Author's Note

Sorry i took too long.
Had too much school crap to do.
But, luckily, i got the time to finally finish chapters, and since i'm on winter break, i'll try to continue on.
Photos used don't belong to me, but belong to pennygu & ss2sonic.

Color Coding for Chapter 3:
Sam (Cree)
Twilight
Rainbow Dash
Spike
Dead Ringer*
Celestia*

*You'll see in a bit later.

Chapter 3: Newfound Freedom, Part 1 - The Book and the Barfight

Chronicles of Hope: Book 1: A Guardian’s Rising

Chapter 3: Newfound Freedom, Part 1 - The Book and the Barfight

POV: 3rd Person
Location: Bucking Bronco Bar, Ponyville

It had taken a while – and some waiting for her to tire out – for Rainbow to calm down, after realizing that Cree (Sam) was merely going the extra mile with Pinkie’s little jest. After that, they had to walk to the local bar to rest up, and since Rainbow had tired herself out like crazy from chasing Cree around the whole town – the latter, who, not surprisingly, still had plenty of energy left to still move properly - had to carry her on his back to said bar.

Then they proceeded to arrange a small table for them to sit at, where Rainbow was slowly chugging down a couple of mugs of Sweet Apple Acres’ soft cider to ease the aches she got from chasing Cree all day, all the while staring at the griffon in question, who gladly paid for every mug she drunk and was currently snacking on some unshelled peanuts from a bowl and savoring a mug of his own.

“Man, this stuff’s pretty damn good – it’s a good thing I’ve got enough bits, ‘cause I’m plannin’ on a few more mugs!” he says, obviously enjoying his current mug of cider. Rainbow was by no end confused by how Cree just acts – calm and calculating in combat, but still foalish and playful in his seemingly everyday nature, especially acting as though he wasn’t just in a fight a few minutes ago or given the cold shoulder on their first meeting, with her still feeling slightly guilty over the latter.

“Why are you doing this?” Rainbow manages to ask, after finishing off her cider.

“Hm?” Cree manages to say over the mug on his beak.

“Why are you treating me like a friend, especially after the way I treated you back at-”

“Are you still honestly hanging over that moment?” Cree interrupts, lightly berating her at the moment. He then put down his mug to face towards Rainbow with a stern yet caring look in his eyes.

“Look, I honestly didn’t care too much about the hostility, ‘cause for one, even I’d react that way with a complete stranger, but at least I’d be a little more civil about it.” Cree says, with Rainbow cringing at the last part, “And for another, to be honest, it rarely matters to me about what happens in the past, but so long as the present is still going to be okay, I’m okay as well. Also, you were pretty fun to hang with, and seeing that you were practically determined to wring my neck like a wet towel, I thought I’d treat you a bit as compensation for my little screw-up.”

In other words, Cree couldn’t really be bothered to give a damn about what others do at first, but what truly matters is if they’re willing to go over what they did to begin anew - as a friend, to which Rainbow felt as though she could easily relate to him.

“So, forget about the whole thing, loosen up,” he slides a mug to Rainbow, “and just enjoy yourself right now. Not exactly everyday a stallion - or griffon – gets a chance to offer a free drink to a cute mare like you!” And Rainbow did just that: forget, loosen up, and enjoy herself. She might have felt her face heat up a bit, but she shrugged it off as she put the mug to her lips.

“Rainbow? There you are!”

POV Swap: 1st Person, Sam (Cree)

“Rainbow? There you are!”

I look up from my drink to find a lavender mare walking over to our table. She stood at a height of around 5ft 5, had a dark purple mane with a rose pink stripe going down the side, and was wearing what looked like a school uniform – it was composed of a purple, long-sleeved front-buttoned blouse that led down to a dark purple miniskirt, and she wore long stockings with black shoes. Her cutie mark, an eight-point purple starburst surrounded by smaller white stars, was situated on the side of her skirt. On the side, I could see her carrying a small sidebag occupied by a couple of books.

And then again, the magical bonfire I felt a moment back earlier practically told me another of the Elements was nearby. Never thought it was the cute and nerdy one.

“Hey there Twi. Didn’t really expect to see you in this joint.” Rainbow says to the mare.

“Well Rainbow, I’m here to talk to you about something,” she says. And she sounds sorta serious ‘bout it too.

She takes Rainbow up from her seat, and drags her away from our table, far enough out of earshot. Luckily, I’ve prepped up for this situation.

POV Change: 3rd Person

Cree begins to pull up his hood to prepare. He pulls out the book from earlier when he first met Rainbow from his satchel. From appearance, it looks like someone’s large, tattered journal, filled with many bookmarks jutting out the pages, but however, the contents are nothing to scoff at. We’ll dabble in what is really inside in a bit, but I’ll just give a taste of what’s inside for now.

From a seemingly random page in the book, he pulls out what looks to be a small paper tag filled to the brim with written enchantments and incantations, and places it on the right side of his head – right over his ear. The tag in question is known as a Sensory Tag, which allows one sense of one user to be amplified, so long as the user places the tag over where the sense in question is designated. In other words, with it enhancing hearing, anyone can eavesdrop on conversations from distances. However, Sam uses this differently: he uses the tag in order to make focusing his hearing easier, like locking on to a specific conversation, otherwise his enhanced hearing just become a fuzzy mix of other noises. If this is only from one page, try thinking of what’s contained in the rest of the pages.

Let’s listen in on the conversation too, shall we?

I don’t get it Rainbow, one minute, you and him were fighting out in the plains, but now, you’re both in the bar drinking?! Don’t tell me you’re actually paying for this guy – you barely even know him!

