The Lives Of Those In Canterlot Cityby PyraFlareChapters1) Commence2) Chatting3) Control4) Caring5) Calm6) Conscience7) CareScrew itDreaming of Absolution (link to the remake)1) CommenceA small blue butterfly fluttered over a lush green field, the metropolis known as Canterlot City could be seen off in the distance, it's tall steel buildings only small blurs on the horizon. Small clouds floated through the sky slowly, a gentle breeze causing the green grass to form soft waves along the field. The sun shone down on the world, the bright and colourful day just seeming...perfect. The small butterfly gently flew over to a lone standing tree on a small hill in the middle of the field, it's trunk was curved out slightly snd its branches were long with large amounts of leaves casting the top of the hill in shadow. The butterfly reached the tree and landed on the tip of a nose of a person in a peaceful slumber on the lush green grass, his back against the tree under the shade. As the butterfly shifted on the persons nose the young man started to stir at the ticklish sensation of the tiny legs moving near his nostrils. Two emerald green eyes opened slowly to see what had disturbed the boys peaceful sleep. They blinked a few times before opening fully, the nose twitching slightly at the ticklish feeling. A hand slowly reached up to the butterfly and allowed it to hop onto a finger before the small creature could make the young man sneeze. The hand reached out and the finger jutted down, causing the butterfly to gently fly away from the sudden movement. "Freakin' butterflies..." A voice spoke that seemed to be between deep and high in sound. The young man sat up and streched his arms out, waking up from his power nap. He had a green scarf with grey stripes that he wore up to just under the tip of his nose, a part of it wrapped around his neck while the rest was draped over his left shoulder and flowed freely in the slight breeze. He wore a green hoodie, grey jeans and green sneakers with black stripes. His medium-long green hair was brushed back and reached the middle of his neck. Looking to the left he saw a large mansion made of black, grey and green materials, his home. "Hm, Chrysalis really loves the green and black thing, to be honest it just makes her stuff unattractive, unless she's wanting to attract goths or something I don't know." The young man spoke through his scarf before looking around. "Who am I even talking to?" After shaking himself he stood up and began to slowly walk down the field away from the huge mansion owned by his mother. He took in a whiff of the morning air...but couldn't smell anything. He sighed in disappointment, unable to smell the sweet scent of the flowers and the grass unless the smell was strong. Suddenly something buzzed in his right pocket, reaching in he pulled out his smartphone to see a message from someone he hadn't seen in a long time, Octavia Melody. "Octavia? I haven't seen her in years, why is she messaging me now?" He stopped before looking at the phone. "Come to think of it why did I even keep the contact number saved?" Shrugging he tapped the letter icon and read the text. Hello Roden, I hope you still have this number. You see, it's been so long since I've last seen you, and I'd like to meet up if you're free today. I'll be in the main city in the coffee shop across the street from the CyCorp building at around half twelve, hope to see you there, we have so much catching up to do. From, Octavia Melody. He stared at the text for a few moments, trying to decide to either ignore the text or reply and go see his old friend. Given his options he replied. Hey Octavia, yes I've still got the same number. I think that meeting up is an alright idea, I'll see you there. Roden. After selecting send he looked to the time at the top of the screen. "Eleven thirty, if I get going now I can make it to the cafe with time to spare, it's been awhile since I've went to the city anyway." He stopped agin while looking around. "Seriously, who am I talking to?!" Meanwhile Octavia set her phone down after sending her message, not expecting a response from her old friend. "You think he'll actually reply?" A voice asked from behind the cellist, turning around she saw a young man standing there. He was wearing his favorite black chef's coat, with black pants, and black shoes. His black hair was slicked back and goatee was kept well groomed and trimmed. "I don't know Mise, I'm not even sure if he still has the same number." She responded. Suddenly her phone buzzed and she immediately picked it up, reading the response while a wide smile made its way to her face. "He replied!" "That's great, maybe we should get going if we want to meet him there on time." Mise said as he was about to walk out the door. "Actually Mise...I think it's best if you don't meet him." Octavia said uneasily. "Why not? Is he your ex or something?" Octavia shook her head. "No that's not it. Roden...he's just, the kind of person that doesn't really like meeting new people. I don't know what he's like after all these years but I'd rather not take any chances." She responded in a calm voice. "You can still come with me into the city, it's just when I'm meeting up with Roden maybe you should go find something else to do." Mise just nodded in understanding. "Ok Octy, I'll stay out of your way." He took out his phone, dialled a number and held it to his ear while he walked out. "Hey Shard, it's me Mise, you up for hitting the bar at about twelve thirty?" He paused as the person on the other end responded. "Nah it's not too early for a drink, we'll just be having one or two, we aren't gonna go over board and get drunk or anything. Besides we both know that you hold your drink better than I can, if anything happens you can just carry me out." With that he was gone, leaving Octavia to herself. She looked to her phone again and smiled. "It's been so long, we really need to see each other again. I can't wait to see what you look like now Roden." She put on a jacket and flung her purse over her shoulder before walking out of her house and locking the door. 2) ChattingThe streets of Canterlot City were full of life, people everywhere walking around going about their business from a nice day out to getting the shopping done for the week. In the main section of the city there stood a tall, white, windowless tower. On the edges of the building light blue neon lights led from the bottom of the structure to the top. Two large neon blue 'C's stood back to back above the buildings entrance, the company's logo. This was the Canterlot City branch of a rich company known as CyCorp Industries, a place that seemed straight out of science fiction, the researchers inside those clean white walls developing things people could only imagine. We'll get back to this place later on, for now we're focusing on what is happening across the way from this large building. Across the street sat a small cafe, nothing fancy just a nice little place where people could stop in for a coffee or a cup of tea. Inside this small establishment sat Octavia Melody as she waited patiently for her childhood friend to arrive. She looked down to her watch and saw the time. "12:30, now I just need to wait a while." She picked up her latte and took a gentle sip of the hot liquid. Meanwhile outside the cafe in the street Roden walked through the busy crowd, his hands in his hoodie pockets and his scarf tucked under his arm to avoid it being pulled by any grabby children in the crowd. As he walked his eyes wandered to the huge building across the way from his destination. For some odd reason, he felt that he would be visiting that building soon, like there was something in there he had to find. Shaking himself he continued walking towards the small cafe. As he reached the coffee shop he looked through the window and saw Octavia idly sipping her drink. He took this chance to look her over, seeing how she has changed in the years they spent apart. 'She's grown to be a fine young woman, beyond what I expected.' Walking through the door a small bell rang out. Octavias attention was directed to the door where she saw her old friend looking at her with his emerald eyes. She took the time to see how he had development, what once was a thin young boy with dark circles under his eyes was now a strapping young man with a fresher look to himself with the dark circles non-existent. 'Wow, there's so much improvement! He looks really good, looks like he's been working out a little, still a bit on the thin side but still it's an improvement...and he's still wearing the same scarf.' As Roden approached the table Octavia got out of her seat, once he reached her she immediately brought him into a hug. He remained still for a few seconds, unprepared for the sudden action. He then took his hands out of his pockets and hugged her back. The two stayed like this for a few moments before pulling away from each other. "Hello again, Roden." Octavia said with a smile. "Hello Octavia, it's been quite some time since we last got together." Roden replied, still with his tired expression. "Why don't you go order something then we can get to catching up, it may waken you a bit." Octavia suggested. "Alright, I'll be back in a second." Roden walked up to the counter and ordered a simple coffee. After his drink was given to him he payed the cashier and walked back to his friend. Sitting down in the seat opposite from Octavia he reached the cup up to his face and took a sip, he did this through a small slit in the scarf, somehow not causing any of the contents to touch the fabric. "It's really good to see you again Roden, I've really missed you." Octavia said with a sad smile. Roden set his cup down and looked to his friend. "Likewise Octavia. I've missed your smile." The comment caused her to blush. "W-Why thank you Roden." She cleared her throat and looked up to him. "I see you're still wearing the scarf I made you years ago." Roden placed his head on the scarf and slowly nuzzled into it. "No other scarfs were as comfortable as this one, nor did they have the value this one has to me." Octavia just smiled warmly, thankful that her friend held something she made so close to him. "Thank you Roden. Now, how has your life been so far?" Roden stopped and looked away slightly. "It's been...tolerable." "Your mother still trying to turn you into a manipulative like her?" Roden merely nodded. "Chrysalis still hasn't been able to get me to do what she does, although the skills to do so are there, I've even found ways to use them against her at times." Octavia just smirked. "So what you're saying is if you wanted too you could seduce me right now with the things you've learned from your mother?" Roden just stared at her. "...If I wanted to, yes. But I don't, and I will most likely never try to use those skills on girl, I have too much respect for the female gender." Roden shook his head and looked to Octavia. "I take it life has treated you well, considering your smile." Octavia giggled. "What is it with you and pointing out my smile?" "You can tell a lot about a person by the way they smile, who they feel, who they are or what they do. Not many people see it, but there is always something behind a persons smile, you just need to learn how to see it." Roden explained. "Now, I've told you how I've been, now why don't you tell me how you've been." Octavia just smiled warmly. "Well, things