.”

“Wait, how do you know about any of our villains?” asked Fluttershy, speaking up for the first time that day. Her question raised the stallion's eyebrow.

“Sunbutt gave me a brief run down and Chryssie was kind enough to share her story before I left.” Nikolai said with a odd expression on his face. “Honestly, it felt like this was what they were setting me up for.”

“Yeah, but you have to have a limit on who you would...kill.” said Sparklink, looking askance at the super-pony.

“In my old world, I might have said yes at one time. After I lost my family, I had a massive change of heart. I lost all I cared about and began to loose any connection to the sanctity of life. My morality died when I lost my wife and children to the V'asori. I am so consumed by my rage that there are times I can barely hold myself together. For god's sake, I worked with a literal alien from beyond the stars I considered home who was looking for his brother and stayed since this was the last world he was seen on looking for traces of him and a walking talking corpse of a KID killed by the V'asori for being a mage, no more and no less; and those two actually understood what I wanted, and to a degree they wanted the same.”

“Which was...what?” tentatively asked Sparklink.

“Genocide. Pure and simple. The V'asori invaded and killed my world's heroes and many more. When I lost my family, I swore they would never do that again. As a whole their race cares nothing for any who aren't their own and even then they care little for what happens to their own.

“And to make it worse, for me and the others who fought them back home, this wasn't the first world they had taken. It was merely the latest.”

Silence met this revelation, tension thick in the air. The girls were more horrified than they had been before while Sparklink merely filed the information away. The stallion's expression was unreadable as he looked out a window. Pinkie, still on his back, clutched him tighter and seemed ready to break down again. Rainbow was quiet, looking at her hooves. Applejack was looking into the distance, muttering under her breath. Rarity held a sobbing Fluttershy, trying to calm her down. Twilight held Spike, cuddling him like a teddy bear. The changeling spoke up next, asking a pointed question.

“So, if the others and I are learning from you; what will you be teaching us exactly?”

“How I fight, how I work in a combat scenario. This can then be used in your own training regimens to train even more of your guards and soldiers up to a level closer to what I consider my baseline. I told your ruler that I was at a level that military's back home headhunted for for training purposes and that is no lie. While I wont teach all of my tricks,” he said with a small smile, “I will teach enough.”

“So basically, you just want to teach us more about HOW you fight rather than the specifics?”

“Yeah, my style of close quarters combat kinda relies on my monstrous strength and endurance. I can give you the basics of how I fought in the days I was un-powered though. That is a recent change for me, less than two years or so. And I'd say I've adapted rather well.

“Anyway,” he continued, “We need to head on back to the Hitch house, finish getting that ready for the others. Then you and I can have some fun figuring out just how good YOU are.”

“What? I don't think that was what my Queen had in mind for my first day.”

“Maybe, but you're early. And I need a wee bit of help getting things finished. Not much, but magic will make it quicker. Then we can spar a bit to get a gauge on how good you are and if you need more work than I think you might.

“While you have some skill, you are rusty from what I can see.”

“Oh? And how do you figure that?”

“Come on out girls.” was Nikolai's response. All eight of the other occupants in the room started to look around. A small shuffling noise was heard from near the back of the room, coming from the kitchen. The Crusaders walked in, heads down and sniffling. The girls and Spike were aghast at the fact they had been talking about Nikolai's story and they may have heard. Sparklink was astounded that he hadn't felt their emotions. He turned to look at the stallion of the hour and was about to ask when they got there.

“Don't worry, they only heard the tail end of everything. They walked in through the back around when you asked what I was teaching you.” he said preemptively noticing the Changeling look his way. The Crusaders looked around, finally setting their gaze on Nikolai. They ran over and grabbed his forelegs. He looked down, eye brow raised in confusion. “Can I help you three with something?”

“Why would you going to teach somepony how to kill you? That ain't right.” sniffed out Applebloom.

“Yeah, nopony should ever kill another being.” said Scootaloo with some steel in her voice. She was the first to look up at his face, the others fallowing quickly. The other two nodded their heads, agreeing with their friend.

“Where I am from isn't pleasant. It left me with scars, ones you can and can't see. The ones you can't see are the problem.”

“Why?”

“It's hard to explain. You just need to know I am very, very dangerous. If I were to loose control, I have no idea if your rulers could stop me.”

“But mah sister and her friends-” started Applebloom, only to be cut off by the stallion.

“Would die in about twelve seconds. No matter how skilled they are, you three have seen me fight. This is to protect you and your town,” he said gently, prying off Pinkie from his back, he stood and turned to the Changeling, “Sparky! We got a lot to do, and we're burnin' daylight. Lets go.” The two males moved to the door, the Changeling putting up his disguise while moving to the door. Sparklink was the first through the door, looking at his teacher-to-be stop at the thresh hold. “Pinkie, make sure they laugh for a bit alright? Y'all don't need to think on this too hard.” And with that the male left, closing the door with his tail as he exited the building; never once looking back at the teary faces and sorrowful expressions his departure left behind.

============================================

“That was cold bro.” was Sparklink's only complaint as they left the vicinity of the Treebary.

“While I can see that, it's better than dragging it out. I might not have morals to pull on anymore, but I can remember how I was raised and what they mean. I just stopped caring a long time ago. No need to cause harm without reason.” At least to those who aren't V'asori.

“Well, that is a bit cold...So what did you need help with?”

“A small area of the roof, most likely above the living room area, has a big hole in the ceiling. While I can hold the roof up, I can't also make sure it stays that way. YOU are going to make sure it doesn't fall down on us. According to Big Mac, Applejack's brother, it is supposed to ran in two days or so. Need to finish the roof first. Interior work can come later.”

“Okay, and that spar?”

“Simple, just getting a feel for how you and your kin are going to move and how YOU fight. You will be giving me a run for my money, I can tell that already.” The last comment was met with a grin to the disguised male. “I have been working on getting the lumber and supplies I will need to get this place going. Got the last of the lumber the other night, so now to fix the roof. Wont take long if you can help make the whole thing.”

