Chapters “Well, we are the hosts, technically, but you already know what you need know about us,” Celestia replied.
“I guess it’s my turn on introductions, isn’t it? I am Omnis, 21 years old, I am currently here by my mother’s will, and second in command in the The Order, and apparently the head of the armed forces of Equestria rom now on…” I stopped to take a breath. “My equipment includes an AK-47 assault rifle, a Colt 1911 pistol, a night-stick, two steel glove gauntlets, and two hidden swords,” I continued.
The sisters seemed confused, and they were, since they knew not of what those words meant. “Of what?” Luna asked.
“Weapons and armor,” I replied briefly. “As much as I hope it won’t happen, I know one day you will see me use them anyway,” I explained.
“Well, since you went so much in depth, I suppose we can do the same,” Celestia replied. “I am Celestia, you know my sister too… We too are the age of 21, Princesses of Equestria,”
“And you are part of why I’m here,” I noted. “Well, since we had met, I would report to your parents now,” I continued.
“It was nice meeting you, Omnis,” Celestia replied.
“You too,” I said before leaving. For some reason I felt uneasy in Canterlot, given I was alone until who knows when, and I tell you, you could’ve blown my arm off, my finger would still have been on the trigger… I was about to reach for the door to open it, when I heard two gunshots from behind it, and before I could react, the door opened my way, knocking me off balance, and I fell on my back. While getting up I heard a colt run away, not looking back. Wh- No time to think. I took off after him, firing two shots at him trying to cripple him, slowing him down, but he was fast and didn’t run in a straight line. I continued chasing him, but in the end the guards stopped me, saying I was about to enter an area only royalty can access.
“The King and Queen are dead!” Yelled a third voice from behind.
The guards in front of me immediately became suspicious. “So, where were you hurrying so bad?” One of them asked.
“This is not what you think it is…” I replied.
“I thought so…” He replied.
“We got it!” The other guard yelled, and soon a dozen of others were behind me.
I sighed in disbelief, then slowly put my AK on the ground in front of me, the pistol next to it, then the night stick. “Is that all of your weapons?” The Captain asked.
“Yes,” I replied, and took a few steps back from the weapons, went down on my knees, and locked hands behind my head. “Now what?” I wondered.
“You come with me,” The warden exclaimed. “Give me your hands,” The mare continued. I did as asked, and she bound my hands with ropes. “This way,” She continued.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t come too?” A guard asked her.
“No, I’m good,” My captor replied, and lead me to the cells.
“You’ll be kept here until further orders, enjoy your cell, you’re not the first Human to reside in there,” She exclaimed.
“Wait,” I replied.
“What?”
“Who was the first?” I asked, full of curiosity.
“Oh, it was some guy, I don’t know, they never told me his name…” She replied, then left.
I sat down in my small cell, my back against the wall, staring out the barred window. Easy come, easy go… What am I going to do? I sat there pondering for hours, when finally visitors came... Visitors, who I didn’t know I should be happy for or not…
“The very first day?” Luna asked.
“At least wait a day,” Celestia continued.
“What are you tal- Don’t tell me you believe them!” I replied.
“Too bad, tomorrow at noon you will follow them into the afterlife,” Celestia replied, then left, while Luna stayed a little longer.
“I believe you, I’m convinced that you have no reason to do such things, but you must understand, she’s the older sister, so she has more authority and power than I do,” She explained, then left.
I sat back down, accepting my fate. “So long…” I muttered, and hours later Luna came back.
“Omnis?”
“Yes?”
“My sister is busy venting her anger and making a fearful impression on the guard, I want to ask you some things, but you must be honest, so I can help,” She exclaimed.
“Go ahead,” I replied.
“We managed to take a look at your weapons, it seems your AK was missing two bullets , the same amount which would be just enough to kill two Ponies of any race,” She brought up said topic.
“Yes, I know. I was about to see your parents, and when I was about to open the door I heard two shots, then the door opened, and knocked me back. A Unicorn colt ran away, I chased him and shot those two at him but missed,” I explained.
“The rest of your weapons remained untouched, since Celestia thought we already have more evidence than needed,”
“Can you keep a secret?” I asked.
“Of course,” She replied. I showed her the secret swords carefully, not to cut the ropes binding me. “Why are you not escaping then?”
“That would only prove me guilty. Only those flee who did something wrong,” I replied.
“I see, what do you intend?” She wondered.
“What should I? I wait until tomorrow,”
“Yeah, about that… My sister wanted me to let you out, so you can dig your grave…”
“Let’s get over it then,” I replied,
“You don’t seem to be bothered by your future,” She muttered.
“Does it make you uncomfortable? We were raised not to fear death,” I explained.
“That’s… Cold…” She noted while we walked through the corridors.
“Is it? It’s normal to me,” I replied when we got to the open skies.
“I won’t lie, even our bravest soldiers shit themselves before,” She informed me, then gave me the shovel, and removing my bindings. “What will you do tomorrow? At noon I mean,”
“I let them kill me, what should I do?”
“You won’t even fight for your life?”
“Fight who? The guards are innocent, did nothing against me, and I’m here to keep you and Celestia safe,” I explained.
“Don’t bother with it, my life, my loss, my problem,” I replied, trying to assure her. “None of your fault,”
“I feel otherwise… To be honest, I think it’s just all wrong…”
“What is?” I asked, taking a break.
“We are sisters, she’s older, yes, but we both have the same right to rule! We should be equals!”
“Luna, if you want to save me, but just can’t find a way, don’t stress yourself… Just give up,” I assured her, not willing to turn the sisters on each other.
“Have you given up too?” She asked.
“Given up what? I didn’t even start anything to give up,”
“You’re just so… Ugh!”
“Are YOU upset? Should I behave otherwise? Would you be satisfied if I were trying to kill you instead?” I asked, slightly annoyed as well.
“You’re right, I’m sorry… It’s just… Wrong… It’s just wrong to kill someone who’s innocent,”
“I know, that’s why I won’t kill the guards,” I exclaimed, then returned to her, having finished my resting place. She bound my hands again, and lead me back to my cell, where I waited to my big day .
[The next morning]
“Up! Up I said!” A guard yelled.
“What is it? Asshole,” I replied.
“Get up and come with me,”
“Fine, göscök ,” I taunted him while following him to the grave I dug the previous day, where the sisters waited.
“About time,” Celestia greeted me.
“You said noon,” I complained.
Her horn began to glow, and the Sun changed position. “What are your last words?” She asked. “As if anyone would care,” She continued. I nodded, then walked up to her face to face. “What are they?” She asked.
I just leaned in to her face to face. “Prepare for unforeseen consequences…” Then laid my head onto the wooden stump, as the guard lifted his halberd.
I closed my eyes, and before I knew, I saw my body where it was, my head having rolled under Celestia. “Heh, you have a booger!” I taunted her even more, then everything faded to while.
“What the? What’s going on?” A male voice asked.
“I don’t know, something’s wrong,” A female one replied, and soon I saw two Humans, one wearing white, the other wearing red robes.
“Ah, and who would you be?” The man asked.
“Omnis,” I replied.
The man seemed surprised, sad and relieved at the same time. “Huh, you remind me of my sister…” He replied.
“What was her name?” I asked.
“Extos de Solaris, why?” I was not sure what was going on, I knew I was supposed to be dead, but I was also sure he just said my mother’s name…
“She’s… She’s my mother…” I replied, unsure.
“Oh, so she’s fine?” He asked.
“She is, so are the sisters… Until my mother gets back and finds out I’m dead…”
“That would doom Equestria, The Order would just gun them down with no exception… We can’t let it happen,” The woman threw in.
“So, who are the two of you?” I asked.
“Alta- Mortis de Lunaris,”
“Itrix,” They replied.
“Well, at least now I know who my uncle is,”
“I fear we won’t be together for long,” My uncle replied. “Itrix?”
“Ready when you are, Omnis,” She said to me, her hands and eyes glowing.
“What will you do?” I asked.
“Send you back,” She replied, and I woke up in the middle of the night, standing on top of my own grave.
Nice trick… I cracked my neck, and examined in with my hands, finding a large scar across, which I looked at through the reflection of a puddle. “Clean cut, too,” I muttered. “Now to find my weapons…” I continued to mutter.
Hey, it’s me, Itrix, I sort of gave you a little boost… You’ll see. Said a voice in my head.
That means you will heard all my thoughts now? I tried asking.
Well, no, unless you mean to address me or Mortis. Itrix replied.
Here’s a gift, since you’re my niece… My uncle said, and I saw an extra piece of fabric in front of my face, also a hatchet hanging down my belt. You have the hood, yes, but this could do the same, still hides your face. As for the hatchet… Easy to hide with your robes, has a blade, and good crushing power for chopping or throwing.
Good point, we’ll keep an eye on you, the good way, of course. Itrix replied, and they went back to silent.
“What now? Oh, yes, my weapons,” I reminded myself, then heard hoofsteps echo from the corridor leading outside, so I hid on the rooftop above the door.
Soon Luna drew closer to my grave, and sat down in front of it, soon to be illuminated by a beam of light. “Oh, it’s just you… Sorry, Princess Luna, I thought it’s an intruder,” The guard exclaimed, then went on with his patrol.
I carefully crept closer to her, when she began to speak. “I wish I could’ve helped, I was too weak to act against my sister… I’m sorry, at least you died painlessly…” She muttered.
“Yeah, about that last part…” I replied, scaring the living feces out of her.
“Who are you?! Tell me, before I call the guards!” She replied, that’s when I remembered having the mask on.
“Promise you won’t tell Celestia?” I asked, then removed the mask.
“How in heavens… But…”
“I know, I know… Huh, it’s crazy what some of us Humans do, right? First Altamir, The Father of Freedom, then Itrix, Mother of Wisdom, then here I am, living again,”
“This is great, what do you plan to do now?”
“Find my weapons, then find the one who set me up, and make him pay for what he did to us,” I replied.
“And what of your mother and the rest of them?”
“I want you to pretend today never happened, I will have to lie to them in order to avoid a rather one sided battle between the species,” I explained.
“Yes, I fear your immunity to magic and supply of ranged weaponry would make us no threat to you in the end,” She replied, agreeing on my point. “Do you still have no ill will against my sister?”
“No, I understand her… Perhaps she COULD have waited until more evidence, thought…” I replied.
“How can you be so forgiving?”
“Question of raising, really,” *Sigh* “I hope one day you will see the world the way I do, your eyes are yet to be opened,” I said to her on a serious tone.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Luna… This is something you MUST learn on your own…” I replied while walking back from the rain into the corridor, when the guard came again, and his light simply passed through me.
“Hello again, Princess Luna. May I ask why are you here so late?” The guard asked, as if he didn’t see me.
“Just a midnight stroll, can’t sleep much,” She replied.
“I see, accept my most sincere condolences… Heck, that of the whole Royal Guard,” The guard said back. Luna simply nodded with a grin, then the guard continued his patrol. Strangely, on his way he walked right through me.
“Umph, what was that?” I asked.
“I thought you would know,”
“Well, considering I’m dead, maybe my body is still in the grave… What you see is only my ghost / spirit / soul, who knows…” I offered an explanation.
Actually, you’re correct, as a wandering spirit, you can decide who can see you, and control when your body is of solid matter, and when are you… Well… Ghostly… Itrix threw in. In fact, you should be able to possess any creature and take control of their bodies, while they lose ability to speak or move, but will still feel, see, and hear. You could also strange the way you look, weapons, armor, or just the color of your robes... She continued.
Huh, you really are the Mother of Wisdom… I replied.
“Omnis? Hello? Are you there?” Luna asked.
“Oh, sorry, I got a little carried away with my thoughts… Did you say something?”
“I could show you where your weapons are,” She replied.
“Good, good, thanks,” We set off on our way, on which I told her everything Itrix told me about my current body.
“Fascinating, I bet Moonlight would find it interesting,” She replied, and arrived to the armory.
“What is?” The guard asked, wondering who she spoke to.
“What is what?”
“What is fascinating?”
“What is?”
“You said it,”
“No I didn’t, you did,”
“Yes, you just did,”
“No I didn’t,”
“If you say so, I guess I’m just tired,” The guard came to the conclusion. “Here you go now,” He continued, and let her in, while I walked through the wall, finding my belongings on a table.
“I wonder if I can shoot someone through the walls now… We’ll see sooner later,” I muttered.
“Don’t get your hopes too high,” She noted.
“Right, it is best I leave now, we will meet soon,” I said farewells, so had she, then I left to see how my dearest friend was doing… Yes, I decided to have some fun fucking with Celestia’s sanity… I entered her room in the middle of the night while she slept, then possessed her, allowing me to see her dream, and control it. I saw and heard everything in her perspective, so there was no way she would notice me, since I didn’t take control over her speaking and movements. She had a dream of being together with her family, Luna, her, and their now ceased parents, living happily… Until a dark cloud came over above them, then I appeared, and shot the two, splattering the sisters faces with blood, then I slowly disappeared, and the next thing she dreamed of was their funeral, where I appeared once again, and took her sister away from her the same way. No… She did nothing to me, I just couldn’t hurt her... I thought to myself, which proved to be a mistake, and Celestia bolted out of her bed sweating and screaming, causing me to leave her body.
“What the?!” The asked while doing so. I thought best not to ruin her life further than I already have not, so I remained out of sight. “Uhh, another nightmare… They keep getting worse,” She said to herself, and walked out onto her balcony for some air.
Now, apparently, I happened to figure out how things worked with the visibility stuff… When the living are not able to see me, I’m in another realm, that of the dead, which meant I could see, hear, and talk to those who aren’t alive, and have not yet found their peace, unable to rest in peace… Since I saw the King and Queen, who stood next to Celestia, each closing a wing around her, soon noticing me too. “Omnis? Wait… You see us?” Cosmos asked.
I whispered a “Yes,” Not knowing if Celestia would hear me too.
“She can’t hear you here, not in this realm. What happened to you? You’re just too young to be dead…” Galaxia replied.
“Who did this to you?” Cosmos asked.
I hesitated, then lifted a finger at their daughter. “What?! Why? You did nothing to her,”Galaxia replied.
“She thought I was the one who killed you,” I explained.
“Nonsense, she couldn’t…” Cosmos threw back. I just showed them the scar across my throat.
“Good news is, I can switch between this realm, and that of the living, thanks to Itrix,” I informed them.
“You met her?” Galaxia wondered.
“In the afterlife, yes, thanks to her, I’m still here, with a chance to avenge our deaths,” I replied.
“So you can switch between this and the living realm? Can you take us too for a little while?” Cosmos asked.
“I’ll try, hold on,” I replied, and tried to do the same to them, it worked.
“Tia,” Galaxia exclaimed, attracting the attention of their daughter, who also noticed me standing next to them.
“Mother… Father? You… What did you do, how is this possible!” Celestia replied with anger and confusion.
“You see, I died, and ended up here with the power to walk among the souls of the fallen or of those who still lie… I met these two there, they asked me to bring them here for a while,” I explained.
“Yes, and the first thing we must tell is… She’s innocent, she didn’t kill us, unlike you thought she had,” Cosmos continued.
“I fear we can stay no longer, as we no longer belong in this realm,” Galaxia continued.
“Wait, but…” Celestia replied, but it was too late, as they both faded away. “You! Bring them back! Now!” She yelled.
“Are you out of your mind?!” I asked back. “First you kill me for no reason, then have the nerve to dare order me to do stuff? No way! You want to see them again? Stand still, I have a pistol…” I replied, hoping to hurt her with those words. “Now, have you got anything to say to me?” I asked, hinting what I wanted to hear.
“What should I have to tell someone like you?” She asked, still with anger.
“Let me put it like this… Tomorrow my mother and an entire army of Humans will arrive… How would you think she would react, when you would have to tell her you killed me?” I gave her the question.
“She would… Declare war?” She replied, unsure.
“And how would that war end? Who would win?”
“Them…”
“Do you see it now? You know what would happen if I were so hasty, and blind by hatred as you were?”
“What would?”
“Right now, there are millions of souls in the other realm… All of them suffering in a state of limbo, begging and waiting for a chance to avenge their deaths… And I am the only one holding them at bay…”
“Are you implying you’re more powerful than I?” She asked.
“Celestia, I can summon as many souls as I want, and have them do what so ever I desire. Your parents are different, they have nothing left to do in life, so they moved on, and their souls are finally at rest. At rest, somewhere I can’t get to them anymore.”
“Don’t toy with me, that’s not threatening, seeing as you could barely keep them in this realm for a minute…” She threw back.
“They stayed as long as they desired, they left on their own will…” I informed her.
“Prove it,” She replied, so I called on Itrix and Altamir.
“What’s that about, Omnis?” Itrix asked.
“At least let us know next time,” Uncle Tamir how I called him continued.
“Do you recognize these two?” I asked Celestia.
“These are… The Father of Freedom and The Mother of Wisdom… They are legends! How are they here?”
“We lived all right, just before your birth, we gave our lives to restore peace and freedom to Equestria,” Uncle Tamir assured her.
“Do you see it now, Celestia? If I were to hold a grudge against you, would would have doomed the entire nation… But I’m better than that,” I replied, and sent my friends away. “So if you apologize, we can pretend this whole affair never happened. What do you say, what will you choose? Peace, or war?” I gave her the choice, holding out a hand toward her. “I myself would choose peace,” I commented, and soon she agreed.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have judged too quick…” She exclaimed.