Ok Twilight, first off, we were just sparring – and he challenged me for the sake of helping me out a bit!

How exactly is challenging somepony to a battle supposed to be classified as helping them?!

He somehow saw in me that I was bored (don’t really know how, though), and decided to challenge me to a small sparring match to help me out clear my head a bit.

And what about you when you were chasing him around town?

In terms… it was kinda his fault on that part. And hey, even he admits to it.

…Alright, but what about this?

He’s the one paying for the drinks, saying he’s making up for his screw-up today.

Okay, so that’s cleared up… but I don’t know about this guy. He seems kind of… sketchy.

Look Twi, try and give him a chance, and no doubt you’ll like him when you get to know him a little more.

… Very well. I’ll try and warm up to him. Say, the way you speak of him like that, I’d say you might have got a crush on him.

I DO NOT!

(I knew it.) Okay, okay I won’t pry further.

Let’s just get back to the table. He might’ve thought we left.

Sure.

And by the way, don’t be weirded out by how he’ll get a read on you. It’s pretty cool if you let it settle in.

… Okay?

POV Change: Sam (Cree) 1st Person

“Oh shit, sounds like they’re done. Better put the tag back.”

I was able to tear off the tag from my head, return it back to its page, and then turn to another random page in the book just as they come back into range of sight.

I shut my book, get a chair from an empty table and prepare it for Twilight to sit on.

“For the Princess and the lady.” I say as I also prep up Rainbow’s chair as well.
Twilight giggles. “Well, aren’t you quite the gentleman?” She and Rainbow then proceed to sit down on the chairs I set for them. As they sat, I notice, out the corner of my eye, that Rainbow was blushing a bit as she settled into her seat. Guess she really likes me as Cree after all. I have a feeling that breaking the news will be hard after all.

As I get back to my chair, I call a waitress to get another round of cider for the three of us. I then turn to the lavender mare and stick out my hand.

“I believe a formal introduction should be in order. My name is Cree, and I’m just an unknown wanderer from far lands. I know you know I’ve met with Rainbow earlier under some … off circumstances, but that was only for a warm-up. And as for the chase around town, well…” I spare a glance to Rainbow before continuing, “…that’ll stay on a need-to-know basis.”

Twilight giggles at that. “Understandable. Anyway, my name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and the Element of Magic.” She then reaches out and shakes my hand. “Pleased to meet you, Cree.”

I then start sniffing around in the air in front of Twilight, which is obviously weirding her out right there. She was about to question what I was doing, but I motioned for her to be quiet for a moment.

After a while, I moved back to my chair when I was done. “Sorry if that was weird, but I can guess that you’re a fellow seeker of knowledge, somepony who likes to spend their time around plenty of books, am I right? Or am I getting warm?”

Needless to say, Twilight was about as surprised as Rainbow when she was read, minus the whole sniffing thing. “How could you possibly know all that… from smell?” she questions.

“Well,” I reply, “not all of it. I could tell from other things: when I shook your hand, I felt small scars on the fingertips, possibly paper cuts from turning pages, and the sidebag looks hastily packed, probably meaning you were supposed to finish that earlier, and had no choice but to bring it along to continue on the walk back, and also… the scent of age-old books and scented candles might also be a dead giveaway – at least to those who pay strong attention away from the lavender shampoo.”

At that point, Twilight just sat there, jaw dropped, and a stare affixed on me. I was then that I realized…

“Oh, sorry if I sounded creepy with that whole reading thing, it’s just a force of habit and -”

I suddenly had my mouth clamped shut by a purple, magical aura – point of origin being Twilight’s horn.

“I-it’s okay, it’s just that I’m surprised that somepony could actually read me properly with such little info. That’s quite an impressive feat altogether!” she says.

I chuckle in relief at that. She also finally releases her grip on my mouth. “Well it’s a small talent of mine in keeping track of things around me. And it even helps in figuring out what ponies like in general, which is why, as a peace offering, I present to you …this!”

I reach into my satchel to pass Twilight the Journal. I guess it’s better now than never she learn about it.

POV Change: Twilight, 1st Person

Cree pulls out of his satchel a large, tattered journal. It looks as though it had been through some tear and wear over time, and on the cover was a peculiar emblem – a coat of arms, a blue staff & a red sword in place of the swords, and on the respective sides of the weapons are an angel and demon’s wings, the whole emblem made in steel and outlined in gold. Bookmarks were jutting out of the pages, meaning each of the pages were somewhat of importance.

“Um…” I let out.

“Don’t let looks perceive. Just read what’s inside and I’ll try and explain.” Cree replies. “All I can say is… you’ll see some things in a more different light after this.”

At that, he was able to pique my interests albeit slightly. I reach out for the book, but Cree pulls the book back, then gives a small dark gaze at me, then says, “And I trust that what you two see won’t reach any others’ knowledge, right?”

I was slightly intimidated, but I had to comply for now. “I understand.”

“Pinkie Promise?”

It was then that I, along with Rainbow, was, by no end shocked. “H-How do you know about that?”

“Let’s just say… her family and I go way back.” He replies.

“Then how come she hasn’t mentioned anything about you to us?” Rainbow asks.

“You probably didn’t ask.” He answers nonchalantly.

The two of us end up facepalming at that logic. Anyway, if I was to get what was inside the book, I might as well play along.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” I also did the motions to accompany each verse. Even Rainbow got the
message to follow suit as well.

“Alright, I’m convinced,” his gaze then lightens up from that, “then here you go.” He then finally passes the book to me, to which I reach out and take.