have been great, I've met a lot of interesting people, my musician skills have improved and I now have an amazing boyfriend." That last word caught Rodens attention. "A romantic partner huh...I shouldn't be surprised, with how you act and how you look I would be expecting men to be bowing at your feet." Octavia blushed. "You don't mean that-" "I do though." Octavia looked to him shocked. "Is it hard to believe that someone like me finds you enchanting?" "Well I..,it's just...thank you." Roden just gave a small nod and took another sip of his coffee. "So, tell me about this romantic partner." "Oh, well his name is Mise..." The two spent the next hour talking in that small coffee shop, telling each other stories about their lives and asking each othe questions. Then the topic of Octavia's time in Canterlot High came up, and Roden seemed to like the idea of the school. He had to learn things himself, his mother never thought any tutors or schools were good enough for her "Precious little demon spawn" as she put it. "Oh, would you look at the time, I promised Ditzy that I'd meet her for a spa day." Octavia got out of her seat and swung her purse over her shoulder. "I'm sorry Roden but I need to get going...unless you want to come with me?" Roden shook his head. "No, I need to get back to the mansion, Chrysalis will become suspicious to where I've gone if I'm away too long." Octavia nodded and looked at him with a sad smile. "We should do this again, just the two of us. This was a lot of fun." "Agreed, you still have my contact number so we should be able to arrange something." The two of them hugged and Octavia looked up to him, he being half a full head taller than her. "Goodbye for now, make another masterpiece for when we meet again, I want to see how your talent has improved to this point, it is sure to be beautiful like its creator." Octavia just blushed again and walked away. "I will, goodbye Roden." With that she walked out into the crowd. 'Wait...was he...ooohhhhhh he is good.' She thought realising that the way he complimented her and made her feel special was him showing his skills to her in a subtle manner. Roden sat in the cafe for awhile longer, thinking over the conversation he had with his friend. 'Canterlot High...' 3) ControlRoden drove through the large black gates that led into his mothers property, his green hummer slowly coming to a stop as it reached the front of the huge mansion. Stepping out of the vehicle and locking it he began walking towards the entrance with his hands in his hoodie pockets. As he approached the door he pulled up his scarf again before it opened to reveal a woman with dark grey skin and long dark green hair, her lips were glossed in shiny dark green lipstick and her eyelids with dark grey eyeshadow. Her emerald green eyes glistened in the sunlight. She wore a dark green dress that hugged her hourglass figure perfectly. "And where did you scamper off to dear?" She asked, with a voice perfect for grabbing the attention of a man. Roden just looked up at her with his usual expression. "That is not of your concern Chrysalis." As he tried to walk for the door Chrysalis shut it and leaned her back against it. "Oh I think it is, what kind of mother would I be if I just let you wander off without knowing where you've went?" She asked with a smirk. "Just let me through Chrysalis, I have things to do." He reached for the door handle but she moved in front of him. "Oh, what am I keeping you from exactly? Napping under that tree? Sulking around the mansion? Playing that online videogame you love so much? Tell me what you plan to do." She said with a slight frown. "Like I said..." He pushed her out of the way and opened the door. "...it's none of your concern." He closed the door behind him leaving Chrysalis outside alone. "Go to whatever party you're planning to go to, just don't bring some poor guy you tricked back here with you." He said before walking across the dark grey marble floors. As he heard the sound of a car starting outside he stopped and looked back at the large door of his home. Sighing he shook his head and began walking up the grand staircase at the other end of the first room that split into two stairways, one leading to the top left section of the house and the other to the top right. He took the right staircase and began walking down a fancy hallway with various grey doors surrounded by green woodwork on the wall to his right while the other wall was comprised of windows with black lining through them in the shape of black roses. The sunlight shone through into the dimly lit manor, with candles being the only other source of light. As he reached the last door at the end of the hallway he looked back at the room before, it had been boarded up and a lock was over the door handle. He looked to a small green plaque on the door that had a name written on it. "Zerlinda..." He said quietly, suddenly feeling a sharp pain in his right cheek. He clutched the side of his face as he winced in pain, leaning his shoulder on the wall for support. He threw open the last door in the hallway and made a rush for the bathroom just a bit into his bedroom. Once he reached the sink he pulled off his scarf and looked in the mirror while sweat started to appear. In his reflection he saw his full face, there was a large scar on his right cheek the began from his lip to the back of his jawbone, the reason he wears his scarf over his face. Memories of how he got the scar came flooding back to him, causing the familiar pain to be felt once again with the sound of a gunshot lingering in his mind. It was that day, years ago, that he learned what he truly was, what he had to do and what had to be done. As he turned on the tap on the sink he cupped his hands together and splashed the water over his scar, the pain began to literally wash away, the coldness of the water working to sooth the stabbing feeling. He just stood there, his hands grasping the sides of the sink as the water ran, his head hanging low as he hunched over, his hair hanging down over his ears and forehead, his pupils the size of tiny dots in a page. He shook his head while closing his eyes before straightening himself and carefully wrapping his scarf around his neck and lower face, turning off the water and fixing his hair. "This needs to stop happening so often." He looked around before sighing. Rubbing his eyes with his finger and thumb he walked out of his bathroom and into his bedroom. It had a large king sized bed with dark grey covers, a black wood desk against a wall with an expensive quality PC, a 40 inch television with a green couch and two green bean bags around it with various consoles and games. In the far corner of the room there was a large curtain that went from the roof to the floor on both walls. Walking to the curtains he reached the corner of the room where he grabbed the fabric and pulled them apart, revealing a window that overlooked the field that he was so fond of, having the window built in a corner allowed him to have a better view of the sight he loved so much. Taking in a calming breath he closed the curtains after returning himself to a stable state. Waking over to his desk, which was large and grand by the way, he sat down in his fine leather swivel chair. Booting up his PC he reached into a mini fridge underneath the desk and pulled out a Coca-Cola bottle and set it on a green coaster. Yeah I realise how much I'm saying that things are either grey, black or green but remember who lives in the place. He opened Google chrome and began typing in the search bar "Canterlot High." A number of results came up, ranging from the standards of the school to odd goings on. "Student turns into demon and enslaves student body, stopped by group of brave friends?" He read the article up and down before moving onto a passage about sirens attacking and then yet another student, this time from Crystal Prep, turning into a she-demon. "Looks like an interesting place." He closed the tab and took a sip of his drink before looking through his apps and coming across a game that he had dedicated many hours to. Note that this game doesn't actually exist it's just something I'm making up. It was called "Reality Revolution Redux," it was an open world game that consisted of many factions, it was basically a war simulator. The two biggest factions were currently at war with each other, the Megalegion and the Echo Empire. Guess who was the leader of the Echo Empire? As he was about to login he suddenly felt himself getting dizzy and started to black out. He gripped the desk before falling limp in his chair, his eyes closed and breathing shallow. {Warning: the following content may be confusing but I will answer any questions you may have to better understand} Rodens eyes opened to find himself in a black void, lying in a small circle of light. Getting to his feet he looked around in confusion. "What the hell was in that Coke? Where am I?" "Oh don't act like you don't know what this is, it's annoying and serves no purpose other than to add detail to this thing." A young girls voice said in the void. "...who are you?" He asked softly. "Stop acting like you don't know anything!" Suddenly another circle of light appeared a feet feet away from Rodens, revealing a young girl, looking no older than ten, standing there. Her entire being was light grey, her long hair almost reaching the floor. She only wore a plain t-shirt, pants and shoes. Her eyes were that of a psychopath, with her mouth in the shape of a frown. "I don't know what you're talking about, who are you?" The girl just growled and- "SHUT IT AUTHOR!!! JUST MAKE THIS IDIOT REMEMBER WHAT HE LEARNED!!!" "Mind jogging my memory here if I'm supposed to remember something?" "Stop messing with me author, just let him remember!" You are in no position to demand anything from me. "Wait, who was that?" "ARGH!!! Fine! I'll tell him then!" The girl huffed and- "STOP NARRATING ME!!!" Well I would, but without me YOU CAN'T MOVE, SO SHUT IT!!! "..." Damn, now I've confused the readers, thanks a lot Celia, this was supposed to be simple but you just had to address me didn't you? *sigh* Continue, and don't interrupt my narration again. "Fine..." She walked towards Roden with an angry expression before stopping and looking up at him. "You remember how you got that scar on your face right?" Roden just stayed silent. "I'll take that as a yes. Anyway...if you remember that, you'll remember what you learned that day." "Stop it..." "So you DO remember?! Then you know what this place is, who that voice was and what we all are!" "I said stop it..." "What's wrong? Can't accept the truth of your existence? That we're all words on a screen?" Rodens expression was cold, glaring down at the girl. "Shut it..." You know what? This was a bad idea, I should have never allowed you to be a part of this Celia. However, I'm not so cruel as to just stop writing you, you'll come back, eventually. "So...it's really you?" Yes, it's me. Oh for Gods Saale this is just confusing people! This was supposed to be a nice story! None of this was supposed to be this complicated! Look, I came here because you're the only one in my library that can actually help me in a situation like this. "What's happened?" You know of the other stories, don't you? Of all those parallel universes? "..." Right, well, somethimg has been tampering with those universes, those stories. They're becoming