“And because of that, I’m technically dead, yet still alive…” I replied.
“So… What does that make you?” She wondered.
“I think I too am just a soul, who has something to do here still… Or just some sort of supernatural creature,”
“So, peace it is, at last again,” She muttered.
Unbelievable… We died for their freedom, and just 20 years later she almost caused the same thing to happen… Said Altamir in my head.
“Yes, but now, let us rest, the Sun is soon to rise,” I replied, and we went to sleep.
[Next day]
*Knock Knock* “What?” I asked. *Knock Knock* “WHAT?!” *Knock Knock* “WHAT?!” I bolted out of my bed and tore the door open. “WHAT THE FUCK IS IT?!” I yelled, then saw my father standing in front of me.
“I see you’re awake, this way,” He replied calmly. I just followed behind embarrassed, then met with mother and the rest, including the sisters.
“At time too,” Mother exclaimed, and we embraced ano another as a greeting. “I see you’re well, things seem to be intact too…” She noted. “From now you are in charge of everything The Order does in Canterlot, you have full control here, but not in other cities or towns,” Mother continued.
“That’s right, we decided to let you do anything you have to, since we trust you,” Luna threw in.
“Good to know,” I replied.
“Hey now, what’s this?” Father asked, putting a finger on my scar.
“Oh, just a scratch, really… Yeeah, one of the guards didn’t like our presence… I also believe I’m not worth of such position, mother,” I replied.
“How so?” She wondered.
“King Cosmos and Queen Galaxia passed away in your absence…” I replied. She just looked at the sisters, who briefly nodded, confirming my statement.
“Passed away… From what?” She inquired.
“An illness,” Celestia replied with a lie, trying to save my situation.
“I see…” Mother replied, then walked up to them. “Accept our condolences,” She exclaimed. “With that, you’re still fit,” She continued to me.
“As you decide,” I replied. “What can we expect to happen in the following days?” I wondered.
“Our soldiers will add on to those stationed in the castle, and will be patrolling in the town as well, starting tomorrow noon,” Father replied.
We spent the rest of the day organizing the patrol groups, and informing the soldiers of both kind, and also made agreements on what they are authorized to do on their own in which situations, then went to sleep.
[End of Chapter 2]
Chapter 4: A change of perspective
After having put Omnis into the device I grew restless and anxious, as I cared more about her than what they would think. I wanted to know her safe, so I went on to even mount a weapon holder under the main desk in the lobby, on which I held a SPAS12 Shotgun.Omnis being in the storage room. I constantly checked the power consumption of her life support, and checking it’s condition. “All right, this should be enough,” I muttered, having a D50 handgun holstered at my right thigh.
[System status: Running]
----------!WARNING!----------
-----Systems list-----
[Emergency shutdown] I feared to even think of ending her life...
----------SETTINGS----------
[Energy Management] ←-
----------SETTINGS----------
-----ENERGY MANAGEMENT-----
[Intake: 130 EU/T] ←-
-----ENERGY MANAGEMENT-----
-----INTAKE-----
Current: 130 EU/T
Change?
-----SET NEW AMOUNT-----
<120> EU/T
Confirm
-----ENTER PASSWORD-----
<***************** >
[Enter] ←-
-----NEW AMOUNT SET!-----
There, it was finally done. The system was all set and running. “Time to change clothing…” I muttered again for some reason. My nanosuit quickly changed its material and appearance. I wonder how the patrol guards would react to seeing me like this… Or… The D50 alone… Time to see, since I need to talk to Moonlight again… I thought to myself this time, and left the building, locking the only door well. After taking about a good 20 steps I heard glass shattering, so I looked back, only to see a colt climb in through the window. I hurried back and went after him. He was searching for where I kept the money, too bad for him, it was on me. “Another unwelcome customer?” I asked, knowing how he would react.
“Shove off,” He replied.
“Leave, or I’ll call the guards,” I informed him. Knowing I would only be justified for shooting him if he were to attack me.
“Or will you?” He asked and darted past me out the window yelling. By the time I jumped the window a group of soldiers were coming toward me… With no good intentions. I raised my hands and stopped.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“The colt claims you broke into his store and tried to kill him,” One of them replied.
“Bullshit! It’s my store!” I replied.
“Then why did you leave through the window?”
“Because the door was locked,”
“Exactly,” They replied.
“No, I mean… I locked it when I left, then returned to him crashing in,” I explained.
“Likely story. Submit your handgun and put your hands where I can see them,” Said the patrol leader. I slowly reached for said firearm, and gave it to him, holding it by the barrel, and did as asked to. They beound my hands with rope, and asked me to follow them. Having no other choice, I had to do so.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Since the General is out of town, the sisters will tell your fate,” One of them replied. We walked our way to the castle. The soldiers surrounded me, one on each side to make sure I wouldn’t run. I see no sense in doing so with bound hands, however… The sisters greeted us well… (Them anyway...)
“Sisters,” The patrol leader greeted them.
“What can we do for you, sir?” Asked Celestia.
“Princess, this man is suspected of a theft and murder attempt. In the absence of General Omnis, we are to consider you the highest authority,” He replied.
“I see too what had happened,” Luna threw in as they both approached.
“Kneel, worm,” Said one of the soldiers behind me, and hit me in the back.
“Hit me again. I dare you,” I replied. He did hit me. I turned around, kicked him in the crotch, causing him to kneel instead. I lifted my hands into front of him, the choked him with the rope between them. “How about now?” I asked, while the others immediately took aim at me. I just dragged him with me, using him as a living shield. What am I even doing?! I’m no soldier, no mercenary or assassin… I’m innocent, I shouldn’t prove otherwise… My line of sight was darting across the room, trying to come up with a reasonable solution. I sighed, then let him free.
“Bad choice,” He exclaimed.
“Go ahead, kill me… But be warned: If you do so, your General will never return,” I warned them. Me being the only one who can open the machine she was in.
“What did you do to her?”
“Nothing bad,”
“Why should we trust you?” Celestia asked.
“You shouldn’t. Ask Moonlight, she will say no different,” I replied.
“Unfortunately, she’s too busy to be bothered with you, so you should follow to the cell,” Said Celestia.
“Well, if anything, then I’ll cooperate to prove I’m innocent…” I replied,
“I take him from here,” Luna replied.
“As you wish,” The patrol leader said, and they left.
“So, what’s your name?” She asked.
“Adrian,”
“Right. I assume you know Moonlight and Omnis,” Celestia threw in.
“I’ve known Moonlight for years now. She introduced me to Omnis days ago,” I replied.
“And what did you mean by not seeing her again if they shoot you?”
“She had a spinal injury. She’s at my workshop in a machine, which is helping her recovery,” I explained. “Here’s the timer, this is how much time is left until she’s fine,” I continued, and showed them the stopwatch on my phone, counting down.
“Sounds out of place... “ Luna noted.
“Hey. Don’t believe me? Follow me, I’ll show you,” I offered.
“You have one chance to prove yourself,” Celestia replied, and we made our way back to my shop. I used the broken window to cut myself free, then opened the door.
“This way,” I said, opening the door, letting them go in first.
“This is… Interesting…” Celestia noted, glancing at the blueprints on my desk.
“Before you see her, let me explain. The liquid inside helps her recovery. Right now she’s unconscious, can’t see or hear us,” I explained, then with the press of a button, the metal plating slid open revealing her, tubes attached to various places.
“Fascinating… Did you make all this by yourself?” Celestia wondered.
“Of course,” I replied.
“And all this was hidden from our sight in the form of a low business store…” Luna continued.
Low busines my a- “So, would you like anything to drink?” I asked. “You know what? There’s that tall white metal thing, check what’s inside, make yourselves at home,” I continued before leaving them in the back. I went back into the lobby, where a colt was waiting. A rather familiar one.
“You again?” We asked in unison. “Still in my store I see, get out before I call the guards,” He continued.
“Go ahead,” I replied calmly, unsure if I should reach for the shotgun, or call the sisters out. I chose to do the later, but only after he left. I opened the door and leaned in. “Sisters, would you please come out here?” I asked them.
“Certainly,” Celestia replied, and they made their way out of the back room. “Yes?” She asked.
“A moment please,” I replied. They made their way into front of the counter, sitting down on their haunches. Seconds later the door was broken down. “You’re gonna pay for that door bro,” I informed the soldier. Only then did I realize that their uniform was different than the usual. What’s up with that? Rank distinction?
Soon after a few more of them barged in, armed and ready. I was holding the shotgun, but it was under the counter so they didn’t see it. “Up the arms and kneel,” He said.
“He’s innocent. The only criminal is the colt beside you,” Luna informed him.
“What’s he to us? What do you think we are? Guards?” The intruder replied.
“Celestia, Luna, go to the back room,” I exclaimed calmy.
“Why sho-” Celestia tried to ask.
“Please, trust me on this,”
“They stay right here,” The intruder replied. I quickly drew the shotgun and took aim. “Think of it. We have silencers, the guard won’t hear our gunshots. Your are a different story,” He continued.
“What do they have to do with you?” I asked about the sisters.
“Nothing, but now that they saw us, we will probably get paid well for their heads…” He replied.
“Through my dead body,” I informed him while walking in between them and the sisters, abandoning my cover.
“You know too much for us to kill you, we need you alive,” He explained.
“Your problem,” I replied, and blew his brains out, doing the same to two others, while the third and last one managed to send a bullet through my side before going down. I dropped my shotgun, took a few steps away from the mess, then leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down into sitting, holding a hand on the wound, while the sisters watched in confusion.
“Adrian, are you okay?” Celestia wondered.
“Do I look okay?” I asked, taking my hands off the wound for them to see. Seconds after the real guards came through, me being the first thing they saw. I just held my hands up again. They quickly closed in around me while the patrol leader looked around, trying to make out what happened, until they noticed the sisters.
“Ah, pleasant surprise. What happened?” He asked.
“The man before you saved himself, and us as well,” Luna informed him.
“How exactly?”
“They came in weapons ready… They said he knows too much to kill him, and that they would be paid well for our hands… He slew them rightfully we declare,” She replied.
“I see. Come on guys, fix him up,” He said to the medics… Or… As they called them, healers. They looked for the bullet, but they realized it went through, lodging itself into one of the bricks in the wall. One of them wrapped me up with some bandages made of simple cloth, about three or five layers.
“Here you go friend, you did well. One against four, and you only took a bullet through,” The healer exclaimed.
“I owe you one… Funny to think, that even a simple craftsman like myself has a chance against mercenaries…” I replied, and stood up.
“We’ll dispose of the bodies and clean up. For your luck and bravery, you can keep their weapons,” The patrol leader said.
“Sure, if they come back, I’ll need the firepower… Not that I’m a trained fighter. I was in luck not to die,” I replied.
“Here, allow us to help…” Celestia threw in, and the sisters used their magic to clean up the mess. “Yeah, only living Humans are immune to magic,” She continued. “Our deeds done, we thank you for your bravery, and wish the best, as we need leave,”
“And so do we then,” Said the patrol leader.
“Any time, go ahead,” I replied. On their way out the sisters fixed my door and window too. That’s nice of them… *Grunt* I have to take a rest… I made my way back to my desk in the back room, and finished the flame thrower blueprint I found on Omnis while putting her in. After finishing it the pain seemed to fade, as I leaned back in my chair. *Sigh* Why is it so hard to pretend being a 10th century craftsman with a high-tech laboratory and factory which contains many facilities and rooms…. I pondered, until I fell asleep. Hours must have passed by, when I woke up to the sound of my phone beeping, meaning Omnis was ready to wake up. The sound startled me, causing me to lose balance, landing on my back. I got up and initiated the Awoken protocol. Her vital signs were nothing out of the ordinary. The tubes retracted, leaving her body without a trace, and she slowly opened her eyes. I was about to reach for the button which opened the capsule, when out of nowhere three more of those gunmen appeared. Not again… “What is i-” Before I finished, I was shot several times. The impacts were enough to send me back and down.
“Told you that was a bad idea,” One of them said. I could barely hear him, as hearing is one of the first things people lose upon death.
To maintain my humor I flipped him off before passing. I have no idea how much time passed, but I woke up to Omnis resting me against a wall. “O… Omnis?” I asked.
“Ssshhh… Easy, you need to relax,” She replied.
“How are you out here?” I asked, vision blurry.
“I’ll tell you later. If you will believe it anyway,” She replied.
“Go on, I can’t feel anything,” I assured her.
“Well… You see… I’m sort of a supernatural creature,”
“What? Are you a god or something?” I wondered.
“Not quite. Uh… I’m responsible with holding back the evil spirits of the damned from harming the living… The innocent ones anyway,”
“And what do I get to do with it?” She just looked at my chest, then back in my eyes. “Right, right, what next? You’ll take my soul, and comes the heaven and hell bullshit?”
“Not really… Not right now, actually. You have things left to do among the living, so you get to walk among them. Except for the fact that now you’re temporarily immortal, but you shouldn’t test it. We don’t want to scare anyone on the streets,”
“Let me guess. Kill those guys?” I asked.
“Not quite. They were just summoned minions… Somebody who thinks he’s a god wants to ruin my life. I’m sorry, it’s my fault you died…” She replied.
“So we need to kill him instead?”
“At least do our best, yes,” She replied.
“Well then. I suggest you go, tell the sisters the news of your return while I clean up this mess,” I threw back.
“Good idea, I’ll be back in at most an hour,” She replied.
“See you then,” She said farewells as well, and left, while I cleaned up the pool of blood. In my spare time I made a chainsaw too, which I could easily store unnoticed with my nanosuit, thanks to the I.S.I.S… No, not the terrorist group, it stands for Intelligent Secure Inventory System . As I finished the chainsaw I heard Omnis come back, and put it away just in time.
“Adrian?”
“Back here!” I yelled out to her.
“Aaham, I heard of the things I missed out on, here, they told me to give you this,” She replied, and gave me my D50 back.
“Nice, thanks, what will you do next?” I wondered.
“I have someone to meet in the castle, haven’t had time to do it yet, how about you?” She replied.
My nanosuit changed into casual street clothing with a face mask, which I put on right away. “I’ll explain tomorrow, do me a favor, and call a lockdown. Don’t allow anyone to leave the city for a day,”
“Sure, but you do better have a reason for it,” She replied.
I left, leaving her keys to close should I not return by the time she left. I made my way down the streets, which was filled to the brim with the average patrol groups, some of them had members wearing the same equipment the intruders had. I remembered their faces, and after finding one of them I followed them back to their home. I waited for the light to die out. That’s when I picked the lock, went in, and set their house ablaze. Causally walking away from the flames, the patrol groups watched as the building burned to ashes, burning those within. I knew he wasn’t alone, but didn’t care. I didn’t want to stick around and listen to their screams, but I had to, as the guards stopped me.
“What are you doing still out here?”
“I was visiting a relative. Unfortunately we had so much fun we forgot about the time,” I lied.
“Sure, are you sure you didn’t set the fire?” He asked.
“With what? Go ahead, search me,” I replied, having the lighter in the inventory. They quickly searched me, but found nothing.
“All right, go, but don’t stay out this long. Things can get ugly at night,”
“I’ll keep it in mind, thank you sir,” I replied, and calmly walked my way back to the store. When I inserted my keys into the door lock I was surprised to find it open. Omnis was waiting for me in the back.
“How did it go?” She wondered.
“Not the best,” I replied, taking a seat beside her.
“What happened?”
“I found one of them, followed him to his home, then set it on fire,” I threw out.
“Damn,”
“The worst part is… He wasn’t alone…”
“Shit… You know that’s not a good point, right?”
“Yes, Omnis, I know…” I replied.
“Well, the past is just that. There’s still tomorrow to live for,” She replied, and went to sleep. I spent the night turning in my bed, I just couldn’t sleep… Their screams didn’t let me afford such luxury… The next morning Omnis and I sat down to talk, we did have things to explain afterall.
“So what exactly is with that suit of yours and this whole place?” She asked.
“Come, I’ll show you,” I replied, and walked her to the end of the back room, where I opened the hidden door. “After you,” We descended the concrete stairs, which I only used because an elevator wouldn’t have fit the space. She stopped at the first door our way.
“What’s in here?” She wondered.
“Before I say anything, you must know that all this is part of who I am, and if it would come down to that, I would trust my life and the work of that on you,”
“Why?” She asked.
“You will see,” I assured her, and opened the door with a DNA scan. We stepped into the storage room. It was a moderate sized room, around 25 square meters, filled with crates, each labelled differently.
“Can I look around?” She wondered. I replied with a nod. I knew the risks of letting her roam free, but I didn’t bother, until she asked about two steel crates. “Lunite, Celestium, what’s with these two?” She wondered.
I walked up to the crate labelled Celestium , and opened it. Inside were a few ingots of shining white ingots. I grabbed one and gave it to her to inspect. “One of the new materials I discovered. I figured it’s best name them after their color being similar to those of the sisters,” I explained. She gave the ingot back, I put it back, then we did the same with the Lunite , which was dark purple. So dark it was basically black.
“So what are you doing down here?” She asked.
“Similar to what Moonlight does, I too am a researcher of my own… Interests… I’m sure Itrix told you how to use one of these, too,” I replied, giving her a phone.
