Chapters Chronicles Of Hope: Book 1 - A Guardian's Rising
Chronicles of Hope: Book 1: A Guardianâs Rising
*Few Hours EarlierâŠ*
I mean, itâs an obvious answer when you think about it, but not really (sort of) during that first 500 years-what with all the âmind gamesâ Iâve played on patrolling guards-after that itâs just purebred boring after Celestia stop ponies from patrolling my room (now I know how Discord feels, but at least he still has visitors). I mean I know Iâll break out eventually, but the main problem being I dunno when, and Celly hasnât gone back down here to gloat at me in a long time. Hate to say it, but I kinda miss-
WaitâŠ
âŠThe HELL are you all doing here?!
Hold on... the storyâs up NOW?!
(Dude. What do you THINK is happening?)
Does this actually meanâŠ
(Yup, but wait for a little while. Youâll understand.)
âŠriiiight, like Iâm gonna wait for a little while when you left me-
*BA-BUMP*
(A heartbeat resonates...)
Ngh! Wha-what was that? That felt like a-
Oh.
I get it now.
I think I can put this to good use.
*Present Time*
Honestly, just when I thought the day was full enough, it just gets worse. Sure, Twilight had reported that mare- Starlight Glimmer, if I remember right- having nearly wiped out the Elements from time, and yet decided to give her a second chance at the friendship she was denied. Quite sweet, really, but when news of this deed had reached out, there were some angry groups of ponies coming to me, some demanding that the mare be put to trial, while some demand custody of her, possibly to make her work for them, seeing as she was able to use a high-tier time spell, especially one from Starswirl.
And to top it all off, there are still the everyday âissuesâ to deal with, meaning endless requests & complaints from the nobles- requests being increasing taxes on lower-class ponies or getting funds for a bigger pool, and complaints like a maid messing up a small order, and requesting she be imprisoned, or somewhere around the lines.
âIf only there would be something exciting happening todayâ, I hear myself thinking aloud, âitâd no doubt be much better than sifting through all this pointless work.â
Wish granted, Milady.
I bolt up from my seat, hearing that disembodied voice from out of the blue. It sounded oddly familiar, but I just canât put my finger on it. But hearing that tone, it almost reminds me of someone from long ago⊠but it canât be. It just canât be him . He couldnât have gotten out.
âHello?â I say, my tone filled with worry and caution. âIs somepony out there? Guards? Luna?â
You really donât remember, do you? I canât blame ya, after all, you swore to yourself to never talk about me ever again, right?
âŠ
âŠ
âŠ
âSo it is you, Brother.â
Yeesh, Celly, why so serious?
âWhere are you? Show yourself!â
Not just yet, to be honest. If I did, youâd charge at me like the idiot you are- AGAIN.
âEnough of these games! Iâve defeated you before, and Iâll do it again.â
The only reason you âdefeatedâ me was only cause you had a little help from those Elements, that- need I remind you- couldâve KILLED you from overuse!
âWell, at least I was able to stop you after what YOU did, you bucking bastard!â
First off, Language, and second, I did what I did for the greater good- youâre just too damn blindsided by the crown pulled over your head to see the truth, what with all those douchebags at the Council pulling the wool over your eyes as well, for Faustâs sake!
âWhere was the good in what you did then?!â
Canât say yet, but Iâll leave you to figure it out until I feel like actually saying it.
And by the way, donât forget: youâre still at fault for what you did back at Sanctuary!
âDONâT. YOU DARE. BRING UP. THAT DAY.â
Whatâs wrong? Feel the sins crawling up your back after so long?
âStop.â
Hearing the voices of your many betrayed friends in your head?
âShut up.â
You NOW finally hear the cries of the MANY children PLEADING FOR HELP AS THEY AND THEIR PARENTS BURNED IN THEIR OWN HOMES?!?!
âSILENCE!â
[POV SWAP: 3rd Person]
*WHOOOOSH*
A sudden tornado laced in vivid shades of black and blue had whipped up within the throne room , right in front of Celestia, which had spun up for a while, even rattling the windows , until it finally dispersed, revealing the individual amongst the storm.
He stood at height of 5 foot 3, much shorter than Celestia, who practically towers over other ponies, but his appearance was still menacing enough to give even her the shivers. He wore a deep-black hooded coat that went below his thighs, complete with a demon skull on the left shoulder (unconfirmed whether itâs real or not), but he didnât bother in fully wearing it, so it hangs on his shoulders by a clip around his neck.
Underneath, one would see that he was completely battle ready - decked out in light, otherworldly armor from head to toe streaked in the intense colors of red, black, and blue, complete with his kingdomâs symbol â a coat of arms, with a blue staff on the left and a red sword on the right crossed over each other over the shield, with one angel & demon wing respectively accompanying each weapon on their sides - resting on the left of his chest plate. Although, what was possibly more eye-catching was the jet-black katana propping himself up as he would with a cane, and his hands, which were covered in black gloves that had tough-looking knuckles which could break bone.
But, in all terms of perspectives, Celestia wasnât really all focused on what heâs wearing, or what weaponry heâs packing, but was more focused on what was above his body - the face â the face of the one she had sealed away long ago.
He had a very strange hairstyle, as though heâd been through a storm (*cough* minutes back *cough*), short, black, but with a white streak on his bangs, held together by a strange headband, and the majority of his face was covered up in a bandana that looked like the bottom part of a jaw. But hereâs whatâs more interesting: his eyes. Although only his left was opened, anyone- or should we say- anypony can practically feel the massive power radiating from his very gaze, and theyâre truly seeing that very power manifest as a deep blue flame from his iris.
This was the power of The First Human.
âSo, missed me, Sis?â
As she gazed into the flame, she suddenly could feel many memories resurface after such a long time- those of when he used to 'foalsit' them thousands of years back, of the rigorous yet non-strict training she had been put through with Luna, and of the horrifying realization of what had been done by his very hands â his betrayal.
With that memory bubbled up to the surface, she felt her anger spike and it showed well, seeing as the room suddenly got hotter than usual. She began summoning her weapon, but-
*SHIIIIING*
Within the blink of an eye, she suddenly felt the cold metal of a sword rest on her cheek, then rise to meet with the bridge of her muzzle.
âTsk, tsk, tsk. You have really gotten slow since the last time we fought. I kept telling you to lay off the damn cake, but noooo~,â he said, scolding Celestia like he would a child in trouble, âyou ended up stuffing yourself silly! Itâs no wonder the guards stare at you when you ainât looking.â It was no lie that Celestiaâs face was slightly pink from blushing, which could come from turning red of anger, or possibly from embarrassment.
âNormally, Iâd beat the living crap out of you for imprisoning me,â he said, adjusting his katana just at level to Celestiaâs eye, âbut, you know Iâm not one to hold a grudge.â, finally lowering his blade & returning it back to its scabbard. With that, Celestia had slumped down onto her seat, still in a slight state of shock.
ââCause for now, Iâll have to be on my merry way. Tell Lulu I said hi, though!â
And with that, the figure had faded away from view, as though he were nothing but smoke.
It had taken a full 30 seconds for Celestia to realize this, and at the moment, she did the only thing she could currently do.
âGUARDS!!!â
[POV SWAP: ???]
*snicker*
I swear to Faust, my 30 seconds of celebratory silence really went down the drain-I literally could hear that filly scream her head off just from where Iâm standing! Ha!
What? I read the passage from the last POV swap, so what if the time is too damn accurate?
Whatever.
(Erm⊠Oh, Right.)
As he roamed around Everfree, he made sure to try and turn every stone, look under every stump, and so on, but it looked as though he was looking for something.
âLetâs see, if I remember correctly, the thing Iâm looking for is âguarded by the twins amongst the crowdâ, or something like that, but then again a thousand years in a dank vault can make you tend to forget plenty of things, but only the minor stuff when Iâve got the memory. Most of the time.â
And after a couple minutes of speed-searching, he had finally found what he was looking for- âthe twins amongst the crowdâ, meaning two similarly formed trees amongst a grove of other trees. He then started feeling around on a stump that was right behind the two trees.
*CLICK*
A switch was felt from somewhere on the stump, and a secret door had opened up, with stairs leading into the depths below the Everfree.
'Hopefully, the place is still in one piece from when I last left it.'
He then proceeded to open a large gate at the bottom of the staircase, opening up to a hidden room he had set up for occasions like this.
You see, he has amazing foresight (or paranoia, canât tell which is more dangerous), which allows him to anticipate events which could or couldnât happen, depending on the situation. He had anticipated from the millennia back that he would end up imprisoned for being found out, and prepared an impromptu plan , along with supplementary provisions & equipment for after he finally got out, all within a small underground bunker in the Everfree.
âCause no one will suspect the forest to be a hiding place for a secret bunker for a guy whose power can exceed that of gods. Obviously.
âGoes to show how daft ponies can be sometimes â mostly those not âbraveâ enough.â he said.
After a while, the human had finally gotten what he needed for everything to work according to plan â which, to be honest, has the majority all made up as he went along. With his Katana in hand, his tools in a pack, and a fresh change in clothes, he was fully stocked with what he would need in order for the day to go smoothly.
However, just as he got out, he was suddenly jumped by a pack of Timberwolves from the bushes! Normally, this is where somepony would start running like hella crazy yelling their head off, but then again, he wasnât exactly a pony.
But, the wolves just circled him for a while, until they blinked, and ended up lowering their heads, as though they were bowing down to him after they realized who he was. The stranger motioned for them to rise from their current stance and then proceeding to give them the universal language of keeping quiet: a finger held up to the lips.
Finally, the Timberwolves then decided to disband, leaving the human in solitude in the forest. And as they left, he started on applying his disguise, then deciding to walk towards the edge of the forest, finally reaching the clear plains away from the woods, which eventually made way to show the beautiful village at the end of the path- Ponyville.
As he made towards the direct road to Ponyville, he looked up to the sky, making a silent statement as he moved along, officially marking his new day fresh out of the stone.
âWatch out, Equestria, âcause Samuel Newman is finally back in the game.â
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Note
So here you go. My first story.
Thanks. Here, have a 'stache.
Although, expect it to take a long time between chapters.
P.S.: small time proof reader wanted for upcoming chapters. pls.
Chronicles Of Hope: Book 1 - A Guardian's Rising
Chapter 2: A Wanderer's Arrival
Chronicles of Hope: Book 1: A Guardianâs Rising
Chapter 2: A Wandererâs Arrival
*A few days after the BreakoutâŠ*
âŠand with the Amulet in hand, victory taken from Caballeronâs grasp, Daring Do, after once again saving Equis from utter destruction, rides her airship off into the sunset.
Another day, another edition of the Daring Do series gone by. Rainbow Dash was lying down on a cloud by the border of Ponyville, reading A.K.Yearlingâs new book, Daring Do and The Amulet of Seven Sins. So far, it had shown plenty more promise just like past books, which just makes readers like Dash crave for more like it.
Anyway, it had been a few days since the whole incident with Starlight, and so far, everything was too normal for comfort. Rainbow Dash was currently restless, seeing as since there were no friendship problems present to be taken care of that involved her, and no threat to Equis popping up from the blue, she was dead bored just as the day started. So, to pass time, she volunteered to keep lookout in the borders for anything suspicious or anything that could exit from the Everfree to cause harm to the inhabitants of Ponyville. For her patrol, she was wearing a sleeveless jacket, a white shirt underneath, and track pants that showed off her athletic curves â mostly her casual wear. Now, despite having been preoccupied with the book from earlier, she was still able to keep a vigilant eye on the lookout, and of course, sheâs perfectly able to spot the figure coming out of the woods, looking no doubt suspicious to no end.
She floated, along with her cloud, to inspect the stranger walking out of the woods. The figure was cloaked in brown, with hints of red and blue on the arms, metal kneecap guards, and a hood fully concealing its face. He was also carrying a satchel around his side with a unique symbol on it. Currently, the figure was reading a tattered book filled with papers sticking out while on the path out of the Everfree, and en route to Ponyville.