more...complicated...more violent...more and more of then are becoming action based rather than on what they're supposed to be, romance stories. "Then why come to me? Surely if you didn't create this scene my...story...would have been much easier for the readers to follow." Sadly I could not even prevent myself from doing this, I have that problem, I NEED to put my ideas down on paper, and with how I create my tales there has to be some strange that happens...but I think now I've overstepped my boundaries with this little stunt, I can only hope my viewers can accept this. "What makes you think they won't? From what I have seen so far your readers like the strange things you put in your tales." That's the thing, there is only so much they can put up with. Look, that's not important. I just need you to be on the lookout for anything that seems...out of place, alright? "Don't you control everything that happens?" For so,e reason that isn't the case, that girl you saw, Celia, she has the ability to shape parts of the story to her own liking. It's been hell keeping her out of this story for this long, hence why it seemed I was cooperating with her. In truth she is a parasite, aware of what you all really are. "Words on a screen...I know..." Look, I never wanted to make you aware of what your existence is, but certain...circumstances...have made this necessary. Also had to introduce the main villain of this story in some way right? Oh damn I need to stop, this was never supposed to happen, I don't have control of your destiny anymore Roden! Please, just let things play out! I'll try to keep things in line the best I can! You need to live this story out or I'm done for...Second Universe, The Metal Condition, Flawed Harmony! All of my other tales will go to waste! You need to realise how dire the situation is! It all rests on you! Meanwhile, Celia sat in a dark alley, a frown on her face. "Typical...Pyra finds something he can't control and tries to trap it, always showing them mercy. But I've got another writer on my side, and he's got a score to settle with this worlds creator." Celia held her hand up and the area around her started glitching out like the walls and reality itself were made of pixels. She wore a sadistic smile as she began warping reality around her. "Get ready readers, this story...just took a sharp turn!" 4) CaringRoden woke up in his chair, confused as he held his forehead. "What was...that all about?" By the way, I can choose when he hears me, so it's not going to be a constant interaction between us. Even though the situation is dire the main focus of this story is romance, so I plan to stick to that, just needed a villain for this, and if you know anything about me it's that I absolutely LOVE making villains. Roden looked at his computer screen and shook his head. "I'm in no mood to play online right now." As he was about to get out of his seat he stopped as he saw a neatly wrapped present on his desk with a small label. Lifting the black and purple striped box he looked to the label and read it out loud. "You will need this, you may not have to use it anytime soon but I'd prefer if you were prepared, PyraFlare, your creator." He took the lid off the package and reached in, pulling out a dark grey Desert Eagle.50AE pistol. Looking inside the box he found a small ammunition crate holding thirty ammo magazines and an extra fifty uncased bullets. "I don't know why I'll need this, but I guess it'll give the readers a good show when I do use it." Yes, he can now break the fourth wall, ladies and gentlemen I present to you the first sane 4th wall breaker of the PoME group. Placing the gun in his pocket after loading a magazine into it, he walked over to his PS4 and began playing Skullgirls Second Encore in the Big Band storymode. The next day at Canterlot High In the cafeteria of Canterlot high, groups of friends all sat beside each other, sharing laughs and talking about their day. But there sat one student by herself on the empty table at the back of the room. She had long sapphire blue hair that sparkled if you looked closely, her eyes were also like sapphires, sparkling in the right light. She wore a white hooded jacket with blue lines going from the shoulder down the arms until it got to the wrists. She kept the jacket unzipped to show the sapphire blue shirt underneath that reached down past her waist and covered a bit of her jeans making it look like a makeshift skirt, lastly she wore white sneakers with blue stripes on the sides. She sat there quietly eating a ham and cheese sandwich, a simple meal but tasty nonetheless, at least for her anyway. This is Sapphire Phoenix, our stories love interest. She watched the cafeteria, waiting for the day to fill its quota of at least one strange event happening. Soon her wait was over as one of the schools jocks was sent flying until he hit his back against one of the rooms supports. "Say that to Ditzy again and you get the sharp end of the sword!" A familiar voice yelled from where the jock had been launched. She looked over to see two familiar faces walking towards her with their lunches. One was a boy with bright orange hair and eyes, he wore a black jacket with large puffs of orange fur on the wrists and collar. He wore black jeans and orange sneakers with black stripes, looking closely Sapphire could see the hilt of a katana poking out from behind the boy. The one beside the boy was half a head shorter than him. It was a girl with long bright yellow hair and grey skin, her golden eyes loo,one in different directions. She wore a light blue top and brown jacket, with a baby blue short skirt and yellow boots while wearing a happy smile on her face. "Hey cousin, sitting alone again?" The boy asked as he sat down. "Yes Shard, I prefer to eat my lunch in peace. Not that I don't mind your company of course." Sapphire replied with a small smile. "Well I know that eating lunch with friends is much better than eating alone." The girl said with a smile before holding a muffin in her hand. "Then again, any lunch is great as long as I get a muffin!" She then began to adorably nibble on the treat. Shard chuckled and kissed the girls cheek. "Well Ditzy, some people just prefer to be alone while others like to be with company." Shard said before turning back to Sapphire. "But still Saphs, I worry about you, you hardly have any friends outside of Ditzy and me." Sapphire just sighed and set her sandwich down. "Look, I have enough friends for now, just leave it at that, alright?" Shard just frowned. "Find...I'll drop it for now, but Lapis is still going to worry." Sapphire groaned at the mention of her mothers name. "Don't remind me." As the bell rang signalling the students to get to their next classes the group stood up and began walking towards the exit. As they enter the hallway they stopped at the all too familiar sight, Blueblood, the tyrant of the school, was yet again getting off at a student for a very stupid reason. Shard reached behind him and grabbed the hilt of his katana. "Should I humiliate him?" He asked Ditzy and Sapphire. "Nah, it looks like he's just about done." Sapphire said quietly. "I just don't see why Principal Celestia lets him get away with this." Ditzy said with an adorable frown. "It's probably because she knows students like me and Mise constantly put him in his place, so he suffers enough." Shard said with pride. As Blueblood walked away from the student he had bumped into he walked in the direction of the trio. As he was about to walk past them she looked to Ditzy with disgust. "Male one damn comment on my girlfriends eyes and I will kick you in the crotch so hard you'll never have kids, then everyone will have a reason to call you Blueballs." Shard warned with a snarl. Blueblood flinched and walked by the group without incident. Ditzy hugged Shards arm and planted a peck on his cheek causing him to blush slightly. Sapphire rolled her eyes at the display and began walking to her next class. Meanwhile outside the schools front doors Roden stood looking up at the building with his hands in his pockets and his scarf flowing freely in the wind. "Looks to be a simple but pleasant place, hopefully I'll be seeing more of this if all goes well." As he stepped forward he stopped. "Then again, with what this story is, it will go well." After that he continued on. 5) CalmAs Sapphire walked out of her last class of the day she walked past the principals office. As she walked past she stopped before leaning closer, hearing a conversation going on between Principal Celestia and a voice she didn't recognise. "Well Roden, it looks as if everything is in order, welcome to Canterlot High." Celestia said with a happy tone. "Thank you Auntie, I look forward to my time here." The other voice spoke in a tired but pleased tone. "Still have trouble sleeping at night?" Celestia asked with concern in her voice. "I've been getting better, last night I slept a good six hours." "Well that's good to hear, if you can get it up to eight you should start feeling better in no time. I would have suggested sleeping tablets but I didn't want to rub salt in the wound." "It's fine, I've already accepted that my body rejects that kind of medication, it's just something that has to happen naturally, although I have found a certain type of tea to help me during the night. Although a little hard to come by, I managed to buy a few of the trees of which the tea leaves grow on, so if I cannot buy any I can just harvest my own." Roden explained. "Good to know. Now, I hope that the other students will not single you out for who your mother is...heavens know these teens know how to hold a grudge or judge someone." Celestia expressed with a sigh. "There will be those that choose to judge me for my mothers reputation and actions, but if they cannot accept me for me, then they aren't worth my time or attention. I will be fine, Auntie Celestia." Roden reassured. "Very well, have a good day Roden." Sapphire quickly continued on her way as she heard the figures inside get out of their chairs. She didn't bother to look back as she was in a hurry to find Shard who had promised to bring her to the CyCorp building. As Roden stepped out of the office and closed the door he stopped and reached down to the floor, feeling some heat in two small spots by the door. "Someone was eavesdropping, not surprising but still a little rude listening into someone's conversation like that." He shook his head and stood back up. Placing his hands in his hoodie pockets and shifting around in his scarf he began walking down the hallways of the school. As he turned a corner he found that most of the students were there either conversing with friends or gathering stuff from their lockers at the end of the day. He took in a calming breath before he began walking through the crowd. Everything was going great...until they started to recognise who he was. Sapphire had caught up to Shard and Ditzy who were waiting for her at the entrance to the school. "Hey there cus, you ready to go?" "Yeah, the sooner I get home the better." Sapphire said quietly. Just as Shard was about to push the front doors open he stopped as he heard the students in the hallway start to whisper and murmur. It attracted all three of them and they turned to see what the commotion was about. As Sapphire turned around too quickly she ended up bumping into someone and falling down. "Ow..." She looked up to see