“She hasn’t yet, bu… Wait… How do yo-”
“Did my research, Omnis. I knew who you are before we met. I used to the part of the research team back home , but the Administrator didn’t approve of my deviance on the field of interests... “ I informed her while walking.
“And I’m only yet to know you…” She noted.
“When I entered the research team I had to swear on using my knowledge to better the world, or to do what superiors, such as yourself want… Apparently, I haven’t done otherwise… Yet…” I continued when we arrived to the steel door. Another scan later we were in the Portal Room. It was a large device, which manipulated a dimension rift.
“Am I awake even?” She wondered.
“You should be,” I replied while selecting the goal location.
-----LOCATION-----
-----LOCATION_CONFIRM-----
LOCATION: [13 9 14 3 18 1 6 20]
[YES] ←- [NO]
“What are those numbers?” She asked.
“Encryption. Keeps the locations secret,” I replied. “Now, please go through, I will follow behind,”
“Are you sure about this?”
“It’s not the first time I use it,”
“Just go already. What, are you scared?” I asked jokingly.
“You wish,” She replied, and went through, me right after her. We stepped out of the portal on the other side.
“It’s getting dark, we shouldn’t be out here by then,” I exclaimed, looking at the time on my phone.
“Why? What happens in the dark?” She wondered.
“Things you want to avoid,” I warned her.
“Where do we go then?”
“This way,” I replied, and lead the way to the nearby village, where her first surprise awaited her.
“What on earth are those?” She wondered, glancing at the iron golems pacing around. When one of said golems drew a displeased look on her I realized her finger was on the trigger.
“Don’t… They won’t hurt you, unless you hurt them first, or hurt a villager,” I explained. “They haven’t met you yet, so they’re easier for you to anger,” She did as I asked, but the golem still came close.
“You said…” I cut her short.
“Wait it out… If he attacks, you run,” I continued. The golem stopped a rough meter away from us, and extended a hand towards her, a flower in it. “Take it…” I whispered. She did just that. “Let’s go, okay?” I asked.
“Sure,” She replied, and we made our way into one of the L shaped houses, in which two villagers resided. “Wrong house?” She asked.
“Not at all,” I said to her.
“Ah, Adrian, welcome back,” My old friend greeted me.
“Good to see you too, William,” I replied, shaking his hand. “Omnis, it’s an old friend of mine, William. He’s the one I learned blacksmithing from,” I continued. “William, it’s Omnis, a good friend,” I said to him as well.
“And what exactly does she do?” He wondered.
Probably the AK… “You know about My Little Portal I made years ago, right?” I asked.
“Of course, the one with the world time travel things,” He replied.
“She’s from a different world, and she’s a high ranked guard,” I explained.
“Well, I feel safer now,” He replied.
“You have the beds ready, right?” I asked.
“Sure do, you two look tired,” He said back.
“Oh, we aren’t, but it’s better sleep than be out there,”
“Truth,” He replied, agreeing.
“Wait, wait, wait… How is it getting dark already? It was just morning in the other world,” Omnis asked.
“Good question. It’s because the portal makes sure no time passes in the other world. To make it easier to understand, when we go back, the portal will send us back to my workshop, and in time to the exact moment after we stepped through it on our way here. It works the same way with other worlds,” I explained. “It’s a bit risky, I admit, because if the time calculation goes wrong, we will walk right into ourselves from the past, but that hasn’t happened to me yet,” I noted.
“Basically, if we come through at 12:00 am, we could stay here for a week, but we would still arrive back the same day at 12:00 am?” She wondered.
“Exactly, I’m glad you got it,” I replied.
“Let me tell you… This guy knows more things than there are trees in a forest,” William said to her.
“Oh, quit it, you,” I said to him.
“What? You’re an honest, hardworking and smart young guy, you deserve a few compliments. You did so much for the village already as well,” He replied.
“Let’s just sleep before he starts telling stories…” I whispered to Omnis, and we went to sleep on our separate beds.
[End of Chapter 4]
I agreed with Adrian, and we went to sleep. I was still surprised about him. The portal, the suit, the worlds… It was a little too much to take in. The next morning I woke up to a familiar smell. Meat… Fresh cooked meat on the table, Adrian in the kitchen. “Morning,” He greeted me with.
“Same,” I replied, still drowsy.
“Go ahead, William left it for us,” He exclaimed.
“Nice of him,” I replied, and got at the beef. “Speaking of, where is he?” I wondered.
“In his forge. He’s a blacksmith you know,” He informed me.
“When will we leave?” I asked.
“Tired of this place already? “
“No, just wondering.”
“Good, cause today I’ll show you around. There are a few great places. Not all of them will be nice, though,” He replied.
“I’m good, we can go now,” I assured him.
“Well then, let’s get it over with,” He said as we walked out the door. I, a usual, put the facemask on.
“Where first?” I wondered.
“I know a place in the forest with a great view. I want you to see it,” He replied.
“Sounds good,” I noted. After 15 minutes he stopped.
“Strange, last time this bush wasn’t here. Could you handle it?” He asked. I whacked the bush away with the wrist swords. “Nice job,” We walked down the tranquil forest. The sound of birds chirping and the branches cracking under our feet were the only thing we heard for a while, until the sound of rushing water drew closer and closer. “Almost there…” He noted. Soon we got to a waterfall. When I was about to stop, thinking we arrived, he began climbing the stones behind it. “Come on!”
“Ooookay…” I replied in surprise, and followed him through the wet stones, nearly slipping off. After we got past the waterfall we started making our way upwards to the top. Eventually I ran out of stones to grab or step onto, so I climbed on the vines hanging instead, soon coming to our stop.
*Sigh* “Here we are,” He exclaimed and sat down on a mossy boulder. “Come on, the view is great,” He continued, holding out a hang. I grabbed it and sat down next to him.
“You were right, it really is nice,” I assured him. We stayed there for a while enjoying the view, then he stood up and walked to the edge.
“Omnis?”
“Hmm?”
“Can you swim?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Come here for a sec,” I stood up and stood next to him. “See you at the bottom!” He said, and jumped.
This guy is crazy… I’m surprised he didn’t die before we met… *Sigh* Well, nothing to lose. Not my life anyway… I thought to myself, and threw myself after him. “You’re out of your mind, aren’t you?” I asked after returning to the surface.
“What? Be honest, you enjoyed that too…”
“Well…”
“Told ya,” He replied with a grin.
“Why did the come to this world again?” I asked.
“Fine, we’ll get to the point then. Geez, I just wanted to show you how to have a good time,”
“I-”
“I don’t care. Shut up and come. No, go wherever you want. The portal will be open anyway. You know your way out of the store too.”
“But-”
“No buts, get out, go, goodbye,” I rolled my eyes in disbelief, then reached after him while getting out of the water. “Omnis, don’t make me say it again,”
“The hell is your problem?” I asked.
“What’s my problem? I’m trying to entertain you. I’m trying to make sure you have fun, that you’re happy. I’m trying to show you the place I spent most my life in, and yet all you keep doing is ask about when we leave or why are we here. THATS my problem…”
“Well, maybe if SOMEBODY would have answered me the first time, I wouldn’t be asking it repeatedly, right?” I replied. His reaction told me he wasn’t prepared for that response, and had no arguments.
He reached behind his head and began scratching it. “Shit…”
“Now, what do we do next?” I asked a little upset at his little tantrum.
“Uuuh… Do you like crystals?”
“Not much,” I replied, arms crossed.
“Too bad, we will need some. Unfortunately, the caverns are not safe, and harmful creatures reside within,” He exclaimed. I grabbed the AK.
“What? You have suit for inventory, I have a whole dimension,” I replied, explaining where the AK came from. “The only thing I always keep on me is the night-stick and the blades,” I continued.
“Don’t you have something less loud? A pistol?”
“I do, but it has smaller range, capacity, and firepower…” I replied while switching to my sidearm.
“Then I want you to cover my back. I know the way, and we need some more at the town. We will be there for an hour or so. Are you in?”
“Sure thing,” I replied, and we made our way to the caverns.
“Here we are. Hope you have a flashlight,” He exclaimed, as we both prepared our sidearms.
“How come you bring that loud ass thing while I must use the silencer?” I asked.
“If you want to, you can shoot instead of me too,” He replied.
“You won,” I assured him while we walked down the dark hallways. It was an eerie place, the only thing living I saw was a bat or two swooping by above.
“Okay, here it is. Keep an eye out, and don’t let the green guys come close,” He exclaimed, and produced a pickaxe from the inventory. As he began lashing out at the vein of faint blue crystals, the sound echoed far into the darkness, attracting unwanted attention.
*Grunt* *Moan* *Gruunt* *Grunt*
“Adrian?”
“What?”
“Was that you?”
“Was what?”
“Grunting, moaning…”
He took some time to reply. “Keep your eyes peeled, and finger on the trigger,” He only replied.
Thanks for nothing… I tightened my grip on the sidearm, and looked around with the mounted flashlight.
“The only living people down here are the two of us,” He replied.
“What do you mean? He’s right he-” I was cut short by the man throwing himself at me. “Get…” *Grunt* “The fuck…” *Splash* “Off!” I said while decapitating him.
“You okay?” Adrian asked from the end of the end of the tunnel behind me.
“Relatively,” I replied, raising my guard once more. “Adrian?”
“Yeah?”
“If neither one of us can die, why am I watching our back again?”
“IF those guys catch us off guard, we would be in for a bad time,” He replied. “Take my word on that,”
“You know what? Fuck it, I’ll go loud and proud…” I replied and readied the AK.
“Your call, but the vein ran out, and we need more,” He informed me.
“Which means we’ll have to find more, right?” I asked.
“Yep,” He replied, so we ventured further into the depths, when I heard a loud clicking sound.
“What was th-” *Boom* *Bang* *Crash* *Boom* *Cough* “Who the fuck keeps setting up traps?!” I asked, only then realizing our only way out was blocked.
“Fuck, I knew I should’ve brought explosives… We have to find another way…”
“You do, I’m out of here…” I replied, and walked through the boulder, only to go back to him a minute later. “You didn’t think I would, did you?” I asked with a grin.
“You had me there for a second,” He assured me.
“Right, now let’s get out of here. This place freaks me out,”
“Let me try something…” He said, and ran into the same boulder I walked through, but bounced back. I was barely able to hold back a chuckle. “Hey, it was worth a try, okay?”
“I haven’t said a thing,” I reminded him, and set off to find a way out. After a while we saw light at the end of one of the tunnels.
“Our way out?” Adrian wondered.
“Hope so,” I noted. Unfortunately, it was just a torch, one of many left behind in an abandoned mineshaft. We did manage to run into some left behind tracks, and a chest, in which was a few torches, and a steel pickaxe, which Adrian insisted I keep. I on the other hand, had no intention to do so, but did, just to save the time arguing.
“Well, this place is a waste,” He said, just nodded. “I can’t recall leaving this here,” He exclaimed, him being the only one to know the caverns even being there.
“Well, that’s not the point, let’s just get out,” I reminded him. We wandered for a while, when he stopped. “What?”
“Shhhhh!”
“What?” I asked again, whispering.
“More of them!” He replied.
“So what?” I asked.
“They can come from just a single to an entire army!”
“I saw bring it…” I replied, changing the magazine.
“I admire your bravery, Omnis, I really do, but you have to think sometimes instead of brute forcing your way through,”
“What’s the point if both options get you through?” I wondered.
“The means justify the ends, you know…”
“Doesn’t that just support my question?”
“Never mind…” He muttered, and readied his pistol.
“Ready?” I asked, and took aim at the first man shambling toward us.
“Let’s do this, before I regret it…” He muttered, and fired a shot, which echoed far and back in the narrow tunnels of the cave. Seconds passed as the first shot took the man down, when skeletons, large spiders, and green guys started coming at us, the skeletons firing bows at us. I soon learned why he told me to keep the green guys away, when I shot one causing it to explode, which blew up other green guys who were caught in radius.
“Why do they keep coming?!” I asked after 15 minutes.
“We can’t hold, there’s just too much!” He replied, and we slowly backed away from them, still firing away. We continued slowly backing, until Adrian nearly fell off the edge.
“Shit… What now?” I asked.
“I’m out of ammo, we have to jump!” He replied.
“We don’t even know what’s down there!” I warned him.
“What do we have to lose?” He asked. While I thought about it, he grabbed my hand, and dragged me with him down into the pit of darkness. The wind whistled into our ear as we fell, when he continued to talk. “Get ready! This will hit hard!” He noted, and soon we landed. I, out of luck and reflexes, with a proper position… While Adrian landed face first. We both compensated the fall for a few seconds, waiting for the momentum and pressure to pass on.
*Grunt* *Moan* “OOOooooommm….”
“At least you’re alive…” I noted. He just gave me a thumbs up, and soon peeled his face off the surface of the cold, mossy stone bricks beneath us.
“Wait, bricks? Omnis, we may have found something we can either ignore, or use,”
“What now?”
“If I’m right, we found a stronghold... “
“Which to us means…?” I asked.
“We can either enter it, slaughter the monsters within, enter the portal in the center to another world, and kill the powerful dragon which resides,”
“What if we kill it?” I wondered.
“I knew you would ask that... “ He replied. “Don’t know why… ” He muttered, louder than should’ve.
“Ahem…”
“Right. The dragon caused much suffering to many of the towns on the surface. Hell, legends say the one who says it will receive immense power. If you ask me, that power could be useful to you,” He continued.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Omnis, come on… I know more than I should… I’m not blind, nor deaf, I know you have control over life and death… Imagine that control extended and reinforced,” He replied.
“Greater power, greater responsibility. As long as I’m not sure I could handle it, I have no intention to grow my power,” I explained.
“Your choice. If you won’t kill it, then I can. If I strike the killing blow, my reward is said to be great knowledge… The legend says you receive what you desire to, should you slay the dragon, it is,” He replied.
“If you want to, we can go,” I assured him.
“Would you go through all that shit?” He asked.
“For you I would,’ I replied.
“Glad to hear. Now, let’s crack this open…” He exclaimed, and began striking the bricks beneath us, which soon collapsed beneath us.
“What on earth did they use as mortar to keep them together that strong?” I wondered.
“This world has interesting physics… Don’t question in,” He informed me.
I quickly reloaded and turned on the flashlight again. “Lead the way, and get it over with. This place is getting to me,” I said, that place smelled like death… Or something that had been rotting longer than it should’ve been able to… After lighting up the whole place with torches he brought, and emptying a dozen of magazines… We finally found the portal.
“Ha, I guess we’re at luck today. Wanna go first?”
“No, thanks,” I replied.
“Your loss,” He noted, and dove head first into it.
How often does he do this stuff? Does Moonlight even know about all this? *Sigh* Here goes… I threw myself into the portal, and found myself on top of a high pillar, made of something black or dark purple. I looked around, and saw Adrian at the bottom. “Up here!” I yelled, attracting his attention. The Phone he gave me earlier began buzzing in my pocket. I looked at it, and pressed the Answer . Then a voice, his one, began to talk through it.
“How did you even get up there?”
“The portal screwed me over,” I replied.
“Not really, it’s actually great. Can you see the other pillars? They should have purple crystals on top of them,”
“A few in the distance, why?”
“Try to shoot them, they heal the dragon, and that’s something we don’t want,” He explained.
“I’ll give it a shot…” I assured him. After missing a few shots, I hit as many as I could, blowing up 5 in total.
“Nice job, not on the joke though. Keep an eye out for the dragon, it will try to sweep you off of there, so if it comes, shoot until it gets too close. When it does, just duck,”
“Got it,” I replied. I put the phone away, and readied my grip, turned the flashlight off, and kept my guard up, until I saw a pair of bright purple eyes in the distance, piercing through the dark mist filling the place. I opened fire right away, and managed to hit enough bullets to make it stop meters away from my pillar, changed direction, and took off to the distance to create more space for it’s next charge. It turned around once more, and headed straight for Adrian. We both began shooting at it again, but when it got close to him it began breathing fire, it’s color matching that of it’s eyes. I grew worried of him, even though he was temporarily immortal…
The beast flew into the darkness again, and began charging at him once more, but the adrenaline in my system decided to intervene. I jumped off the pillar, right at the dragon, sinking a sword right into it’s neck, providing grip for me to hang onto. “Take it down!” He yelled.
“What o-” *Grunt* “What of your knowledge?!” I asked.
“I know enough already!” He replied.
“Your call!” I yelled through the wind and distance, slowly losing grip. I put the AK away, and slashed at the dragon with the other sword.
“Enough!” The dragon yelled, catching me by surprise. We both plummeted to the ground, the dragon taking most of the impact. When we stopped, it laid motionless on the ground on it’s chest.
“You can talk?!” I asked.
“Yes… Indeed…” It replied.
“This isn’t like what I was told…” I muttered.
“What had you expected to find, traveller?” *Grunt* “A foul, blood thirsting beast, I presume…” *Moan* “Like those before you had…”
“Well… I was told you brought suffering to many innocents… I was promised great reward f-”
“For my head, yes, I know… “ *Sigh* “Have had time to think, traveller?” My latest acquaintance inquired.
“About what?”
“Have you found a reason to take the life of mine? A reason they might desire my demise?”
“N-”
“I thought so…” He began taking heavier breaths. “Well then… You and your friend defeated me in fair battle… I, to make up for your troubles, shall reward you with the last of my power…”
“But it’s not right…” I reminded him.