…Although, to be honest, I didn’t take into account on how heavy the book was, seeing as the whole time he held it, he only held it in one arm during the whole conversation!

As I opened it to the first pages, what I was greeted with was beyond comprehension.

The page I opened illustrated an amazing factor in magic that aren’t even present in any of the books I read back at the castle. It
stated that any living species – as long as it’s done right, can be able to perform magic that normally only unicorns can do: spells, enchantments, everything!

I then turned to the other pages, and it showed many other things that are never even shown anywhere else at all – instructions for standard training, spells that are normally difficult to cast alone, techniques used for spellcasting without mediums, and even ways unicorns can use magic… while still under the effects of an inhibitor ring!

“This… Cree, this is incredible! All of these notes… all of these spells… these have probably never been heard of in Equus!” I was practically ecstatic after finding out about another field of magic never before seen. “Did you write these?”

“Oh great. She’s in Egghead Mode again.” Rainbow says to Cree, which he snickers to, and to which I send a glare to her.

“Not my work, to be honest.” Cree says. “But I can say that I’m a proud student of these teachings.” He then proceeds to take a long swig from the cider he received from the waitress.

I was shocked yet again realizing that Cree was only a student of these teachings, but if he’s only a student…who’s the teacher?
Maybe if I ask…

“Cree? Can I ask you something?” If I do this right, I might be able to learn something that nopony might have before.

He nods a silent yes, and then goes back to his cider.

“Who came up with all these?”

POV Change: 3rd Person

Cree stopped drinking just as Twilight asked that very question. Even Rainbow was about as curious as she was, seeing as she took a peek into the book a minute back, and had already read the same amount of pages as she has.

Cree put his drink down, and then looked directly to Twilight and Dash, eager to learn about the teacher of these seemingly impossible lessons. Although, imagine how weird you'd feel talking about yourself like a damn history lesson.

“Well, if you really want to know, the only things I can do are these: … right now, I’ll only say his name and what he is… and maybe… I’ll give a small demonstration of the results of these lessons. How does that sound?”

The two mares had both the same reactions: while they were only going to get the name, which was much to their dismay as they’ll get a vague answer, they were more excited about a demonstration of magic – not from a unicorn!

Of course, something told Twilight that at least she could try and act a bit professional for now, so to not scare him off with her “Egghead Mode” as Dash calls it.

“Alright, Cree. We’ll take the offer.”

Although, I wish we could say the same for Rainbow, who was more focused on the whole ‘demonstration’ part of the whole deal
right now.

“OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH! Are you going to cast a fireball?! Or make lightning jump from your hands?! Or -”

And this is why Twilight had to clamp her mouth shut with her magic for that moment.

Cree, though, was trying somewhat hard to stifle his laughter for a while, but still complied anyway.

“Very well. Although, to be honest,” Cree says “I think you might find the identity hard to believe, and I might sound a bit crazy talking about it.”

“Don’t worry, Cree. We won’t consider you crazy, we swear.”

Rainbow nods in confirmation to that remark.

Although, I do wonder… what does he mean by “what he is?”

“Alright. Now, listen close, ‘cause I ain’t repeating a second time.”

Twilight and Rainbow slightly lean in towards Cree, so to show they’re paying proper attention.

“Know his name, for he is the one who truly helped shape Equus into the great land it now is.”

“He is the one who has powers beyond even that of our own gods.”

“He is only known by one name… Samuel Newman, also known as the First Human.”

There grew a small silence between the three. It was as though during that moment, they were cut off from the whole world, and it was only them present in the room. And Twilight was glad to break the silence, but out of the current situation, she could only let out very little.

“Whoa.”

Cree, or Sam, could plainly see the confusion in her face, but decided to let it slide either way. Wasn’t the first time a pony or anyone else couldn’t accept the existence of a human before, seeing as they’re mere myths at current time.

After a moment, Twilight finally regained enough awareness to be able to form proper sentences for a conversation.

“Th-that’s impossible, Cree.” She says. “There is no such thing as humans. Even Princess Celestia, who, may I remind, has been around for over a thousand years, can confirm they’re only a myth.”

“Oh, really?” He retorts. “But how about even before she was born? Ever wonder about long back, when the Princesses were only young fillies at the time, and the world was still ruled by… the First Royals?”

Again, Twilight was rendered speechless. How were there were humans before the Princesses were born? And who were the First Royals?

“Well… I think I’ve given enough revelations for your fill of the day.” Cree says, much to the lavender mare’s dismay.

“Next, we might as well-”

“Hey ladies.”

POV Change: Sam (Cree), 1st Person

I hear a voice from behind the girls, and find a unicorn stallion behind them. He had a lime green coat, a black mane and wore a denim vest, with the sleeves ripped (probably trying to show off his arms), and wore cut up jeans. On his arm, accompanying the cutie mark, a bloody knife across a bell, there also seems to be a tattoo of a pony skull, carried up by flaming wings – which was cool and all, but in my opinion just makes him look dumb.

The air around the guy basically screamed “spoiled douchebag” all around, even had a smug ass look in his eyes, no doubt thinking he’ll get lucky tonight. And thanks to my awareness of the surroundings, no prize needed to figure out that he didn’t come alone for this catch - and I count eight more: counting the two earth ponies by his side, the two pegasi at a nearby table, a unicorn at the bar, two others in a nearby booth … and a minotaur at the far back.

All had the same tattoo on their arms as well.

Well shit, don’t think these guys’ll be much of a challenge.