Rainbow, still somewhat suspicious, decided to confront the stranger to see their business, jumping off of the cloud, and landing at a distance in front of the stranger, but just enough to try and give the guy a small scare. She was then able to get a better look at the strangerâs figure: judging from the body build, it was a guy, and was actually about the same height as her. But right now, that wasnât too important right now.
âAlright, pal. Thatâs about as far as youâre going right now,â she says, âwhat are you doing creepinâ around out of the Everfree, and whatâs your business here?â
âIs that really how you greet every stranger you come across?â the stranger says, his voice younger than what she anticipated, ââcause thatâs one really good way to give an amazing first impression.â Rainbow winced at that; seeing as she just deliberately judged somepony by looks â again.
âSorry. Itâs been a slow day, and I thought Iâd get some action for once.â She says, her voice slightly tinged with guilt and disappointment.
âWilling to give this introduction a do-over? âCause I am. Actually, let me start,â the stranger says, âThe name is Cree. Iâm a wanderer journeying across Equis, and I came here for no apparent reason but to wander and see more of the world. Whatâs your name, maâam?â he said, finishing off with a joking curtsey.
Rainbow chuckled at his playfulness, despite giving him hostile treatment earlier, and decided to play along. âWell, Cree, my name is Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in the world, future Wonderbolt, and also The Element of Loyalty, at your service!â , she said, finishing off with a pride-filled grin.
However, she failed to notice Creeâs smile slightly falter.
âMakes sense really. At least everything had followed up to the show until now. Yin no doubt mustâve woken me up seeing as this is between Season 5 & 6. Guess the bastard really did something right this time.â
Fuck off, Sam.
Love you too, shitstick.
âQuick question: you said earlier you were looking for some action, right?â Cree adds, âFrom the looks of it, youâre for the more physical type, more so a good old one-on-one, am I right?â Rainbow, despite being shocked that he easily read her like a book, nodded a yes in response, liking where this was going.
âWell,â Cree says, âI happen to be a pretty good brawler myself â so why donât we spar for a bit? Itâs actually been a while since Iâve limbered up, so this is a good opportunity.â This statement was half true â seeing as he didnât mention the part about âa whileâ being over a thousand years.
âAre you sure about this? No offense, but thereâs no doubt that Iâll practically mop the floor with you. I may not look like it, but Iâm a black belt in Karate. And there have been only a few that have been actually able to hold up against me.â Rainbow says, cockily warning Cree of what heâs throwing himself into.
âBlack belt, huh? Well then,â Cree says, readying himself into a fighting stance, âhopefully Iâll help make this fight as interesting as possible.â Right as he said that, Rainbow noticed his gloved hands slightly glowing, but shrugged it off as her imagination.
However, since her attention was slightly drawn away, she may have just missed the huge crowd of ponies en route to their fight, led by a certain pink mare.
*A Few Minutes EarlierâŠ*
Pinkie was sitting idly by the counter of the store, wearing her casual clothes â a pink dress with a bow on the side of her waist, along with a somewhat frilly skirt with her cutie mark on the side, accompanied with a white vest with pink accents on the edges. She was currently the only one present in the shop, as she was taking her day off from work quietly â as she could manage, but then again, itâs Pinkie Pie, so no way sheâs quiet all the time-
Thatâs not true Yin!
OH CHRIST! Pinkie! Donât scare me like that!
Goes to show: I can be as quiet as I want â even when dishing out surprises!
Yeah, especially ones thatâll scare the life outta someone.
Sorry! Just been a while hasnât it?
Damn straight, Pinkie, itâs been too long.
What have you been doing lately?
Nothing much. Just chillinââŠ
Cool. Cool.
⊠And also building up to the fight involving Dash coming up.
*GASP*
What do you think I was here for?
...Because you missed me?
âŠOK, Iâll bite â maybe I also came here to see you.
Thought so.
The fightâs gonna start in a few minutes, so round up an audience, will ya?
Okie-dokie-lokie!
And Pinkie, remember⊠I was never here. K?
Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!
AND DONâT SPOIL THE STORY, PLEASE!
⊠And like that, sheâs gone, bouncing off to Faust knows where.
Welp, to the fight we go.
*Present Time*
To say that the two were surprised is a complete understatement.
They were beyond it.
It looked as though half the town of Ponyville was there to watch, minus the other Elements of Harmony, seeing as they were busy doing other daily things to attend.
Hopefully, this wonât draw too much attention to me.
Donât worry, Celestiaâs too occupied by the fact you escaped to do shit to notice anything right now, so no worries on your end.
âAlright everypony! Today, looks like we'll witness a challenger from faraway lands do battle against our very own Rainbow Dash!â Pinkie says into a mike, causing the crowd to roar in applause at hearing Rainbowâs name, most of those cheering being fans and a few stallions.
âHey, speaking of which,â Rainbow says to Cree, âare you gonna remove that hood of yours, or what?â
âOh, right! Totes forgot â gimme a secâŠâ Cree then reached out for the scruff of his hood, and then pulled it off with a strong flourish in the process.
No one, not even Rainbow and (probably) Pinkie, really expected how he looked.
Hidden under the hood was the face of a young, yet handsome griffon, with cobalt blue head feathers, and a hint of a lighter blue accent around his eyes, the left eye having a bold blue iris, and red on the other. He wore a peculiar headband that flowed on a non-existent wind, making him look all the more badass as he stretched out his wings.
And just as his face was revealed, a lot of the mares in the crowd squealed in awe, never seeing anyone so damn handsome. Even a majority of the female pegasi in the crowd had gotten their wings stiff-
*POMF*
âŠeven Rainbow, still in shock that this was the face of the guy she just met earlier.
Looks like the disguise works⊠a little too well.
She shook her head of the various thoughts involving Cree, adjusted her wings and prepped herself in a battle stance.
âAre the combatants ready?!â
âAw yeah!â
âYou know it, Pinks!â
READYâŠ
Rainbow initiates the starting move, charging at Cree with speeds that make her a visible blur, while he stands there calmly.
Rainbow was able to recover from the kick, but confusion and disbelief was strung across her face like never before.
How was he able to get a read on me? I gotta try and be smart about fighting this guy.
Looks like Dashie hereâs spooked. Hopefully, sheâll be playing smart for this little tussle.
Dash then decides not to rush him, but to try and create space for close quarters combat, by zooming right at a distance face to face with Cree. She then sends a flurry of chops, kicks and punches towards him for a while, but he blocks, counters and dodges every single one, much to the shock and awe of the crowd, who are at the edge of their seats ( if there were any.) And just as Dash throws the last blow, he sends every hit he's blocked back in spades with a final counter that tosses her high into the sky, but she quickly recovers in the air.
âNow THIS is a workout! Havenât seen anypony with the kind of speed and stamina youâve got for a while now! Keep that up, along with your talent, and no doubt about it â youâll be making it pretty damn far in the world, Rainbow!â Cree says, his voice filled with glee and good - hearted pride, to which Rainbow returns the smile with a slight blush.
âBut itâs only been a couple minutes- letâs shake things up a little bit, shall we?â he finishes, unfurling his wings and taking off to the sky towards Dash and allowing them to continue their battle in the air.
âYou know, if youâve been paying attention during this match, all Iâve been doing this whole time is block and dodge.â If anypony was looking close enough, theyâd notice his left iris shine as he grinned. âThat was only me assessing your abilities. And within the first minute we fought,â he said, getting back into a fighting stance midair âIâve already found every weakness on your body.â Right as he said that, he had somehow instantly vanished in thin air, leaving only a small blur in his place.
Rainbow was beyond stunned to see such speed â especially one thatâs faster than herâs â was actually possible for anypony to pull off, leaving her staring into the space where Cree once was.
Big mistake.
Before she could realize it, Cree had already reappeared in front of her her, but before she react, he had lightly struck parts of her body with his gloved talons, which had somehow caused her arms and legs to loosen up. He then disappeared and reappeared again, but this time behind her, striking spots behind her wings, locking them up and sending her plummeting back first to the earth.
But before she can hit the ground, Cree reappears on the ground and catches her, holding her bridal-style.
âWhat? Did you think Iâd let you crash like that? Naw⊠youâve been the best fight Iâve ever had so far. Ainât gonna let this go down - especially if itâs from somepony as awesome as you.â He says heartfully, smiling to Dash as she lay in his arms blushing at the compliment.
âOhohoho~ â Pinkie says smugly, âWe arenât even holding out prizes on this match, but it looks like our challenger still won something else in the process!â, and at that very declaration, plenty a stallion and mare were jealous for the couple born from the clash, but most of the remaining crowd cheered regardless, and it took Cree and Dash a mere ten seconds to let the info sink in, and the former duly helped the latter up, the paralysis faded away, and yet the blushing from both their faces having a hard time to do so as well â Dash being the most affected.
âPinkie! Not cool!â Dash says, still somewhat flustered from the whole thought of her and Cree as a couple. ~~Even though it was nice to think about.~~
âYeah Pinkie, âsides,â Cree adds, but not before slinging his arm over Rainbowâs shoulder with a mischievous, smug smile on his face, âitâll take more than just a fight to win this mareâs heart, amirite?â he finishes, causing the crowd to woop and cheer, and make Rainbow blush even harder, but not before turning to glare at the griffon.
âCREE!!!â
And with that statement, she lunges at Cree... only to miss again, and find him right behind her.
âYOUâLL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!!!â he says laughing madly, running towards Ponyville, with Rainbow Dash on hot pursuit.
âYO PINKIE!â he screams out to the pink mare (who, not surprisingly, was able to catch up to him), âWhy donât we settle this match as a draw, and weâll talk when everythingâs all calm?!â
âSURE! Actually, thereâs a party Iâm gonna throw for ya, seeing as youâll be setting up home after a while, right?!â she says, somehow audible to only the both of them over the chase.
âWhy am I not surprised you know that!â
âRead Yinâs plans, duh!â
âLove torturinâ the Author a lot, donât ya?â
âYou know it!â
âThis is what I love about you Pies!â
And at this, he speeds off, with Rainbow still hot on his tail, still laughing his ass off as he ran around town like a grinning idiot.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Note
Honestly, why won't those two knock off of breaking the 4th wall?!Dielox Vufrezal for taking the time for proofreading this chapter.
View Online
Chronicles Of Hope: Book 1 - A Guardian's Rising
Chapter 4: Newfound Freedom, Part 2 - The Party and the Lover's Reunion
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. View Online
Chronicles Of Hope: Book 1 - A Guardian's Rising
Chapter 5: Aether Rising, Part 1: It's Time to Begin, Isn't It?
Chronicles of Hope: Book 1: A Guardianâs Rising
Chapter 5: Aether Rising, Part 1 - Itâs Time to Begin, Isnât It?
The next dayâŠ
Location: Friendship Castle, Ponyville
POV: Sam (3rd Person)
The game had been all but changed after the revelation of the Roguesâ intentions, but Sam has little to no doubt that things will still go according to plan, meaning until then, heâll be taking his sweet time stalling until he has to execute his plan. Seeker apparently returned to the room in his sleep and apparently slipped him a note saying to meet him at the cafĂ© near the castle in the afternoon to discuss more.
Strangest thing, though, was he could have sworn he had the scent of said thestral on his body. He definitely didnât have contact long enough to get her scent on him while he was comforting her. It definitely chalked up to two possibilities, but he didnât like one of them.
Donning his disguise, getting dressed in the clothes he wore when he came to Ponyville (now minus the detachable hood) and grabbing his satchel, he moves on, heading out back to the main hall, finally getting used to the layout of the castle. Suddenly, the scent of waffles and hotcakes suddenly hits his nostrils as he finds himself unconsciously walking towards it, until he stumbles upon the dining room, where Twilight was eating a stack of hotcakes alongside Spike, eating a stack of his own, only topped off with sapphires sprinkled on whip cream. Easily standing out, however, was the lone stack next to Twilight, still fresh from the pan.
When Sam shut the door behind him, only then did the two turn their heads to see their visitor walking in.