“Wouldn't that be TONS of wood?”

“Close, maybe a ton total. Most of the living spaces are underground actually.” The last of the explanation took maybe a few seconds to deliver. Barely outside of town, and still a few minuted off from getting to their new living arrangements, Sparklink had one last though before he decided to go with the flow and help out for the day.

“So, if you are nothing but rage and hatred...what am I going to eat?”

“How long can you go without eating? HOW do y'all eat anyway?” asked Nikolai, looking askance at the smaller male next to him.

“We siphon some of the mental energy from emotions and use that to keep going. Basically we need that energy to keep our own reserves going longer, I ain't medically trained and therefore can't give you the specifics. I can go about 2 months without eating, but try not to. A feral Changeling is the last thing a hive needs to happen when it's trying to lay low.”

“Ah, feral with hunger?”

“Yeah, and it isn't pleasant to be near for anybugy. That siphon I mentioned is normally a controlled reaction we use to feed. A Feral is just going to gorge. I remember stories of Ferals consuming whole towns.”

“Nasty. Well, there she is; home sweet home.” Pointing off to the side a bit further off, Sparklink saw the structure Nikolai was referring to. It was massive, but then the time spent walking was a fair bit, and the time between some of the conversation was longer as the two arranged their thoughts. The house itself looked like a multibuilding barn, large and spacious. Sparklink thought about how he said most of the living area's being underground, and had a quick realization.

“Where is the living area? You know, the one with the damaged roof...?”

“Over here.” Motioning the changeling to follow, Nikolai walked off about twenty feet behind the buildings out front. A large sink hole was visible. “Near as I can figure, and the pony's that came out to check such things said, the roof got laced with some rot and gave after awhile. Nothing too bad, the rooms are mostly sealed still so this is the only room like this at the moment.”

“Why haven't the locals don't anything about this? It's a tad dangerous for the young ones.”

“Maybe, but then, most of them don't get out this far. The three from the library are the only ones who could be called the ones who regularly come out here and they already let the town know about it. They also mention to their sisters what they USUALLY are doing each day. If they don't come back from whatever they do, they check out here second. The first place is their clubhouse.”

“Better than nothing I suppose.”

“True, but I need you to make sure the roof doesn't come down on our heads as I hold it up in place. The hole here is the smaller part of it. It opens up like a cone further down where more of the soil was pulled down as well.”

“Isn't that dangerous for us to be under?”

“I though the same, but the grass and that tree,” said the fighter, pointing a little further back to the buildings they passed, “Are holding most of the remaining dirt in place. Once we get that roof up, we can shore up all the dirt. I was thinking of leaving a sun roof or window to just use the hole rather than fill it in.”

“Why?”

“Personal thing. First up though, that roof needs to go up. Come on down and have a look with me would ya?” With that the two went below to start their renovations. Back in town the girls and Spike were all discussing what they thought about the whole situation. There was no forth coming consensus, but they did agree to tell the Crusaders more about the male.

After a few hours trying to cheer up the others, and getting a few laughs out of them successfully, Pinkie walked back to the bakery. The Cakes were happy to see her up and about, asking her about her day. She told them she was fine, just some problems she and her friends needed to work on weighing on her mind. With the couple leaving it at that, they went to bed.

And so the routine for the next few days was set, Nikolai and Sparklink worked on getting the Hitch house ready for the others, the girls tried to just get back into the swing of things, and the Crusaders got a few answers to a few of their questions. The week was almost over when something happened that Nikolai forgot about.

The arrival of the rest of his motley band.

===========================================

A knocking on the door of the Treebary was enough to rouse Twilight from her book at her desk. “Spike! Did we have anypony coming over today?”

“NO!” called back the young dragon, busy in the kitchen with lunch. “You might want to get that though, weren't the Princesses and Chrysalis coming eventually to talk?”

“Yes, but not for a day or two!” again the knocking sounded at the door, “COMING!” called out Twilight as she made her way to the door. Upon opening it and recognizing none of the fifteen or so individuals outside of her home and work space, she asked a single question to the group in front of her. “Who are you and can I help you with anything?”

“Ma'am,” started a older Earth pony male, setting a bag from his back to the ground so he could rummage in it while speaking, “My name is Onyx Gust; and my companions and I are looking for Ser Morgan. You mayor was kind enough to send us here to find him. Do you know where he is?”

“Whaaaa?” was all a flabbergasted Twilight could say as she looked over the group. Each of them was well built and standing at ease, they all had a few bags with what seemed like gear in them. She had completely forgotten to ask about when Nikolai's group was supposed to arrive, just that Sparklink was early. “Please, com in. I completely forgot to ask him to give me more information about you all. This is a bit unexpected.”

“I can understand, Ma'am. This was rather short notice for us as well, but we had the last week to get ready.”

“Why not come sooner?”

“Briefings and getting everything settled back home,” said a smirking male Unicorn, “All of the drama of being in the Guard. Still, nice to see Shining's sister again; how're you doing Twilly?”

“Moonlight?! What are you doing here?”

“What, did Shining not tell you and the others about the group?”

“NO! As a matter of fact, I only learned about this whole situation about four days or so ago. And for the record,” she continued, looking over the group, “I know there are going to be more Changelings in the group, so please- drop the disguises.”

“Ma'am, until we meet Ser Morgan, that would be ill-advised,” started Onyx, “We have a time table to keep today-”

BRACKA-BOOM! was heard from outside of town, the Royal Guard instantly on guard. Shouts and screams were heard from outside as several booms were heard, along with laughing.

“Oh for the Star's sake...” facehooved Twilight. “THAT is most likely your new boss.”

============================

A half hour or so prior

“So, we finally got the whole place ready. Now what do we do?” asked a smirking Sparklink.