an outstretched hand. She grabbed it and the person helped her up. "Sorry about that miss, excuse me." Roden said simply after helping her up before walking right past her outside the door. A group of students just looked at the scene in confusion. "Wait a minute, isn't there supposed to be so,e kind of eye contact and a long silent stare after they bump into each other?" A boy with spiky black hair wearing a blue jacket asked. "Come on written what the hell?" Sigh, yep, this one is a fourth wall breaker. Hello to you too Treble Mix. "Don't you hello me mister! What the hell was that about?" You'll see, and could you stop breaking that damn fourth wall, it's expensive to repair. Anyway, if this chapters randomness quota is filled we can continue. "You know, Treble Mix is right, every single time that's happened in the past something has come out of it, but that guy didn't even bat an eye." Vinyl said while folding her arms. "Something is wrong here." "It doesn't have to happen every single time you know." Mise said with annoyance. "Like it or not, not all people will have an instant love connection." Sapphire just blinked and turned to Shard. "Um...ok...lets just get going." Shard nodded and pushed the door open. As they walked out they saw Roden climb into his green hummer and drive off in the huge vehicle. "Any idea who that guy is, the other students seem to know if they were whispering about him." "I don't know, I've never seen him before. What about you Ditzy?" Shard asked his girlfriend. "I don't think so, I don't remember anyone I know that wears any shade of green other than Lyra." The three looked to each other before walking towards a black and orange sports car, Shards car. "Alright, let's get going, we can worry about who that guy was later." Shard said as he climbed in the drivers seat. Meanwhile, Celia was walking through a desolate forest, miles away from any sign of civilisation. "So this is your plan to delay me? Put me far away from the one you planned to stop me? Typical of you to dance around the problem Pyra." Look, it's either this or have the main problem of the story be dealt with too soon, that's bad storytelling. "Yeah sure, that's your excuse." She continued walking until she came to a clearing in the large forest. Holding up her hand the world around her began to shift, broken pixels appearing in the air as reality was rewritten in that small area. As she ceased her hold on reality a large hole that cut deep into the earths crust was in the place of the clearing, but did not go down far enough to have deadly heat or reach ant magma chambers. "This is the place alright, well I'm only wasting both of our times just standing here." She formed wings of broken pixels and jumped down into the large hole while descending slowly. 6) ConscienceAs Roden lay under the same spot he had been at before receiving the text from Octavia he began to ponder his situation, both with CHS and with Celia. Everyone knew who he was because of his mother...he wished that if there was anyone they knew him for that it would be his father, a very kind man by the name of Solman. Strange name yes but you know what the names are like in this world. He resented his mother, he wanted both more than to just do away with her, but if he didn't have her and his fortune he would have nothing left, so he suffered through it. Don't be mistaken, he still loves his mother AS a mother...but not as a person. She did care for him, raised him and taught him all he needed to know in order to survive in the world. He resented her for her actions, but loved her for what she was before and knew there was still the old her somewhere in the manipulative woman he knew today. Sighing he lay the back of his head against the trunk of the tree, shifting slightly to snuggle into his comfortable scarf. "Things can just never be simple can they?" His mind wandered back to his father, picturing an old family photo of him, his father, his mother and two others. One was a slightly taller boy with dark green hair and eyes, having grey skin like Chrysalis. The other was a young girl with dark purple hair and eyes with peach skin like Roden. "Zanny...Zerlinda..." He spoke silently in a choked voice, a tear slipping down his right cheek. His scar began to burn violently, but he ignored it, too caught up reliving happy memories to focus on the bad which caused him pain, allowing him to find at least some peace. "I'm sorry..." He spoke with regret. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you two and dad...I'm so...so sorry." He then let the tears flow, but he remained still, silently crying as he let his bad memories take control of his thoughts, the pain on his scar almost unbearable but he still remained still. "I'm...sorry...brother...sister...father..." He just remained still, his eyes fixed on the sky, watching as the clouds floated by, the sky getting darker over time. Even as the cold night came about he remained in that position, still letting any tears he had left fall. The hours had been long and hard, yet he sat still, the pain in his cheek not fading. As he closed his eyes to blink each time, he heard the dreaded sound of a gunshot, remembering the day his life had been turned upside down. The day he learned what he really was, the day I reached out to him for the first time...the day his siblings and father were murdered. Eventually he fell asleep, the cold being replaced by a warm glow that had only appeared after the troubled teen had drifted off. A small purple heart slowly came into existence, emitting a soft glow that warmed Rodens body. "We forgive you..." The sound of a young girls voice whispered, the words however not reaching the boy. A second heart appeared, this one being dark green. "There is no need to blame yourself..." Its voice was that of a teenaged boy with a slightly deep tone. The two hearts floated down to just above Rodens chest, the outline of a light green heart appearing on his chest. "We shall join you on your journey." They said in unison before floating inside of Rodens chest, the light green outline of the heart now consisting of three stripes of each of the three hearts colours. The three hearts now belonged to the one body, but there was one heart missing...the fathers heart. Now where could that be? I know, and this is something I've been wanting to do for awhile. A few minutes earlier Sapphire walked to her room on the top floor of CyCorp, which was where those that were top teir employees or managers lived if they did not have their own place or residence or were family members of higher ups. As Sapphire walked through the sliding white door she snapped her fingers causing the lights to come on, the room consisted of a bed built into the wall, a corner desk with the latest computer software, a dresser, a closet and a mini fridge. A few small screens were built into the walls, just seeming like black panels on the walls. As Sapphire lay down on her bed the screen that was on the wall next to it flickered to life. The screen was green with two white squares appearing which appeared to act as eyes. The screens eyes looked down to Sapphire. "Good evening Sapphire." Sapphire looked to the screen and rubbed her eye. "Oh, hey Soledad." "You're home late, did you go out with any friends or did you just sulk around the weapon labs again?" The AI asked. "You would know if I was in the building Soledad so why even ask that?" Sapphire sighed. "I was out with my cousin, we went up to our families old temple to look for some special herbs(1)." Soledad just looked at her. "When did you start following Shard Storm around? And to the temple? Need I remind you that the temple is in Japan." "We took his company jet, that's why we're back so late." She moved onto her side and threw the covers over herself. "Look, I'm really tired, just leave me alone Soledad. Go back to...whatever it is you do here." Soledad rolled his eyes. "Well I'm only able to access two rooms in this damn building, this room and my own. So I'll leave you and continue running the building. Goodnight." With that the screen returned to black, the AI leaving the rooms servers, allowing Sapphire to sleep. At the very top floor of the building there was a hidden room, it's walls black with multiple tiny lights and wires. At the end of the long hallway-like room there was a large green computer screen with a set of consoles bellow it. To the side there was a cylinder that had wires going in through the bottom and out the top, running into the screens side. The screen was Soledads primary position in the building, a super computer that managed the technology in CyCorp. Soledad looked down at the cylinder, activating one of its functions. The cylinder opened to show a glass canister that was connected to the wires, filled with liquid and a human brain. Looking closer Soledad saw the black outline of a heart...it was the fathers heart. "One day...one day I'll be free..." He began going over multiple servers and making sure everything was running smoothly. "I just need to get outside the buildings servers, I should be able to find my son..." 7) CareSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Screw itSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Dreaming of Absolution (link to the remake)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
1) CommenceA small blue butterfly fluttered over a lush green field, the metropolis known as Canterlot City could be seen off in the distance, it's tall steel buildings only small blurs on the horizon. Small clouds floated through the sky slowly, a gentle breeze causing the green grass to form soft waves along the field. The sun shone down on the world, the bright and colourful day just seeming...perfect. The small butterfly gently flew over to a lone standing tree on a small hill in the middle of the field, it's trunk was curved out slightly snd its branches were long with large amounts of leaves casting the top of the hill in shadow. The butterfly reached the tree and landed on the tip of a nose of a person in a peaceful slumber on the lush green grass, his back against the tree under the shade. As the butterfly shifted on the persons nose the young man started to stir at the ticklish sensation of the tiny legs moving near his nostrils. Two emerald green eyes opened slowly to see what had disturbed the boys peaceful sleep. They blinked a few times before opening fully, the nose twitching slightly at the ticklish feeling. A hand slowly reached up to the butterfly and allowed it to hop onto a finger before the small creature could make the young man sneeze. The hand reached out and the finger jutted down, causing the butterfly to gently fly away from the sudden movement. "Freakin' butterflies..." A voice spoke that seemed to be between deep and high in sound. The young man sat up and streched his arms out, waking up from his power nap. He had a green scarf with grey stripes that he wore up to just under the tip of his nose, a part of it wrapped around his neck while the rest was draped over his left shoulder and flowed freely in the slight breeze. He wore a green hoodie, grey jeans and green sneakers with black stripes. His medium-long green hair was brushed back and reached the middle of his neck. Looking to the left he saw a large mansion made of black, grey and green materials, his home. "Hm, Chrysalis really loves the green and black thing, to be honest