âOh! Morning, Cree! Had a good rest?â
âYup, slept like a baby, too!â
âWell, come on over while your stackâs still hot!â
Eager, âCreeâ jogs over and takes the seat next to Twilight, grabbing a fork and digging right in. In the middle of his new journey of flavor, Twilight and Spike heard Creeâs muffled speech, somehow sounding out the words âHot sugar honey iced tea, this is amazing!â as his way of expressing his gratitude with shining eyes as both chuckled at his childishness. After finishing up their breakfast, a debate of why a guest and friend donât need to do the cleaning up for their host, finally winning the opposite side of the argument saying this is his way of contributing while he stays over, and finally doing said chore, Cree breaks off from the duo to see the other Elements in their day-to-day lives before he has to meet with Seeker.
Location Change: Ponyville Streets
As he steps out of the castle, heâs greeted by the sun gracing the town of Ponyville, along with the smiling faces of its denizens. Walking around, he was then met with many âhelloâs and âhiyaâs from those he realized were present at the party â some of them getting brave to offer high-fives and fistbumps, all which he returned with delight. He eventually reaches Sugarcube Corner, peering into a window to see Pinkie right at work, dashing from table to table serving customers, taking a second to send a good morning his way for him to return. He then moves on to see more of the town.
Sam kept moving along in the town, only stopping at the music store & the sweet shop, in order to thank Vinyl for last nightâs help, and to grab some candy, respectively. Moving further on, he finds the Carousel Boutique, and inside is Rarity working on a dress that looks to have more gems on it than a whole mineshaft. On the far side is Spike (who somehow got there faster than he did) bringing boxes and fabrics around with a dopey look on his face when heâs called to attention by Rarity. Although more surprising is the marshmallow white teenage filly with a two-tone colored mane of pink & purple and green eyes was sitting at a table in the store, following the unknowing dragonâs presence in the boutique with dreamy eyes. Looking at this, Sam smiles knowingly and looks to the audience.
âHey, I ship it too, you know. Just a matter of time before the long awaited confession.â
He stops for a while to take in the rustic views and scents of the marketplace, only to catch the familiar scent of apples, following it to a stand manned by Applejack and a dark red stallion with a deep blonde mane and whose eyes practically showed almost zero emotion, but otherwise projected the aura of a wise big brother. After saying his âhelloâs and buying a bottle of cider for later, he goes near the outskirts of town, in an effort to find Fluttershyâs cottage.
However, just as he was doing so, he felt a presence behind him and turned around to find who was tailing him, only to find absolutely no-one⊠until he looked up to see a rainbow mane sticking out of a cloud. He rolled his eyes with a smile and âblinkedâ (an easier way to explain how to get from one place to another in a âblinkâ, hence the name, using natural speed) his way behind Rainbow hoping to catch her by surprise.
Rainbow had been following Cree around town since he got out of the castle, still too shy to say hello after what she did before she left last night â it still confused her on what came over her to do that - only to no longer see the griffon on the ground (the only reason why Sam hadnât sensed her earlier was only because he was busy), only to nearly get a heart attack when a talon taps her on the shoulder, causing her to yelp loudly and quickly turn herself around, spotting the griffon⊠suddenly a few inches away from her. Upon realizing this, she blushes furiously at being caught, but downright turns crimson at how close he was right now. Then again, sheâs also put into a very compromising position, with Cree planting his hands on the cloud behind her to trap her with his body, and her being huddled up close under him, causing her to blush even more than before. And not to mention itâs also itâs a good thing that no-oneâs around to see that, otherwise it wouldâve raised some very⊠risquĂ© ideas about the situation, especially how creative ponies can be in terms of speculation.
Of course, the immortal idiot on top of her was grinning like a madman at how successful his ambush was, until he saw her face a bright red, and suddenly joined her in blushing after realizing where his plan lead him as an unforeseen fuck-up, which alone took a full fucking minute in total with the ambush. Jolting off of her right after, he sheepishly scratches the back of his head, Rainbow mirroring him in a bout of awkwardness.
Ironic how Rainbow was trying to avoid this kind of confrontation, only to get dragged into a moment worse than what she assumed by one of Samâs shitty on-the-spot ideas.
âŠ
âŠ
âŠyeah, let the awkward sink inâŠ
âŠ
âŠ
OkborednowtimetoFUCKSHITUP!
âOh m-myâŠâ
The minute they heard the new voice, their faces paled, slowly turning to the side⊠to see a blushing Fluttershy carrying a basket of groceries staring back at them. Somehow, in the full minute after Dashâs loud yelp, she had gotten there in time to be fully present in front of the cloud long enough to see⊠yeahâŠ
This causes them to both exclaim, in perfect sync, âTHIS ISNâT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!â
âI JUST CAUGHT HER FOLLOWING ME AROUND TOWN!â
âI WAS JUST FOLLOWING HIM AROUND TOWN AND GOT CAUGHT!â
At the moment, it took a while to realize what the cyan mare had just blurted out, causing her to slap her hands around her mouth in a vain attempt of hoping those words didnât already get out. But apparently they did, so the griffon and the yellow pegasus turned their attention to the athlete in front of them, causing the mare in question to shrink in on herself and into the cloud she used as a hiding spot, using her wings to hide her blushing face.
Sam couldnât help but âdâawwâ internally at the cute sight before him, but he still had to address the elephant in the room.
âRainbow⊠why were you following me? You couldâve just talked to me instead, you know.â
âI know that, Cree. But⊠Iâm still a bit shaky over⊠what happened last nightâŠâ
The last part was murmured, but Sam still heard it, and the blushing from earlier had just returned when he interpreted what she said. âOhâŠâ he said, âRight⊠last night! I was⊠erm⊠actually going to find you later to ask about⊠uh⊠the kiss.â
Just at the mere mention of the kiss caused the rainbow mare to sink her face even further into the confines of her wings, indicating to Sam how discomforting the topic was to her. This in turn prompts the griffon to move closer to the mare, draping his own wing over her back in an attempt to comfort her, causing Rainbow to raise her head from her wings, to see Cree timidly scratch the back of his head as he rested his wing over her back.
âHey⊠sorry if thatâs such a sensitive topic. Iâll just shut up about it if you want.â
At least heâs thinking about my feelings, other than trying to tease me about it, she thought, her mind drifting back to her first crushâŠ
⊠If only that guy wasnât such an asshole, maybe it couldâve been better.
Little did she know, her body ached for the comfort after the memory, and unbeknownst to her current mental state, she began to close the distance between him and her, and then nuzzle Cree, whose response is a reddening face, and a hand petting her mane.
Fluttershy, on the other hand, was feeling her heart melt at the scene playing out in front of her, and silently flew away back to her cottage as to not disturb the two of them.
If only I had someone to hold me and love me like that one dayâŠ.
Time flew faster than they thought, as Rainbow and Cree spent an hour or two on the cloud, just staring out at the horizon as the summer wind blew by them, eventually getting restless with the quiet and sparking a conversation regarding the things that Cree saw on his travels, and even the adventures that Rainbow and her friends had gone on (although some of the tales she told were clearly over-exaggerations, Sam couldnât help but smile at the creativity in how each story was weaved, almost having a similarity to his own brand of creativity and enthusiasm), but he eventually had to leave, much to the prismatic mareâs disappointment, which was remedied by the promise of meeting again tomorrow. Rainbow then left another kiss for Cree â this time longer than last night â and flew off to leave.
Right now, it was the time of the day that Shadow said she would be at the café she was talking about on the note. As thus, he heads off.
When he arrived, he found the thestral in disguise, due to her slightly flaring out her magic, allowing him to single her out from the other ponies in the area.
Settling down at her table and ordering a strawberry cheesecake, she sets up an Ignorance Field and gets to the point to explain a recent decision that she forgot to relay to Sam â since his endeavors as Cree ended up with a few of her own in prison, she opted that they try and convince other inmates to help orchestrate a mass jailbreak. This in turn would give them more firepower against the Princess on the final assault. But due to recent developments regarding Samâs presence, she thought it over and needed it to be relayed to him personally.
This definitely was troublesome, since while Shadow could definitely reason with those on her own rule to let Sam do his work, there is no way sheâll be able to reason with the inmates being ârecruitedâ seeing as theyâre no doubt gonna have a massive grudge against both Princesses for having them locked up - one theyâll act upon the moment they get out and fulfill at any cost.
When Sam reveals this new problem, needless to say, Shadow realizes once again how far her previous determination led her to a nigh inescapable obstacle. Regardless, he still assures her that things will still go according to his plan â just that this new predicament has to be prolonged for a few days or so until he can tell her otherwise.
Until that time comes, heâs going to have to spend time on incognito as Cree, at least either when he says go or at least when the inmates begin to get too restless for crowd control. Giving him her phone number, she says sheâll keep in contact âtil further notice.
What she didnât know is that he can actually pull off what he needs to do already; itâs just that his time incognito is actually a thinly veiled excuse just to be able to spend more time with the Mane 6 before he actually has to execute his plan. Heâs just lazy that way.
Or maybe thereâs a bigger picture heâs seeing that we donât.
Over the next five days, Sam had been bonding with each of the Mane 6, getting to know them all around as he spent his time with them in Ponyville.
With Twilight, he had been discussing with her the properties and formulae of the spells and enchantments, occasionally nerding out over the most simplest of spells and its applications. And yes, Rainbow was there as well, only she preferred to be involved in the practical part of the study⊠which mainly involved using Ripple in various pranks across Ponyville. But outside of these study sessions, they genuinely spend time with each otherâs company, be it reading or going out to either eat or hang out. With Fluttershy, the first day he spent time with her, it was very quiet between the two of them, although when Cree demonstrates his ways with animals, they both bond well, and especially when he regales her with tales of the animals he met on his journey. Needless to say, the goal of fist-bumping a civilized bear has finally been checked off on his lifelong to-do list.
With Pinkie, he had been helping her gain a new spectrum of parties to enjoy, from raves (with assistance from Vinyl and fresh new DJs looking to introduce themselves) and even masquerades and debut balls (yes, he can make even fancy parties fun), which Rarity came in to help design new dresses and dĂ©cor with him for the latter, and create new types of liquor and apple products with AJ for both â even going so far as to help harvest the apples for the products he makes and then some for the Acres overall.
Things have pretty much been looking up for the Six and Sam, seeing as he seems to have finally gained the trust of all of them⊠and maybe a bit more than that from Twilight and Rainbow.
However, the girls had been slowly noticing how⊠dampening his mood had been becoming when they were done with their activities, slowly turning to slightly more depressed as time went on. But they never questioned it, as he always went back to being his cheery self before any of them could bring it up enough to make a point.
And on one of the days, they all truly did decide to confront him on this⊠but it didnât go according to planâŠ
Location: Friendship Castle
*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*
âCree? You in there?â
âYeah, we need to talk.â
The Mane 6 were all standing at the door to Creeâs room, all rounded up by Twilight after she brought up how Cree has been changing in behavior over his time here, and came with the intentions of finding the cause before it could become any worse for their new friend.
After hearing no answer in a whole minute, they assumed that he must have been asleep or something and decided to come back later. Until, they heard something crash inside his room, causing them to jump in shock, and Rainbow responds all too quickly by bum rushing into the door, breaking it down, her eyes filled with intent to kill whoever just tried to hurt Cree.
âŠOnly to find that Cree was just fine, and that he just came out of the shower (judging by the wet trail from the bathroom trailing to him) and slipped and fell, explaining the crash they heard, as a table tumbled as wellâŠ
âŠbut it took a while for it to occur to them that he just came out the showerâŠ
âŠAnd the towel had slipped off when he fell, leaving him stark naked, all their eyes wandering down his still-soaked chest, down to his abs, and trailing offâŠâBelow the Beltâ, to put it to lighter terms.
*POMF*
*POMF*
Four of the Elements looked to the side to see Twilight and Rainbow popping a wingboner as various thoughts, be it provocative, scandalized or otherwise, flew across their heads and those of the Six (sans Pinkie, whoâs already in a relationship, and thus is currently exerting all sheer willpower not to stare), but suddenly, Cree stirs, his vision slowly re-focusing, the first thing he sees being the girls in his room with red facesâŠ
âŠThen the broken down doorâŠ
⊠then, feeling a cold breeze rise up his spine, looks down, then up to the girls, snapping sight back and forth.