“Oh, yak it up,” growled Nikolai. The past few days had been grating. The problems he and Sparklink had run into fixing the underground house were numerous. From bad walls to the electrical wiring (or lack there-of) and plumbing. “Now, we can start sparing. I need a gauge on how good you are. So here we are.” Motioning to the field a fair way from where they were living that they were in, Nikolai continued, “So here is the thing, I am strong. Crazy strong; but I can't turn it off. It is a part of me. I think your ruler would have mentioned how hard I hit?”

“No, she neglected that.”

“Welp, I drew Ichor, and I assume you know what that means?”

“Yes, but what weapons were you using to achieve that?”

“My...well hands doesn't apply any more, so hooves. And I was using my Knives towards the end,” Nikolai, speaking frankly and pulling out his knives from under his hoodie near the small of his back, started to explain, “And these babies are a bit beyond your world and it's current technology. The Mark Four Shin'la Vibro Knives are my preferred weapons of choice for combat, and I have training in other weapons as well. I have been trained lightly in Capoeira for my foot work as it is a style that revolves around fighting and kicking to a beat, boxing for actual punches and stamina. The knives themselves are a steel alloy that can take a fair bit of punishment on it's own. The thing that makes THESE so deadly is this,” he explained, pressing in a button that Sparklink just noticed as he showed him, causing the blades' edges to glow a light blue, “a ultrasonic generator in each blade's hilt to cause the metal to vibrate at above audible frequencies. This rapid oscillation enables the blade to cut cleaner on a smaller scale.”

“So, it moves really fast really quickly to cut better?”

“Yes. These blades can cut through steel plates just by being placed blade edge first and light pressure applied. I have carved through walls and whole bodies with them on. While melee combat back home was relegated to more of a sport than anything else, soldiers would receive basic close quarters training and a decent amount of unarmed and armed melee techniques taught to them. Warfare back home was more ranged than melee after the advent of black powder weapons that were reliable.”

“So, your soldiers and the beings living in your country had firearms?”

“Oh?” was Nikolai's quiet response of surprise to this revelation.

“Yeah, the Griffon's have weapons they call rifles. I think they use a bolt or something like that as their reloading or firing mechanism; the muskets they used to use are considered almost outdated.”

“So y'all got bolt action weapons, huh?” mused Nikolai. He thought for a moment before continuing his rather long winded explanation, “Well, that is neither here nor relevant. I can tell you with some real confidence that nothing at that level of weapons tech is going to hurt me reliably. You need cannons in a range you don't have at a power you cant make yet.”

“And what would that be?”

“Around one hundred and twenty millimeters or so in bore diameter with a effective range of almost a mile and a half.”

“What kind of artillery do your people use for that to be standard?!”

“That ain't Arty kid; those are the main canons on main battle tanks. Which for the record are armored vehicles that weigh in excess of 60 tons for the nation I called home.” The look of disbelief was evident on the Changeling's face. Nikolai chuckled as he lit a cigarette and continued, “I know, I can lift one with either of my arms and use them like clubs. I did it in one fight I was involved in.”

“And why were you wielding these 'tanks' like clubs?”

“Better than being shot by them. The shells they fire hurt like a bitch.”

“I would imagine so...” said Sparklink quietly, looking at his hooves. After a minute or so of standing there, he asked a rather pointed question. “How much can you lift? Do you know?”

“Now I do; before I left Canterlot to live in this town I had Celestia and the other two help me figure that out for something I asked for.”

“Could you tell me?”

“Better, I can show you.” With that, the stallion dropped his near finished smoke to the ground and snuffed it out. He stood from his sitting position he had assumed to motion to himself. “Right, in my clothes you can't really gauge my build right?” A nod met his question.

“Well, I am a heavy build when not under the effect of my new jewelry. Gimme a sec.” as he said this, Nikolai started to remove his clothes. Once he was down to a set of loose fitting shorts he motioned to a odd necklace he was wearing. This pulled the Changeling's view from his thin form to the pendant. It looked like a crown, stylized and plain at the same time. It was made of a plain black metal, matte in it's finish which was the same as the chain it was on. Over all he looked emaciated, not quite to the ribs showing through his flesh as he stood there.

“Okay, that is NOT a heavy build. Where are you going with this?”

“Simple, once the rulers of your nations figured out how to gauge my strength, they found the numbers I am working with and came up with a solution,” continued Nikolai, he and Sparklink unaware of the scooter and cart coming down the road, four foals coming down from town to see a friend near by. The four were talking quietly and walking along, absorbed in their own conversation. The colt, a small brown Earth pony with a propeller beanie on his head, noticed the two beings off to the side when he looked up to ask a question.

“Girls? Who is that?”

“Who is wh...that is Mistah Morgan. I dunno who that Changeling is though.” answered Applebloom. She turned to Sweetie Belle, asking, “You remember his name Sweetie?”

“Sparklink or something like that why?” was the little Unicorn's reply. She looked over with the rest, wondering what was going on. Scootaloo decided to move in closer to listen in.

“Well, come on; let's ask them!” The other three looked to each other as their friend moved her scooter off the road and walked closer to the males as they talked. The moved to follow, their curiosity winning out over any fear they may have had over this seemingly foreboding moment. Nikolai continued while they moved in, still unnoticed.

“So, the way they figured out how much I could hold was easy enough. They took a ten pound weight and had me hold it. While I held it I needed to keep it up as long as I could. They started to affect it's gravity, making it heavier than it had been a few minutes in I had them really amp it up seeing as it was taking forever to notice the weight. After much exponential doubling, I had a baseline. Eighteen hundred tons for one limb. After that I had to use two or more to hold it up. At Seventy two hundred tons I called it quits seeing as I felt like my back was breaking.”

“Okay, that is just ridiculous. There is no way you can lift nearly two thousand tons with one leg.”

“I ain't done yet, gimme a sec; that is the rub, I normally don't use all of that muscle when I fight. That was measuring the numbers I could lift and hold to get a numerical value since I had none. Once they found that the Princesses and your queen had a bit of an epiphany. They enchanted this pendant to exert two thousand five hundred tons on me and me alone at any given moment. This has several noticeable side effects. One of which is my current look. Another is my size.”