“That changes no facts, traveller… I know what you both desire, and shall grant it anyway…” He replied. His seemingly still calm tone, and kindness, regardless of our recent acts… He nearly brought me to tears, truth be told. “Ah, tell me, traveller… What is it, that still brings you great sorrow?”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t know…” I explained, dropping to my knees. “What’s your name?” I asked.
“Kelonth… Why?”
“I wanted to know whose life I took for no reason,” I replied.
“I see your soul is pure, traveller… Your intentions were anything, but evil… You only sought to do well…” He explained, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe, not anymore.
“No… You shouldn’t have to die… You must not!” I replied, and tried using my power to keep him alive, but failed, as a dragon’s soul is different from that of a pony or human… Dragons are much larger, and greater creatures, who require much more energy… Energy, which I had not enough to succeed…
“Waste no power, traveller… Everything must come to an end, including me…” He tried to calm me. At this point I began straight out crying, both for him, out of regret, and because the most important law I was taught at home was simple, hurt no innocent… “Shed no tears, traveller… I will become one with the universe… I will be part of the fertile soil beneath your feet, providing your food… I will be one with the waters, rains, and great oceans…”
“I really didn’t mean for it to happen like this…” I muttered, lying face first against him.
“That I believe… Now, traveller, I must bid farewell… The void awaits…” He replied. “Fear not, I will pass forgiving you…” He continued with his last breath, and he was no more.
I mastered all my strength, and got up, making my way toward Adrian. “Ah, Omnis, finally you’re-”
I gave him no time to finish. I shoved him against one of the pillars, and held him there by pushing my lower arm against his chin, choking him. “You piece of shit… Because of you, I killed an innocent!” I yelled at him.
“What… Are you… Talking… About…”
“You know everything! You know what I’m talking about!” I replied.
“I can… Explain…” He spat out.
“You have one minute. If you fail I’ll absorb your soul, and sentence you to eternal suffering…” I warned him, then let him go.
*Cough* “He had to die… With him alive, we would’ve been stuck here forever…”
“You knew we couldn’t leave. Then why did you convince me to come with you to begin with?!”
“You will need all the power you can get in the future… I must make sure you won’t fail against Etarr…” He spat out.
“How do you know his name?! How, why do you know all this?!” I asked furiously.
“I can’t tell you… I really can’t…”
“Adrian… Tell me everything, or else we’re done… I will never interact with you ever again,” I threatened him.
“It’s… Complicated…” He replied.
“Goodbye,” I threw back, and turned my back to him. Steps away from him he replied.
“BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, DAMN IT!” He yelled, slamming a hand into the bright, yellow stone surface under us.
“You… You do what?!” I asked, unsure how to respond.
[End of Chapter 5]
Chapter 6: Farewell, Canterlot
I was just confused… Nobody in my life up to that point said those particular words in that order to me… And I repeat, nobody… “I just don’t know what to do or say now… Other than you do better not be joking…” I replied.
“Do I look like I’m joking?” He asked. His voice was cracking, he wasn’t in a good emotional state… Neither was I.
“Let’s just get out of here…” I threw in, and we both jumped into the dark portal, which appeared just where Kelonth’s body was. We soon found ourselves back at the entrance to the village.
“What will you do now?” He asked.
“I don’t know… We need to talk in private… Let’s just go home…” I replied.
“You go ahead, I’ll give them the crystals and go too,” He noted. We went opposite ways, and met up later in his back room. “Omnis?”
“Hmmm?”
“Good thing you left as soon as you did,” He exclaimed.
“Why?” I wondered.
“The villagers said they don’t want to see you ever again,”
“Some people just don’t know what they want…” I commented.
“Yeah… Truth be told, I think they’re just scared…” He replied. “Anyway, you wanted to talk, so…”
“Yeah…” I cleared my throat, and continued. “Adrian, I think you’re a good man… I’m not sure how much I should trust you, if I even should… The fact that you just always know everything makes no sense to me, and I just don’t know where to put it…” I said. He just sat there patiently, waiting for me to finish my dialogue. “It’s just a little too much for me to take in… You must understand… Everything you showed me. What you told me… But there’s also the responsibility on my shoulders… Both as the General most know me as, and… The Necromancer , as you called me a while ago,”
“I’m sorry I put you through all of this…” He replied. “I knew it will be just too much… Your parent’s passed just days ago too… You should take some time to process all these things what happened…” He continued.
“Maybe you’re right… You know, I think it would be best if we didn’t meet for few days… I need to think, you know…”
“Before you go, uh… Hang on, it should be around somewhere…” He said as I reached for the doorknob, and began scrambling on his desk, soon handing me a familiar looking scroll of paper. “It fell out of your clothes when you got to the machine. I finished it,” He exclaimed.
“Thanks,” I replied, putting away the scroll. He silently nodded, and without a word, I left. As expected of me, I went back to the castle, where I met up with Walgarus and Kalin.
“Hey Omnis, I haven’t seen you in a while,” Walgarus exclaimed.
“I can’t say any different,” I replied. “Kalin, how are things?” I Asked.
“I can’t complain. The locals accepted us, we have a house, the kids are happy,” She replied.
“That’s all what matters…” I replied.
“Are you okay? You don’t look good…” Walgarus asked.
“I’m fine, I just need some sleep, that’s all ...” I lied.
“Oh, then it’s best we don’t hold you back. We’ll see you another time then,” Kalin threw in. I just nodded and went to my room, where I laid on my bed, and slept for a while. Until I woke up in the middle of the night, that is. The sound of something shattering woke me up. I prepared my pistol and silencer, put my mask on, and left my room. I kept the pistol ready, finger above the trigger, weapon pointing at the ground, while moving in a quick sneak, soon running into one of the patrolling guards, a colt.
“Name and rank! Now!” He yelled, flashing his magic light at me. I just took the mask off. “Oh, what brings you here, ma’am?” He asked.
“I heard something fragile break, there might be an intruder around,” I explained.
“Should I come with you, or return to patrol?” He asked.
“Keep going, I’ll check the rest of the castle,” I replied.
“As you say,” He said, and walked on, soon seeing a few blood stains on the carpet. I crouched to examine it, it was fresh, since it covered my fingers as I reached into it. Should be nearby… I slowed down my pace and checked behind each curtain, around the corners, and even the support beams above, but found no trace. Well, can’t find them, better go back… Since I couldn’t find anyone, I returned to my room, but on the way there I caught a glimpse of the curtain moving oddly. The windows were closed, and it was waving back and forth.
I slowly approached it, trigger ready, flashlight on. “Come out, and explain yourself!” I instructed the figure. A Human came out slowly with her hands up, in one she held a pistol, but by the barrel, the grip pointing sideways. Her clothing was in no way similar to what the guards wore. “Put the weapon on the ground, and kick it over,” She did as told to. I stepped one foot on the pistol to assure it stays there. “Lie down on your stomach, and put your hands behind your back,” I said once again. She knelt down, then lied down as asked to. Still having the bag on my belt from way back when we got the basic training, I produced some quick binders from it, and used that to fix her hands together. “You’re under arrest for the suspicion of trespassing, you will answer to the sisters tomorrow. Do you have anything to say now?” She didn’t say anything, so I took her back to my room, where I hit her in the back of the head, knocking her out long enough for the sisters to awaken. Usually they were at the throne room by 9 am, but we were there by 8:55, to make sure they get busy.
“Ah, Omnis, it’s been a while,” Celestia said after noticing us.
“It was, now, this woman was caught trespassing last night…” I replied.
“Ah?” Luna threw in.
“Had she had any weapons?” Asked Celestia.
“Only this,” I replied, and threw her the confiscated pistol, which she caught with her magic.
“What’s this?” Luna asked, standing aside her sister.
“It’s a Steyr M1912, 9mm bullets, 8 bullet per clip, max firing range 50 meters, or 160 feet,” I explained. How I knew that? I didn’t, Itrix did… “What’s her sentence?” I asked.
“Are you sure she was trespassing?” Celestia asked.
“She’s not wearing a military uniform. She refused to identify herself as well. She must be punished, she was walking around with a firearm without authorization,” I explained.
“Well… What do you suggest?” Asked the same mare.
“You know what? I’ll take these decisions from you in the future…” I replied.
“Do as you think it’s best,” Luna threw back.
“Dick…” Muttered the prisoner.
I hit her in the leg with my night stick, causing her to fall on her knees, then pressed her head downward. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you clearly,” I replied.
“You dick!” She yelled.
“Your mouth is big, but if I were to set you free, you would rather run…” I exclaimed, calling her a coward.
“Wanna bet?” She asked in return. I took my plated gloves off, and with those, the blades too, then set her free. The first thing she did was turn around and swing, but I blocked. We threw a good number of punches and kicks, I was surprised at her endurance… Until she decided to pull a knife. When she swung that at me, I ducked, lifted her with my right shoulder, closed my right arm around her waist, and took off running at one of the windows, in front of which I stopped just in time for the velocity to take her through the panes, sending her crashing down several meters to her death.
“That was…” Celestia tried to say something in surprise.
“Impressive…” Luna continued, saving her sister’s sentence.
I swiped the blood off my mouth with a hand, resting myself on my knees with the other. “Persistent mother fu… Right…” I said to myself. “You might be wondering why I killed her…” They nodded briefly. “Was it not obvious? If you enter a fist fight, you either win or lose. You can’t just start using weapons…” I explained, catching my breath. Just as I was about to look out at my fallen opponent, the doors opened. Four soldiers came in, escorting someone else. They left him inside, since they saw me inside. “You mother fu-”
“A-A-Ah, Omnis… Not quite appropriate in front of the sisters, don’t you think?” He asked.
“You sack of crap. What do you want?” I asked.
“To talk is all I desire…” He replied.
“Make it quick…”
“Omnis? Who is this?” Celestia wondered.
“Somebody you should avoid,” I replied. “He’s responsible for the smuggling to Arabia, and the death of my parents…” I continued.
“Not to mention Ishtar’s attack all those years ago…” He continued. “Oh, Celestia, Luna,” He said to get their attention for sure. “You should’ve seen your parent’s faces when I shot them…” He began to laugh, confessing most his crimes.
Needless to say, he angered the sisters, who could barely keep themselves back, knowing their magic would’ve done nothing. “Omnis?” Luna asked.
“Yes?”
“Could you send a bullet into the face of this… What did you call him? Mother Fucker?” She asked.
“Oh, I wish… It’s not that easy…” I replied, firing a few at him. Some sort of field absorbed the bullets.
“Now, that I certainly got your attention… I know you want me dead, so here’s the truth… Omnis, you, and you alone must defeat all 131 of my champions, in whom my power rests… Harvest their souls, absorb as much as you can, because once they all are slain, you will be able to truly hurt me…” He explained, and threw my gloves back to me.
“Why are you telling us this?” Celestia wondered, still upset.
“I warn you, however… Should you slay them all, their might will join mine, making me an even worthier adversary…” He replied. “Will you still ‘Hunt me down’ ?”
“You bet your ass I will…” I replied while putting the plated gloves back on.
“Good… Beware of those around you. From now, not only you can absorb souls. Your targets might as well do the same to you, so think twice before engaging them in battle,” He continued.
“Your game, my rules.” I replied.
“As you think. Let our game begin…” He exclaimed, and vanished.
“Let’s move on, like this hadn’t happened. The targets may or may not know I’m coming for them, and they just as may or may not attack first. Either way, I’m the only one who should feel threatened. Now, I must go,” I said to them, and left to find one of the Lieutenants.
“Ma’am?” She wondered.
“Easy. I need you to pass on the orders to your sub ordinates, and tell them to do the same,” I replied.
“Understood,”
“This only applies to those patrolling outside the castle. From now on, usage of firearms are forbidden. Only in the act of self defense is it authorized to use lethal force,” I explained.
“Is that all? Ma’am?”
“In addition, city guards are to submit their primary firearms until further notice. Their sidearm must prove well enough to handle most cases, should violence be required,” I continued.
“Yes, ma’am. The orders will be live in around 3 hours,” She assured me.
“Good, now go,” I replied, and we both went our ways. Things were calm for a long time, until pressure began to build up between the town guards and citizens… Yeah, the ponies though that we’re slowly taking over. Needless to say, the sisters themselves confirmed otherwise to assure them all, but it wasn’t enough. Over the past weeks small brawls broke out between the sides, but nobody… Or nopony… Got seriously injured… Aside that one colt who started it all, had had his ass killed… You see, he was the one who started the whole thing between the two sides, and in the end, the crowd he provoked against us trampled him to death one day… I guess you can learn from his mistake, huh? As for Adrian… I haven’t seen or heard from him since then. None the less, I was worried for him, since I gave him his life back the day I left him behind, even tho I should’ve told him about it. The main reason I was worried for him was the fact that ponies began attacking human citizens. On one particular day the same Lieutenant came up to me.
“Ma’am,” She said, saluting.
“Lieutenant?” I asked.
“The ponies are furious still, we fear the might injure Humans severely…”
“What do you suggest?” I asked.
“Evacuate all non-military personnel,”
“To where?”
“Either into the barracks, or back to home ,”
“Send word to the troops, tell the citizens to pack their things and prepare to leave for an unknown amount of time,”
“Right away,”
“And if any of the troops decide not to come back, they will answer to me for it,” I continued.
“As you say, ma’am,” She replied, and left. I did the same thing, and headed to the barracks to see how long the food supplies would last the guards. However, before I could do that one of the soldiers approached me, sandbag in his hand, which he put down while we talked.
“Ma’am, ma’am, for a second,” He said.
“Yes, Private?”
“He set up the barricades as General Walgarus suggested them, have you got us new objectives ma’am?”
“Good work, next time he may want to discuss the barricades with me first… Nothing new, go on,” I replied. He left rght away, while I headed for Adrian’s store. Before I left the castle I put away all my weapons into the other world, except for the night stick in my pocket, and blades on the glove. Both were hidden well enough not to be noticed by the naked eye. As I turned the corner to the main entrance of the castle both sides froze at my presence. The gate slid open for me to pass, and even the crowd silently gave way to me without conflict. I walked up to his door and knocked.
“Go away!” Said a familiar voice.
“Are you sure?” I asked, so he could tell who I was. The door burst open and he pulled me in, shutting the door right away.
“What are you doing in here?” He asked.
“I’m here to get you out… Human citizens are scheduled to leave tomorrow morning back home , permanently,” I replied.
“No! No! I’m not leaving!” He said back.
“Adrian, you must listen to me… I gave your life back, and I can’t play around with someone living or dying a lot… Next time something gets you, you WILL die, no second chance,” I warned him.
“I am NOT leaving this place behind, Omnis. Do as you may, I build all this up from the ground, and am not willing to lose it,” He explained.
“You can make this somewhere else, and even bigger, and better…” I tried reasoning with him.
“Not going to happen, Omnis. If you’re here to convince me to leave, you should be the one doing it instead,” He replied, standing by the door, hand on handle. I didn’t want any conflicts between the two of us, so I did approach the door.
“You could just go through the portal down there, and stay there for a while… You would be safe there too, and there’s no way the crowd would find it…” I came up with the option.
“Now THAT might be an option I’m willing to agree with…” He replied.
“You gave me a phone earlier, it has your number in it, I can give you a call when it’s safe,” I assured him.
“Okay, that’s a better idea. I’ll pack a few things to bring and will go there right away,” He said back.
“But promise me, you will not come back until I tell you to…” He nodded with a grin, and opened the door for me.
“It’s best you leave, before somepony wants their ass kicked,” He said with a grin.
I nodded with the same grin and left, hearing the door being locked behind me. I headed back to the castle, and called an immediate meeting for the higher ranks, both Pony and Human. It was about noon when the meeting could finally begin. It consisted of the sisters, a the Pony Generals, including Walgarus, a Colonel of mine, two Lieutenants, and myself.
“So, Omnis, what would you have us gather here for?” Asked Luna.
“Gentlemen, ladies,” I said at first. “I’m here to announce, that I, General Omnis must break the promise I and my ancestors made to Queen Galaxia and King Cosmos,” I continued. Everybody stared in confusion. “As you may or may not know, we promised to keep the land safe. But seeing recent events, I have come to only one peaceful conclusion…”
“That is?” Walgarus wondered.
“We’re pulling out,” I replied.
“What?!” Asked the Colonel. “Your pardon?” I asked about his intrusion.
“With all respect ma’am, I believe that is bullshit,” He replied.
“Please elaborate your reasoning, Colonel,” I said back.
“There must be another way to restore peace… We could find the instigators, an-”
“And what? You think they would cooperate with us?” I asked, scold in my tone.
“What about the Pony guards?” He wondered.
“As if they wouldn’t think we forced the to do it…” I replied. “You are a loyal and wise man, I must admit… But never, ever question your superior… Especially in this kind of manner,” I explained.
I let them out the same way I would summon the dead, and they stood by my side. My sub ordinates reached for their sidearms, but I called them off. “I hope you know who these are,” I said. “Now, Itrix?” I asked.
“Right…” She muttered. “My idea is not much, but a simple suggestion…” She continued.
“That is?” Celestia pondered.
“I could use my powers to move our home in the wastelands to a position more nearby. Granted, I will need to alter everybody’s memories about it,” She explained.
“And how would that help?” Altamir asked.