He suddenly grabs a chair from under an unsuspecting patron just as the poor guy sits down. The pony gets up to attempt to retaliate, but the earth ponies the unicorn had as entourage glared at the guy, and he started backing away.

“So, what’s a pair of lovely mares like you doing with a loser like him?” He gloats, gesturing to me. “Why don’t you go with a fine, strong stallion to keep you company at night?” He says, purposely showing off the tattoo on his arm to the girls, to their surprise and sudden anger. Guess this guy’s a part of some big gang.

“Unfortunately dear sir,” I say, looking back and forth across the bar, “I don’t think the girls see too many fine, strong stallions currently in front of us – aside from the obnoxious prick sitting right next to us.” Looking back at the girls, they seem to be motioning for me to stop what I’m doing.

Like hell I’ll comply.

The stallion slowly turns to me, and then gets up from his seat with a shit-eating grin and a malicious chuckle.

“Looks like the new guy doesn’t know who he’s dealing with here. Maybe to be fair, I might as well introduce myself – the name’s Dead Ringer of the Rogues, and you…” he then grabs one of our cider mugs and tosses all the contents onto my face, also splashing Dash in the process, and begins giving me a death stare, “… better learn to show respect.”

He then gets close-up to my face to try and shake me down. “So I suggest you leave before things get even worse than just a splash of cider.”

I wipe my face, then bring my hands up in “surrender”. “Okay. Okay. I’ll just leave you to your own thing.” I turn to the girls and give a sly wink. Hopefully they got the message.

I turn my back on them as I pretend to walk to the door-

“Maybe that’ll teach you from messing with me next time, shorty.”

I stop right then and there. “What did you call me?”

“Hit a nerve, did I? Maybe you’re just hard of hearing, right, shor-”

I then zoom to him in a blink of an eye and give a good sweep kick to the side of his head, sending him flying into a wall.

When everyone in the room saw this, they instantly ran out of the bar leaving me, Dead Ringer and his seven goons, the two Elements, and the barkeep (she decided to stay hidden behind the bar for some reason)

The only thing he does after that is shoot his hand up to stop his group from charging at me instantly.

However, I think he just wants to do the deed himself.

He gives of a low menacing laugh, which somehow reverbs throughout the whole bar.

“You got guts, kid. I’ll give you that.” He gets up from the hole in the wall, and then starts walking off to regroup with his gang, before looking back at me with an evil grin on his face. “Shame you won’t live long enough to tell others about it.”

He looks to one of the pegasi, who nods, then flies charging at me full speed.

Biggest. Fucking. Mistake. Ever. (Play Song)

POV Change: 3rd Person

As the pegasus closes onto Cree, it would have been thought that he hit the mark – only for the cobalt blue griffon to disappear into thin air just as the pegasus was about to hit him, then reappear spinning, then pull off a drop kick directly onto the base of the pegasus’ wings, causing immense pain and for the poor prick to crash to the floor, then disappear again.

Cree then reappears into view, sitting on top of a nearby table, with a satisfied smile on his face, seeing the slightly surprised look on Dead Ringer’s face from seeing one of his best taken down so easily. But the unicorn wasn’t easily fazed.

“Kill him.” Dead Ringer orders to his grunts.

The two earth ponies arm themselves up: one was armed with a spiked knuckle duster, the other just took a bar stool to fight with, and the pegasus at the bar took the bottle she was drinking with and broke it, and all blindly ran towards Cree.

The knuckle duster pony went in first, attempting to throw strikes at the griffon in a fatal spot, only to be dodged over and over again, and is given a direct jab to the gut, knocking almost all the wind out of him and causing him to lose consciousness. The pony carrying the bar stool throws it, attempting to catch Cree off guard, but he ducks. However, the stallion then starts swinging fists wildly at Cree, but he ducks under each swing, until the griffon finds the remains of the stool from earlier nearby, snatches a large remaining piece, then breaks it over the stallion’s head, knocking him out.

“Cree, behind you!”

The pegasus charges at Cree, broken bottle in hand, trying to stab him in the back, only to fail, have her arm pulled to another direction and get elbowed to the face.

However, just as Cree was about to get a breather, he suddenly gets lifted into the air surrounded by an aura of two colors.

“Heh. What are you gonna do now?” Dead Ringer smugly says, while his horn- and one of the other unicorns’ – glowed as he held Cree midair, planning to crush him where he was. However, this was short lived, as Cree simply spread his wings out, and their combined hold on him was easily broken, and both unicorns were knocked back by the force of their magic being broken as Cree lands still standing.

Now this gets Dead Ringer shaking in fear, who had most of the color drained completely from his face, turning him visibly pale.
The stallion in question then yelled out to the minotaur, “D-DON’T JUST STAND THERE! CRUSH HIM!”

The huge bastard prepared to charge directly towards the blue griffon, but of course, our hero is always prepared for this kinda crap.

From his pocket, he pulled out what looked to be a ball of rope tied to the same rope with the colors of yellow, orange and black. As he pulled it out, Twilight and Rainbow noticed something – Cree looked as though he was taking in a deep breath, and the ball-and-rope started sparking with electricity, then he started spinning it till it appeared as a cascade of colors and lightning. He then looks back to the girls, who are standing by, watching the whole fight.

“Hey girls, remember how I promised a demonstration? Well, let the show begin!”

Cree stands up on a table, and as the minotaur charges at him, he ducks then sends the ball throttling towards the minotaur’s ribs, and as it hits, an audible and sickening *krack* can be heard, causing Ringer and the remaining Rogue grunts to visibly cringe… but it wasn’t over. Just before the ball hit, the lightning from earlier sparked from Cree’s hand, through the rope, and into the ball.