He then deadpans, saying, âSo⊠do you want me to stand up to give yâall a better view, or are you gonna leave and let me put on some clothes?â
Letâs just say after a solitary second, everyone ran out with embarrassed expressions and a red face, Pinkie bouncing out to the pace of everyone running, and leaving Twilight and Rainbowâs minds being currently⊠occupied, as they moved out.
âBy Faust, what was Selene thinking when she left him?!â
âLooks like I wonât have problems with shlick material for a whileâŠâ
Suffice it to say, it was a bit embarrassing for all involved, sans Cree, who seemed forgiving with the whole endeavor, so long as everyone agreed to never bring it up ever again.
P.S, did you know that Samâs body is actually as toned as described? Itâs just that his actual bodyâs a little less⊠âpanty-droppingâ and is much more embedded muscle and little to no fat, and especially â
HEY! FUCK OFF, YIN! TMI INBOUND, HERE! The Readers donât need to know any more about how I look normally, they can just assume on their own!
Dude, thereâs nothing embarrassing about your body, last I checked; you said you were proud of it!
I STILL HAVE INSECURITIES!
LIKE WHAT?!
WHY SHOULD I SAY ANYTHING?! YOUâLL PROBABLY BLURT THEM OUT ON YOUR OWN!
Please, what could I say to the Readers thatâs so bad about your body?
Oh please like you donât know â you could probably end up telling them about how my being short gets me mistaken for a child as a human, or maybe that Iâm easily mistaken for a girl if I tie my hair down â let alone not at all! Or maybe even-
WaitâŠ
YIN YOU SONOFA-
We seem to be experiencing some technical difficulties, give us a sec around here to clean up everything after Samâs tantrumâŠ
âŠ
âŠ
âŠ
âŠ
âŠ
OK, everythingâs good here, but for the sake of the storyâs pace, letâs skip forward to the fifth day of Samâs temporary stay in Ponyville, which is conveniently the day after the...erm⊠incident.
Location: Map Room â Friendship Castle
Ever since that whole âbreaking-inâ scenario yesterday, the girls had avoided any more attempts of anything like that again, hoping instead that Cree can come out about the problem⊠well, aside from Rainbow, whoâs most likely still wishing to see more than the preview.
However, as everyone was present in the Map Room, doing their own daily thing, Cree enters the room, carrying the Journal under his arm. Turning to him, they were all only able to last a second and a half looking him in the eyes before turning away with a blush, minus Spike, who, like Cree, looks to the others instead in confusion.
Shrugging all of those aside, Cree simply moves towards a big table, placing his book down on it and opening it to a specific page.
With Pinkie being one of the only ones able to regain their composure from embarrassment, she walked over to him, asking, âHey Cree, whatcha doinâ?â
âGimme a sec, Pinks â I gotta focus on this,â he says, still focused on the page he opened as he pulled out an updated map of Equis. Pinkie, obviously confused, turns to the others present in the room, seeing them looking for an explanation, only for them to get a shrugging Pinkie, obviously signing, âI got nothing.â
Looking back at Cree, she turned just in time to see his face slowly turn to a seemingly mad grin, slightly frightening her, shocking her even further when he screams âYES!â as he jumped up, causing her to jump as well, along with the other 6 in the room with her.
Grabbing his Journal and the map, he sets it on the Map Table, and then runs out of the room.
Everyone, still trying to figure out what the fuck just happened, looked over to the Journal to see what the source of Creeâs new excitement was.
Looking over the still-opened page of the book alongside the map, they saw what seemed to be another map of Equis, only they noticed a couple major differences between the two maps:
For one, the map in the book looked older and more worn, seeing as though it had been through plenty of practical use in its time as it aged, showing off places that werenât present in their current map. It also seemed to have been currently restored, as upon closer inspection, the map used to be in outright pieces.
And another, there was a distinct, yet massive factor that made the map in the Journal stand out â on the location that now rested the Whitetail Woods, a castle, or fortress, stood out in all its glory, resting on the underside of what seemed to be an inverted mountain, atop the forest.
And that particular part of the map was circled out in red ink and surrounded by arrows pointing towards it.
As they tried to comprehend the nature of what this all meant, Cree bursts into the room, jolting everyone out of their stupors, looking to him and seeing him decked out in the clothes he wore when he arrived, and packing his satchel.
Snapping back to attention, Twilight went up to Cree, asking, âCree, whatâs this entire ruckus about? One minute you came into the room all quiet-like, then suddenly jump up and shout, and then come back dressed up. Whatâs going on?â
The griffon seemed to be looking for an excuse to evade this, but then failed, as he exhales, sheepishly scratching the back of his head as he walked over to where he left the book.
âAlright, alright, Iâll talk. Itâs just that⊠Iâve been studying and researching my whole life compiling this journal, and Iâd finally collected all the pieces of this very map just the day before yesterday. This map right here, is going to help make sure my life amounted to a great price.â
âPretty interesting, big guy, but whatâs the fuss about the castle over here?â
âIâm getting to that, donât worry. You see girls, Iâm not just a wanderer, but Iâm⊠sort of an archaeologist, but more discreet.â
Rainbowâs eyes began to sparkle as she heard him being an archaeologist and asked, âYou mean⊠like Daring Do?!â, causing Cree to sweatdrop.
âUm⊠I guess so?â
And thus, Rainbow gains a newfound â albeit childish â respect for our friend, and seeing her look up to him like that made the immortalâs heart drop knowing that while every lie he tells helps him get closer to them, he must tell the truth sooner or later. And they may see him much more differently after doing so.
âAnyway, what Iâve come across might be a find that will no doubt shake the very foundations of everything you know. This can be classified as the biggest find of my life.â
Everyone in the room was now riveted at they are hearing â such a big and admirable ambition radiated from their friend as he eagerly told them his tale, and they felt compelled to aid him in the way.
âBut first, a small history lesson â you all know what Iâve told you about Samuel Newman, right?â
Everyone in the room, even Spike, nodded their confirmations. Over the time he spent with them, they have heard a good deal about Sam, his exploits, and his eventual imprisonment well enough that they all had a personal view of the guy. And a lot of them were conflicted at how he can be told as someone fighting for what was right, but get treated as a criminal in the end.
Then again, Sam was technically pretty much a criminal, but for the right reasons.
âWell, Iâve already explained his power, legacy, and a few other things among others, but I forgot to tell you all one other thing about him. A long time ago, his political power had gotten too high due to having so many kingdoms under his unwitting command, and much to his chagrin, he had to establish a kingdom of his own.â
âWaitwaitwait. Ya mean to say that Sam â the same Sam that you said hates authority all around â made a kingdom of his own?â
âApparently, according to accounts, it was either he did so, or have a merge in kingdoms with olden Canterlot, and no way in Tartarus was he gonna let all that power go to any power-hungry noblesâ hands, and you know a majority of them only run on greed and stupidity, even as of today.â
All heads definitely confirmed this statement, Rarity seeming to be the most agreeable, seeing she had her fair share of experiences with ânobilityâ of the sort.
âAnd thus, he had established his own new kingdom; one that he realized would fortify and protect his ideals of equality and peace amongst everyone â not just ponies, but everyone in general.â
They remembered what Cree had said about Samâs ideals â his ambition was to build bridges between all species, seeing as low equality and high racism between species seemed to be the biggest firestarter for wars amongst them. And what Cree had said before⊠apparently Sam had succeeded in bringing them together under his name.
âThe castle in the map was considered to be the go-to hub for all cross-species relations, whether it be national summits or even interspecies marriages, it all started there.â
âLadies⊠and Gentledrake, I present to you all⊠the legendary Aether Castle, the pivoting point of all of the Aether Kingdom.â
At this point, the way Sam was talking up about the castle, it was just warranting a lot of attention. And looking to almost everyoneâs faces, it was obvious to what they wanted to ask.
âYou know, you guys could come with, if youâd like.â
And at those few words, Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, AJ and Spike were just about eager to come along, Twilight mainly jumping in for the opportunity to unearth a long-forgotten history, and the duo were in for the promise of adventure and AJ acting as a chaperone to make sure they didnât do too much damage, and Spike was in for the same reason as the duo, but mostly for the chance to be able to join in a big adventure. However, Rarity and Fluttershy werenât too eager to come along. And Sam saw this with much confusion.
âWhatâs wrong? You guys donât want to come?â
âWell, Cree, as much as this sounds all too exciting, you know that Iâm not too eager to get my hands dirty, soâŠâ
It took a good chunk of willpower for Sam to not groan at her reasoning. However, he already had a counter-reason set up in advanceâŠ
âUnderstandable, but âtis a real shame, you know⊠since from what I was able to gather about Aether Castle, the architecture and design of the whole building altogether was once said to have inspired many great minds to create so many beautiful things. Maybe just visiting the castle and its interior could⊠bring a spark of creativity to your mind.â
And seeing how Sam had been careful to weave his words correctly, it seemed that Rarityâs attention had been brought into consideration.
âWell⊠since you bring up such a thing⊠maybe it would be a good idea to tag along, I suppose.â
âGreat. And, erm, what about you, Fluttershy?â
âOh! Um⊠it might be⊠too dangerous, you know? Adventuring has too much excitement for me already, and I donât think I could handle something this⊠big.â
âYou know, now that I think about it, that reminds me â Iâve also heard stories from zoologists in my travels whoâve heard of Aether Castle, and their biggest interest in it involved a part of the castle known only as âLittle Gardenâ.â
âLittle⊠Garden?â
âAccording to them, donât let the name fool you â it isnât as little as the name itself suggests, but itâs more of a massive animal habitat once said to contain the many animals found on Samâs journeys â some are bought there to protect them from outright extinction, others were to be rehabilitated from any destruction of their old homes. A massive sanctuary, with⊠no way to tell if⊠theyâre still alive in there⊠Oh no.â
Fluttershyâs eyes widen at the sudden realization bought upon by Cree â all those poor animals once tended to by someone who saved them, only for him to be gone, and it had possibly been over a thousand years since anyone ever heard of themâŠ
The yellow pegasusâ eyes suddenly shine with determination.
âWhen do we leave?â
While Sam showed genuine concern for the animals in Little Garden, he was glad Fluttershy came along â having someone with equal zoology knowledge was helpful. Nodding, Cree draws all attention back to the map.
âIâm thinking about leaving tomorrow, at sunrise. But since Iâm bringing ten others as company, letâs settle for the morning around eight. Looking back to the distance from this castle to the woods, and comparing it to the map on the book⊠Iâd count a day and a half for the trip and the expedition, tops. Maybe less, if weâre lucky.â
Everyone nodded as they understood the plan. But reeling back to what Cree just said, there was something wrong with what he just said. And Twilight easily noticed.
âUm⊠Cree? Weâre only seven in the room, not counting you â did you just count wrong?â
âOh, Iâm not wrong â thereâs definitely you seven, and also counting the three behind the door over there, thatâs ten. Unless of course, you all say otherwise, but no doubt theyâll try and follow us anyway.â
As Cree spoke, he motioned over to the door leading to the room theyâre in, Twilight using her magic to crack it open⊠only for three familiar young mares to tumble through the door, to be put out in plain sight for everyone present to see.
Each of the newly introduced three were one of the three species of pony â one was an orange pegasus with a purple mane, another was a yellow earth pony with a red mane and a pink bow holding it in a ponytail, and the last was the marshmallow white unicorn with the two-color mane from earlier in the story. These three were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a motley group of girls that originally banded together with the full purpose of helping each other earn their cutie marks, eventually reaching that goal and re-purposing themselves towards helping others find the true meaning or significance of their cutie mark.