it just makes her stuff unattractive, unless she's wanting to attract goths or something I don't know." The young man spoke through his scarf before looking around. "Who am I even talking to?" After shaking himself he stood up and began to slowly walk down the field away from the huge mansion owned by his mother. He took in a whiff of the morning air...but couldn't smell anything. He sighed in disappointment, unable to smell the sweet scent of the flowers and the grass unless the smell was strong. Suddenly something buzzed in his right pocket, reaching in he pulled out his smartphone to see a message from someone he hadn't seen in a long time, Octavia Melody. "Octavia? I haven't seen her in years, why is she messaging me now?" He stopped before looking at the phone. "Come to think of it why did I even keep the contact number saved?" Shrugging he tapped the letter icon and read the text. Hello Roden, I hope you still have this number. You see, it's been so long since I've last seen you, and I'd like to meet up if you're free today. I'll be in the main city in the coffee shop across the street from the CyCorp building at around half twelve, hope to see you there, we have so much catching up to do. From, Octavia Melody. He stared at the text for a few moments, trying to decide to either ignore the text or reply and go see his old friend. Given his options he replied. Hey Octavia, yes I've still got the same number. I think that meeting up is an alright idea, I'll see you there. Roden. After selecting send he looked to the time at the top of the screen. "Eleven thirty, if I get going now I can make it to the cafe with time to spare, it's been awhile since I've went to the city anyway." He stopped agin while looking around. "Seriously, who am I talking to?!" Meanwhile Octavia set her phone down after sending her message, not expecting a response from her old friend. "You think he'll actually reply?" A voice asked from behind the cellist, turning around she saw a young man standing there. He was wearing his favorite black chef's coat, with black pants, and black shoes. His black hair was slicked back and goatee was kept well groomed and trimmed. "I don't know Mise, I'm not even sure if he still has the same number." She responded. Suddenly her phone buzzed and she immediately picked it up, reading the response while a wide smile made its way to her face. "He replied!" "That's great, maybe we should get going if we want to meet him there on time." Mise said as he was about to walk out the door. "Actually Mise...I think it's best if you don't meet him." Octavia said uneasily. "Why not? Is he your ex or something?" Octavia shook her head. "No that's not it. Roden...he's just, the kind of person that doesn't really like meeting new people. I don't know what he's like after all these years but I'd rather not take any chances." She responded in a calm voice. "You can still come with me into the city, it's just when I'm meeting up with Roden maybe you should go find something else to do." Mise just nodded in understanding. "Ok Octy, I'll stay out of your way." He took out his phone, dialled a number and held it to his ear while he walked out. "Hey Shard, it's me Mise, you up for hitting the bar at about twelve thirty?" He paused as the person on the other end responded. "Nah it's not too early for a drink, we'll just be having one or two, we aren't gonna go over board and get drunk or anything. Besides we both know that you hold your drink better than I can, if anything happens you can just carry me out." With that he was gone, leaving Octavia to herself. She looked to her phone again and smiled. "It's been so long, we really need to see each other again. I can't wait to see what you look like now Roden." She put on a jacket and flung her purse over her shoulder before walking out of her house and locking the door.
2) ChattingThe streets of Canterlot City were full of life, people everywhere walking around going about their business from a nice day out to getting the shopping done for the week. In the main section of the city there stood a tall, white, windowless tower. On the edges of the building light blue neon lights led from the bottom of the structure to the top. Two large neon blue 'C's stood back to back above the buildings entrance, the company's logo. This was the Canterlot City branch of a rich company known as CyCorp Industries, a place that seemed straight out of science fiction, the researchers inside those clean white walls developing things people could only imagine. We'll get back to this place later on, for now we're focusing on what is happening across the way from this large building. Across the street sat a small cafe, nothing fancy just a nice little place where people could stop in for a coffee or a cup of tea. Inside this small establishment sat Octavia Melody as she waited patiently for her childhood friend to arrive. She looked down to her watch and saw the time. "12:30, now I just need to wait a while." She picked up her latte and took a gentle sip of the hot liquid. Meanwhile outside the cafe in the street Roden walked through the busy crowd, his hands in his hoodie pockets and his scarf tucked under his arm to avoid it being pulled by any grabby children in the crowd. As he walked his eyes wandered to the huge building across the way from his destination. For some odd reason, he felt that he would be visiting that building soon, like there was something in there he had to find. Shaking himself he continued walking towards the small cafe. As he reached the coffee shop he looked through the window and saw Octavia idly sipping her drink. He took this chance to look her over, seeing how she has changed in the years they spent apart. 'She's grown to be a fine young woman, beyond what I expected.' Walking through the door a small bell rang out. Octavias attention was directed to the door where she saw her old friend looking at her with his emerald eyes. She took the time to see how he had development, what once was a thin young boy with dark circles under his eyes was now a strapping young man with a fresher look to himself with the dark circles non-existent. 'Wow, there's so much improvement! He looks really good, looks like he's been working out a little, still a bit on the thin side but still it's an improvement...and he's still wearing the same scarf.' As Roden approached the table Octavia got out of her seat, once he reached her she immediately brought him into a hug. He remained still for a few seconds, unprepared for the sudden action. He then took his hands out of his pockets and hugged her back. The two stayed like this for a few moments before pulling away from each other. "Hello again, Roden." Octavia said with a smile. "Hello Octavia, it's been quite some time since we last got together." Roden replied, still with his tired expression. "Why don't you go order something then we can get to catching up, it may waken you a bit." Octavia suggested. "Alright, I'll be back in a second." Roden walked up to the counter and ordered a simple coffee. After his drink was given to him he payed the cashier and walked back to his friend. Sitting down in the seat opposite from Octavia he reached the cup up to his face and took a sip, he did this through a small slit in the scarf, somehow not causing any of the contents to touch the fabric. "It's really good to see you again Roden, I've really missed you." Octavia said with a sad smile. Roden set his cup down and looked to his friend. "Likewise Octavia. I've missed your smile." The comment caused her to blush. "W-Why thank you Roden." She cleared her throat and looked up to him. "I see you're still wearing the scarf I made you years ago." Roden placed his head on the scarf and slowly nuzzled into it. "No other scarfs were as comfortable as this one, nor did they have the value this one has to me." Octavia just smiled warmly, thankful that her friend held something she made so close to him. "Thank you Roden. Now, how has your life been so far?" Roden stopped and looked away slightly. "It's been...tolerable." "Your mother still trying to turn you into a manipulative like her?" Roden merely nodded. "Chrysalis still hasn't been able to get me to do what she does, although the skills to do so are there, I've even found ways to use them against her at times." Octavia just smirked. "So what you're saying is if you wanted too you could seduce me right now with the things you've learned from your mother?" Roden just stared at her. "...If I wanted to, yes. But I don't, and I will most likely never try to use those skills on girl, I have too much respect for the female gender." Roden shook his head and looked to Octavia. "I take it life has treated you well, considering your smile." Octavia giggled. "What is it with you and pointing out my smile?" "You can tell a lot about a person by the way they smile, who they feel, who they are or what they do. Not many people see it, but there is always something behind a persons smile, you just need to learn how to see it." Roden explained. "Now, I've told you how I've been, now why don't you tell me how you've been." Octavia just smiled warmly. "Well, things have been great, I've met a lot of interesting people, my musician skills have improved and I now have an amazing boyfriend." That last word caught Rodens attention. "A romantic partner huh...I shouldn't be surprised, with how you act and how you look I would be expecting men to be bowing at your feet." Octavia blushed. "You don't mean that-" "I do though." Octavia looked to him shocked. "Is it hard to believe that someone like me finds you enchanting?" "Well I..,it's just...thank you." Roden just gave a small nod and took another sip of his coffee. "So, tell me about this romantic partner." "Oh, well his name is Mise..." The two spent the next hour talking in that small coffee shop, telling each other stories about their lives and asking each othe questions. Then the topic of Octavia's time in Canterlot High came up, and Roden seemed to like the idea of the school. He had to learn things himself, his mother never thought any tutors or schools were good enough for her "Precious little demon spawn" as she put it. "Oh, would you look at the time, I promised Ditzy that I'd meet her for a spa day." Octavia got out of her seat and swung her purse over her shoulder. "I'm sorry Roden but I need to get going...unless you want to come with me?" Roden shook his head. "No, I need to get back to the mansion, Chrysalis will become suspicious to where I've gone if I'm away too long." Octavia nodded and looked at him with a sad smile. "We should do this again, just the two of us. This was a lot of fun." "Agreed, you still have my contact number so we should be able to arrange something." The two of them hugged and Octavia looked up to him, he being half a full head taller than her. "Goodbye for now, make another masterpiece for when we meet again, I want to see how your talent has improved to this point, it is sure to be beautiful like its creator." Octavia just blushed again and walked away. "I will, goodbye Roden." With that she walked out into the crowd. 'Wait...was he...ooohhhhhh he is good.' She thought realising that the way he complimented her and made her feel special was him showing his skills to her in a subtle manner. Roden sat in the cafe for awhile longer, thinking over the conversation he had with his friend. 'Canterlot High...'