“Neon Yellow… OVERDRIVE!”

And as the ball hit the ribs, the lightning discharged from the ball and into the minotaur, sending the shock visibly and painfully coursing through the body and rendering the big guy unconscious with his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

‘THIS ASSHOLE CAN USE MAGIC?!?!’

“Shocking, ain’t it?” As Cree said that, a small bright ball of energy suddenly appears in his open hand until he crushes it, sending bolts of yellow bursting across his arm, and arcing across his body, making him look all the more intimidating. But they all failed to notice that all the lightning happened to be sparking towards his left eye, turning completely neon blue.

The unicorn grunt next to Dead Ringer got so shaken, that he shot a magic blast towards Cree, only for it to be deflected with a flick of a finger, being sent back to the sender at twice the speed it was shot, and give a painful direct hit to his horn, but before the stallion could get back his bearings, Cree throws a punch to the gut infused with the same electricity from earlier, which courses throughout the stallion’s body, filling all senses with pain.

The other two were smart to try and hide behind some upturned tables to try and shoot him with magic from there, but that doesn’t mean they were out of the woods yet. Cree then reaches to a nearby table, then grabs a handful of peanuts from the bowl, to which he uses his magic to shoot them from his hand via flicking them from his thumb. And every shot made, he was able to hit vital points on the attackers; mainly the horns and between the eyes, to disorient them, till he runs up to them and slams their heads together, knocking them out.

Dead Ringer attempted to bolt for the exit, but suddenly felt as though he had stepped on something. He instinctively turned to Cree, who was holding a rope – which led directly to him. But before Dead Ringer could react, Cree tugged hard on the rope, setting off a trap which fully ensnared the unicorn with rope.

As the leader of the Rogues fell to the floor, he suddenly realized he was being slowly pulled – directly towards Cree.

“NO! NO! NO!” he looks to the side and sees the two mares from earlier. “PRINCESS! PLEASE, SAVE ME! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!!” but the princess simply glares before looking away.

Dead Ringer suddenly gets pulled up, and is now face to face with Cree, whose face turns from a hateful glare… to that a frightening smile which sent many chills going down the unlucky unicorn’s spine. As Dead Ringer stared into his eyes, which spewed a blue flame within the iris, he could suddenly feel every sin he’s committed crawling upon his back, weighing him down until it got unbearably heavy.

(End Song)

“Normally, this is the part where I’d beat you to a bloody pulp…” Cree raises a fist, while the unicorn in his grip braces for the strike.

“…But I won’t.” He puts his fist down and shifts his grip to behind the stallion’s neck. “But on another case… this is for calling me short. ”

Cree suddenly knocks the wind out of him, then starts dragging him towards the exit, where a bunch of royal guards are standing by on the outside, spears at ready, but shocked at seeing one of the most ruthless heads of the Rogues bound in rope.

He then turns his gaze to the guards.“ There are eight others inside – three unicorns, two pegasi, two earth ponies and a minotaur. And don’t worry; they’re all knocked out. If you want help with the big guy, I’m happy to oblige.” He says with a smile, as though he wasn’t being serious a moment back.

The squad captain snaps out of her daze to respond. “No need sir, we can handle this on our own. Although,” she says, “Could I bother to ask how you took down eight dangerous trained mercenaries and their leader in one fight? That isn’t exactly a walk in the park.”

“Well, I can just say this: if they’re that bad,” Cree responds with a shaky smile, “The only thing worse than them is a fly buzzing around your muzzle. That’s how it kind of felt overall, really.” He says, scratching the back of his head as he spoke.

After a small moment of talking with the captain, the unicorn in the griffon’s grip suddenly starts struggling. “Y-you won’t get away with this!” He exclaims. “When my boss hears about this, th-they’ll be here to make your life a living Tartarus!”

Cree breaks his gaze from the captain and turns to the unicorn stallion in his grasp, and nonchalantly responds, “Really? Then tell that to someone who gives a crap.”, then proceeds to properly knock him out.

Twilight, Rainbow, and the guard captain just blankly stare at Cree, all with bewildered looks on their faces as the griffon just blatantly shrugged off such a threat as the Rogues coming to Ponyville.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!” Twilight shouts out, not giving an apparent flying fuck that the crowd from earlier just snapped their heads to their direction. “Cree, as powerful as you are, nopony just squares off against the Rogues and gets to live to tell the tale!”

Cree took a moment to glance to his side to notice that some of the ponies in the crowd had been paying attention to the whole conversation since Twilight’s outburst.

“I agree with Princess Twilight, sir,” the squad captain (whose name Cree just now learned was Swift Strike) said, “nearly every squadron of the royal guard that fought against even just a small group of them, whether from the Day or Night Guard, had always come back to the castle critically wounded or near dead. You can’t just shrug this off like it’s nothing.”

But even after that little rant, Cree does just that: shrug it off like it’s nothing.

After just seeing the griffon’s blank look that clearly stated, “ And your point?”, they just gave up trying.

“There is no way we’re going to change your mind, is there?” says Twilight, clearly seeing how stubborn this griffon is.

“Nope.” replies Cree. “By the way Dash, you’re still soaked in cider from earlier.”