“How is that a thing? You a bit bigger than average, sure, but not by enough to be huge.”

“Lemme take this thing off so you can see what I mean.” continued Nikolai, moving to take the pendant off. “I also look like I have been through a blender, fair warning.” Sparklink only watched, staying silent as the stallion in front of him worked the latch at the back of his neck. The Crusaders and their friend had almost closed in close enough to hear at this point. The latch finally gave way and with it, the chain and pendant fell to the ground with an audible thud, cracking a small rock with it's mass.

Nikolai's body seemed to be covered in a haze for a brief moment, before he solidified. He was at the size he had been upon his arrival to this world, nearly nine feet in height. His scars, mostly hidden by the magic on the pendant, came back in all their gruesome glory. Sparklink stared in awe at the veritable mountain of muscle and scar tissue in front of him. Where the shorts had been loose before, they were now taught, stretched tight over the back half of the pony in front of him.

“NOW I believe you.” was his statement upon this reveal.

“HOLY HAY!” exclaimed the colt as this happened. The two adult males looked over sharply, just realizing that the foals were there, the fillies looking at the colt with annoyance. “You are HUGE!”

“Yes I am; who are you and why are you four,” said Morgue, looking down at the children, “doing out here at this time of day? Isn't school a thing here?”

“Yeah, but today is the start of the weekend.” said Applebloom.

“We were going to see Zecora, AB said she needed to ask her something.”

“Oh?” asked the large male, clearly at a loss for what to say since the foals weren't running and screaming at his looks.

“Yeah! Zecora is a Zebra potions mastah!” said Applebloom excitedly, “She has been teaching me how to brew some stuff with things I can find on the farm!”

“She teaches all of us stuff too! I can't seem to make anything that doesn't burn though.” said a slightly dejected Sweetie Belle. She looked over to the colt next to her and shook her head before continuing, “THIS is Button Mash, a friend from school. We were just spending the day at the arcade with him after we talked to Zecora.” introducing him with only a small amount of venom in her voice.

Button, now in the spotlight, shrunk a little, saying, “Sorry, but you just grew like a video game character! Why is that?”

“Geeze Button, he has super powers; Duh!” said an irritated Scootaloo. Button only looked between the two, obviously not believing a word. Morgue rolled his eyes and motioned for the group to sit down.

“She is right, I have super strength and toughness, the ability to leap huge distances, hit things far harder than I should be able to and I am highly trained in both unarmed and armed combat styles. Here, lemme show you something.” After the group got settled in short order, Morgue looked at Sparklink.

“This is a demonstration for you too, so pay attention. I am going to start jumping around, see if you can gauge my maximum distances and such. Then we can spar and I can get a feel for you and some of the others.” Sparklink nodded and looked on, very interested in how this would play out. Morgue's legs bent slightly, enough to show he had moved them, but not enough to have bent the limbs completely. Then he shot into the sky, almost flying.

The group's collective jaws fell as they watched the stallion fly up and away, bouncing all over the whole field for almost a solid minute. As he did so, he flipped and spun, kicking out with all of his limbs. Sparklink was the only one to catch that he was warming up for their spar. The Changeling's appreciation of the male shot up as he watched how he moved.

+So little wasted movement, so much control...What was his world like to produce this?!+

+It weren't pretty like this one mate.+ the response caused time to stop for the Changeling. THAT was omitted from his dossier of this assignment. +Just know that THIS ability comes from my mama's side of the family. And it's one reason why the V'asori want me dead so badly.+

+WHAT?+

+My mother was from Atlantis, the jewel city under the sea. She had blue skin and black eyes, like most of them did. She and the rest of that side of my family were from underwater. I could'a been born more like her, but I take after my dad, a human. I don't need to swim or immerse myself in water daily to stay alive. A side effect of that was I have less control over my mental communication than a near full or full blooded Atlatian. I have to be the recipient, I can't send unless you talk to me.+

“WHAT!?” exclaimed Sparklink, at just the right time to prevent the foals from looking at him too much. Morgue had just landed and slammed both rear hooves into the ground and literally carved a chunk of the field out of the ground and threw it over head. The chunk was nearly four tons of dirt and rock, thrown nearly ten yards up. Morgue then slammed his right fore-hoof into the miniature hill, causing it to explode into a large dust cloud. Landing near the group, he trotted over, a light sheen of sweat covering his form.

“So kids, you enjoy the show?”

“CAN YOU COME AND SHOW THAT OFF AT SCHOOL!?” yell all three of the Crusaders nearly in his face in an instant. Do THEY have super speed or something? wondered the male as he shook his head to get his hearing back. Sparklink only looked on, shocked and honestly laughing at the foal's antics.

“So COOL!” exclaimed Button, looking on with stars in his eyes. The foals thoroughly enjoyed the demonstration. After eventually giving in to come by and show off one day in the future, Morgue told the kids one last thing.

“Okay, look; it's been fun showing off, but now I need to work with our buggy buddy here,” motioning to Sparklink, “So I need you lot to go back to town and NOT burn the place down. Can y'all do that fer me?”

“Yeah.” was the subdued answer, the foals obviously wanting to stay and watch. The small bit bag landing in front of them was not expected however.

“Cool, play a few rounds for me will ya? I was always partial to beat 'em ups.”

“Sure!” their melancholy forgotten at the surplus of money to play games with, the group ran off to the arcade as fast as the scooter could carry them once they got on it or in the cart behind it.

“And you say you're heartless.”

“Hey, kids gotta live while they're young. The world will kill that innocence soon enough.”

“True. Are you ready?”

“Bug boy, I was BORN ready to fight.” With that final comment, the two assumed fighting stances and looked at one another. “First submission, not first blood. We got all day, so you go first, pop what you got and rush me.” A roar left the Changeling's throat as he began to charge the stallion and the smirk never faded from either face as they collided, titans shaking the earth among the empty field. Today is going to be a good day. thought the ex-professional fighter.