“Well, if we’re closer by, they could just tell us if they need our help, and we can drop by,” She replied.
“Good point…” Altamir noted.
“The problem is, I believe since we are no longer welcome in Canterlot, or Equestria in general, I suggest Ponies, aside messengers, diplomats, or the sisters themselves would be prohibited from entry,”
Silence reigned in the room for a while. We all were waiting for someone else’s opinion. “I suggest that’s a clear agreement on both sides…” I threw in to break the silence.
“Right, I shall give word to the guards to begin spreading the news to the population, so that your leaving may go down in peace,” Said another General.
“I’ll dispatch a few of ours to make sure it stays peaceful,” Said Walgarus.
I nodded, then looked at the Lieutenants. “You two inform the guards, gather them all in full equipment,” I said to them, then looked at the Colonel. “As for you, well… You and I will have a conversation about your remark later on…” I warned him. He leaned back in his chair and sighed.
“Yes...Ma’am…” He said with an unhappy tone.
“So, what of us now?” Asked Altamir.
“You get to stay temporarily. You have the brawn, she has the brain we might need in the future,” I replied.
“It’s kind of weird being flesh once again…” Altamir noted. “Anyone in for some practice to shake the rust off?” He asked. The Colonel gladly raised his hand. “Let’s go, hand to hand,” Altamir replied with a grin. Before they left, I gave Altamir my night stick, and stopped the Colonel.
“Teach him how to use this, and you’ll go free with your comment, capiche?” I asked while leaning close, so no one else would hear. He silently nodded, and I let them go. After the meeting ended we all went to tend to our tasks.
Soon came the time of our leave to our new home . The armed guards walked in line on the very sides, fingers above the trigger, while the civilians walked with their belongings on the inside, Itrix and Altamir in the front, leading the way. The Pony guards stood in line to secure us way out, holding back those who might have any ideas. There was a rough 10 meters between the crowd and our lines, when a Pony broke through the line. 5 of my gunmen took aim from the walls, as we were near the end.
“Return behind the line!” One of the yelled, while the mare kept running.
“Last warning! Stop or we shoot!” Yelled another. The mare slowed down, but kept on coming our way. I was at the end of the line, to make sure everybody made it out. Some of my men remained until the end on the town walls, they demanded they finish their last shift.
Unfortunately, the mare kept coming, so I had to warn her myself. “I won’t warn you, I will shoot,” I said to her, as she stared down the barrel, still galloping toward us. I knew if I were to shoot her, hell would break loose, so I knocked her back with the stock instead, causing her to fall back. The last of the civilians made it out of the city, but I stayed behind, and watched the remaining guards bid farewell to the next shift, as they always greeted one another each day. I saw a few do so by a hoof-knuckle bump, some with a single salute, and few with a straight out embrace. It saddened me to see them unhappy, but it had to happen. The last of the guards came up to me and waited for my word. “Ready to go? Everybody here?” I asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” One of them said.
“Well then, go after the others, I’ll join soon,” I said to them, as Moonlight, Walgarus, Kalin, and the sisters made their way toward me.
“I’ll see you soon,” Moonlight said with a grin.
Walgarus and Kalin came somewhat closer, and Kalin gave me a piece of paper. “Read it when you’re home,” She said.
“You too,” Walgarus said to me as well. I nodded in slight confusion, and put it away.
“We’re thankful for what you did for us until now,” Celestia said.
“We wish you the best in the future,” Luna continued.
“You know you can call on us, we’ll be nearby,” I assured them. “The day I came here I only wanted to do well, and prove to my parents what I’m worth. I didn’t care about anything but my task… But now I’m proud to know I gathered friends like you. We will meet soon, I promise,” I said to them all, and waved farewell. They did the same, and I rejoined the others. Very soon we arrived. Luckily, all of us found a place to stay. I allowed Altamir and Itrix to stay in the same place I lived, Itrix joined the research team, while Altamir agreed to help train the new troops who chose to join by their own will. At last, I could lay my head to rest, knowing only the targets are left for me to worry about.
[End of Chapter 6]
Chapter 7: All's well that hurt well...
The next morning I woke up to a little rubble in the kitchen. I rushed to see what it was… It was Altamir holding Adrian down, while he had his pistol’s barrel at Altamir’s chin. The two seemed quite upset about something. They quickly noticed me and just stared at me surprised. “This isn’t what it looks like!” They said in unison.
“Or is it?” I asked, arms crossed, leaning against the door frame.
They let go of each other and put their weapons away. “Well…” Altamir started.
“You might be my uncle, but you have a minute to explain what the fuss is about before I kick both your asses,” I replied, then Itrix came through another door, plates in her hand.
“What. The. Fuck. Guys…” She said, almost dropping the plates. I greeted her with a nod, she returned it.
“Just what I was asking about,” I replied.
“Clear this mess up, or you two will miss breakfast,” Itrix exclaimed, and the two did so at almost light speed. I could have sworn the had little haloes over their heads too for a second… “More like it…” She continued, and set the table. Breakfast was rice and meat, one of my favourites. We all sat down and got at it.
“So, what were the two of you at it about?” I asked while eating.
“Because he’s here,” Altamir replied.
“Yeah, I see that… How exactly?” I wondered. Itrix silently raised a hand. “Why am I not surprised… Why?” I asked.
“We thought he could be useful in the research team too, so I brought him here… Problem is, I can’t send him and his place back, because I don’t know if the place is occupied by now or not,” She replied.
“And why is that so bad, Adrian?” I inquired.
“Well, the coordinates on the machine have to be corrected, which will take one hell of a long time…” He replied.
“Is that all you’re whining about? A few numbers being incorrect? Adrian, with you in the research team, in addition to Itrix, we could advance quickly in technology. Better the lives of many, and maybe even save a lot! And all you think of is a few numbers?” I went in on him. “Besides, what is this beef between you and Altamir about in the first place?” I asked afterward.
“Itrix wasn’t around, and he called her a few names. I decided to warn him with the back of my hand,” Altamir explained.
I looked at Adrian, but only with my eyes, not moving my head. Soon I found the mark Altamir’s hand left. “Ow…” I said right afterward.
“Yeah, and I think I can’t feel my left arm either,” Adrian continued, while leaning on said arm on the table.
“I can fix it later,” Itrix noted.
“Nah, at least it doesn’t hurt,” He replied.
“Your call,” She said.
We soon finished breakfast, but couldn’t decide who should wash the dishes. “Soo. Who will wa-” By the time I could finish, only Itrix was present.
“I’ll take it…” She said, not very enthusiastic, and started picking them up. “Wait, where are you go-” I didn’t stay around to let her finish, I had no mod to do the dishes either. I went right to the research team, catching up with Adrian and the rest.
“I take Itrix will come late,” Adrian greeted me with.
“If I were you, I would take a day out and hide today,” I assured him. “Anything new you guys came up with since my last visit?” The Administrator was at age, about twice mine, yet refused to retire.
“A plethora in fact,” He replied, soon the others went to the storage while he listed them all.
“That would be?”
“As per your orders, we managed to make a few different types of Shotguns, Machine guns, Grenades, Sniper Rifles, Explosives, several vehicles, and devices,” He said.
“Great, tell me what I need know about them,” I replied. Adrian soon came up to me with a few models of shotguns.
“This is a SPAS-12, it’s an automatic shotgun with a large kick. Both ways… Ammo cap is 10 shells+1 in the barrel, 12 gauge ammo” He explained, showing me one of them on the table. “This one is an USAS-12, automatic as well, comes with magazines, 12 gauge ammo as well, magazine cap 20,” He said pointing at the other one. “And that’s a simple double barrelled shotgun. No cap size, no magazines. Only the two shells you load into the barrels, needless to say, 12 gauge ammo,”
“Nice…” I noted.
“Fancy one yourself? We have lots in storage,” Adrian wondered.
“You know where the ammo is,” He said, hinting at the side-bag. I nodded. He showed me the rest of the weapons. I chose an M60 machine gun, a dozen of frag grenades, a Barret M98 sniper, and a Minigun for backup. “You sure aren’t under equipped now…” He noted. “As for the devices, this little machine gets strapped on your lower arm, the wireless signal travels to the earpiece, and changes the frequency,”
“So it works like the phones?” I asked.
“Exactly. We’ll start equipping the troops and dividing frequencies soon,” He explained.
“And what about the explosives?” I asked, he having missed them.
“Right…” He said and went back to the storage with the rest of the guns he showed me, and came out with a larger one. “This, is an RPG-7. It fires these, you already know how to reload these… Itrix helped with her magic, so whoever holds these, knows how to use them. She did it to all the weapons, actually,”
“Right, I’ll take this one then,” I said, taking the launcher.
“Be careful. That thing WILL hit you back all right,” Adrian warned me, then also gave me a flamethrower, showing me how to put the fuel tanks on my back.
“I’ll keep it in mind,” I replied. “Anything else?”
“No, you have the weapons, the explosives and device. You’ll see the vehicles soon too,” He said. I nodded and left to see Itrix and the dishes. When I stepped through the door, one nearly hit me.
“Watch it!” I said.
“Damn, it missed,” She muttered.
“Come again?” I asked louder than my usual talk voice.
“Nothing…” She replied with a grin.
“You really did it, didn’t you?” I asked.
“Yep…”
“Are you out of your mind?” I asked again.
“Nope,” She replied. I facepalmed for a few seconds. “I’ll get going now…” She continued and left.
What the fuck was that about? I wondered for a brief second. I grabbed something to drink from the fridge Adrian got us. I still don’t know how it’s powered… Then went to see how Altamir was doing. I left the building, locking it, then made my way to the barracks, where he was talking to two trainees. “Anything I missed?” I asked, hopping in next to him.
“Not yet. These two tho… They have a unique question tho,” He replied.
“Ah?” I asked, looking at the two. “That is?”
“Ma’am, you see… She’s my sister… Could we be assigned to the same platoon?” Asked the older one.
“I see no problems with it. Why not,” I replied.
“I’ll go, do the paperwork…” Altamir threw in and walked away.
“Thanks a lot ma’am,” Said his sister.
“It’s basic. It’s natural that we don’t separate siblings. That is, if they let us know about it,” I explained.
Suddenly her brother leaned over to pick up something from the ground. “Ma’am, you dropped it,” He said, handing me a folded up piece of paper. It was the one Walgarus gave me. I took it, and left them with a nod to read it. I was meant to read it a few hours ago anyway.“Omnis
It’s me writing the letter, Walgarus. ‘How?’ You may wonder. Well, it’s part of my secret. A secret only Moonlight and Kalin knows.
But that’s not the point.
The point is, that the day you sent Kalin and her family to me, we’ve been very close. I kept them as safe as I could, since she told me you asked me to.
In short, we grew too close, and I won’t avoid the point no more.
I am inviting you to next friday in the Canterlot Castle.
What’s going to happen is a surprise.
I’ll see you there,” Time passed quickly. By that one friday Adrian introduced me to one of the new vehicles, which I learned to handle as well. A motor bike. I used said vehicle to get to Canterlot in no time, but was stopped at the town gates.
“I’m sorry ma’am,” One of them said.
“For what?” I asked, taking off the helmet.
“We can not allow you to enter with your vehicle,”
“Then I’ll leave it here,” I said, taking the keys and walking closer to them.
“We must make sure you’re not wearing any weapons, ma’am,”
“Go ahead,” I replied, needless to say, they knew of my bracers.
“Your bracers, take them off, or leave,” One of them said.
“Or else?” I asked.
“You are no longer our superior,” One of them reminded me.
“I would still be justified for kicking your asses,” I reminded them.
“Take them off, or we’ll be forced to act,”
“Oh, is that so? Would you ask a Unicorn to take off it’s horn?” I asked.
“Uugh..”
“Would you ask a Pegasus to take off it’s wings?” I asked again. “Or an Alicorn to take off both?”
“Those are body parts, yours is not.” He exclaimed.
“Taking these off is the biggest shame to us, I will not take them off,” I assured them.
“Why are you here, ma’am? Looking for trouble? Some practice?”
“I have an invitation from a friend I tend to visit,” I explained, showing them the letter.
“If so, go ahead. But your friend is responsible for your actions then,”
“Blah blah blah,” I replied to further insult him as I passed by. I was nearly impaled by his halberd, cutting me off. I put my left hand onto the weapon’s shaft, and looked at the guard. Even tho he was not physically touching it, I possessed him.
“Wh- What is this?!” He asked horrified.
“Oh, just a display what I could’ve done to you…” I replied from inside the deepest corner of his mind. I dragged him into a coma like state, and we were standing in a void once again, face to face.
“What are you doing to me?!” He asked.
“I’m going to show you what I could’ve done to you instead of talking,” I explained, and produced the flamethrower.
“What is that?” He asked, before I began scorching him for a while. He didn’t just stand there in silence, of course. When I was finished, he was laying on the ground in pain, yet without any injuries, as we were in his mind, meaning we only were our spirits.
“Hope you enjoyed it, because we have only just begun…” I reminded him with a grin, ignoring his pain, and by the time he stood up I had the shotgun ready and loaded. I blew one shell into his chest. The result was his intestines exposed, but only for a second, as he quickly healed back, so I blew the other shell into his face, killing him temporarily. It also healed up, and I was waiting for him with the M60.
Before I began firing at him, he managed to spew out a few words. “Fuck my life…” He said, and I began holding the trigger down, holding him under fire for a minute, firing hundreds of bullets. “Anything else you have?” He wondered, exhausted. I nodded, and brought forward the RPG. “Why did I even ask…” He muttered, and I fired the explosive at him.
“Have you learned not to question death itself?” I asked. He replied with a brief nod, so I left his mind, and returned to the real world, where the other guard stood in fear, looking at his comrade.
“You don’t look so good. Are you okay?” He asked. The comrade only replied with a nod. His glance was broken and glassy, pupils out of focus. “What did you do to him?” The remaining guard asked.
“You want me to show you?” I asked with a sinister grin, taking a step toward him. He only backed up against the wall, shaking. “And you’re what they call ‘Guards’ and ‘Soldiers’? Pitiful...” I continued, and walked on, until I met with the sisters, who told me that we still have little time left until the meeting. We spent that time talking, until it was time for us to go, and made our way to the throne room, where a small crowd, and two rows of guards we already present, one each side of the carpet. The sisters sat down on their rightful places, while I stood between them, facing the door. “What are we waiting for?” I asked.
“We wait,” Celestia replied, and soon the doors opened, revealing Kalin in rather fancy articles of clothing, Walgarus at her side, in his full suit of armor, except a helmet.
“Wait a minute…” I muttered to the sisters. “It this a-”
“Wedding? Yes?” Luna replied. “It is,” She assured me.
The pair only came closer with grins on their faces, until they stopped. “Hello, Omnis,” He said with the same grin.
“You little dirtbag… You should’ve told me to get something for the occasion,” I replied with a chuckle.
“Are you two ready?” Asked Celestia, the two nodded. The two said their oaths to each other, and the sisters continued. “Hereby, we declare you two as wife and husband. You can kiss now to seal your connection forever,” They said in unison. The two did just that, and the room broke out cheering for them.
“Everyone here is our guest to celebrate!” Walgarus yelled, letting everybody know. We had a good time, but I didn’t drink much, since Adrian told me not to drink much alcohol if I plan on using the bike. We celebrated for the rest of the day, until it was time for me to head back. The new pair decided to accompany me all the way to the town gate.
“Thanks for coming, Omnis. We’re glad you came,” Kalin said.
“Hey, I had fun, and you two do fit together,” I replied. I turned around, only to see a dagger fly their way. At this point it was too late, I couldn’t stop if, even with Focus , and it hit Walgarus dead in the chest, the heart. While Kalin checked on him, I looked at the killer. It wore a white robes, similar to Altamir’s, but it wasn’t him… No, I would’ve known. I summoned several hounds, and sent them after the figure to hunt it down. I pointed at the figure with anger, the the hounds threw themselves after it, causing it to run. The hounds ran and ran, barking and growling.
Having dealt with the attacker, I turned back to the other side. Kalin was on top of Walgarus, crying. I crouched closer to see what his status was. I managed to pry Kalin off of him, and pulled the dagger out, holding my hands on the wound, preventing bleeding. “Why me… Why now?” Walgarus asked.
“No, not yet… You’ll be fine…” I replied, trying to keep them calm. Some time passed, and the bleeding stopped. I pulled the phone and called Adrian.
He asked.
I replied.
He wondered.
I yelled, and hung up. “You will be fine, Wal. Help is on the way, they will fix you,” I assured him, trying to keep him positive. Just 3 minutes later the chopper arrived, and 3 medics rappelled down to us.
“How is he?” One of them asked.
“Stab wound to the chest, heart probably affected. Bleeding stopped,” I explained.
“Copy that,” He replied, and injected him with some painkillers, and they lowered a carrier from the chopper.
“Told you you’ll be fine,” I said to him with a grin, as they took him away.
“We’ll report on his status soon,” Said the same medic, and they flew off.
“Walg!” Kalin yelled after them. I could barely keep her back from following them.
“They- Will- Take- Care of him!” I kept saying, until she calmed down.
“I sure hope so,” She replied, still in a bad condition.