The pegasus wore a dark orange shirt with a white long-sleeved undershirt, accompanied by denim jeans with a pair of skate shoes. Her cutie mark, the CMC shield (with purple, orange and red lines going downwards) with a lightning bolt in a wing, was solidified into a badge that hung from a chain by her side. Her wings were noticeably smaller than average pegasi, but she never let it bring her down. This was Scootaloo, resident junior daredevil of the CMC, responsible for handling more of the seemingly crazy parts of their plans and pulling it off splendidly.
The earth pony wore a yellow work shirt with denim overalls, with her cutie mark â the CMC shield with an apple in the middle, with a heart outlining in the apple â rested on her left forearm, and work boots. While she may look slender, she actually has enough muscle to hold her own and partially manage in strength. This was Apple Bloom, the main engineer / handymare of the group responsible for bringing their creations â bound to fail or otherwise â to life.
The unicorn wore a silk-white dress that hung from her shoulders and went down just below her knees, the light pink of ribbons giving detail to the dress, and also wearing a small pair of shorts underneath to conserve modesty should a wind (or a perv) come by. Her horn, white like the rest of her body, was visibly smaller for a unicorn her age, showing the possibility of her magic being weak, but she can actually manage a spell well enough thanks to Creeâs help. Her cutie mark, the shield with a musical note in the star, rested as a brooch on her left breast. This was Sweetie Belle, the voice of reason and planner within all of the CMCâs past and present endeavors.
(Appearance is different, but these are the clothes Iâm talking about. Did I get Sweetieâs right?)
Oh, and believe me, these three arenât the young little fillies from the show â they are growing up to be young, beautiful mares, as indicated by the swelling of what could be a âbountiful harvestâ within all three, hence why theyâre all in high school. But to put it through to your imagination, hereâs the lowdown â Scootaloo, being a pegasus, has a sleek and slim body, but her curves are quite exclaimed from her clothes. Apple Bloom, being a rural worker, clearly has gained muscle over her time, but is hidden under the skin so it doesnât stick out too much, especially when sheâs also growing a supple amount of âT&Aâ under the cloth. Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, is actually growing up to be a prim mare like her sister â sophisticated, sexy, but still subtle enough to make any growing stallion crack a neck to get a good look.
And donât grill me on this - this is all for the sake of originality, so to give my headcanon universe a chance, and I donât write foalcon, dammit.
But moving onâŠ
As the trio are about to be scolded for eavesdropping, Sam reminisces about the time that he and the three first met...
Flashback â two days agoâŠ
As Cree had finally wrapped up with helping Fluttershy transport a huge lizard back to its owner, he felt the need to unwind in the park, snagging a newspaper and settle down at a bench, getting a big piece of taffy he bought earlier, popping it into his mouth to slowly chew as he read.
Apparently, his actions â not him specifically â at the bar had hit front page news, although the reporters had never been able to identify who he was, as they never got any good-enough sources to establish who he really was. What they did have, though, was a tip that the one who was behind beating up the Rogues wasnât a pony, hence why there was a big bustle in reporters from various news companies trying to nail where he was over the past couple of days. In basic, they had the deeds in detail; they just needed to pin it on him.
And speak of the devil â wannabe reporters inbound. Complete with cartoonish cloud rising up behind them as they stampede through the town. Acting on impulse, Cree simply raises his newspaper up to cover his face, obscuring his presence as they passed by him. As stupid as that plan was, you gotta admit:
Cartoon Logic.
Not. Even. Once.
But using crazy logic aside, Cree simply laid back and read, not giving too much of a care of anything in the world. Although he isnât really giving any relevance to any of the stuff in the print, he actually skips those tabloids and onto the crosswords or any other news that might interest him, namely the report on him.
Rogues Finally Caught! Who Is This Mystery Brawler?
As known across the media, a small group of the infamous Rogues has finally been caught just a few days prior, and a video â posted by the bartender of the Bucking Bronco Bar â caught the whole incident, which is spreading like wildfire on the net. Many still arenât able to get a reliable source as to who this mysterious âStorm Hunterâ, as the masses call him, is, and a hunt is on to get the lowdown on this stranger. While those in Ponyville claim to know him, as he has fought against the Element of Loyalty and won, and even performed in the party held for him, it is still a strong enough lead to bring the very hunt to Ponyville. More information to come when the mystery brawler is interviewed.
Storm Hunter? Well, itâs cheesy, but itâs better than anything else.
*rustle* *rustle*
Bringing his head up from the paper, he hears rustling from the bushes over yonder, just in time to see three figures dart towards a large tree nearby. Apparently they thought they could pull off a Metal Gear and slip from cover to cover. Didnât work.
âYou know, you three donât need to hide to get a look at me.â
And at that, the trio popped their heads out of their cover to look at him sheepishly.
After clearing up their motives, they apparently wanted to have a talk with him in hopes of getting to know him, Scootaloo especially, as he helped save her idol. Sweetie was interested about the places he went to, Apple Bloom was attentive towards the cultures he encountered, and Scootaloo was interested overall about his feats other than a few days back.
As it turned out, they needed info like this for their special group project involving the very things they asked for. They would have brought along their other friends, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon (much to Samâs surprise), but they were too busy with other things to come along. Since they werenât able to find a good enough source in Twilightâs library due to how large it was, and how they didnât know where to properly look, even with the alicornâs help, so when Cree appeared and revealed himself as a wanderer, they hoped to ask him for help.
Regardless, Cree was able to indulge them and gave them various tales regarding the âmany landsâ he passed along, the âcultures he was exposed toâ, and along the way, told them of his fights.
But letâs be honest, heâs mostly conducting all of this from his own memory in the past, not all to current, so itâs more of a history lesson than an actual current lesson.
But nevertheless, they got what they needed, and promptly left to their own devices, but not before making him promise to spend some time later on to tell more of his stories, as they might consider writing his biography for him sometime.
Back to presentâŠ
The trio were currently being rounded on by their three respective parent figures, the former giving reasons to why they can join the trip, based on âtheyâre old enough and can take care of themselvesâ, while the latter were vetoing their statements, all on the idea of âit will be too dangerousâ, although it seems the girls arenât able to sway the CMC either way, they still stand firm to saying no. This debate pretty much went back and forth, until eventually the mares tell them off regardless of the many valid reasons the crusaders bring up.
However, they only smirked as they bought up their trump card.
âI guess youâre right, Rarity. We might as well just leave.â
âAlthough we might turn out boredâŠâ
âAnd eventually spread that little secret we know about yâall.â
That statement made heads turn towards them, as their interests were peaked by what they were implying.
âWait, what are you three getting at?â
âYou all know⊠the one involving what happened before?â
The girlsâ eyes widened at a provoked realization. Although the trio were just bluffing their way in, it was clear that just remembering what incident they thought the trio were suggesting was enough to push them to the edge.
âY-y-you girls wouldnât, would you?â
âMaybe we will, maybe we wonât. Depends if-â
âAlright, alright! You lot can come with, just keep the trouble to yourselves, or else!â
The trio were inwardly snickering at how lucky they were able to goad all the six, and even get through Applejackâs lie detecting ability to be able to join Cree.
Sam, on the other hand, was completely onto them, but didnât say shit, as this was too funny to pass up. BesidesâŠ
Times are fun with more friends joining the party.
âOK then, now that thatâs settled, remember everyone: 8 AM or a little after that â at best 10-15 minutes after, so that we wonât lose too much time waiting for anyone. If youâre late, then sorry, but weâll leave without you. Harsh rule, yes, but itâs good to keep a time constraint to not admit indolence.
Alright, Iâll leave you all to pack; I gotta go organize my stuff. See ya.â
The next morningâŠ
Sam had already finished packing his things, complete with a provisional supply pack for the girls and Spike, and was now just waiting in the main hall for them to come by, the katana he brought along resting by his side.
A few minutes before eight, Twilight was the first to come, her bags packed with writing implements, maps, and her own supplies, with Spike in tow, his pack stuffed the same way, except the contents seemed to be filled with exploration gear â rope, flasks, a compass, a tent, the works. When he checked the contents of both bags, he looked to Spike and had to ask.
âUm⊠you do know that Iâve got most of these in bulk, right?â
âYeah, but Twilight insisted âjust in caseâ, seeing as you could never have too many of these.â
Shrugging his shoulders, he gives the OK to both of them; the only thing left to do is still waiting for the others.
Eventually, minutes pass and the girls start to slowly file in:
Fluttershy, who apparently bought her own supplies, and a massive bag of animal care equipment â food (meat and vegetable), first aid packs, medicine; it looked as though she was packing for a relief effort. When asked, she replied that she was going to do her best to help save any of the animals left in Little Garden, but when asked how she was able to afford all the equipment, she claimed that being a horror writer on the side helps fund these kinds of endeavors, much to the groupâs surprise.
Pinkie Pie, who walks into the room empty-handed, claiming she bought in a load of supplies from her Magic Satchel, which, much to the groupâs confusion, was in her mane, which she demonstrated by reaching into her mane and pulled out a cupcake â no hair in it or anything â and ate it. Sam was ultimately bewildered, as using space distortion techniques was his specialty, but seeing her pull it off was slowly, but surely accepted. She even bought along a recorder camera to get footage of their journey.
Rarity, who bought along her sketchpad, for on-the-spot inspiration, and a good supply pack with her tent. She even decked herself in an explorerâs outfit, khaki and all, so to fit in with the occasion. Sam inwardly facepalms at this, but nonetheless keeps his composure about it. Sweetie Belle follows in, her packâs contentâs actually looking more ready for the trip, as it was similar to Spikeâs.
Rainbow Dash, accompanied by Scootaloo, brought along her stock of supplies as well, seeing to it that they also bought along a couple of special gear in case â lights, utility knives, and even a blank book. When asked why she bought that, Rainbow claimed she wanted to sketch any armor or weaponry that Sam might have in display in the castle â it was a hobby of hers to collate weaponry or battle-ready armor, and document it for her collection. When asked how theyâre going to sleep, the two of them said theyâll sleep in some clouds.
Applejack, along with Apple Bloom, had bought in sleeping bags, some food for the trip, and Granny Smithâs homemade insect repellant, made so that it keeps bugs away from the crops, and functions normally when used on somepony. And they all managed to bring all this in one bag, possibly an unintentional show of strength, as the contents of the bag were almost bigger than AJ, and the sleeping bags â carried by Apple Bloom, were as big as the teen in question.
After everyone had assessed what they were all bringing, Cree brings all attention to him to finalize an announcement.
âOK everypony â and dragon, weâre gathered today to go on what could be the ultimate expedition! I expect that everyone be safe â while this find is of great importance⊠I donât want to see any of you get hurt âcause of my foolishness. To me, friends always come first â anything that I came for will have to take last priority.â
They all smiled at his caring declaration. To think theyâd all just wanted to join the bandwagon with him, they didnât want to be a burden, but he didnât care about that â just the thought of his friends being there was enough to alleviate any burden that they think theyâre bringing to him.
âAlright, now is everyone ready?â
âYEAH!â
âThen weâre off!â
And, finally going through the gates, they made their way to the outskirts of the town, the group behind Cree thinking that deep down, there will be something of great impact to the world thatâs going to happen â one that, hopefully, will bring good.
They have no idea how right they are.
MeanwhileâŠ
Location: Canterlot Prison (A few days prior to the expedition)
As Dead Ringer and his group lie in their cells, they go over what has been and shall be done in this week:
First, they were able to rally a lot of inmates towards their cause, seeing as they all hate the princess; they decided to spread the word around to the others in solitary confinement â the more dangerous of the inmates.
Second, the maximum security inmates claimed that an outlaw dragon was being kept inside as well, so freeing him will gain them a massive turning point in their fight against Celestia, and thus getting him out of confinement will be a big priority in the jailbreak.
And lastly, they had the location of where the guards established their armory, and were to go en route there upon their chance.
However, they still had a big factor to deal with.
Him.
As their boss had detailed, it was imperative that they try to keep these inmates under control until told otherwise, as he was in on the plan, but that he wasnât bothered to make sure they stopped, but rather that they prolong it until it could get out of control or otherwise.
There was something new in play, but the small-time leader could no nothing, but push things to fruition.