============================

Present time, outside of the Golden Oaks Library

Morgue threw Sparklink through the air, trying to keep up as the empowered Changeling became a living missile. Sparklink had done as he was asked and threw everything he had at his new instructor. They were evenly matched at the start and still going strong, though he suspected that Morgue was holding back, pulling his blows to not kill him. HE was swinging for all he was worth, getting nary a result except for sore limbs out of it. Having lost track of time and spacial location (being thrown while spinning tends to do that to an individual), Sparklink flared his wings to stop his momentum. Quickly looking around the area, he tried to locate his sparring partner. The hulk of flesh that Ser Morgan was in all actuality all along was nowhere to be found. That was concerning, seeing as he had a tendency to hit when Sparklink was ill set for it. A dull thwack was heard through the area as a hoof met flesh, Morgue coming in from above to hit Sparklink into the ground. The tree he landed near swayed slightly from his impact, but was otherwise undisturbed.

Morgue came down from his height of nearly forty yards up, landing quietly among the calm of the street. “Well Sparky, you are definitely not what I was expecting. If the rest of this lot can keep up, I might just have my work cut out for me.”

“And I must say the same. I have fought dragons and wyrms with less resilience than you.”

“Heh, soldiers 'till the end, am I right?”

“Yes.” agreed the Changeling. “Still I must wonder when we ended up in town. I don't think we were that mobile while fighting.”

“True, but at the level I am at, fighting becomes one seamless blur of landscapes. If I chew the scenery some, then we would take notice. Nice job on your landing by the way, you have already learned how to roll when I throw you.”

“Your muscle just took some getting used to is all;” shrugged the assassin, “Lets finish up, I am ready to crash.”

“I am good for days yet boy.”

“You and your monstrous power set...” grumbled the Changeling. That cost him the one second he needed to see that Morgue reared up into his odd bipedal fighting stance and shoot forward.

“BOOM BABY!” was his cry as his hoof shot out, Sparklink's eyes snapping open in response. The air itself seemed to crack with that hit. Windows up and down the street shattered as the poor recipient of the punch flew through the air, Morgue laughing as he jumped to keep up. The door to the Treebary burst open and bodies piled out, catching the last glimpse of the two flying into the distance.

“After them!” cried out an elderly looking mare, putting paid to her own words and galloping off. The rest of the group followed at their own paces, but fast enough to stay together. Twilight called out to Spike as she left, saying a few things.

“Spike, I am going with our new residents! When the mayor asks what happened, tell her I'll let her know what was going on once I find out!”

“Sure!” And with that the whole group of sixteen ran out of town, following the figures as they fought along the road. The booms from their blows were felt even from around a thousand feet away, putting their all into this spar. To the Guard and the Centurions it was as if the two were locked in mortal battle, the changelings unable to contact the monster of their species that was fighting that ball of joy and rage that flew around like a Pegasus. Eventually the group passed the old Hitch place, Twilight making note of how the grounds looked better than they had since she moved into town. A few minutes after this, for a total of ten or so spent running, everything came to a stop at a field, torn up and ruined from fighting.

The gouges in the earthy loam and dirt were deep in some places, almost deep enough for bodies to have impacted at high speeds. A few places were either smoking from magic fire or still ON fire, small cones extending from the obvious impact points of the spells. Looking around, Twilight came to the conclusion that something had happened. The group had caught up to the two fighters, who were talking and laughing like they just had the time of their lives.

“Dude, whatever the hell you did; you gotta teach that to the others!” called out Morgue, near his clothes, riffling through the pockets for a cigarette. His form was covered in scrapes and some blood from a few cuts. The top half of his left foreleg was covered in tiny holes, no longer bleeding. Sparklink was in worse shape, scuffed and bloodied more than the professional fighter to a significant degree. Still, even through his black eye, he was smiling and laughing.

“Sure, if they can learn it. I have to say, having never gone a full ten minutes in this Empowered state, it is quite the rush! Still,” sobering up and shrinking back down to his normal size, making his injuries more apparent, he asked one thing, “Just how much were you holding back?”

“I was swinging at about the level I was when I first started, which is about a full third of what I can do if I push it. The fact I had to go that far for you while you're alone is impressive. That style you were using was meant for assassins wasn't it? Not flashy, efficient, quick to hit vitals and all.”

“Kinda? I was the one sent out to keep the hive safe and after some time just got better and better at eliminating the hive's enemies.” was Sparklink's response. He perked up and looked over his shoulder. “OI! We got company.”

“Who is it now?” asked Morgue, in the process of putting on his hoodie, pants having already been put on. “Is it the mayor or Twilight? I think we landed near her place in town; but I ain't sure. Too much action too quickly, that spar got out of hand really fast.”

“THAT WAS YOU TWO SPARRING?!” cried out Twilight in horror. She looked around the field, taking in the damage again, with a new perspective on the action here. “Why would you fight that hard in a spar?”

“Sparklink,” began a mare, quickly dropping her disguise, “What were you doing using your Empowered state for for any length of time! You know you need to feed now!” the Changeling looked much like Sparklink, only less rigid in appearance. She sounded genuinely worried about him for odd reasons.

“Flameleaf? Her majesty sent you? Wow she MUST be taking this seriously!” laughed Sparklink, “And as for the need to feed, I am fine. I fed off him while fighting.”

“What.”

“It's true, I LOVE a good scrap.” said the stallion, putting on his medallion. Once on, he shimmered briefly, before solidifying. “Besides, I needed to get his measure so I could figure out how I was going to start this whole thing off. As for you lot,” looking over the group as a whole, “I will do this with each of you eventually, then in groups.”

“Uh...” began a thin looking Unicorn male, “Why?”