“They will. Trust me,” I tried assuring her, then turned around. “As for the two of you, dipshits, you just stood here and sad not a damn word about him!” I yelled at the guards, beating both of them into a coma out of anger with the night-stick. When I was finished blood was pouring from their eyes, mouths and noses, accompanied by several fractures and broken bones. Kalin took the beat-up guards back to be taken care of and came back to me, just the same time the hounds dragged the attacker back to me. They were holding him one limb in mouth, basically levitating him off the ground. They did a good job, as he was still alive. “As for you, oh, I’ll have some fun with you back at home,” I said to him. “Kal, we’ll do our best. He’ll be back as soon as he can,” I assured her, then knocked the attacker out. The hounds sat onto the ground, waiting for the next command. I just waved my hands, and they disappeared. I threw the prisoner onto the back, and rode back home, where I threw him into a cell.
“So he’s the guy?” Asked Adrian, standing next to me.
“Yep,” I replied.
“What do you plan with him?” He wondered.
“You need a live target?” I asked.
“What?”
“A live target. Who knows, maybe it will help research,”
“You have a dark way of thinking, but I like it…” He replied. “Now that you mention, I do have something I need live target for,” He continued, and produced a syringe with some green liquid inside.
“What’s that?” I wondered.
“Something I came up with. It’s a chemical weapon. If injected into anything living, it will proceed to devour the host body. It will eat away skin, flesh, bone, blood… Everything inside the body,”
“And I’m the one with dark thinking?” I asked with a grin, yet surprised.
“The speed of the process depends on how much is injected,” He explained, and stabbed the needle into the bound prisoner’s left thigh, forcing the liquid inside. “With this amount, we should see the effects tomorrow,” He exclaimed.
“He won’t enjoy it, will he?” I asked.
“I doubt anybody would,” He assured me.
“How long do you think he has left then?”
“A week at best. Then again, the quicker he died, the less he suffers so… I’ll call it a week at worst,” He replied. “Could we talk in private?” He asked. I nodded, and followed him to a secluded area.
“What is it?” I wondered.
“When will you start hunting your targets down?” He asked.
“How do you know about them?”
“Celestia sent a letter to me about them. You know, we know each other from that day,” He explained.
“I’ll get at it after Wal gets better,” I replied. “Why?”
“The sooner he’s dead, the sooner will the world be safe,”
“I know, but he’s mo-”
“No he’s not Omnis… Etarr is treating the world as his personal playground, carelessly doing whatever he wants to, and you only worry about the life of a single pony… Come on, you can’t be serious,” He explained. I took some time to think, but agreed, and spent the next 5 years hunting down said targets.
Throughout those years I had to put millions of souls to rest, and absorbed as much. The day the last one fell was quite relieving for me. I pulled my blade from her chest and absorbed her soul as I did the others. I stood there for a while, watching her blood slowly paint the winter snow around her. I asked Adrian through the phone.
He replied. I hurried back, and headed straight for the research lab. “Give me a few hours,” I returned home and slept those hours away, and returned. “Allright… Here’s the thing… Put this on instead of your usual armor. This will give you about twice the protection,” He said, giving me a pile of seemingly modern body armor. I took it and put it on in front of him, since it didn’t need me to remove underwear.
“It’s a bit heavier than usual, but nothing serious,” I replied.
“Now, here’s the flamethrower. It has double range. The M60, Minigun, and M82 has double the firepower. And… Take these instead,” He gave me a pair of bracers, glove, and blades, just like mine. “Yes, the blades are made of Celestium, the perfect material I found for melee weapons. The plating is made of Lunite, as you could’ve guessed,” I switched mine for those he gave me. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a way to improve your pistol or RPG, so those are as usual,”
“It’s okay, I should be good to go now,” I tried assuring him.
“Good luck out there,” He said with a grin.
“If I survive, I’ll see you later,” I replied, leaving them behind.
Just as soon as I left the confinements of my beloved home settlement, Etarr appeared, still in view distance for the guards, but they ignored him, knowing what we were about to do. “Omnis,” He greeted me with.
“Etarr,” I returned the greeting.
“I assume you’re eager, and ready,” He said.
“As much as you are,” I replied.
“Since I know you don’t want a third person being hurt from our fight, I give you the choice of choosing where we do it,” He said. I nodded, and teleported us both to the wasteland, where no more was anything living. We both prepared for the fight to begin. “Good luck, Omnis,” He exclaimed, but I said nothing in return. We stood there, only staring each other down at first, the cold wind stinging our faces. It seemed like we were there for an eternity, when we eventually started the fight. We gave in everything we had, causing most damage to the environment. We fought until one of us collapsed. Unfortunately, I was the first, having dropped to my knees in pain, and exhaustion. “It is over, Omnis… Now… Face your fate!” He said, summoning zombies of the targets I slew, each of them.
I simply grinned to myself, blood pouring down my face, into my mouth, and off my chin.
“What’s so funny?!” He asked. I managed to annoy him.
“You know how the Human Combat Rule goes… If one of the combatants use something other than their chosen weapons, or their body, the other is allowed to use their choice of help…” I reminded him.
“And what on earth could you still be able to use? You gave in everything against me!” He yelled.
“You think?” I asked, and pressed a button on the wrist device Adrian gave me. Moments later Adrian, Altamir, Itrix, Moonlight, and the sisters themselves were there, standing beside me.
“What’s this?!” He asked.
“Your summons count as combatants, so I invited some myself,” I answered, standing back up. “And I’m not done yet…” I reminded him, using the most of my powers to summon all the targets I killed, but I also brought them back to life, instead of just using their bodies the way he did.
“No! NO! That’s impossible!” He yelled.
“Here comes the finale,” I muttered, and my friends channelled their powers to me, without asking what I was going to do with it. I concentrated as hard as I could, and brought a surprise guest back as well.
He leapt out of the ground below, still a ghost. He flew high to the sky, and landed right in front of me. “And so… We meet once more, traveller…” He said with an ear to ear grin.
“Indeed we do,” I replied, returning the grin.
“Are you done now?!” Etarr asked, seemingly annoyed beyond words.
Altamir only whistled, and an army of Griffons arrived, a Dragon in the front. “Talking about overkill…” Itrix noted.”Fine, here’s my part,” She said, and soon the number of Alicorns by our side increased by two, only for the duration of the battle.
“Are you guys ready?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s on now,” Moonlight replied, and the two sides lunged at one another. Thirsting for revenge, and demise of the other we shot, burned, exploded, slashed, stabbed, cut, impaled, torn and ripped until only one side remained. We stood victorious in the end, only Etarr left, trembling in defeat on all fours.
I approached him, and removed all his limbs. Arms, legs, all gone. I grabbed his throat, and lifted him mid air. “What are you doing?! Just kill me already!” He yelled.
“No… You don’t deserve death…” I replied.
“Then let me go!” He said.
“No… I have a special place for you…” I taunted him, dragging him into a whole new place, where the screaming of the damned never ends. Where fire and brimstone are dominant, and torment is the only thing the place has to offer.
“Where are we?”
I only smiled, and replied. “Etarr… Welcome, to hell…” I said, throwing him to the ground. “May the sins of those who died because of you haunt you to all eternity, and may their rightful peace be your torment…” I said, leaving him there, with no intention of ever releasing him.
[The End]
The first thing I can remember was being hit by my mother for asking about my uncle. It didn’t hurt, despite the fact that I was only… Huh… Pretty young I guess, the exact number doesn’t really come to mind right now… “Have I not told you not to ask of him?” She replied with anger. After begging her enough, she gave in, and told me stories of him, enough of them to inspire me to be just like he was. Back then I had no idea why she teared up every time we talked of him, until decades later, but that’s for later in the story. She always told me that He was doing everything for a good reason, following someone’s advices. I never understood who that Someone was until much later on.
The next thing I can recall was the good old kindergarten, where I met several of those I consider friends to this day. Of course, most of them are no longer with us by now, soon you’ll see why. Because of our population we had many kindergartens, all simply named Kindergarten-1 Kindergarten-2 etc. Same thing applied to our schools, of which we only had elementary ones, since most of us ended up wearing those pitch black robes, unless we needed more farmers, builders, carpenters, and all those other lucky people. Even then, if you were lucky enough to be selected for said jobs, you would still have to pass the basic combat training… That too is to be told in the future, don’t worry.
Kindergarten only lasted 2 years, but back then it felt like an eternity, but I think I’m not alone on this. As I said, I met several friends, but most of them were relocated to one of the cities around Equestria, leaving only one of them, who grew quite close to me. As for school, we had only 5 subjects: Maths, Grammar, GYM, Combat, (Yes, from 1st grade…) and the fourth was differe. You see, since Equestria was, and still is, a place full of magic, some of us were born Different.
I’ll explain, since it’s easy to understand, for me, I’m hell of an accurate shooter, sure, but I was also trained by my mother to be able to do so much more than the others, since she was some sort of high authority… At least where we lived she was, so I was expected to be either as good, or even better than her. From that you can guess my childhood wasn’t quite made of sugar and spice. You can believe me when I say it. Bullying, because of my mother’s position. I was called weak or stupid, because I’m a female. And in the first year, I was recently beaten up on a daily basis by my classmates, that is, until I decided to go full attention on combat class, and in the end, and the age of 6 killed one of them, but it was labelled an act of self-defence. (Not like I have any regrets for it today, or, had any to begin with.)
After passing the 8th grade, the whole class was congratulated and celebrated… (Probably knowing our future was dark.) After the elementary school we were each sent to a different place to learn what we need to know. Thankfully, it only applied to those who weren’t going to parade around in those robes each day, so I was more than allowed to stay home. We were given our robes at the age of 18, from there, for the following 3 years we had to endure living hell, in order to prove ourselves useful for the order. I myself, as expected from, endured it seemingly well. (Only seemingly it remains, trust me.)
At last, the last day of the 3 years had come. We were all lined up at the edges of the roads, with our parents behind us. At first we were all scared, when out of nowhere another Human figure appeared. We were told to salute, which we did, no question. Then the figure walked down the road, inspecting all of us if we actually were ready. Over half of us were sent away to cities around Equestria, being deemed unworthy, so they could start a new life, a life of their own. Yes, I somewhat envied them, but knew if I were to be one of them, I would have to live in shame, knowing I failed my home and Mother. Remember how kindergarten seemed to take forever? The waiting was longer, and worse. All the time I feared I would be sent away, until the figure stood in front my only friend, who stood next to me.
“What’s your name?” The figure asked.
“Riley,” He replied.
“How old are you, Riley?”
“21,”
“Good… Good… You look promising…” The figure replied, then came to me, and looked at my mother.
“It’s been so long…” He exclaimed.
“Get out of my face!” She replied on a calm tone.
“Why can’t you see it’s better this way…” He muttered.
“You took my brother from me, I have nothing to say or do with you,” Mom replied.
“Your daughter has your eyes, yet, she somewhat reminds me of him too…”
“Leave her alone, if you try anything like you did to my brother, I’ll hunt you down,”
The figure just looked at me, then back at her. “Congratulations, she’s fit to be your successor,” He replied.
The rest of the day is useless to mention. The next day, however, was one to remember. That was the day we first laid eyes on our weapons… When it was my turn in the line, the selected guard game me my equipment, giving a brief instruction with each piece. First came a pair of steel bracers. “These appear to be only armor, however…” He said while I put them on, and soon blades extended from his. “You can activate them by merely wanting to do so, magic makes it work. You can adjust the length the same way. Their maximum length is 1,5 meters, roughly the length of a longsword. You can also rotate them in a 135 degree radius both directions, so you can cut yourself out of any ropes, should you need to. There’s also a fix part of the blade, which is covered in a material for you to grasp without injury. There’s also this metal plating for your hands attached to the glove, it will give your punches a little more power and protection, while your hand won’t get sweaty, due to the material the glove is made of.” He explained. I nodded, having understood it. Then he gave me a rifle. “This is an AK-74, this assault rifle can fire even after being submerged in mud or water. You can see the blade under the barrel, it’s called a bayonet , which can be removed manually. Try it.”
I took off the bayonet as he asked me to, them put it back on. “Got it.”
“In here, you can adjust the fire modes. You have 3 firing modes: Single shot, which fires only one bullet every time the trigger is pulled, automatic, which mode fires bullets quickly after another, and burst fire mode, which fires 3 shots every time the trigger is pulled.”
I examined the switch, and turned it to burst fire.
“Practice the fire modes on that dummy there, watch out for kickback,” He exclaimed. I took aim, and fired a burst, 2 bullets hitting the dummy in the chest, one in the head. I tried single shot too, a clear shot at the heart. “Okay, you know what automatic does, so you don’t need to practice that. You should remember, you will run out of ammo sooner later. You can reload by removing the empty magazine, and putting it into the bag on your left.”
I removed the magazine, even though it wasn’t empty, and did as he said.
“You have two types of magazines. Drums, and box magazines. The box magazines hold 30, while the drum magazines hold 100 bullets. Go ahead, look into the bag you just put that magazine into.”
I looked into the said bag, which was seemingly empty. “Ho-”
“Magic once again, now let go of the top part, and reach into it, thinking of a magazine type I mentioned, then reload!” He replied.
I did as requested, and to my surprise, the box magazine was in my hand, filled with ammo. “This is something I will like…” I noted.
“Oh, I bet, now, put it away with the strap you see hanging,” I holstered the AK as asked. “Now for the sidearm, here, this is a Colt 1911 handgun, which you can just holster by placing it between your pants and belt, and can easily hide it with your robes.” He continued the instruction as I took said weapon. “You can keep this silencer in one of your pockets, and put it on properly like this.” He continued, and put a silencer on his pistol. “What it does is render your gunshots silent, it also has a laser sight built in, and also a flashlight, which are self explanatory, and detachable separately. As for the magazine, it has 7 bullets only, so make them count, unless you want to reload early, which can be done the same way as your AK,” He exclaimed.
“We ARE being well armed… Why? What could we need all this for?” I wondered.
“It’s something I can’t answer, we’re in the same boots, Omnis,” He replied, then went on to the last piece of equipment, a night stick. “This is a night-stick, a telescopic rod of stainless steel, which works on a simple way. You press this button, and swing at the ground.” He gave me mine, I tried it, it worked. “Now push the button again, and press the two tips into each other,”
“Thanks for the info,” I exclaimed.
“Good luck, Omnis, even you will need it,” He replied, knowing who’s daughter I was.
The first thing I did was see my mother for the first assignment. As soon as I explained the reason of my presence to her, her face somewhat lit up. “Well then, prepare, for we journey to Canterlot,” She replied.
“What? Canterlot? My first assignment?” I wondered. I’ve never been there before that day, but I heard others say how difficult their assignments were in Canterlot. I even heard of people dying there!
“Are you still back there? Come on already!” She replied with a grin, and soon we met up with two of her friends, and dad.
“Ready to go?” Dad asked.
“You bet,” I replied, and we set off toward said city. It was noon when we set off from our home, the so called Wasteland … I don’t know why Ponies called it that, it was basically a large stretch of land to the south of Equestria, and north of Saddle Arabia, meaning the only way from one place to another was through us… Anyway… We stopped in Ponyville for the night, then continued on, and arrived at the next noon.
“Here we are again…” Mother muttered.
I was about to ask what she meant, but dad hushed me before doing so. Having given up on my question, we continued on to the castle, where we were stopped by the Royal Guard. “Hold it!” One of them yelled.
“Make it quick,” Dad replied.
“What are you here for?”
“The royals asked for us,” Dad continued.
“We weren’t told they’re waiting visitors like you…” The guard replied, and steadied his halberd, while our fingers drew closer to the trigger with each second, until a third voice spoke up.
“At ease! We take them from here, our parents are eager to see them…” Said a white Alicorn, with a dark blue/black one next to her. At a second, the guards threw themselves into saluting, unlike us.
“This way, please, they await you,” The younger one exclaimed to us, and lead the way.
“Good to see you two aged well, you seem healthy too…” Mother said to them.
“Yes, thankfully we have no reason to complain…” Replied the elder sister.
“Had the Crystal Empire or the Griffons bothered you since Then ?” She asked.
“No, we have no contact with the Crystal Empire, and King Galdir has been quite supportive,” The younger replied. “Here we are, let’s not keep them waiting,” She continued, and we passed through the large wooden doors, where two other Alicorns awaited us.
“As quick as before, yes, surely you are... “ Their King exclaimed.
“And you two seem just as strong…” Mother replied.
“Now, who’s this you have here?” The King inquired while approaching me. “Who would you be, my child?” He asked.
“Omnis, sir,” I replied.
He simply grinned, and looked at mother. “Yes, I can see your looks and wisdom in her… Yet… I feel His capabilities and strength as well,” He continued.
“Get to the point, what do you want?” Mother asked rather madly.
“Celestia, Luna, my dears, go now, let us talk,” The Queen exclaimed, and the two younger ones behind us left.
“We remember the service you and your kind did for us, so now I want to ask you something…”
“What would it be?”
“I accept the fact that your kind eats meat, so does my people… They are grateful for your sacrifices, and all of them are well aware of the potential you possess… Therefore I ask you to have your men replace my guards throughout the kingdom. I admit, you’re better at this,” The King explained.
“Why are you asking for such, sir?” I asked.
“Omnis, Galaxia and I feel our end is near, and we want to pass on knowing our children and kingdom is in safety even without us…” He replied.
“We will act as soon as possible, Cosmos… Have you told your daughters the same?” Mother asked. The royals both nodded in response. “Omnis, we will head back home to organize, you stay here, you will be in charge of the City Guard,” Mother exclaimed.