When he gained the courage to ask why this was needed, their boss gave off the very words that bought hope back into her (but not to their knowledge) and into them.
They all must succeed.
For when Aether returns, it will bring the long-awaited judgment that the sun had long coming.
TO BE CONTINUEDâŠ
Author's Note
Yup.
BTW, the whole thing with the girls and Sam... I actually intended to have them really confront him on that, but shit pretty much snowballed from there. I'll see to it that it'll be bought to light in the next chapter or the one after.
And just to let you know, Sam is... kinda emotionally unstable, hence why he just spouted that crap real easily arguing with Yin.
There's always a big cost for great power, and a fragile psyche is the change.
Oh yeah - he's pretty built similar to Nagisa (a boy, but looks like a girl, from Assassination Classroom) combined with Pidge Gunderson (actually a girl, but styled as a boy in the beginning from Voltron: Legendary Defender... the new one on Netflix, not the old one.)
But with that cleared up... I'm out, beeyotch. -âŻ
View Online
Chronicles Of Hope: Book 1 - A Guardian's Rising
Chapter 6: Aether Rising, Part 2: I Get a Little Bit Bigger, But Then...
Author's Note
Okay, little heads up - any and all of the things being referenced here on out all still belong to their respective owners and companies, and I don't intend to usurp ownership of them either. I'm just making a story here. And BTW, the color codings for the speech are all still the same, so not to confuse the lot of y'all.
And... oh yeah, sorry 'bout takin' so long again. And expect these kinds of sorry's quite a lot here.
And in advance... spread the good word of the story, will ya? Knowing you guys read this is one of the reasons this still runs.
-âŻ
Chapter 6: Aether Rising, Part 2: I Get a Little Bit Bigger, But Then...
Chronicles of Hope: Book 1: A Guardianâs Rising
Chapter 6: Aether Rising, Part 2 â I Get A Little Bit Bigger, But ThenâŠ
Location: Whitetail Woods
Already a few hours later, they were nearing towards their destination⊠or at least, the area where their intended endpoint was to be, as Sam had no clue where to start looking, as the forest was vast â and while his castle was equally big enough to cover the majority of the forest, he had no idea where to start looking for any conveniently-placed entrances going underground. So he had the general area down, but just not how to get there. Luckily, from what he remembered from the notes he collated in the book, heâll find it sooner or later, especially with a lot of help.
The girls werenât faring too OK either, as they were blindly about to follow him into a circle the second they walked into the forest, and were merely passing time on their own instances as they walked along. Twilight had been reading Creeâs journal, hoping to help their quest go further than wandering in the forest soon. Rainbow had taken to picking around with a utility knife she snagged from her pack, fiddling with the multiple functions on the knife. Pinkie had been recording their every movements with the camera sheâd taken to lugging around, occasionally adding random anecdotes as time went along. Fluttershy was determined and excited (deter-cited? IDFK) as she planned out the things she would do when meeting the new animals, although bringing up the hopes that it wonât end up the same as the Gala a long time ago. Rarity had been silently brainstorming what she would be able to come up with for this yearâs trendsetting new line, and wondered if seeing Aether might really help fuel her creativity. Applejack had been taking to being the one to keep an eye on the CMC, while the trio in question tended to wander off to various spots that had great views of the landscapes, which indirectly caused the group to slow down, but thankfully, a lot of them took it as times of rest. Spike was foremost the most grateful for these rest stops, as while his somewhat limber body has long adapted to lifting heavy loads thanks to Twilight having him carry so many books, he had yet to build up enough stamina, more or less.
Eventually, after another couple of hours of walking, they made it to a clearing in the woods, setting base up there.
âOK everybody, weâre here â Whitetail Woods, home to goodness knows what and an opportunity to find a long, lost relic!â
âThatâs great, Cree. But, thereâs something to bring up â how are we going to find this lost relic?â
âGlad you asked, Twi â which is why I took the liberty of having these bought along for the trip!â
Going through his bags, he pulls out many cheap but sturdy compasses, which, for some reason, seem to all be spinning on their own accord . The girls and Spike took all of this with interest.
âAs youâve noticed, these little guys are all going haywire, and while most assume that this is the work of magnets underground, itâs actually due to the leftover ambient magic used to formerly power the castle, and that is a lot of magic being used. Now, to find the entrance, I intended to circle around here and there looking for the entrance until I got tired, but with you all here, the search might go a lot faster! Everyone, grab a compass and split up individually.â
With all said, everyone then grabbed a compass and spread out, but not before Cree stopped them for a final say.
âOh yeah, by the way, from what I estimated from the diagrams, the range of where we should look should be from the center of the clearing to the border of where the forest gets thicker.â
âAt least that cuts off most of the workload. But thatâs still a big chunk of the forest to examine.â
âThis is where the ambience is the strongest, and where its interference on the compasses gets stronger, thatâs where a moreover direct connection between the ambient magicâs origin and the outside world is most open.â
âUm⊠In English, please?â
ââŠJust find the place where the compass spins the fastest, and then weâll look further to find a cave â thatâs why the compass gets even more screwed up thanks to the direct flood of magic. Just be careful that the spinning doesnât get strong enough for it to fly out of the casing, or something.â
Thanks to the simplified explanation, they got the gist and got right to work.
MeanwhileâŠ
Location: Celestiaâs Room, Canterlot
Celestia had been worrying endlessly in her room ever since last week â to think that Newman had gained the opportunity to break out of his prison was strong enough to send her fears throttling through the roof. She was also feeling massive guilt, as she had a massive hand in a big crime that could harm everything that she worked hard to keep â order, faith, and so many other levels of peace she had kept for so long.
If Sam let loose about his news, everything she slaved away for would be burnt to the ground⊠but that wasnât the biggest worry on her mind, as she was moreover worried about Luna.
When Luna came back, the first thing she asked about was regarding Sam and Aether, and when she heard about what she had done⊠Luna never talked to her for so long, leading her to lock herself in solitude for so long until she began to talk to her again. Even when she said that all she did was to bring her back, it was all for naught as she felt every life she took back at that day suddenly haunt her in her dreams, and Luna wasnât there to help calm it, as she was still in recovery back then.
In other words, she mustnât let Newman spill, in fear of losing what family she has left to her crimes.
And now, after a couple of days of recovery from the shock, and after corralling a special sect of the guard for the eventual confrontation, sheâs been breaking her back trying to find a lead, in hopes that she could track down Sam before he does something drastic, especially as heâs known for doing so with reckless abandon.
As thoughts and calculation flew across her head, her Aerial Espionage specialist, Corporal Silent Sky, had entered the room, giving out a new report on the âwandererâ. She had Sky secretly follow the currently unknown griffon as he spent time around the Elements, tracking every single move he made from the background, hence why the pegasus wasnât entailed in the earlier chapters.
âAh, Corporal. Any new updates on the griffonâs activities?â
âYes, Princess. Apparently, the griffon had coerced the Elements into going on an expedition to the Whitetail Woods. I wasnât able to clearly hear why, but it was clearly important enough to the griffon.â
âExcellent. I thank you for this information. Youâre dismissed until further notice.â
Wordlessly nodding, the pegasus leaves the room, leaving the solar alicorn to her own occupations.
Whitetail, huh? So he must be trying to bring back Aether. I canât let him do it, but I canât endanger the Elements in any crossfire either, especially as heâs still in disguise, and if I attack him then, itâll look like Iâm killing an innocent. Best option is to wait out whatever heâs doing until he either reveals himself, or when something happens that endangers the Elements. Either way, I have to go. Soon.
Back to the searchâŠ
Over the past 2-and-a-half hours, the gang have barely found any change in their compasses. Even Pinkie was getting antsy with how slow this was getting.
Seriously â So. Fucking. SLOW.
Like, processing in the DMV would be faster than this shit.
But, thanks to the power of plot convenience, this happens.
âGuys! We got something!â
âYeah, our compasses our doing that spinny thing!â
Darting to, then running over, to the location of the CMC, they all also noticed that as they got closer to the trio, their compasses also got faster, and finally reaching them eventually caused the needles to be an outright blur. Finally getting closer to the intended goal bought the hopes of the group to an all-time high, especially Sam, who takes the lead, walking further from their current position, seeing that the compass goes faster and faster, hearing a buzz thatâs suddenly getting louder and louder as he went forward, eventually staying on a specific speed when he stopped⊠in front of an unnaturally-formed cavern opening, the deep part of the inside lined with a shining light with a light turquoise hue emanating from the bowels of the cave.
Pocketing the compasses, Cree eagerly looks into the depths, and then turns back to the group.
âLetâs get our bags â weâre goinâ in.â
Over the next few minutes, they did just that, and stepped into the cave, following the light to its source.
And after a tedious trek through the tunnel, what they saw was breathtaking. (Play Music)
Under the earth was a trail of great pillar arches, illuminated at the top by the turquoise light which filled the whole cavern, and its wide stone brick path led to a colossal castle, the front of the castle greeting them while the rest of the castle was buried under more earth, the white of the quartz used to make the exterior long covered by vinery growing from the grass but not dirtied by the soil and stone from up top, a gorgeous fountain with an alicorn figure pouring water from a floating orb over its head embroidering the front of the gate, where the symbol on Creeâs journal rested smack dab in the middle of the door, which they now realize must be the Aetherian sigil. If what they saw was real, then most likely, this whole castle could cover the entirety of the Whitetail Woods!
As they walked along the stone-laid path, they all had the liberty of taking in the sights, everyone slowly walking, leaving very little time for blinking, as though they didnât want the view to break away, and especially Rarity, whose sketchpad was surrounded by the cool-blue aura of her magic as she began scribbling new designs â I guess Sam wasnât bullshitting when he said it helped inspire others after all.
As they made it to the gate, an inscription suddenly glows white on the arch of the gate, the words somehow written in a language they never heard of, but the word and its meaning suddenly bounce to them clearly in their heads.
Velis relinquere omnibus desperandum, per quas ingredieris huc, et vivunt in spe.
Abandon all despair, ye who enter here, and live in hope.
Oh yeah, I remember that â it was fun to set that up on the gate.
As the words rung through their heads, they felt a sea of calm wash over them as the gate gave way and opened, as if the words themselves assured them that no harm would come to them in the castle.
Well⊠it was half right. (End Music)
The lobby hall inside of the castle was much more regal than that in Canterlot Castle, but it felt more like a home away from home rather than an ordinary castle â aside, of course, from the various weapons on display: swords, hammers, axes â the works, and all in a wide variety from menacing to outright bizarre. Any lights present were only the dim light from magic-fueled flames in the halls nearby, and any other dĂ©cor present was no doubt the paintings that hung from the walls, all with vivid colors and violent brushstrokes gracing and blending into the canvas. As they prepared to advance into the rest of the castle, a sudden small window of blue appeared in front of the group. Before their minds were able to register what it was, a synthetic female voice rang from the window.
âWelcome, visitors. Please present your CID Card for scanning.â
At that point, everyone was looking to each other. âWhat the hay is a CID Card?â they all thought. Until, they heard a sigh from their griffon guide as a smile wormed onto his face.
âOf course Iâd need that. At least we donât have to fight our way in,â he says, before reaching into his satchel and taking out a thick, black and metallic card.
The card itself was longer than any normal card theyâd ever seen, the thickness about ten times that of a standard playing card; on the back was the engraving of the Aetherian sigil in gold lining, and on the front was a portrait of a pony in a purple cloak, climbing a mountain whilst holding a staff with a lantern tied to the head. (1)
Under the picture was a script that read out a word, but before they could read what it said, Cree brings the card to the blue window, the portrait facing the window, as a line of light dragged downward and upward on the card, a beep signaling the completion of⊠something.
âScan Complete. Welcome, Hermit-Class Brawler Cree, and company. Unfortunately, due to the castleâs currently low power output, we canât give you an All-Clear, so you and your company may have to fight through Security as you traverse these halls. Have a nice day and try not to die as you tour the castle.â
The constant pleasantness of the voice was one thing, but to hear something like that being so bluntly thrown out was clearly unsettling to the group sans Cree, who just sweatdropped at the announcement as the blue window disappeared in a blink, prompting him to slip his CID into his pocket.