“As I told Sparky there, I need to get a feel for how good you all are as a group and individuals. Best way to do that is a full on brawl. Y'all will learn a fair bit doing so. I can work from there with each of you and the group as a whole.” Looking around, he called out to Twilight as he walked over, “And just as a heads up, I might just continuously do something like this when I am sparring with this lot.”

“So this is going to be a regular occurrence?”

“For the foreseeable future? Probably.” was his blunt response. He looked the group over briefly. “Okay you lot; lets get inside and introductions for each of you done. Sparkle here is going to go home and appease the locals of our future shenanigans.”

“And after that?” asked a yellow Pegasus mare.

“Simple, food and then bed after a bath. Its been a long day for me already, you all know how to do PT I would hope, all that stuff.” he replied with a shrug.

“This is going to be very informal isn't it?” asked Onyx as he looked over to Sparklink.

“You have no idea.” was all the grinning Changeling said. Twilight shook her head at all of this. As she turned around, she had one last thing to say before leaving.

“Just don't kill them, you are right it has already been a long day with this and now I have to go talk to the Mayor, set up a town meeting, send a letter to Princess Celestia...”

“Don't be shy Twily!” called out Moonlight, Twilight just shaking her head and her horn glowing for a moment before all the bags the others had left materialized near by in a neat stack, “Thanks!”

“Just be careful, all of you.” And with that she teleported out of sight, presumably back to her home. The group looked to Nikolai, waiting for instructions. He raised an eyebrow, looking back.

“Well? Y'all comin' inside?”

“Well, what are the sleeping arrangements going to be? Surely you aren't going to leave us to our own devices for most of this exercise in what appears to be futility?”

“Kinda am. Ya see I ain't a teacher; not by any stretch of the word. YOU are here to learn how to keep me in check should I go more insane than I am now. The problem with that is I am a merc for lack of a better word,” motioning for the group to follow him into the building. As they did so the Guards and Centurions who had just arrived looked around. The main room they ended up in was quite large, but then it was a mix of a storage room and a meeting place. Nikolai continued with his impromptu speech, “ and as such am a bit high strung in certain ways. IF I snap completely, it will end up in bodies, unless I can be put down or knocked out. Sadly, I know how tough I am from experience. Your rulers can also attest to that fact, so I decided to do something about it; mainly to not end up in a place that would bore me so much I would make trouble until I either wake up from this hellhole or find a way home.”

Onyx Gust thought about how herd houses worked in the old style while looking around. While ponies would naturally clump up being derived from actual herd animals in their pasts, a herd nowadays meant an extended family. Very extended. What most would consider a herd to be was around six or more families of around fifteen ponies in all, usually spread out among the herd's land holdings creating a small village; Ponyville was an example that had grown into a proper town after more groups had arrived. This home, from what they had been briefed on, was a fair sight smaller. It could house around thirty ponies and their assorted pets and belongings comfortably. With enough room for all of them to have a few rooms each, not counting the communal rooms, there would be more than enough room underground. Another aspect of the older style of herd housing was since it was underground, at least initially, it was less invasive to the area at large. Ponykind had always been rather conservationally minded when it came to buildings and housing as a whole; and with the advent of the spatial manipulation of modern housing being so easy to maintain, it was no longer a plaything of the 'noble' courts (such as they were now).

“What do you mean 'wake up' or find a way home?”

“He isn't native to this world.” simply stated Sparklink, “I have been around for some of his story when he was talking to the Bearers. And seeing as our leaders recognized that as fact and I, along with having experienced his abilities first hoof, cannot express how likely this is.”

“You left out the best bit man!” said the professional fighter, “I died back home, I was immolated in a tide of fire, the kind stars are made of.”

“Okay, then how are you here?” asked the elderly mare, the group having gone below ground and settling down in a room that had the right kind of furniture to be a living room.

“Easy, when I died I went to the negative aspect of the religion that was primarily worshiped back home; a place called Hell.”

“And what makes that place any worse than Tartarus?”

“Easy, the place I know of by that name is merely a small part of Hell; it is a place of eternal damnation and torment for those who broke the laws of the religion, chose not to believe, or any number of negative things.”

“And why would anypony follow a religion that one sided?” asked a Pegasus with rose red coat.

“Easy, eternal paradise on the other side of the coin; no more pain, worry, suffering, or bad things what so ever. That and you would exist forever in a place of happiness and complete bliss. The thing is, in Hell, there are devils and demons who do the tormenting. I woke up in a place near a being I will tell you about later. I fought those monsters for days, I left a literal mountain of corpses and body parts before I managed to get away. I was at the peak of what mortals were capable of back home as far as my fighting ability goes, few if any had that much skill,” Nikolai looked to the ceiling, thinking hard, “And after I fought in Hell, I realized that that translated over after death. After I pissed off a eldrich horror, another long story, I ended up in a place called Valhalla. An old religion had the place as a paradise for warriors who trained to fight in a battle known as Ragnarok and I fought there for months. It WAS great, but not what I had earned, damnation or not. I also wanted to say good bye to my family, who died before I did and in my arms at that.”

“So you were looking to get back to the living world and say good bye?”

“Didn't you hear him? They were dead.”

“Okay, listen, yeah they died, but they were blameless and innocent. They went to Heaven as far as I was aware. I just wanted to say good bye, then endure what I had earned. I call myself a merc; but really I am a murderer and psychotic sociopath bent on the genocide of the people who both invaded my home and killed my family. I ain't no saint and I don't claim to be one. I honestly don't give two rat's asses what y'all think. Since I have been here, I am starting to remember what it meant to feel; to be alive, slowly. My conscience died with my family. It is trying to come back while I am here.”

“And that is a bad thing?” asked Sparklink.

“No, not in itself, per-say. But I have killed hundreds if not thousands of enemy soldiers and not a few civvies. I CAN'T atone by my own beliefs.”

“Okay, on that rather morbid note, was there anything else we needed to do today?” asked Onyx. He was a bit off put by the whole conversation at that point and wanted to move on.

“Gimme your names and we can go from there.”