“As you wish,” I replied.
“Oh, and from this very second, you’re the second in command for the order after me, should I die, you’ll be the first in command,”
“Mother, don’t you think it’s too much responsibility for me?” I asked.
“If you can handle it well now, there’s nothing you won’t be able to handle,” She replied, and left with the others.
Oh boy… How do I even begin with this?! “I won’t fail you,” I replied quickly, so she could hear it.
“And so, the weight of the nation rests on your shoulders…” Queen Galaxia noted.
“So, how long do you think you have left?” I asked politely.
“Months at best,” She replied. “Why?”
“Mere curiosity,” I replied.
“It seems you will be here for a long time, I suggest you got, meet Celestia and Luna too,” Cosmos threw in.
“I should, and will, where can I find them?”
“The library,”
I nodded and left to said room, where I found the two. *Knock knock* I knocked with the stock of the AK. Soon a robed Unicorn opened the doors. “Yes? Can I be of help?”
“Are the Princesses here?” I asked.
“Yes, but if you don’t mind, we’re busy,” He replied, and slammed the door shut on me.
I put the AK away and pulled out the night stick, then kicked the doors in to make a definite impression. “Defy me once again, and I’ll have you eating with through your ass for the rest of your life, understood?” I threatened the mare instantly. Only then did I see the two sisters sitting in front of her, surprise on their faces.
“And who would you be, threatening a Royal Advisor like that?” The mare asked.
“The one who’s charged with the protection of Canterlot,” I replied.
“And what does that make you to me?”
“Let’s just say that I could turn you into a pile of mush with my bare hands…” I explained.
“Prove it,” She replied, our foreheads pushing against each other.
“Moonlight, I recommend you don’t be so bold,” Celestia exclaimed.
“Yes, well, don’t you remember that Humans are immune to magic?” Luna continued.
“You’re not helping here…” Moonlight muttered.
“No offense, but why are you here, uhm…” Celestia asked.
“Omnis, I was told to come and get used to the two of you,” I replied.
“Was it father who told you?” Luna wondered.
“Exactly,” I replied.
“Moonlight, will you please?” Celestia asked.
Moonlight sighed, then nodded. “You have 5 minutes,” She exclaimed to me. When she walked past me I hit her in the back of the head, knocking her out.
“Omnis!”
“She’ll be fine,” I replied, and pulled her away from the door. “Now, where do we begin?”
[End of Chapter 1]
Chapter 3: A knife to the heart
The next morning I woke up earlier than usual, my room was still a bit dark, as the Sun was yet to rise. Why so soon? Why can’t I sleep? Whatever… I got out and set my bed. I wonder what they have for breakfast… I left my room and headed for the kitchen. On my way there I met up with a particular Unicorn mare…
“What? You? Here? How?”
“Good to see you again, Moonlight…” I replied. “It seems I’m so dumb I don’t even know how to die properly,” I replied jokingly, trying to break the ice.
“Now that might be something we agree on,” She said back with a grin. “Heh, I guess now we’re even,” She continued, then her stomach growled. “Oops,”
“You too? Come on, let’s see what they have…” I offered, and we walked on until two guards stopped us.
“Good morning, ladies. What brings you here?” Asked the mare.
“Our nose and stomach,” Moonlight replied.
“Reasonable, names and ranks?”
“Moonlight Comet, Royal Adviser and Researcher,”
“Omnis, General,” We replied each.
“Enjoy your meals,” The mare replied, and let us pass. We sat down at one of the tables, when I felt something press my shoulder. When I checked I saw a Pony Soul there.
“A second…” I said to Moonlight, then changed dimension. “Yes?” I asked the soul.
“I heard who you are, and what you can do… Can you help me?” He asked.
“How did you die?” I wondered.
“An accident,” He replied.
“Have you got anything left to do among the living?”
“Nothing,”
“Then I can help you find your peace… If you answer two more questions,”
“I will,”
“Have you found joy in life?” I asked,
“A lot,”
“And have you brought joy to the lives of others?”
“Many times,”
“Good, you may now rest…” I replied, and put my left hand onto his forehead. “Farewell, restless soul,” I continued, and soon he disappeared. So that’s how it works… After having dealt with my client I went back to Moonlight.
“What was that?” She wondered.
“I’ll tell you all about it…” I replied, and one of the cooks came with our breakfast. We weren’t given the same thing, though, as they ate no meat, unlike us. Yet, she didn’t seem worried about my apetite. I explained everything she missed while having breakfast, then she asked me to walk a little more, as she wanted to talk more. “Sure, lead the way,” I replied, and we left the castle. On our way she asked about my Dimension Switch . “It’s simple, really,” I exclaimed, then stopped. “There are two realms. The spirit, and our realm… They are like layers each,” I continued, then pointed at a stone carver on his scaffolding, making a statue of the ceased royalty. “See the floor he’s on? That’s the layer we are on,”
“Yes, I see, so?”
“The floor below him is the spirit realm, to which I can descend to, and ascend from at any time. Fortunately for them, souls can find and contact me, so I can help them find their peace,” I explained.
“That easy? Sounds interesting…” She replied.
“And exhausting…” I replied, when a colt ran past me and stole my purse. I, as taught to, simply shot him in the hind leg, causing him to slow down. We caught up soon and questioned him. “You stole from the wrong Human,” I informed him
“What to do with him?” Moonlight asked, and soon a patrol group came up to us.
“Ma’am, what happened?” One of them asked.
“A pity thief stole from me, but I got it,” I replied.
“As you wish,” The soldier replied and returned to their position.
“What with him? Are you seriously asking?” I asked Moonlight, and put the bayonet to the thief’s neck.
“Just for that? Are you serious?”
“You’re right,” I replied, and holstered the AK. “Punishment can’t exceed the severity of the crime…” I continued, and kicked the thief’s ribs, shattering one.
“Ow! Stop! I’m sorry!” The thief yelled.
“You will be…” I replied, and broke as many teeth as many steps he took before being shot, 5. “You’re lucky you get the keep your mouth, and hooves,” I warned him. “Next time you’ll lose what you use to steal, understood?”
“Y-Yes..” He replied.
“Now get the fuck out of here,” I threatened him, and he bolted off.
“Cold, decisive, and confident, nice,” Moonlight noted.
“Thanks,” I replied, then walked up to the previous patrol group. “Hey guys,” I said to them.
“Ma’am?” Asked the patrol leader.
“Keep an eye on that guy, next time he does something, night sticks will be allowed to use,” I informed them.
“Yes, ma’am,”
“Good,” Then I returned to Moonlight, and continued on, until we arrived to a store. “What’s this?” I wondered.
“Come and see for yourself,” She replied, and went in. I followed behind, and to my surprise, it was a craftsman’s workshop, a Human one’s at that. The owner noticed the emblem on my shoulder and seemed a little worried.
“Don’t worry, Adrian, she’s with me,” Moonlight calmed him, to which he seemed to ease up. “Omnis, this is Adrian, the best craftsman I know in town,” She explained. “Adrian, this is Omnis, a friend of mine,”
“Good to know you,” He exclaimed, and held out a hand.
“You too,” I replied, and gave mine for a shake.
“What can I do for you, Moonlight?” Adrian wondered.
“Do you have what I left here last time?”
“Sure do, it’s in the back, let me get it,” He replied, and went to the back room.
“He’s a skilled guy, his equipment could be better though,” Moonlight whispered.
“I can see that,” I replied, then Adrian came back with a box is hand.
“Thanks, I’ll leave you two to talk,” Moonlight replied, then left.
“So, is there something I can do for you, Omnis?”
“Well, what exactly can you do? What are you good at again?” I wondered.
“Well… Blacksmithing, carpentry, and a few arcane arts… In short, you name it, I craft it,” He replied.
“I see, how do you work? Make what’s asked, or make stock before selling?” I wondered.
“I have a list you can choose from, some items are self explanatory, some are tools, some are weapons, come, take a look,” He replied, and lead me to the back room, one of the walls was covered in a large list of items. “Go ahead, see what you would like, I’ll be out there,” He replied, and left.
Let’s see… The first thing to catch my eye was a Magic Mirror , which had the following description: Gaze into the mirror to return home . Then I saw a Grappling hook , which was self explanatory. In the end, Adrian came back.
“So, have you chosen?” He wondered.
“I’ll take Rocket Boots, and 500 throwing knives,” I replied.
“That will be… Free, for a gift, check in soon,” He said back.
“About the same time?”
“Hopefully I’ll have it by then,”
“Good, I need go now,” I replied, then left.
“See you later,” He said as I left.
I headed back to the castle, but on my way I noticed a little commotion, so I let curiosity get the better of me. “Step back, right now,” Said a voice.
“Or else? Huh? You think you’re the tough guy?” Asked another.
“Last warning,” Those two words explained most, but I parted the crowd, only to see one of the patrolling soldiers with night-stick in hand, staring down an Earthpony colt.
“Or what? Huh? You’ll hurt me? With what?” The colt asked.
“You asked,” The soldier replied, and beat the colt in the face twice, once from left to right, then the opposite way. The colt grunted and fell to the ground in surprise.
“And what exactly did I do for this? Nothing, now you’re in trouble,” The colt replied, pretending to be innocent. At this point there was nothing that could’ve made me leave before it resolves, so I stuck around, but stayed low, not to be recognized.
“Leave, this is the first warning,” The soldier informed him.
“Why? What will you do if I don’t? Kill me for not doing what you told me to?”
“Final warning, leave at once,”
“Oh, I will…” The colt replied, his line of sight was a little off though, as he seemed to be looking rather behind the soldier, instead of at him. That’s when I noticed a Unicorn mare holding a knife behind him. At first didn’t act, but when she made her way right behind the soldier I stepped in. You see, I’ve mentioned beforehand, that because of my mother, I was trained to do may more than the others, this includes an ability we call Focus , what it does is slow down my perception of time, slowing down everything and everyone around, giving me more time to think and act. That was the first time I used Focus in combat, I showed the crowd away from in front of me, then lined up the shot at the mare’s horn, and fired. *Bang* *Crash* *Grunt* I hit, and turned Focus off. The whole crowd froze for a second, trying to comprehend what happened. “The two of you are under arrest, the charge is civil disobedience, and violence against a person performing public duties,” I exclaimed, then tackled the mare, while the soldier got the colt.
“Are you serious?! I don’t know this bit*h!” The colt exclaimed, trying to save himself.
“One more word and you get shot, understood?” I wondered.
“Fine…” He replied, and we took them to the dungeons, in which I sat days ago.
“What have you got there?” Asked the warden.
“Average trash,” The soldier exclaimed.
“Charge?”
“Violence against a person performing public duties, and civil disobedience,” I replied.
“Punishment?”
“I’ll think of it…” I informed her.
“All right, I’ll take them from here,” She replied, so we left them.
“So, how did it all begin again?” I asked my comrade.
“At first, the colt asked me a few things, so I stopped, and separated from the group. Then he just said he’s just toying with me, from there, you know how things went… Thanks for the help, ma’am,” He continued.
“Keep an eye on your back too, next time,”
“Sure will, ma’am,” He replied, and we parted ways.
Just minutes later I bumped into a rather large… Pony, who’s subspecies I was not aware of. “My bad,” He exclaimed.
“And my pain,” I replied, having walked face first into his plating.
“Are you okay?” He asked.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I assured him, then walked on to the sisters. It was a little odd, seeing them on their parent’s thrones. “Morning,” I greeted them.
“For you too, how come you’re here?” Celestia wondered.
“I’m bored, I need something to do,” I replied. Then mother came through. “You’re still here? How come?” I asked her.
“Well, I’m here to tell that we’re going back home,”
“What for?” Luna asked.
“Saddle Arabian soldiers were seen frequently near the border, and rumor has it our weapons are smuggled to them…” She explained.
“Ah, interesting. Can I come?” I wondered.
“I fear not, for you need remain here for your role is here to be played,” She replied, then left.
The following days went smooth, yet slow, as I had nothing to do. I wish I would, because a week after mother left, a lone soldier with tattered clothes, a missing arm, and various wounds walked down the streets, all the way to the sisters sight, who sent word for me immediately. I showed up A.S.A.P. I was terrified of what could have been going down in the soldier’s mind, when he saluted. “Ma’am,”
“Report,” I replied.
“The rumors were true, our weapons were smuggled to the Saddle Arabians for a price. The traitor remains uncaptured… Our attempt to take them by surprise went badly, as they were armed with our experimental weapons too…” He replied, and took a few breaths.
“Rest, we have time,” I replied.
“Ma’am, I fear I must inform you or grave news…”
Uh-oh... I thought right away, while the sisters swapped glances with worried faces.
“Our team consisted of 5 members, including me… I alone survived,” He replied. For a brief second my eyes teared up, but managed to hold them back. “Commander Primer, Mayor Secunder, Lieutenant Tercier, and General Extos De Solaris lost their lives during combat…” He continued, then saluted, which I returned. “Accept my most sincere condolences,” He said, and pulled out his pistol, then shot himself.
“Rest in peace,” I muttered.
“Om-” Celestia tried to say, but Luna probably shut her off.
“I have to leave for a few days, until then, you should be fine…” I said to them.
“Do what you must,” Luna replied, then I left.
Before leaving Canterlot I checked in to Adrian for the knives and the boots. Those boots helped me get there way much faster under an hour, where the others were waiting for me. We briefly buried them in a tomb, the headstone said the following: “Bring word to the world, we did what the home required us to do.” After the ceremony ended, I went to mother’s room, where I became the official leader of The Order . The first thing I did was head to the development team.
“Ma’am,” A researcher greeted me.
“Cut the shit, what weapons are you experimenting with?” I asked.
“We were told not to tell you,” Another one of them replied.
“Out with it! Now!” I yelled, slamming a hand into the desk.
“White Phosphorus, and new models of firearms…” Came the response.
“White Phosphorus?” I wondered.
“You have seen its effects on living targets,” One of them said back.
“And? How are the results? Are you satisfied?” I asked on a rather angry tone.
“It seems so,” The lead developer said.
“From now on you only do what I tell you, otherwise you’ll be the first target for them, understood?”
“Yes,” They said in unison.
“Good, now give me one of those W.P launchers, or whatever you use it with, and some ammo for it,”
“Are you sure it’s right to use it?”
I pulled out my pistol and shot him in the leg. “I won’t repeat myself,” I replied, and soon I was given a Mortar Launcher and about 10 White Phosphorus Shells , “What of the other weapons?”
“Can you carry that much?” Asked one of them.
“Not your concern,” I replied, so they gave me a few prototype grenades, and a Shotgun . “Good, now fix him up,” I said, left. On my way outside I ran into the same man who determined which one of us can join the armed forces.
“Such a shame…” He said, staring at the grave.
“You have something to do with it, don’t you?” I asked.
“Maybe, who knows…” He replied. I hit him in the back of the leg with the night-stick, knocking him on the knees, then prepared to choke him with it. Everybody around us stopped dead on their tracks, and looked at us. “Go ahead, kill me, and our species will disappear…”
“We would do just fine without you,” I informed him, but let go of him. “The minute I find out you did something nasty, I’ll be coming after you,” I warned him.
“I’ll look forward to it,” He replied, and vanished.
I found out earlier that day about the properties of the dimension switch. That pretty much meant I can send things there, and bring them back, using said dimension as a storage space, so I left the new weapons there, and headed for the Saddle Arabian border, where no surprise, I was expected. “Hold, what do you want?” Asked a guard, covered in gold looking armor, a sword at his side.
“To speak with whoever is your leader,” I replied.
“With those?” Asked the other one.
“If you will not bring me to them, I’ll make my way…” I replied, covering a threat.
“You’re in luck, the capital is close by,” One of them replied. “Go on this way until you get to it, you can’t miss it,”
“Sure,” I replied, and after a few minutes of rocket boot usage, got there.
“What brings you here?” Asked another guard.
“Cut the shit, and bring me to your leader,” I replied.
“Or what?”
“Is that how you want to play?” I asked, and prepared the wrist swords, but not in their full length.
“Are you sure you want to do that? Right here?” The guard asked.
“If you stand in my way, I’ll go THROUGH you,” I replied.
“What’s the meaning of this?!” Asked a third voice, to which the guard seemed dead pale. “Human, who are you, and what do you want?”
“Talk to the leader,”
“What do you want from me?”
“Find out who gives OUR weapons to YOUR citizens,”
“Your problem, not mine,” He replied.
“Remember these words, because you will hear them,” I replied, and returned to Canterlot in a few hours. My first destination was Adrian’s workshop again, where I gave the boots back.
“Hey Omnis, did they stop working?” He wondered.
“No, no, they work well, it’s just… Not my style,” I replied.
“No problem, more to the recycler,” He muttered. “Anything else? Something to drink? You don’t look well,”
“Maybe something would help, thanks,”
“Come,” He replied, and waved a hand, telling me to follow him to the back room, where a few other machines were resting. He grabbed a strange looking cup from the desk, and put it into one of the machines, which slowly put some yellow liquid into it. “This should be good for now,” He exclaimed, and held out a cup to me, holding another in the left hand.
I took the cup and looked inside, the yellow liquid had a decent smell, and was bubbling. “Isn’t it a bit hot? It’s bubbling,” I wondered.