Rainbow looks down on her clothes, and noticed that he was right: she was still soaked from when Dead Ringer threw that cider into Cree’s face, the splash hitting her, but not Twilight (who apparently put a small shield up to protect herself at an impulse, but forgot to put one up for Rainbow). Now, this wouldn’t exactly be too much of a problem… but then again, she was wearing white, so Cree instantly saw through the shirt to see the cute light blue lace bra underneath…

*POMF*

…to which he, potentially like any male with wings, naturally reacted to, and to which he tried to fix. Luckily, the pants he wore were pretty baggy, otherwise he’d be pitchin’ a tent right about now.

Shut. The Fuck. Up, Yin.

It took only a slight moment for Rainbow and Twilight’s minds to register what just happened, and both blushed; the former having to cover herself up, and the latter struggling not to spring one up herself.

Twilight also took a moment to look at Cree’s wings: they were slightly bigger than hers (giving her a bit of envy), had blue, sharp-looking feathers, and had a strange pattern across the wings not akin to normal wing coloring patterns, but more towards a tattoo of sorts.

Cree was finally able to calm down his wings to take the time and re-assess the situation, “Anyway, um, that… ‘moment’ aside,” he turns to Rainbow, still blushing furiously, “Rainbow, why don’t you go home and, uh, change up quick? I’ll probably meet up with you again later for some other things.”

Rainbow didn’t need a moment to stop and think about it , as the second Cree was done saying his end, she nodded fast and gave a quick “kthanksi’llbebacklater!” and flew off, leaving a dust cloud.

Cree then turns to Twilight, who was shaking herself out of a daze, asking her, “Come to think about it, you might be one to actually help me out with my problem, Princess. I’m actually looking for a place to settle down for a month, and I think here might be a good a place as any. Think you can help?”

The mare in question began thinking of a solution to this, until her face brightened up at an apparently good idea. “Actually,” she says, “I think I know the right place for you to settle in. Follow me.”

“I actually need to head off as well,” Swift Strike said, “ Got to bring these Rogues into prison. Thanks again for rounding them up. And if we need some help, we know who to call.”

“Thanks. Be seeing you soon!” I tell Swift as she flies off to regroup with her squad. I look farther to see Dead, and see him and his goons crammed into a carriage, and the former giving me a deadly glare. I send a smirk back to him, but I make sure to flash my eye blue to scare him a bit. No surprise that his face changes, but his look doesn’t really seem scared, but more… in surprise and disbelief?

Meh. Probably not important.

A moment of wandering around later…
POV Change: Sam (Cree), 1st Person

After an apparently impromptu tour across Ponyville, we finally got to where Twilight was leading us: a large castle held up by an enormous tree trunk, both of which were formed out of crystal. The whole place was practically more breathtaking than Tia’s castle, it make me kinda jealous about mine. Almost.

I then hear a breeze coming along from behind us, and I turn around to look, and see a cyan blur come from behind us and stop. Rainbow was back, and she definitely changed up: replacing what she wore earlier, she was now wearing a light blue midriff, accompanied by a matching pair of shorts and jacket, wearing light blue and white sneakers.

Shit, why’s my face heating up?

“Sorry I took a bit, had to, uh, take care of something on the way here.” Rainbow said, albeit somewhat shakily.

Did… Rainbow Dash just actually take the time to pick out a change of clothes to appeal to me?! Damn. This’ll be harder than I thought.

Twilight giggles, then turns to me. “Alright Cree, this is where you’ll stay.”

I change my expression to that of surprise. (Although in truth, this is only slightly surprising, but still pretty awesome regardless.)

“Um… Princess, I really couldn’t. This is a great honor and all, but I’ll be fine in the hotel we passed by earlier.” I humbly say.

But Twilight shook her head, saying, “Nonsense Cree, consider this as a favor between friends. Besides, this is also my way of saying thanks for defending us from the Rogues. So don’t try and work your way out of this.”

I look up to the castle for a moment, until turning back to Twilight and saying, “Alright. Why not? Ain’t every day that a cute Princess offers a place to stay.”

Twilight brightens up (and blushes) at this. “Excellent. Let’s go in and get to where you’re staying.”

Looking back to Rainbow, I noticed a trace of envy within her eyes as she looked to Twilight.

I guess I gotta watch what I say next later on, otherwise I’ll look like I’m just some player.

Location Change: Castle of Friendship

While the exterior of the castle was amazing, the interior on the other hand… Dayum, son.

The décor that covered every hallway, the organization of every room, the way all the colors completely fit with the crystals, the throne room ( I assume the Tree thought it’d be funny to take some ideas from me), and the library… Oh. My. Gods. I mean, the library I have is bigger, but you have to admit: real care was given to it.

…What? I’m a guy who enjoys the finest of detail. Don’t judge.

And I’m pretty sure Twilight saw the awe in my face as we took the small tour around the castle, which felt longer-

Fucking long-ass hallways, man.

-we finally came to a stop, in front of a door, which I’m pretty sure…

“Alright Cree, this is where you’ll be staying.” says Twilight.

…called it.

When Twilight opened the door, I was able to go inside, and I saw something built for royalty: A queen-size bed, a scenery of the plains at the balcony, a large table in the middle of the room , and a bathroom practically a royal would have.

But then again, I also kinda miss my old room back at the Castle.

I grasp my head as I suddenly feel a flood of memories from back then…

Flashback - 1000 Years in the Past...

“How could you do this to us?! We trusted you!”

“Wait, Tia, what are you talking about-”

“NO! NO MORE LIES! The nobles were right – YOU WERE SEEKING TO RUIN US FROM WITHIN THE WHOLE TIME!”

“NOW HOLD ON! You actually believe those fuckers?! What do they have that’ll have you on their side?!”

“Maybe THESE will refresh your memory.”

“……”

“Just as I thought.”