“Onyx Gust, Major in the Royal Guard.” stated the stallion with a gray black coat and red and yellow striped mane. His cutie mark was a dust devil with black rocks found swirling inside. Well built for a Unicorn, even by Guard standards.

“Peppermint Spice, Captain in the Guard.” said the elderly mare who had taken charge during the run after Nikolai and Sparklink. Her cutie mark stood out against her orange coat seeing as it was a peppermint drop surrounded by fire. Her mane was a graying brown of older middle age.

“River Eyes, Captain.” was all the quiet mare, who could more accurately be called almost a filly due to her lack of age or any real size compared to the others, said. The mark on her flank, a cats-eye symbol made from running water, stood out against her brown coat. The silver hair of her mane covered her left eye in what appeared to be a fashionable style.

“Wintersong, Lieutenant in the Air Guard.” This response was from a massive block of meat of a stallion. Nikolai had, on the few occasions he had been in town, seen a Pegasus they called Bulk. This guy was only a little smaller than him. Unlike Bulk, however, his wings were sized for his frame and made him look even bigger. That revelation came when he stretched just before speaking. His most defining feature was the milky white eyes he had, which according to the report Nikolai had on him, was a birth defect that didn't impair his eyesight in the slightest. A black snowflake that was the base of a sixty-fourth note laid proudly on his flank.

“Ivory Fire, Lieutenant in the Mage Corps.” this mare was a riot of clashing color, black mane and yellow coat, brown eyes. The white helix that was her cutie mark was a bit glaring with her colors.

“Swift Bolt, sir. Ell Tee in the Plains-runners division.” stated a stallion that seemingly walked out of thin air as he walked into the room. Nikolai had not noticed him and just barely restrained himself from drawing a knife and leaping at him. His slight jump caught Sparklink's eye, though he said nothing. Swift was bright, almost a solidified beam of light in color; Yellow eyes, strawberry blonde mane and a white coat over a lean runner's build was what rounded the male out.

“Water Lilly, Battlemage, Sergeant in the Mage Corps.” said a mare around the sucker in her mouth, her eyes shining with a laugh unheard by all. Her ocher coat contrasted with her blond mane, pulled back in a tightly braided tail. Her thin build was stereotypical of a mage.

“Platinum Chaser, Windcaller, Sergeant.” said the next mare, after looking around. Her predominately red colored scheme was bright in the new lights that had been installed in the room. She appeared thickly built, even though she had a lithe build, but her wings were large for her size.

“Moonlight Hunter, Gunnery Sergeant in the Corps.” stated the stallion who had talked to Twilight. His predominant feature was his sickly appearance, giving him a slim build; almost emaciated in his size. The cutie mark on his flank was odd, a full moon behind a crossed spear and bow. No idea what he is going to be like, gonna have to watch him. though Nikolai.

“I'm Lightning Steps, just plain Sergeant in the Guard for me.” sheepishly said a Pegasus mare, rubbing one hoof on the back of her head. The mare was built thin for a soldier, but it was all toned muscle from the shadows on her from the lights.

“Lightning Mist, sir. Sergeant in the Guard-” started what looked like a mare, but sounded like a stallion. The pony was very androgynous as far as Nikolai could tell, and his eyes were darting everywhere in the room noting everything. Like he was planning something.

“Not going to give him your full rank, Misty?” asked Onyx.

“That has yet to be decided by the tribunal.”

“What did he do THIS time?” asked Peppermint.

“Managed to catch Princess Luna in a prank. I believe him when he says it was an accident, but until otherwise told, he is essentially on probation.”

“And?” started Nikolai, looking at the male in question, eyebrow raised.

“I am a Master Sergeant, temporary demotion until the tribunal determines a 'suitable' punishment. At this point I could care less what happens, my folks need the pay I send them that I get from being a Master. Prankster habit aside, I have a near spotless record.”

“Near?”

“One or two midnight meetings with the wrong offspring of important ponies.”

“Ah.” was all Nikolai could say. This last.....pony was odd. He could almost call him a human based on how he was acting, but only in his apparent apathy. He turned to the second largest stallion among the group of Royal Guard, a Unicorn rivaling Wintersong in size. “And you?”

“Jade Spark. Sergeant, Line-mage.” The only words out of his mouth were clipped and taut. He seemed on edge, looking furtively at the Changelings. Nikolai turned to the bugs and motioned to continue this session.

“Winterstrike, Scrollbolt, and Flameleaf. They haven't worked with me at all or often in the case of Scrollbolt.” replied Sparklink, motioning to each in turn. No real defining features on them except for a few wrinkles on Scrollbolt. Nikolai just hummed as he looked over the motley crew in front of him.

“Right, well; I get up early to run through some standard exercises for me. Y'all do what ever you normally do and I will get with you in my own time. Eventually we will work in a single group, but for now it is going to be a smaller personal thing. Any real questions?”

“What do you want us to do in the meantime?” asked Jade. He seemed a little more at ease, but not by much.

“Meet the folks in town, get used to the area, train like you normally would; that kinda stuff.” stated the fighter as he got up out of the chair he ended up in, looking over his shoulder as he left the room. “I don't plan on going all out just yet. Get used to things here for now. Once things settle down a bit, we will get into gear.”

“Okay, what else are we doing today, anything?”

“Naw, show 'em around and get them settled in Sparky.” With that final line the stallion was gone, and Sparklink felt the gaze of fifteen others on him as they turned to look at him. He gulped, +I hate my life some days...+

+We all hate life some days bug boy.+

Life, after that day, settled into a routine. As the next few weeks began passing, Morgue declined to meet with any of the girls who came trying to talk with him, citing his need to keep working. This was very troublesome as they tried near daily for a week or so. When his point was made, they left him be with the Guard and Centurions he was working with.

All the while, the Princesses and Queen Chrysalis would meet every so often and discuss matters of state, trying to ease the relations between their nations. While it was harder to convince some as to the legitimacy of what was happening, most just went on with life. However, trouble was brewing in the quiet country village...