âI stand corrected.â
Bringing his katana to attention, he grabs it by the sheath, twirls it and holds it over his shoulder, the handle of the sheath resting on the shoulder.
âWell, we better get to the power room fast if weâre gonna keep security off our backs.â
At that, they all agreed on their current objective. Itâs do or die, anyway.
As they prepare to move out, they are interrupted by the voice again, but this time, it came⊠from Creeâs person, where a sudden buzzing from his pocket drew attention.
âOh yeah, since by protocol to ensure you donât get lost or something, we have taken the liberty of downloading the castleâs map into your CID for your safety. It would be a shame if you tried to find the bathroom, only to find one of the balconies or something â that would be really embarrassing. Unless youâre a jerk who likes pissing off the side, hoping to hit someone at the bottom â then by all means, do so anyway.â
Fishing back his CID, Cree noticed that a scaled map of the castle was now displayed where the picture of the Hermit formerly was. While as Sam, he didnât really need it, as it was his own home, he just used it to help guide the group behind him instead.
Everyone, on the other hand, was amazed by the level of technology being displayed right in front of them. But this awe-filled silence doesnât go unnoticed, as Cree turns to find the nine ponies and dragon staring at him in bewilderment.
âWhat?â
âCree⊠what is that in your hand just now?â
âIâll explain more when thereâs time, but not now.â
âWhy not?â
And as though to answer the question presented, a hole irised open in a nearby pillar, letting a sort of large, metallic ball roll towards them, a set of robotic arms and legs popping out from the sides, and a head to pop up from the top, with white round eyes glowing and blinking, before looking to the group and turning red, the hands arcing with electricity.
But before the ten newcomers could get in any fighting stance, Cree blinks over to the robot, clonking it hard over the head with his Monkeyâs Fist, and causing the robot to revert back to its ball state.
As he drew back his Monkeyâs Fist, he looks back to the group.
âThatâs why. And by the way, itâs your turn now,â he says, motioning behind the group as more of those Rollers (for current lack of better naming) enter the field. Twilight and Rarity try levitating the Rollers into each other, but whatever alloy theyâre made of wonât allow any magic grip. Suddenly, before any of them could panic, a pink blur rushes from their side, only to see Pinkie wielding a silly-looking warhammer from one of the displays and use it to play a massive game of croquet using the Rollers, sending them bowling into each other.
While everyone just stared slackjawed at Pinkie, she just answered, âWhat? Itâs not like Mr. Newman will get mad at me for borrowing this from the wall, right?â
No-one even noticed a sweatdrop slide down the back of Creeâs head as she spoke.
Luckily, those are fakes, otherwise itâd be too easy.
âWell Pinks, the displays here were actually made for demonstrations, so I donât think heâd mind. Other than that, it might be best to return those when we finish up.â
âWhy?â
ââCause if Iâm right, that display replica wonât hold too long, so it might be best to set them down either upon finding a proper weapon for yâall to use, or when weâre done here.â
âCree, not all of us can fight, you know, so why bother trying to find weaponry?â
âIt isnât for fighting, but rather for defense instead â Iâd rather avoid tedious combat, if I can. And something tells me that these little buggers are going to go full force the second they see us tired from bum rushing them all over the place.â
Everyone âahâs in agreement, but most settles for going unarmed, as for one, Rainbow is content with using her karate, Applejack her hand-to-hand and her lasso, and the others barely knew how to use any of the weapons being presented, in fear of accidentally hurting the others in a cross fire, or not wanting to fight at all in Fluttershyâs case. However, Twilight and Rarity, seeing their magic barely make a dent in even a single Roller, take the chance to grab a weapon from the wall â a simple sword for Twilight and a rapier for Rarity - while Cree slips his Monkeyâs Fist to Spike for him to use in an emergency to protect the CMC, leaving the most helpful advice for it use: âSpin it fast on your sides for prep, swing hard and aim for the top or sides of the head. Never spin in front of you or risk losing thought process and/or fertility in a miscalculation.â
With the seldom few of the girls armed, Cree takes the lead with his katana, and leads them into the depths of the castle, the map on the CID showing the various areas of the castle, some of which are noticeably highlighted as he shows it to the group.
âIâve taken the liberty of selecting the best route to the power room, all the while getting a tour of the place at the same time. So all we need is to follow the map, and weâll be on our merry way."
After a while of moving around the castle, and a couple of times that Cree smashes, kicks away, or even slices a wave of Rollers before any of the Six could do anything to fight, and a seldom few times that either Pinkie smashes her way through, Twilight starts showing a good amount of skill hacking and slashing at the hordes, or even Rarity fights some of the bigger bots, they reach one of the destinations highlighted on the map, namely the Hall of Arms.
The Hall, as aptly named, is a specialized display room where various weapons are put up, and unlike the displays in the room they first entered in, this one in particular has a more extensive range regarding the types of weaponry being shown â bastard swords, nunchaku, scythes, whips, hammers, longbows, OH MY GAWD!!
OMGSOMANYWEAPONS!
Ahem⊠sorry, lost myself there.
Although, there were many other weaponry that the group barring Sam have never even seen before, such as bulky sticks with miniature telescopes, boxes on the bottom, or even a blade, ranging from long to short and thick to thin (AKA fucking GUNS, duh.), a wide, toothed sword with a bulky hilt (AKA a chainsaw, âcause why not), and what seems to look like Creeâs sword, only with a larger hand guard, and the blade has teeth like one of the other weapons they saw (AKA chainsaw katana. Youâre argument is invalid.), and also some rather bizarre weaponry â even stranger than what they first saw in their entry, such as decorative bracelets, a wheel, scarves (one of which Rarity found elegant), including⊠something⊠which might just be an immature joke, as proven by the blushing faces of the group sans Cree and Pinkie, who set to uncontrollable roll-on-the-floor and pound-the-ground laughter, and other than the fact that itâs⊠distinctively long and purple. (Iâll⊠just leave it to your imagination to try and figure this weapon out. Iâm already embarrassed just trying to drop the stupid hint. Or not. I canât tell.) Aside from that, Rainbow had already taken out her book and started drawing out a few of the weapons, that⊠thing, included as a gag.
âAhaha⊠hah⊠*sigh* oh my Faust. *Ahem* Anyway, as you may see, everything in this hall is a weapon, including⊠*snrk* that⊠and Iâve heard that this very hall stores every weapon used by Sam, whether at least once or twice, in combat.â
âAnd⊠um, why does that, in particular, count as a weapon?â
âHey, even Iâm having a hard time seeing it that way as well, but looks can be deceiving. Heck, look at the warhammer Pinkieâs wielding â it looks more like a toy than a weapon, and yet she swings it like a pro!â
Twilight was about to refute as she held her hand up, but turning to see Pinkie actually start swinging said hammer, her brain starts to take in the thought, and eventually accepts it.
âPoint taken. But why does Sam need this room anyway? Is this his way of setting up a trophy room for bragging rights or something?â
âIâve actually asked that question, too, but as it turns out, for every weapon he collects and uses, he can actually be able to teach the usage of the weapon he has more fluidly.â
âOhhh~, so this is like a choose-your-own-weapon station for any student looking to study fighting under him, right?â
âUm⊠yeah, actually â howâd you figure that out so quickly?â
âDuh~, this is so much similar to those role playing games being sold on the PBox. N-Not that I bought one or anything!â
At that point, everyone was just staring at Dash knowingly as the athlete tried to cover up being a geek on the side.
âWell, weâre all here, so we better suit up before any more of those varmints start rushinâ in.â
Nodding to AJâs statement, they â sans Fluttershy â each make a beeline for a random weapon⊠only for their hands to pass through the displays.
âWhat the â Cree, these weapons arenât real! Heck, they arenât even there!â
âOh. OH. OOOOH. I see why â these are only on display, and the only way weâll even be able to use them is if we⊠we⊠erm⊠you knowâŠâ
â*sigh* The power?â
â*tsk* Yeah.â
âOH COME ON!â
Everyone joins in on the disappointment, but the whole thing didnât last, as a large group of Rollers⊠well, rolled in from where they entered.
âWell, crap â weâd better book it.â
âWhat? Canât you just fight?â
âEither we get tired from fighting, and get lost due to exhaustion, or we can run now, and get that All-Clear as quick as possible. And what more with that big guy over there!â
At Creeâs mention, a massive automaton enters the scene. It was an army green color with the Aetherian sigil on its chest, with a hulking torso, arms with one of the hands built similarly to some of the bulky sticks on display, four spider-like legs ending in wheels, and a head looking not unlike a toaster. Strangest thing though, it wore a naval generalâs hat and a pink metal moustache for some reason.
âWELCOME TO THE HALL OF ARMS,â it spoke in a rather unique and robotic accent , âI AM GENERAL STEEL, AND IâM ONE OF THE GUARDIANS OF AETHER CASTLE. FROM WHAT I OVERHEARD FROM THAT BRIGHT YOUNG LAD OVER THERE, YOU DONâT SEEM TO HAVE AN ALL-CLEAR. BUT WHILE MY PROTOCOLS SAY I CANâT HURT A LADY, IT SEEMS I HAVE TO WHEN IâM GUARDINâ THIS PLACE, SO⊠PREPARE TO DIE, ASSHOLES!â
At that, Ironsides began preparing to charge at them, the Rollers by his side doing the same.
âSo⊠run?â
âYes.â
At that single solitary second, they all turned and ran full speed to their next stop, Steel and the Rollers hot on their trails. It didnât help that the giant sentry was blind-firing ALL OVER THE PLACE while they ran, adding further to their panic.
Over the next quarter hour, it seemed that they were just running for the whole time from Steel. When he wasnât blitzing their surroundings with hot lead, he would downright shoot at them with a frigginâ laser from his other hand, frying any area that they wouldâve been unlucky to stay in hadnât they moved. And with the few opportunities to do so, any Roller that got too close for comfort, they would bat it away and send it crashing into Steel, dealing some semblance of damage, albeit in minor amounts. (2)
After a while however, it seemed that they were finally able to outrun him after having him trip over the one of the Rollers, and ran even further to reach the gateway to their next destination. Somehow, despite there being low power, there is still enough energy pumping to keep doors, a few lights, and the whole frigginâ Hall of Arms going, for some ungodly reason. The reason to why the displays worked though was because they had a small, separate power supply to activate upon visiting the Hall, but the gang was too busy running from Steel to have time to learn that.
After having a few minutes to catch their breath, they all walk into the gate, which lead into⊠a sunny forest?
âWhat the â did we just get sent back to the surface?!â
âNo, look â this isnât natural sunlight, as it doesnât feel normally warm. This isnât the surface⊠this is Little Garden!â
To demonstrate, Cree pulls his CID out of his pocket, showing that they are still in the castle, and apparently in the area highlighted, âLITTLE GARDENâ, but as Cree mentioned, the area in general wasnât anything like the name, but rather a massive chunk of the castle, which, upon Cree selecting that particular piece of the map, showed that it was actually sectioned into various sub-sections, all of which are revealed to be named, ranging from âWOODLANDâ, the current section theyâre currently in, to âTUNDRAâ, and other areas.
And before Cree could go on to explain, he felt his CID get snagged from his hand⊠only to see Fluttershy of all ponies holding it. With her futzing with the CIDâs map of Little Garden as she crouched down, Cree was conflicted as to whether or not he would do something. But as he actually came up with something to do, Fluttershy jolted up, her face alight in apparent realization.
âI get it now! This whole place is meant to take in various species from varying environments, which is why the place was designed using different biomes! Thatâs why the other parts are being separated and named â it tells the terrain of that very area! Like an all-natural zoo! Such ingenuity and consideration really went to making this â itâs amazing that so many biomes can exist in this⊠area⊠huh?â
Looking back to the others whoâre staring at her in bewilderment, Fluttershy realizes that she got lost in her excitement and promptly hid in her mane as she blushed, silently handing Cree his CID back with a silent âeep!â from her mane as she drew her hand back in.