“Tia, please, I can explain-”

“Enough.”

“Sis, wait-”

“NO! NEVER COME NEAR ME AGAIN!”

“AGH!”

“Consider this a warning. As of today, Equestria and the Aether Kingdom are now enemies. In a few days, we will wage war. Your kingdom may be powerful, but we will fight until our last dying breath.”

“Don’t do this. Please.”

“… I shall see you on the battlefield.”

“Goodbye, Brother.”

Present Time

After one huge ass migraine, I find myself on my knees, tears soaking my face, and suddenly see Twilight by my side, her hand on my shoulder.

“Cree, are you okay?!” she says, her tone filled with worry.

I wipe my eyes clean of tears, then get up. I don’t know why I suddenly had a hard time getting up, but I was staggering like fuck. I sniffle a bit, then look back at Twilight with a forced smile, hoping she’d understand.

“D-don’t worry. I’m fine. Just… don’t really want to talk about it.” I manage to say.

Twilight then looks at me , and finally nods in understanding. “Alright then, just um… I’ll leave you to settle down for a bit. Meet me in the main hall when you’re done.” She closes the door to the room behind her as she leaves.

As she shuts the door, I silently lock it behind her, and pull the drapes over all the windows. When I know I’m no longer being watched, I send an anti-magic pulse which knocks out any surveillance spells, and a soundproofing spell for safety. One can never be too cautious, you know.

As I’ve ensured I’m clear, I walk to the bathroom, take off my thick clothes and finally dispel my disguise, allowing me to finally take a look at my body after all these years.

While I can’t really call myself too buff or too skinny, I can definitely say that a proper amount of muscle had been built up over time, but not enough that it’d be bulging. But I was more focused on how many scars I had built up over the years.

I practically earned quite a few from many battles, most of them heal up easily, but very few actually stay on, like the ones from my battle with Galaxia and Eternia, and the one from…
…

…

…

No.

I won’t let the past drag me down.

Not today.

If I’m going to do my best to clear everything up, then I need to keep myself up as well.

I look to my right to see the big shower.

‘Might as well.’ I think to myself as I walk in.

(End song)

Location Change: Canterlot Prison
POV: 3rd Person
An hour prior to Cree’s arrival in the Castle…

Canterlot Prison is home to many an offender to Equestria law – thieves, murderers, kidnappers, and the whole lot, all of which are never seen in the show due to the special location it happens to be in: within the mountain where Canterlot City rests, where those imprisoned shall never see the light of day or night ever again, and kept deeper within the lower and seemingly bottomless levels of the prison depending on how despicable their deeds are.

Dead Ringer and his group were sent somewhere into the levels near the bottom ( I said “seemingly”, and not “totally”, after all), and kept in a cell with tough bunk beds, a small sink, and the only light source being the 2 torches by the door, which were snuffed out to signal curfew. The walls were also etched with anti-magic seals, so that any unicorn prisoners can’t teleport or blast out.

While the rest of the group were plotting revenge on the griffon that kicked their asses as soon as they served sentence, their leader was in deep thought and disbelief at what he saw from the griffon.

It… it can’t be. Wasn’t he imprisoned?

…

Then again, it could have just been my imagination.

…

No. There is no-one else in existence with that eye except him.

…

No doubt about it – he must have broken out and had a disguise.

…

That has to be it. But, what’s he doing in Ponyville?

“Hey, Dead, you okay, dude?”

The unicorn snaps out of his daze to find one of his group, the aqua unicorn (named Hawk Shot) catching his attention.

“Uh, y-yeah, I’m fine.” He replies

“Dead, you clearly aren’t alright,” the earth pony (named Black Knuckle) added, “ on the whole ride here, you’ve been pretty quiet
ever since you looked back to that bastard of a griffon. What’s up?”

“Listen, guys, you’d probably think I’m crazy if I tried to say what I saw.” Ringer says.

“Just try us. The griffon clearly could use magic, and I don’t think there’s anything else that’d surprise us after that.”

“Alright then. You all know that, but I’m sure there’s more to it.”

“Like what?”

“When I looked back to the griffon, he just smirked as he looked to me.”

“Tch. Smug asshole. What else is new?”

“His left eye. It flashed blue.”

That very statement got the attention of everyone within the same cell as Dead.

There is only one being in all of Equus – no, in all of existence that can do that.

As it turns out, they’ve heard the story of him when they were raised as Rogues, but they were told the truth, and not the version told by the Princesses. After all, why would they listen to the killer of their ancestors in the first place?

And to top it all off, they also learned that his return signals a new age of Equus – one where worlds can crumble if he wishes for it.

“Are you sure that’s what you truly saw, and not an illusion?” Black Horn says.

“Yeah, and I’m definitely sure it wasn’t an illusion. We gotta tell this to the boss somehow.”

“No need to wait.”

The group in the cell turn to the doors and see a cloaked female figure.

This was the feared true leader of the Rogues, Shadow Seeker, a thestral with a dark purple mane and eyes that can pierce through the night. She has a very shapely figure, but yet, no stallion dared to try and hit on her, as no male ever survived being in her circle, most being her targets, hence her nickname, “The Black Widow”. Her overly tough exterior practically helped this, and everyone in her group – all genders, be young or old – easily feared her within the first minute of meeting.

“B-b-boss! Thank the gods you’re here! You heard all that, right?” Ringer said, fear clearly visible in his voice.

“Of course. But I must check this myself. If this griffon is really who you assume he is, then this can really help us against the “Princess”.” She spat the name out like it was practically an awful disease. “You lot stay here for now – try spending time rounding up some new recruits for later.”