3) ControlRoden drove through the large black gates that led into his mothers property, his green hummer slowly coming to a stop as it reached the front of the huge mansion. Stepping out of the vehicle and locking it he began walking towards the entrance with his hands in his hoodie pockets. As he approached the door he pulled up his scarf again before it opened to reveal a woman with dark grey skin and long dark green hair, her lips were glossed in shiny dark green lipstick and her eyelids with dark grey eyeshadow. Her emerald green eyes glistened in the sunlight. She wore a dark green dress that hugged her hourglass figure perfectly. "And where did you scamper off to dear?" She asked, with a voice perfect for grabbing the attention of a man. Roden just looked up at her with his usual expression. "That is not of your concern Chrysalis." As he tried to walk for the door Chrysalis shut it and leaned her back against it. "Oh I think it is, what kind of mother would I be if I just let you wander off without knowing where you've went?" She asked with a smirk. "Just let me through Chrysalis, I have things to do." He reached for the door handle but she moved in front of him. "Oh, what am I keeping you from exactly? Napping under that tree? Sulking around the mansion? Playing that online videogame you love so much? Tell me what you plan to do." She said with a slight frown. "Like I said..." He pushed her out of the way and opened the door. "...it's none of your concern." He closed the door behind him leaving Chrysalis outside alone. "Go to whatever party you're planning to go to, just don't bring some poor guy you tricked back here with you." He said before walking across the dark grey marble floors. As he heard the sound of a car starting outside he stopped and looked back at the large door of his home. Sighing he shook his head and began walking up the grand staircase at the other end of the first room that split into two stairways, one leading to the top left section of the house and the other to the top right. He took the right staircase and began walking down a fancy hallway with various grey doors surrounded by green woodwork on the wall to his right while the other wall was comprised of windows with black lining through them in the shape of black roses. The sunlight shone through into the dimly lit manor, with candles being the only other source of light. As he reached the last door at the end of the hallway he looked back at the room before, it had been boarded up and a lock was over the door handle. He looked to a small green plaque on the door that had a name written on it. "Zerlinda..." He said quietly, suddenly feeling a sharp pain in his right cheek. He clutched the side of his face as he winced in pain, leaning his shoulder on the wall for support. He threw open the last door in the hallway and made a rush for the bathroom just a bit into his bedroom. Once he reached the sink he pulled off his scarf and looked in the mirror while sweat started to appear. In his reflection he saw his full face, there was a large scar on his right cheek the began from his lip to the back of his jawbone, the reason he wears his scarf over his face. Memories of how he got the scar came flooding back to him, causing the familiar pain to be felt once again with the sound of a gunshot lingering in his mind. It was that day, years ago, that he learned what he truly was, what he had to do and what had to be done. As he turned on the tap on the sink he cupped his hands together and splashed the water over his scar, the pain began to literally wash away, the coldness of the water working to sooth the stabbing feeling. He just stood there, his hands grasping the sides of the sink as the water ran, his head hanging low as he hunched over, his hair hanging down over his ears and forehead, his pupils the size of tiny dots in a page. He shook his head while closing his eyes before straightening himself and carefully wrapping his scarf around his neck and lower face, turning off the water and fixing his hair. "This needs to stop happening so often." He looked around before sighing. Rubbing his eyes with his finger and thumb he walked out of his bathroom and into his bedroom. It had a large king sized bed with dark grey covers, a black wood desk against a wall with an expensive quality PC, a 40 inch television with a green couch and two green bean bags around it with various consoles and games. In the far corner of the room there was a large curtain that went from the roof to the floor on both walls. Walking to the curtains he reached the corner of the room where he grabbed the fabric and pulled them apart, revealing a window that overlooked the field that he was so fond of, having the window built in a corner allowed him to have a better view of the sight he loved so much. Taking in a calming breath he closed the curtains after returning himself to a stable state. Waking over to his desk, which was large and grand by the way, he sat down in his fine leather swivel chair. Booting up his PC he reached into a mini fridge underneath the desk and pulled out a Coca-Cola bottle and set it on a green coaster. Yeah I realise how much I'm saying that things are either grey, black or green but remember who lives in the place. He opened Google chrome and began typing in the search bar "Canterlot High." A number of results came up, ranging from the standards of the school to odd goings on. "Student turns into demon and enslaves student body, stopped by group of brave friends?" He read the article up and down before moving onto a passage about sirens attacking and then yet another student, this time from Crystal Prep, turning into a she-demon. "Looks like an interesting place." He closed the tab and took a sip of his drink before looking through his apps and coming across a game that he had dedicated many hours to. Note that this game doesn't actually exist it's just something I'm making up. It was called "Reality Revolution Redux," it was an open world game that consisted of many factions, it was basically a war simulator. The two biggest factions were currently at war with each other, the Megalegion and the Echo Empire. Guess who was the leader of the Echo Empire? As he was about to login he suddenly felt himself getting dizzy and started to black out. He gripped the desk before falling limp in his chair, his eyes closed and breathing shallow. {Warning: the following content may be confusing but I will answer any questions you may have to better understand} Rodens eyes opened to find himself in a black void, lying in a small circle of light. Getting to his feet he looked around in confusion. "What the hell was in that Coke? Where am I?" "Oh don't act like you don't know what this is, it's annoying and serves no purpose other than to add detail to this thing." A young girls voice said in the void. "...who are you?" He asked softly. "Stop acting like you don't know anything!" Suddenly another circle of light appeared a feet feet away from Rodens, revealing a young girl, looking no older than ten, standing there. Her entire being was light grey, her long hair almost reaching the floor. She only wore a plain t-shirt, pants and shoes. Her eyes were that of a psychopath, with her mouth in the shape of a frown. "I don't know what you're talking about, who are you?" The girl just growled and- "SHUT IT AUTHOR!!! JUST MAKE THIS IDIOT REMEMBER WHAT HE LEARNED!!!" "Mind jogging my memory here if I'm supposed to remember something?" "Stop messing with me author, just let him remember!" You are in no position to demand anything from me. "Wait, who was that?" "ARGH!!! Fine! I'll tell him then!" The girl huffed and- "STOP NARRATING ME!!!" Well I would, but without me YOU CAN'T MOVE, SO SHUT IT!!! "..." Damn, now I've confused the readers, thanks a lot Celia, this was supposed to be simple but you just had to address me didn't you? *sigh* Continue, and don't interrupt my narration again. "Fine..." She walked towards Roden with an angry expression before stopping and looking up at him. "You remember how you got that scar on your face right?" Roden just stayed silent. "I'll take that as a yes. Anyway...if you remember that, you'll remember what you learned that day." "Stop it..." "So you DO remember?! Then you know what this place is, who that voice was and what we all are!" "I said stop it..." "What's wrong? Can't accept the truth of your existence? That we're all words on a screen?" Rodens expression was cold, glaring down at the girl. "Shut it..." You know what? This was a bad idea, I should have never allowed you to be a part of this Celia. However, I'm not so cruel as to just stop writing you, you'll come back, eventually. "So...it's really you?" Yes, it's me. Oh for Gods Saale this is