============================

“So, what you are proposing is to take some of your students into the Everfree and go to the Castle ruins?” asked Mayor Mare as she looked over her desk at Cheerilee.

“When you put it like that, it sounds like I am crazy. Zecora found something interesting that I think would be a great critical thinking assignment. She talked about a crystal tree or something like that NEAR the ruins. And since we have a contingent of Guard in the area, I thought it might not hurt to ask.”

“While I can sympathize, I still think this idea could be better implemented,” began Mayor Mare, “I can agree that it would be an...interesting trip. Did you have any set plans at the moment or did you just wish to put this idea on the table?”

“A bit of both; the guard would be there to help escort us to the site and back, it is closer to the edge of the forest after all. After a hour or two in the area we would head back. Nothing more. Zecora was willing to lead this whole thing into the forest if she could get some extra bodies and eyes for safety. And the rumors flying around town about Ser Morgan and the Guards he has...”

“I understand. However-” this last bit about caused Cheerilee to cringe, “If they say no, I want to hear no more of this.”

“I can agree to that.”

“I do not know what the schedule the guard keep at their residence is, but if you wish to ask them, I would recommend you do so sooner rather than latter.”

“I will, I just wanted to get the idea out on the table first,” Cheerilee breathed out, “Thanks for your time Mayor.”

“Never a problem to listen to a pony in this town come forward with ideas. Just TRY to keep them saner from now on? Regardless of how you propose it, it will be risky.”

“I know, which is why I tried you first.” Saying that, the teacher left the mayor's office and headed out for the Hitch residence. While the family was gone from the town, the name still stuck because of how long they were there. And since no new names had been put forward from anypony to replace it, all the townsponies called it the Hitch place. While she thought on this, Cheerilee kept walking, trying to set up her appeal for the Guard and Ser Morgan.

She found Morgue in the field out in front of his residence, eyes closed and slowly tapping his left forehoof. Before she could say anything, however, he seemed to explode. He was everywhere on the lawn in under a minute was what it seemed like. He was spinning and kicking, leaping and slamming into the ground. A sound was felt more than heard as he moved in time to the beat, flying and kicking as he moved in what Cheerilee would later learn was shadowboxing. He was fighting things only he could see as he flew. While she watched, entranced by the movements of one of the town's newest residents, Cheerilee never noticed the stallion sit beside her.

“Odd, isn't it?” he asked quietly, making her jump, “That a stallion so large can be so graceful when he chooses to be?”

“What is this?”

“His daily workouts are odd. Some days he just lifts weights and runs in place, bemoaning the lack of a 'treadmill'. Others he does this,” motioning to the spectacle in front of them, the stallion continued, “where he fights battles long done again and again; trying to lift himself to higher and higher heights of ability.”

“And is this something all of you do?”

“Mostly, but at a much more subdued level than this.” chuckled the stallion. Cheerilie finally looked over as the not quite heard music faded. The massive unicorn next to her was as green as he was large. A fire upon a gray background like a flag throwing jade sparks into the air was his cutie mark. She looked up and met sapphire blue eyes that looked down on her with a twinkle of amusement. “To what do we own the honor of your visit, Miss Cheerilee?”

“You know who I am ?”

“It would be hard not to; once the Crusaders' found Ser Morgan was not against their coming over with friends, they began doing so. While I would have done things differently, I am sworn to follow orders,” he started, looking over at the stallion in the field slowly stretch out his muscles, “ I haven't gotten any word from him on the matter, positive or negative. And so, unless they are disruptive, they stay here when allowed until they are collected by their parents or guardians.”

“That is...I don't know what to say. Some of the rumors in town paint him as heartless.”

“He is, in his own way.” The Unicorn looked up and motioned with his head to the male that they had been talking about. “If you had some purpose other than a social call, I would recommend you take care of it now. Today was the day I was to spar with him.”

“Is there going to be a repeat of what happened with Sparklink?”

“No, I am more experienced than the Centurion is. I hope I can contain the spar to the field we will be in.”

“Right, thank you for your time...?”

“Jade Spark, ma'am.”

“Thank you, Jade.” Cheerilee said getting up and walking to the waiting stallion. After describing what she wanted, she got an unexpected answer.

“Gimme a week. After that I can give you a yes or no.”

“Any reason you care to share?”

“Just gotta check some things first, that's all.” with that Morgue motioned back towards town. “Now, please leave, it is going to get loud and very active here in a bit. Mind warning the girls?”

“I will let them know that today isn't a good day.”

“Thanks, Jade! Lets go, the others will be along in a few minutes.” And with that the two moved to the road just off the property and down it to their field. Cheerilee watched as they did so, greeting a few of the Guard as they came out before leaving. Unknown to her, Cheerilee had just begun a chain of events to lead to the start of a war to end all wars upon her planet.

============================

The apple orchard was quiet, not even a breeze blowing in the wake of the devastation laying at the edge of it. Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow stared in mute horror at the figure laying in the trench carved through the ground. They were near the edge of the Everfree forest here, but around a hundred yards away. The trench went on about twenty from the figure's final position.

Staring with sightless eyes into the evening sky, covered in gore that was both his and not, was the body of Nikolai.

His chest was torn clean open, entrails everywhere and the ground awash with blood. A howl rent the air as a large shadow loomed at the edge of the forest as the girls stared at the unbeating heart of the stallion that had sworn to bring the foals back.

“I WILL FEAST TONIGHT UPON SUCH STRENGTH!” The laughter that accompanied the demonic voice was as harrowing as it was mad. And thus began the tale of the latest Equestrian Juggernaut...

Author's Note

Sorry about the delay all; this took some time to get right, and even then-
i had to break this up into a few pieces.
i will try to update again before the month is out- it shouldn't take nearly this long to finish this bit up.
fingers/hooves crossed and to all of you-
Peace!

P.S.-
the ammulet looks kinda like this-