“Um… y-yes, ma’am.” Ringer shakily replied.

The cloak and its wearer practically sank into the shadows of the prison, signaling the mare’s disappearance from the scene.

Ringer may be on the sidelines for now, but there’s still work to be done.

Location Change: Canterlot Streets

Minutes later, a mare appeared in an alley far away from the prison itself. Shadow Seeker wandered into the sea of ponies and made her way to the train station, barely noticed by any of those that passed by that she suddenly came out of the alleyway.
This was practically the way she earned her name – melding into the shadows to either execute the most seemingly unreachable targets, or to blend in with crowds to avoid capture.

To quote a criminal, “ The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. And like that… he is gone.” This, combined with her power, made her akin to a boogeyman (or mare) to the criminal world – always striking when least expected, but when first heard of, they always assume her to only be an urban legend.

It was also one of the results of Samuel’s lessons.

In the deep parts of her mind, one part of her wanted to finally meet the one who helped revolutionize the world in the past, but
another part was in disbelief and slight fear, all of which didn’t show on her face.

If this “griffon” was really who Dead thought he was, then this can really change the game for everypony involved.
As these thoughts scattered across her head, the train was now en route to Ponyville.

POV Swap: Sam (Cree) , 1st Person
Location Change: Friendship Castle, Ponyville

After a bit of time in the shower, I got changed up from my old clothes, and into something a little more lighter: a small combo of a black sleeveless shirt and a pair of camo shorts, the shirt having a black and blue lightning bolt across it, accompanied by a scarf I had packed early back. After that incident with Twilight, it’s best I make sure she forget it, otherwise it’ll definitely show I’m hiding something – and the last thing I need is something happening before I can talk to Tia myself.

Hopefully, Lulu’s doing well after so long.

But the past is in the past… for now.

Until then, I gotta make light of the current situation. I better head out quick – daylight’s burnin’, after all.

I open the door and walk out to head towards the main hall to meet up with Twi.

But it was then that I realized…

I have no idea where the fuck I’m going to go.

Shit.

This’ll take a while.

A few hours of wandering (geddit?) later…

FUCK. ME. THIS IS TAKING TOO LONG!

I’ve been roaming around the damn castle for Faust-knows how long, and I STILL can’t find the main hall. But then again, it’s not like I’ll find a tour guide just waiting for me – “OOF!”

And RIGHT when I thought about that, a door suddenly flies open, striking me square on the nose (or beak, actually) and having me fall back. I then clench my “beak” in pain.

I then look to my “attacker” and see a teenage dragon by the door. He stood at about 5 feet, had mulberry scales on his body, and green spikes on his head and tail. He wore a white hoodie, a black shirt underneath with a white cross pattern, and a pair of jeans. He also had a pair of fingerless gloves on as well.

Damn, since when was the Spike of this world lookin’ so badass?

“Huh?! Oh, I’m so sorry, I – I didn’t see you there!” he apparently says behind the door, but the look on his face changes from worry, to thought, then to… fear?

“Whoa! You’re the griffon from the bar!”, he says, raising his claws up to try and brace himself, “uh-um, I didn’t know you came here! I-I didn’t mean any harm, I swear!”, he pleaded.

Man, that is fucking pathetic. Better calm him down, or else he’ll be kissin’ my toes next.

“Easy, pal. I don’t intend to hurt ya, seeing as this was an accident.” I raise my arms up to assure him as I slowly get up.

“Oh. Okay then, sorry if I overreacted.” He said, his expression slowly softening to a smile as he lowered his arms. “It’s just that everypony in town knew what you did, and I thought - ”

“Wait – what do you mean?” I cut him off.

“Oh, you didn’t know? Hold on, let me show you.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out what looks to be a sort of iPhone, complete with a touch screen and camera. He opens it up, enters an app, and apparently shows my whole fight with the Rogues, all on video, and also has…

…over 9000 hits.

I shit you not, that’s how much it says. It took me a lot of my willpower to not bust a gut to that.

But wait, who-

“Apparently, this was recorded by Berry Punch – you know, the barmare? She was hiding behind the bar at the time, and decided to record the fight.”

Oh. So that’s what she was doing. I fucking knew that thing poking up from the bar looked like a camera.

Wait.

Shit.

This is gonna reach Tia in no time, is it?

It won’t, as she doesn’t really keep up to date on everything. Just bet that Luna will get the news first.

Good riddance. If anything, she’ll be there to visit me at Pinkie’s party.

“Um... sir?” I snap out of my small chat with Yin as Spike calls out for me.

“Hm? Oh, uh… sorry, I spaced out. You were asking something?”

“Actually, I wanted to ask your name.”

“Well then,” I put my hand out for him to shake as I introduce myself, “ my name is Cree. And yours?”

He reaches out and shakes my hand as he says, “Name’s Spike. Nice to meet you, Cree.” I then take my hand back.

…

…

…

“Umm…” I let out, scratching the back of my head as I break the silence between the two of us standing in the middle of the hallway.

“So…”

“Yeah…” Holy SHIT this was awkward!

“Umm… actually, what were you doing here?” Spike said, finally breaking the silence with a question.

“Oh, actually, I’m looking for a way to the main hall. But, you know, seeing how huge this place is…” I reply.

Spike’s eyes light up in realization. “Ohhh...” he then starts to walk off a small distance, then beckons me over, “ well follow me, then. I know where to go from here. Come on!”

How amazingly convenient, huh, Yin?

Your welcome, you know.

TO BE CONTINUED…