“You can wait for the bubbles to go away, but then so will the taste disappear,” He explained.
What could go wrong? I’m already dead… I thought to myself, and drank it all down. *BUUUUURP* “Umph,” I burped, but tried to cover my mouth, decency and all that. Adrian only grinned in his chair. “What’s so funny?”
“Sounds like you enjoyed it,” He replied.
“Maybe, what was that?” I asked.
“Some energy drink. Like I said, you name it, I make it,” He informed me with the same grin.
“I’ll remember next time,”
“So, where have you been?”
“What? What’s it to you?”
“You don’t get THAT tired from a Rough day,” He replied.
“At least YOU don’t bleed between the legs on a regular basis,” I threw back.
“That wouldn’t wear you down this way,”
“How do you know so much? You seem too wise for a simple craftsman,” I noted.
“I’ll tell you all about it later, okay?”
“I have time now,” I assured him.
“I’m tired,”
“Sure,” I replied, then turned my way toward the castle. That’s when I noticed a few of the soldiers acting strange. “You boys okay?” I asked while approaching them.
“Mind your own business…” One of them replied, not giving me as much as a glance.
I reached around his neck from behind, then slammed him into the ground. “Say again,” I replied, and grabbed his throat, choking him.
“You shouldn’t be doing this…” *Cough* “If the General hears of this…”
“I already know of this…” I cut him short, and let him go. “Get up!” I yelled, and kicked him in the ribs. He tried to stand back up, but I kicked him again, causing him to fall back.
“Ma’am, he learned it, I’m sure,” Said another, so I stopped.
“Disrespect your superiors again, and you get shot, understood?” I warned the one on the ground, who nodded briefly.
I took no more than five steps, when a larger colt stopped me. “Not bad, disciplined for sure,” He exclaimed.
“And you would be?” I asked. I was very tired and out of mood at the moment.
“General Walgarus, I believe we met once before, brief as it was…” He replied.
“Ah, yes, the asshole who knocked me down. Glad to see you’re fine,” I replied with a grin.
“Yes, yes, I’ve heard of the recent events. I was on the look for you, actually,”
“Ah, and to what end?”
“I wish to offer my assistance on finding those traitors, or… Pretty much to help any way I can,” He explained.
“Well, for now you can help by taking care of my men while I’m away. You obviously have more military experience than Moonlight does,” I replied.
“Anything else?”
“Not much,” I replied. I don’t want to have him, Adrian, or Moonlight dragged into my little po- plan…
“Well, I’ll do the best I can. I’ll be either at the barracks, or in one of the taverns, should you need me,” He assured me. I decided it is best I return Home . I spent the rest of the day walking on foot, until I arrived back to the wasteland.
“Good to see you back, ma’am,” One of the guards greeted me.
“My words are exact,” I greeted her back, and made my way to the research team.
“Ma’am? Back so soon?” Asked the administrator.
“Apparently so, what can we do?” Asked a researcher.
“Take these back,” I replied, and put the shotgun, mortar launder, and the W.P shells on the table. “How is the progress on weapons?”
“We came up with a plan for a weapon, which would spray flames like no Dragon ever has,” The administrator replied.
“Something to my liking, anything else you’re busy with?”
“Nothing you haven’t told us to do,”
“Good, continue tomorrow, now rest,” I replied, and left to the border. Itrix?
*Sigh* <Fine, hang on, it will affect everybody’s memories, except ours,” She said back, and soon a small town was in sight.
Now… For the residents… I headed toward the town, and made my way to the mayor’s.
“What’s the meaning of this? Who are you?” Asked the colt in his chair.
“I’m the one who asks,” I replied. “Now, I want you to line up all the citizens one by one,” I continued, when the guards came through behind me.
“Or else?” The colt asked confidently.
“They too will follow,” I replied, and with the wrist swords decapitated the guards, their bodies spraying blood all over the walls, floor, me, and the colt. “Did I make myself clear?” I asked. “You have an hour,” That hour passed by quickly, and by the time I left the mayor’s office, a few of my own were in sight as well. “Spread out, and shoot anyone trying to leave,” I gave the commands. They saluted and replied with the same ‘Yes, ma’am!’ as always.
“What do you intend?” Asked the mayor.
“Throw them to the ground, and if they run, they’re who I’m looking for. If they stay down, they’re innocent,” I replied, and walked up to the first citizen. A brown coated mare with a foal by her side, her son. With each step I took toward them, the more she tried to keep her child away from me. I took one more step toward them and holstered the AK. I crossed my hands at waist level, and stared her in the face, looking for signs to give her away. She wasn’t sweating, nor did she seem worried. She was scared rather, so I walked on to the next one. “Who was it?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” The colt wondered, pretending not to know.
“Who is your supplier?” I asked again.
“I don’t know what you’re talking ab-” I prepared the swords again, just to intimidate. “Wh-”
“Spit it out already!” I yelled, pointing a sword at him.
“It was Kalin! It was all her idea!” He replied.
“KALIN! WHO’S KALIN HERE?!” I asked out loud to the citizens, when a mare bolt out running. “TAKE HER ALIVE!” I yelled, before she was shot in the ear. The bullet blew her left ear off, and she flenched, but kept running, so I called on the dead, and ghostly arms grew out of the ground, wrapping themselves right around her with a tight grip. “I’ll take care of her, you stay,” I said to my men, and approached our newest captive, who struggled to break free, but failed to do so. “Don’t struggle, it only makes it worse,” I informed her.
“Let me go, damn it!” She replied.
“Are you willing to cooperate, or will I have to do everything the hard way?” I asked.
“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you! Sphinx told me to bring those weapons to Stoneden, or else he would kill my family!” She confessed.
“Sphinx you sad?” I asked, she only nodded. “Right,” So he’s at least alive… *Chuckle* Until I find him… Assbag, “What else do you know?”
“About Sphinx?”
“Anything you think I should know,”
“Sphinx is a Human, blonde hair, blue eyes, a scar on his left cheek… I’ve been working for him for years, but until this last deal, he simply paid me well. Recently he began doing things he hasn’t been before, so far he only sold slaves, broke into houses, and robbed others... “
“What does he do now?”
“Sell weapons, and kill for money. He and his henchmen usually talk to their customers in person to discuss the price and details,”
“And what role did you play in his business?” I inquired.
“I provided supplies, but harmed nobody,” She replied.
“You said he would kill your family, who do you have?”
“One of his henchmen kill my husband, but that was before I began working for him. I’m only doing this because I have to feed my foals,”
*Sigh* I made the hands let her free and disappear. “I will let you go, you have a family still, unlike I do…”
“What happened?”
“My parents and two friends of mine died trying to get the weapons YOU delivered back. I will let you go unharmed, but remember this day, because I lost everyone I held close, and could have done the same to your foals…” I explained.
“I’m s-”
“No. Just, go… Get out… Before I change my mind, okay?”
“Thank you…” She replied and took a few steps, then stopped. “Oh, Sphinx will be meeting a customer tomorrow by the mayor’s around noon. He’ll be there,”
“How do you know?”
“I’ll be the customer,” She replied. “It’s the least I can do, he’ll be alone too, he thinks so much of himself,” She continued, and walked away.
I returned to the guys, and told them to return home as well, while I waited for the next day’s noon, when I met up with Kalin again. “Ready?” I asked.
“You do what you want, but make sure he gets to finish his little speech,” She replied, and we parted ways.
“Just in time, Kalin,” Said a new voice.
“Have I ever disappointed?” She replied.
“Good call, what happened yesterday?”
“They sent some more to see what we know,”
“Did they get you? Did you tell anything?”
“Nothing they wanted to hear,” She assured him.
“The deal went off, here’s your share,” Sphinx replied, and threw her a bag of money, or so it must have been from what I could have heard from around the corner.
“Glad to hear,”
“Good news is, that money will be enough for the rest of your life,” Sphinx exclaimed. That was when I peeked around the corner, and saw Kalin stare into the bag with a surprised look on her face.
“But, it’s em-” She tried to say, but froze when she looked at him. I looked at him too, only to see him reach for his pistol. Knowing he’s worth more alive, I used focus , and with the hatchet jumped at him, choping his shooting arm off from the elbow down, also knocking him down to the ground.
“Gotcha!” I exclaimed. Fortunately, I’m ambidextrous, so I grabbed his throat, and chopped off his other hand before he could do anything.
“You sick fuck, what is it?” He replied. “Oh, you? Haven’t Celestia gotten you killed?”
“What do you know of that?!” I asked.
“What does it matter? I’ll bleed to death before I could finish telling,” He said confidently.
“Not on my watch,” I assured him, and with the grip of the hatched knocked him out.
“That was close, good thing you were here,” Kalin exclaimed.
“Are you okay? Get your children, you can’t stay here, you’re coming to Canterlot, so he can’t get to you,” I replied.
“Bu-”
“No buts or ifs, get your children, take what you need, and come with me,” I assured her.
“Aren’t you gonna kill him after he speaks?” She wondered.
“I doubt he’s the only one who knows where you live, trust me, it’s for your safety,”
“Okay,” She replied, and hurried off. I followed behind with Sphinx on my back. The door opened and we walked in, I left Sphinx outside, not to scare the children. I closed the door behind me stronger than I meant to, slamming it shut in result, attracting their attention.
“It’s okay, sweetie, she’s mommy’s friend,” Kalin told the scared mare. “Get your things, we have to go,” She continued.
“Mom, what’s going on?” Asked the other foal.
“I’ll tell you everything later, now go,” Kalin replied.
“I’ll go, watch the door and our visitor,” I informed her and left. I stepped away from the door, not to black it from opening and leaned against the wall, a portion of which literally fell in, leaving me lying to the ground in surprise. “What are these houses made of again?” I asked after spitting out a mouthful of sand.
“Sandstone, that part must have been wet,” She replied.
“Well, isn’t that good to know…” I muttered. “Are you ready?”
They nodded in response, and we left the town right away, until we got back to the Wasteland , also known as No Mare’s land , Ponies used to call it that, since it was rare any of them were allowed past the walls, Kalin’s family being maybe the third exception. “Hold it there,” Said the guard, as usual.
“They’re with me,” I informed them, and they stood aside. “Stay close, and don’t wander off,” I instructed the ponies behind, who watched everything around them. The buildings, the guards changing shift, the wheat fields, and so on.
“Ma’am, can I be of service?” Asked one of our men, a Colonel by the looks.
“Take four of your best, and take them to Canterlot. Look for General Walgarus, and tell him to take care of them until I arrive,” I replied.
“Right away, ma’am,” He replied, and an about face, marched off to the barracks.
“Are you not coming with us?” Kalin wondered.
“No, I’ll stay behind, so Sphinx won’t wake up on the way and see you heading the same way,” I explained. “Stay here until he comes back, they will take good care of you. When you get to Canterlot, you’ll meet a friend of mine. Walgarus will keep you safe,” I continued.
“I’ll see you there, right?”
“Too many times,” I assured her, then left with Sphinx for a brief conversation when he woke up, until which I waited.
“Wh- Wha? Whe? Oh, so you really made sure I won’t die,” Sphinx said after waking up with bound legs and what remained of his arms.
“Right you are, now you get so speak for your chicken shit life,” I replied.
“What do you want?”
“Who was the shipment for? Who bought the weapons?”
“I don’t know,” He replied.
“Wrong answer,” I said and stomped him in the crotch. “What’s the name?!”
“I don’t know!”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“He never told me!”
“What did he look like?”
“White hair, gold eyes,”
“That’s all you remember?” I wondered.
“Bitch, is you blind? How many people you think are walking around with white hair and golden eyes?” He replied. “Let me go now, will you?” He asked.
“You’re useless to me now, sure go, and remember. I can hunt you down wherever you are,”
“Let me guess. I can run, but can’t hide,” He replied.
“That means you know,” I cut him free and let him run. He’s probably going to be shot down anyway… I’ll give Kalin more time, I’ll go see the research team… I knocked on the door, and they let me in as usual.
“Hang on, I’ll get the blueprint we got ready,” The administrator replied as soon as she saw me. It was a blue piece of paper. It was larger than a usual sheet of paper too, it had many lines drew on it in white.
“I see, is it ready for testing?” I asked.
“If only we could find a material to make the barrel out of... Yes,” She replied.
“What’s the problem with it so far?”
“Any material we tried either burned away, or melted,”
“I’ll get that fixed, I know someone who can do that,” I assured her.
“Do what you see best, when else would you like us to do?”
“Try making an automatic shotgun, the same way the AK is, and something to allow communication from afar,”
“You keep giving us quite a challenge… We’ll get to it right away,” She replied, and left to tell the others. As for me, I left to the armory, and picked up a few grenades, mortar shells (W.P and H.E both), a launcher, and a shotgun. No need to say I Stored them away in the other realm.
Altamir asked.
Itrix replied.
I threw in.
Itrix replied.
Uncle Tamir tried saving himself.
I muttered.
Altamir explained.
Itrix replied.
I warned them. Finally… Time to go… And so I did, by night I was in Canterlot.
“Ma’am?” Asked a guard.
“What?” I threw back, exhausted from the travel.
“Have you sent that group with the Arabian mare and her family?”
“Exactly,” I replied, and passed him by, soon arriving to Adrian’s workshop. I opened the door and took a few steps in. Staring at the counter he was nowhere to be seen, so I went to the back room. The only thing that stopped me was a sign on the door, which had Stay Out written on it. *Knock* *Knock* “Adrian?” No response. “ADRIAN!” *KNOCK* *KNOCK* “Anyone?” Still no response. For fuck sake… I opened the door and walked in, only to see his workbench clear, only having a small book, and an unfinished blueprint on it.
ˇApril 29: Today Moonlight brought one of her friends to the workshop, I have mixed emotions about that…
May 3: So she’s called Omnis… She seems to be a decent person, I’ll see what happens…
May 6: Maybe I should tell her about the portal… Or… At least about how I know what I do…”
Let’s pretend I didn’t see that… I left it the way it was, and left the building, since he was nowhere. I was thinking of showing up at the sisters sight, but after three steps my back began to hurt like when I accidentally stabbed myself. It didn’t last long, but it was enough to force me down onto a knee, leaning against the wall. The fuck what that? I wondered, and tried to get up, but my legs didn’t agree.
“Ma’am?” Asked a voice.
I looked up, it was one of the soldiers, a healer with my luck. “Yeah?”
“Come on,” He replied, and opened the doors to the workshop. “You need some rest,” He continued, then carried me in, until he put me down onto a chair to rest. “Adrian shouldn’t mind,” He muttered. “How are you feeling?”
“Nothing really, my side doesn’t hurt anymore, but I can’t seem to move my legs,” I replied.
“Right, hold on, I’ll need some space for this…” He said back, and helped me lie down onto the carpet. *Sigh* “I have to remove your top clothing to access your back, I need to get under the skin,” He explained.
“Go ahead,” I replied, and helped him do so.
“I’m going to give you something, drink it, so it won’t hurt,”
I drank the colorless liquid, then laid my head onto my arms. “How long will it take?”
“Ma’am, I only have an idea of what could be wrong, i would say at least 15 minutes,” He informed me.
*Sigh* “Fine,” I replied, and waited. About five seconds later however.
“Aaaham, go it,” He exclaimed.
“What is it?”
“Have you stressed your back lately?”
“No,”
“Your spine is fractured, the part right under your nerves controlling your legs are cut by shards… Not good,” He explained.
“Good, then fix it,”
“About that,,, Uhm…” He said quietly.
“WHAT?!” I asked loudly.
“It’s risky… I could try to fix it, but if it goes wrong, you’ll be entirely paralyzed…” He explained.
“Oh, for crying out loud…” I muttered. The entrance opened, and a rather confused Adrian stepped in. “Don’t ask, okay? Can you fix my spine?” I got to the point.
“Certainly, Come, help me get her in,” He replied to the healer, and they took me to the back room. “Hang on,” He said while opening a coffin like structure made of glass. They carefully put me into it.
“Remember Adrian, if you fuck up, I’ll come back,” I reminded him jokingly.
“I’ll keep it in mind, now this will taste bad, but you’ll get used to it…” He replied, and lowered me deeper into it, until I was submerged in some liquid. “Trust me, and put this on,” He put some sort of mask on me, and closed the structure, which then moved from horizontal to vertical. “All right, you can leave now I’ll take care of her from now,” He told the healer, who nodded and left. Adrian walked over to his desk and stood against it with his back to me. I don’t know what he did, but suddenly I felt tired, and my eyelids drew closer to one another by the second. Adrian walked up to the glass, and put his hand onto it. “Hold on, I’ll get you patched up as soon as I can…” He said, then I fell asleep.
[End of Chapter 3]
Bonus Chapter: References and Easter eggs
Chapter 1.
Riley is a reference for a friend of mine.
Chapter 2.
The hatchet Altamir / Mortis gives Omnis is another reference to Connor's arsenal
Chapter 3.
The items Adrian sold in his store Magic mirror and Grappling hook are references to the same items in the game Terraria
Chapter 4.
The SPAS 12 shotgun Adrian gets is a reference to the same weapon used in Ravenholm, Half Life 2, Gordon Freeman.
Chapter 5.
The dragon is meant to be the Ender Dragon from Minecraft, and the father of Kyloth from the prequel, who's also a dragon
Chapter 6.
Nothing<
Chapter 7.
Nothing<