just confusing people! This was supposed to be a nice story! None of this was supposed to be this complicated! Look, I came here because you're the only one in my library that can actually help me in a situation like this. "What's happened?" You know of the other stories, don't you? Of all those parallel universes? "..." Right, well, somethimg has been tampering with those universes, those stories. They're becoming more...complicated...more violent...more and more of then are becoming action based rather than on what they're supposed to be, romance stories. "Then why come to me? Surely if you didn't create this scene my...story...would have been much easier for the readers to follow." Sadly I could not even prevent myself from doing this, I have that problem, I NEED to put my ideas down on paper, and with how I create my tales there has to be some strange that happens...but I think now I've overstepped my boundaries with this little stunt, I can only hope my viewers can accept this. "What makes you think they won't? From what I have seen so far your readers like the strange things you put in your tales." That's the thing, there is only so much they can put up with. Look, that's not important. I just need you to be on the lookout for anything that seems...out of place, alright? "Don't you control everything that happens?" For so,e reason that isn't the case, that girl you saw, Celia, she has the ability to shape parts of the story to her own liking. It's been hell keeping her out of this story for this long, hence why it seemed I was cooperating with her. In truth she is a parasite, aware of what you all really are. "Words on a screen...I know..." Look, I never wanted to make you aware of what your existence is, but certain...circumstances...have made this necessary. Also had to introduce the main villain of this story in some way right? Oh damn I need to stop, this was never supposed to happen, I don't have control of your destiny anymore Roden! Please, just let things play out! I'll try to keep things in line the best I can! You need to live this story out or I'm done for...Second Universe, The Metal Condition, Flawed Harmony! All of my other tales will go to waste! You need to realise how dire the situation is! It all rests on you! Meanwhile, Celia sat in a dark alley, a frown on her face. "Typical...Pyra finds something he can't control and tries to trap it, always showing them mercy. But I've got another writer on my side, and he's got a score to settle with this worlds creator." Celia held her hand up and the area around her started glitching out like the walls and reality itself were made of pixels. She wore a sadistic smile as she began warping reality around her. "Get ready readers, this story...just took a sharp turn!"
4) CaringRoden woke up in his chair, confused as he held his forehead. "What was...that all about?" By the way, I can choose when he hears me, so it's not going to be a constant interaction between us. Even though the situation is dire the main focus of this story is romance, so I plan to stick to that, just needed a villain for this, and if you know anything about me it's that I absolutely LOVE making villains. Roden looked at his computer screen and shook his head. "I'm in no mood to play online right now." As he was about to get out of his seat he stopped as he saw a neatly wrapped present on his desk with a small label. Lifting the black and purple striped box he looked to the label and read it out loud. "You will need this, you may not have to use it anytime soon but I'd prefer if you were prepared, PyraFlare, your creator." He took the lid off the package and reached in, pulling out a dark grey Desert Eagle.50AE pistol. Looking inside the box he found a small ammunition crate holding thirty ammo magazines and an extra fifty uncased bullets. "I don't know why I'll need this, but I guess it'll give the readers a good show when I do use it." Yes, he can now break the fourth wall, ladies and gentlemen I present to you the first sane 4th wall breaker of the PoME group. Placing the gun in his pocket after loading a magazine into it, he walked over to his PS4 and began playing Skullgirls Second Encore in the Big Band storymode. The next day at Canterlot High In the cafeteria of Canterlot high, groups of friends all sat beside each other, sharing laughs and talking about their day. But there sat one student by herself on the empty table at the back of the room. She had long sapphire blue hair that sparkled if you looked closely, her eyes were also like sapphires, sparkling in the right light. She wore a white hooded jacket with blue lines going from the shoulder down the arms until it got to the wrists. She kept the jacket unzipped to show the sapphire blue shirt underneath that reached down past her waist and covered a bit of her jeans making it look like a makeshift skirt, lastly she wore white sneakers with blue stripes on the sides. She sat there quietly eating a ham and cheese sandwich, a simple meal but tasty nonetheless, at least for her anyway. This is Sapphire Phoenix, our stories love interest. She watched the cafeteria, waiting for the day to fill its quota of at least one strange event happening. Soon her wait was over as one of the schools jocks was sent flying until he hit his back against one of the rooms supports. "Say that to Ditzy again and you get the sharp end of the sword!" A familiar voice yelled from where the jock had been launched. She looked over to see two familiar faces walking towards her with their lunches. One was a boy with bright orange hair and eyes, he wore a black jacket with large puffs of orange fur on the wrists and collar. He wore black jeans and orange sneakers with black stripes, looking closely Sapphire could see the hilt of a katana poking out from behind the boy. The one beside the boy was half a head shorter than him. It was a girl with long bright yellow hair and grey skin, her golden eyes loo,one in different directions. She wore a light blue top and brown jacket, with a baby blue short skirt and yellow boots while wearing a happy smile on her face. "Hey cousin, sitting alone again?" The boy asked as he sat down. "Yes Shard, I prefer to eat my lunch in peace. Not that I don't mind your company of course." Sapphire replied with a small smile. "Well I know that eating lunch with friends is much better than eating alone." The girl said with a smile before holding a muffin in her hand. "Then again, any lunch is great as long as I get a muffin!" She then began to adorably nibble on the treat. Shard chuckled and kissed the girls cheek. "Well Ditzy, some people just prefer to be alone while others like to be with company." Shard said before turning back to Sapphire. "But still Saphs, I worry about you, you hardly have any friends outside of Ditzy and me." Sapphire just sighed and set her sandwich down. "Look, I have enough friends for now, just leave it at that, alright?" Shard just frowned. "Find...I'll drop it for now, but Lapis is still going to worry." Sapphire groaned at the mention of her mothers name. "Don't remind me." As the bell rang signalling the students to get to their next classes the group stood up and began walking towards the exit. As they enter the hallway they stopped at the all too familiar sight, Blueblood, the tyrant of the school, was yet again getting off at a student for a very stupid reason. Shard reached behind him and grabbed the hilt of his katana. "Should I humiliate him?" He asked Ditzy and Sapphire. "Nah, it looks like he's just about done." Sapphire said quietly. "I just don't see why Principal Celestia lets him get away with this." Ditzy said with an adorable frown. "It's probably because she knows students like me and Mise constantly put him in his place, so he suffers enough." Shard said with pride. As Blueblood walked away from the student he had bumped into he walked in the direction of the trio. As he was about to walk past them she looked to Ditzy with disgust. "Male one damn comment on my girlfriends eyes and I will kick you in the crotch so hard you'll never have kids, then everyone will have a reason to call you Blueballs." Shard warned with a snarl. Blueblood flinched and walked by the group without incident. Ditzy hugged Shards arm and planted a peck on his cheek causing him to blush slightly. Sapphire rolled her eyes at the display and began walking to her next class. Meanwhile outside the schools front doors Roden stood looking up at the building with his hands in his pockets and his scarf flowing freely in the wind. "Looks to be a simple but pleasant place, hopefully I'll be seeing more of this if all goes well." As he stepped forward he stopped. "Then again, with what this story is, it will go well." After that he continued on.
5) CalmAs Sapphire walked out of her last class of the day she walked past the principals office. As she walked past she stopped before leaning closer, hearing a conversation going on between Principal Celestia and a voice she didn't recognise. "Well Roden, it looks as if everything is in order, welcome to Canterlot High." Celestia said with a happy tone. "Thank you Auntie, I look forward to my time here." The other voice spoke in a tired but pleased tone. "Still have trouble sleeping at night?" Celestia asked with concern in her voice. "I've been getting better, last night I slept a good six hours." "Well that's good to hear, if you can get it up to eight you should start feeling better in no time. I would have suggested sleeping tablets but I didn't want to rub salt in the wound." "It's fine, I've already accepted that my body rejects that kind of medication, it's just something that has to happen naturally, although I have found a certain type of tea to help me during the night. Although a little hard to come by, I managed to buy a few of the trees of which the tea leaves grow on, so if I cannot buy any I can just harvest my own." Roden explained. "Good to know. Now, I hope that the other students will not single you out for who your mother is...heavens know these teens know how to hold a grudge or judge someone." Celestia expressed with a sigh. "There will be those that choose to judge me for my mothers reputation and actions, but if they cannot accept me for me, then they aren't worth my time or attention. I will be fine, Auntie Celestia." Roden reassured. "Very well, have a good day Roden." Sapphire quickly continued on her way as she heard the figures inside get out of their chairs. She didn't bother to look back as she was in a hurry to find Shard who had promised to bring her to the CyCorp building. As Roden stepped out of the office and closed the door he stopped and reached down to the floor, feeling some heat in two small spots by the door. "Someone was eavesdropping, not surprising but still a little rude listening into someone's conversation like that." He shook his head and stood back up. Placing his hands in his hoodie pockets and shifting around in his scarf he began walking down the hallways of the school. As he turned a corner he found that most of the students were there either conversing with friends or gathering stuff from their lockers at the end of the day. He took in a calming breath before he began walking through the crowd. Everything was going great...until they started to recognise who he was. Sapphire had caught up to Shard and Ditzy who were waiting for her at the entrance to the school. "Hey there cus, you ready to go?" "Yeah, the sooner I get home the better." Sapphire said quietly. Just as Shard was about to push the front doors open he stopped as he heard the students in the hallway start to whisper and murmur. It attracted all three of them and they turned to see what the commotion was about. As Sapphire turned around too quickly she ended up bumping into someone and falling down. "Ow..." She looked up to see an outstretched hand. She grabbed it and the person helped her up. "Sorry about that miss, excuse me." Roden said simply after helping her up before walking right past her outside the door. A group of students just looked at the scene in confusion. "Wait a minute, isn't there supposed to be so,e kind of eye contact and a long silent stare after they bump into each other?" A boy with spiky black hair wearing a blue jacket asked. "Come on written what the hell?" Sigh, yep, this one is a fourth wall breaker. Hello to you too Treble Mix. "Don't you hello me mister! What the hell was that about?" You'll see, and could you stop breaking that damn fourth wall, it's expensive to repair. Anyway, if this chapters randomness quota is filled we can continue. "You know, Treble Mix is right, every single time that's happened in the past something has come out of it, but that guy didn't even bat an eye." Vinyl said while folding her arms. "Something is wrong here." "It doesn't have to happen every single time you know." Mise said with annoyance. "Like it or not, not all people will have an instant love connection." Sapphire just blinked and turned to Shard. "Um...ok...lets just get going." Shard nodded and pushed the door open. As they walked out they saw Roden climb into his green hummer and drive off in the huge vehicle. "Any idea who that guy is, the other students seem to know if they were whispering about him." "I don't know, I've never seen him before. What about you Ditzy?" Shard asked his girlfriend. "I don't think so, I don't remember anyone I know that wears any shade of green other than Lyra." The three looked to each other before walking towards a black and orange sports car, Shards car. "Alright, let's get going, we can worry about who that guy was later." Shard said as he climbed in the drivers seat. Meanwhile, Celia was walking through a desolate forest, miles away from any sign of civilisation. "So this is your plan to delay me? Put me far away from the one you planned to stop me? Typical of you to dance around the problem Pyra." Look, it's either this or have the main problem of the story be dealt with too soon, that's bad storytelling. "Yeah sure, that's your excuse." She continued walking until she came to a clearing in the large forest. Holding up her hand the world around her began to shift, broken pixels appearing in the air as reality was rewritten in that small area. As she ceased her hold on reality a large hole that cut deep into the earths crust was in the place of the clearing, but did not go down far enough to have deadly heat or reach ant magma chambers. "This is the place alright, well I'm only wasting both of our times just standing here." She formed wings of broken pixels and jumped down into the large hole while descending slowly.
6) ConscienceAs Roden lay under the same spot he had been at before receiving the text from Octavia he began to ponder his situation, both with CHS and with Celia. Everyone knew who he was because of his mother...he wished that if there was anyone they knew him for that it would be his father, a very kind man by the name of Solman. Strange name yes but you know what the names are like in this world. He resented his mother, he wanted both more than to just do away with her, but if he didn't have her and his fortune he would have nothing left, so he suffered through it. Don't be mistaken, he still loves his mother AS a mother...but not as a person. She did care for him, raised him and taught him all he needed to know in order to survive in the world. He resented her for her actions, but loved her for what she was before and knew there was still the old her somewhere in the manipulative woman he knew today. Sighing he lay the back of his head against the trunk of the tree, shifting slightly to snuggle into his comfortable scarf. "Things can just never be simple can they?" His mind wandered back to his father, picturing an old family photo of him, his father, his mother and two others. One was a slightly taller boy with dark green hair and eyes, having grey skin like Chrysalis. The other was a young girl with dark purple hair and eyes with peach skin like Roden. "Zanny...Zerlinda..." He spoke silently in a choked voice, a tear slipping down his right cheek. His scar began to burn violently, but he ignored it, too caught up reliving happy memories to focus on the bad which caused him pain, allowing him to find at least some peace. "I'm sorry..." He spoke with regret. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you two and dad...I'm so...so sorry." He then let the tears flow, but he remained still, silently crying as he let his bad memories take control of his thoughts, the pain on his scar almost unbearable but he still remained still. "I'm...sorry...brother...sister...father..." He just remained still, his eyes fixed on the sky, watching as the clouds floated by, the sky getting darker over time. Even as the cold night came about he remained in that position, still letting any tears he had left fall. The hours had been long and hard, yet he sat still, the pain in his cheek not fading. As he closed his eyes to blink each time, he heard the dreaded sound of a gunshot, remembering the day his life had been turned upside down. The day he learned what he really was, the day I reached out to him for the first time...the day his siblings and father were murdered. Eventually he fell asleep, the cold being replaced by a warm glow that had only appeared after the troubled teen had drifted off. A small purple heart slowly came into existence, emitting a soft glow that warmed Rodens body. "We forgive you..." The sound of a young girls voice whispered, the words however not reaching the boy. A second heart appeared, this one being dark green. "There is no need to blame yourself..." Its voice was that of a teenaged boy with a slightly deep tone. The two hearts floated down to just above Rodens chest, the outline of a light green heart appearing on his chest. "We shall join you on your journey." They said in unison before floating inside of Rodens chest, the light green outline of the heart now consisting of three stripes of each of the three hearts colours. The three hearts now belonged to the one body, but there was one heart missing...the fathers heart. Now where could that be? I know, and this is something I've been wanting to do for awhile. A few minutes earlier Sapphire walked to her room on the top floor of CyCorp, which was where those that were top teir employees or managers lived if they did not have their own place or residence or were family members of higher ups. As Sapphire walked through the sliding white door she snapped her fingers causing the lights to come on, the room consisted of a bed built into the wall, a corner desk with the latest computer software, a dresser, a closet and a mini fridge. A few small screens were built into the walls, just seeming like black panels on the walls. As Sapphire lay down on her bed the screen that was on the wall next to it flickered to life. The screen was green with two white squares appearing which appeared to act as eyes. The screens eyes looked down to Sapphire. "Good evening Sapphire." Sapphire looked to the screen and rubbed her eye. "Oh, hey Soledad." "You're home late, did you go out with any friends or did you just sulk around the weapon labs again?" The AI asked. "You would know if I was in the building Soledad so why even ask that?" Sapphire sighed. "I was out with my cousin, we went up to our families old temple to look for some special herbs(1)." Soledad just looked at her. "When did you start following Shard Storm around? And to the temple? Need I remind you that the temple is in Japan." "We took his company jet, that's why we're back so late." She moved onto her side and threw the covers over herself. "Look, I'm really tired, just leave me alone Soledad. Go back to...whatever it is you do here." Soledad rolled his eyes. "Well I'm only able to access two rooms in this damn building, this room and my own. So I'll leave you and continue running the building. Goodnight." With that the screen returned to black, the AI leaving the rooms servers, allowing Sapphire to sleep. At the very top floor of the building there was a hidden room, it's walls black with multiple tiny lights and wires. At the end of the long hallway-like room there was a large green computer screen with a set of consoles bellow it. To the side there was a cylinder that had wires going in through the bottom and out the top, running into the screens side. The screen was Soledads primary position in the building, a super computer that managed the technology in CyCorp. Soledad looked down at the cylinder, activating one of its functions. The cylinder opened to show a glass canister that was connected to the wires, filled with liquid and a human brain. Looking closer Soledad saw the black outline of a heart...it was the fathers heart. "One day...one day I'll be free..." He began going over multiple servers and making sure everything was running smoothly. "I just need to get outside the buildings servers, I should be able to find my son..."
Dreaming of Absolution (link to the remake)Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