Oh dear Faust, thatâs too adorable.
âWell, since Fluttershy here said her piece, I guess I donât need to explain any further, but weâd still better follow the map through what I assume is the scenic route â that way, we can see all the biomes and get a chance to help any of the animals here.â
âY-yes, thatâs right â these poor animals have been left here for a thousand years, and we need to ensure that theyâre still safe. Cree, I know itâs very selfish of me to ask that we put your quest on hold for a while to help fulfill this, but Iâm still asking anyway â can we do so?â
âThat isnât really selfish, and besides, itâs not like weâre gonna spend time here forever, hence why I marked off the scenic route of this place in advance.â
Everyone nodding, they walked off into the forest ahead of them, unaware of what creatures Sam had apparently kept in the various ecosystems recreated in Little Garden.
As they walked along, Fluttershy and Sam in the lead, it suddenly dawned on them about how⊠unnerving the forest surrounding them felt, the towering of the trees over them and the exoticness of their new surroundings making them feel more and more unguarded, regardless of having weaponry by their side, and even the supposedly braver ones like RD and AJ felt their legs lightly quake in slight fear. However, different thoughts flew in the heads of the two in front of them â Fluttershy, while feeling the same fear they have, she felt things she never expected to feel in conjunction with fear â excitement, determination, and all the more⊠thrill, which wasnât normally something she was associated to; while Sam was more worried about all the creatures kept here, as they were all his responsibility to take care of, like a camaraderie of pets in a way, but he saw them in a bigger light than that.
As they wandered around the tree line, the majority group hoping that they would make it to the next biomeâ
*rustle, rustle* *rustle, rustle*
A nearby rustling from the side causes them to jump up and bring their weapons to ready. As the rustling gets closer and closer, their bodies tense up in preparation of what theyâre going to face, but the sudden appearance of the white glow of a pair of eyes from a bush draws all their attention to it, as they mentally prepared themselves towards a potential battle.
At a mere split second, something small and grey jumped out of the bush, leaping onto Creeâs face, the griffon suddenly panicking and running around like a headless chicken (irony not intended), the fuss heâs making leaving no room for the gang to clearly see whatâs attacking him, especially as their eyes were rather following the currently-panicking griffon as he waved his arms around in a vain attempt to shake off the offending creature, and their self-control straining to not laugh at the repetitive muffled screams of âOHFAUSTGETITOFF â. During the wandererâs crazed run, he had the misfortune to end up running hard into a tree, his attacker leaping off just in time for Cree to crash face-first into the tree, the mystery assailant landing on the fallen foolâs chest.
As the shadow of the tree obscured whatever rendered Cree dazed and temporarily unconscious, the group was still hesitant to approach. However, Sweetie Belle, feeling slightly brave, walks towards the unknown in an attempt to pacify whatever it is, despite the othersâ warnings to not to. Unfortunately, she didnât have any animal food to offer, and didnât want to turn away to get help from Fluttershy in fear of it doing what had been done unto Cree. Instead, going on a blind prayer, she reaches into her pack to find some edibles to offer, only to pull out⊠a bag of marshmallows. Deadpanning, she takes a deep breath, crouches down and holds it out, freshly opened, to the creature, a snout looking similar to a lizardâs, but not, sticks out of the shadows to take a sniff of the contents, before the eyes shine, and the creature jumps out of the dark to reveal itself to the group.
They never expected it to be so⊠so⊠so adorable â wait, what ?
As the artificial light shines on it, the creature in question was the size of a teenage puppy in height, the head was similar to a lizardâs, down to the maw, shape and form, except more âtoonyâ, for lack of better term, and much fuzzier-looking, and it had stubby arms ending in tiny claws, lupine legs used to stand upright, and a long, fluffy-looking tail behind it. It also had what is assumed to be floppy ears, which looked similar to one of Rarityâs doilies on the ends; possibly hinting towards female, attached to what seems to be a medallion on the sides of its head.
It was at this point that most of the group sans Fluttershy and Twilight were astounded that such an⊠adorable little creature had caught them off guard, taking down one of their heaviest hitters, but that thought was left in the dust as most of them began cooing over how cute it was as it nibbled and chomped the marshmallows from the bag Sweetie was holding, the latter smiling as the creature ate, apparently forgetting that this was the animal that made Cree knock himself out.
Although in retrospect, it was kind of Samâs own fault for overreacting.
While it ate, it eventually strode over to Sweetie Belleâs side, plopping down on its rump and continuing to eat, the unicorn in question sitting down as well and laying the bag with the creature.
Meanwhile, Cree stirs from his unconsciousness, grasping his beak in pain as he rose from his spot. Looking over to the others, Twilight and Rainbow run over to him, the latter helping him up, as he looks to the group andâŠ
âWhatâs that lizard doing here?â
Looking over to the very animal that just attacked him, everyone turned at his exclamation, following his eyes to the same animal that now sits next to Sweetie Belle.
âUm, Cree, I know you might be mad that it knocked you out, but you donât have to insult it. It was just hungry.â
âNonono â I wasnât insulting it, âcause thatâs in the name of the creature itself â a Psion Lizard!â
âSay whut now?â
âItâs in the book⊠chapter 5, the Bestiary â twenty-fifth page in the sub-chapter âTamable Animalsâ, if Iâm not mistaken.â
Getting the cue, Twilight pulls out the journal from her bag, going to the exact page that Cree entailed and reading out loud the entry of the newfound species.
Psion Lizard
Creatures of unknown origin and unknown world, these little beings are not to be trifled with, for while they can be cute, they are known to have the ability to possess other animals, regardless of size to protect themselves from potential predators in the wild. They also seem to have a similar thinking capacity to wolves and ponies combined, occasionally travelling in âclustersâ from town to town, and being able to form colonies. Even without having to possess other animals, they can actually handle themselves well in combat, so long as they have the element of surprise.
Their diet primarily consists of sweets, and some of them had gotten smart enough to make their own from sugar cane. Although, they can also rely on the standard food that everyone eats as well to get sustenance when sweets arenât available.
As it turns out, they have an uncanny attraction to mages with potential, and any that manage to tame them might be the sign of a great mage. To tame one, you would need a brave heart, as in one circumstance, it would test courage by taking out who it senses as the strongest in the group, striking fear into the others. Also, another way to tame them might be slightly simpler: offer them something sweet and see if they trust you good enough to take it â they can somehow âsmellâ whether youâre good or bad. Still unexplainable how that works, but the best it can be compared to is similar to how changelings can sense emotion.
Upon reading the final paragraph, they all realized they had been tested by the very Psion next to them⊠and apparently Sweetie Belle succeeded.
âWait, does this mean⊠Sweetie Belle can be great at magic?!â
âThatâs impossible, Scoots - I can barely manage a telekinesis spell without it fizzling out.â
âDonât push yourself like that, Sweetie Belle, maybe this means youâve got a chance!â
âYeah! Who knows â maybe this is a sign or something!â
Sweetie Belle blushes at the praise, glad that she has such supportive friends at her side. However, AJ walks over to Cree to whisper something.
âNot to be a stickler, but how are we so sure that this isnât just some superstition?â
âSometimes, the greatest things can be accomplished by faith in one another or oneself. And Iâve seen quite a few mages with the same lizard by their side â all strong and hard to fight.â
âYou fought them?â
âTraining â and maybe that I also wanted the challenge.â
As Cree entails more on the history over mages with Psion Lizards, the CMC and Spike were discussing more on the creature in question.
âSo, whatâll her name be?â
âEh?â
âWell, we canât just call her âLizardâ or anything else â youâll have to come up with a name, you know.â
âWhat about⊠Sia?â
The thought was put into consideration, but they all decided no â including the lizard.
âHowâs aboutâŠerm⊠Lizzie?â
Everyone just looks to Spike with blank expressions as he looks at them in embarrassment, before everyone just all vetoed the name as they facepalmed â pawed, I suppose, for the case of the Psion.
âOOH, OOH! I got one â howâs⊠Ripley?â
They put a whole lot of thought into it, but couldnât decide properly and thus put it aside for a second.
âMaybe⊠Echo?â
With that name, everyone voices their approval over it as even the newly-christened Echo skrees in appreciation. Meanwhile, Sam had already finished up on his fake-history session with the Mane 6, all the while getting ready to move on, packing the seldom few stuff that fell out of his bag during his panic. Everyone follows suit, getting their packs and moving on, Rarity still busy sketching some nearby exotic flowers for dress ideas, most of which Twilight notices arenât normally found in the wild in Equis. However, the alicornâs attention was drawn towards a specific flower.
âSay Cree, whatâs this flower?â
Looking to her and following to where sheâs motioning, Sam spots a familiar flower â a lily of sorts, only it glows a golden yellow from the inside, then fades to a sunny red as it travels down the petals, and the standout greenish-yellow filaments curve into a heart. A soft smile graces his face as fond memories come back as he explains the flower.
âAh. That thereâs a very rare find â a Burning Heart Lily, created from a mass amount of Love Magic, and a deep learning of horticulture. They say if you carry even a petal around you, and it becomes soothingly warm to you, youâll have found you soul mate in someone near you. And if you find your soul mate, and they happen to be carrying a petal themselves⊠well, youâd know right ahead. Legend has it, Sam created these flowers himself.â
âKinda hard to believe a tough guy like him could make a flower this⊠dramatic.â
âTurns out, he made these flowers with the intention of wooing a mare. He was, to quote, âa sucker for romanceâ in lighter terms, and made the flowers on one of their dates on a cold evening. And it worked pretty well, too â so much so that it became a popular thing in the past to carry a Burning Heart Lily petal around as someone looking to find love. But unfortunately, there arenât many of these growing around anymore, so the tradition mightâve become lost to obscurity.â
âSo⊠itâs an extinct flower?â
ââŠNot necessarily.â
As Twilight was busy observing the lily, she didnât notice Cree looking over a shrub, and, upon seeing him, starts following his example⊠finding a generous patch filled with the very same flower.
âYeah, I know â not everyday you see a sight like this, huh? Must have grown over the years.â
âBut⊠how?â
âMagic, I guess.â
Twilight merely rolls her eyes in bemusement in response to the blasé answer. However, it was all she needed as when Cree walked back to get to the group, she stealthily picked the flower and encased it in a sample jar she had in her pack. Feeling the warmth radiating from the glass as she looked to Cree, she shook her head as to put aside the assumption for further inquiry as she catches up to the group.
MeanwhileâŠ
It took her a bit to follow through, but luckily she got the gist when he called about finally doing the deed as she let everything finally unfold up on the surface, all the while following them underground in silence, only waiting for a bit until they got sufficiently far enough to enter safely â especially with the overly-complicated plan he laid out. As she was confronted by the Interface Protocols screen, she pulled out her CID Card, only instead of The Hermit like Samâs fabricated CID, this one rather had a portrait of a mare with a face filled with inner serenity, despite being hung by one leg on a cross.
Scan Complete. Welcome, HangedMare-Class Ranger Shadow Seeker. Are you late or something? Because a group already went ahead.
âItâs fine. Iâll just catch up with them.â
Would you like for me to send them a message when the power comes back on?
âSure. Just let them all know Iâm here by name. And call for Cree specifically.â
Request acknowledged.
Drawing her weapon, she readies herself for the oncoming horde of Rollers charging in.
Going back to the groupâŠ
After getting back to the matter at hand, the group finally continued their trek through the simulated lands, this time with a new friend in tow. As it turned out, Pinkie had her camcorder running the whole time in the castle, so it literally caught every going-on since they entered, which sadly included Creeâs little mishap â and it looked like she wasnât going to cut that footage out no matter what Cree will say or do.
They found themselves travelling through many fauna such as âJUNGLEâ, which carried so many magic-infused birds in the treetops such that a few of them were assumed to be part of the trees. Fluttershy then pulled out a massive sack of vitamin-enhanced birdseed, which she began to feed to the massive cluster as they flocked around her and the group. Odd enough, a lot of the birds decided to flock around Cree, using his shoulders and head as roosts as he helped feed them. It just went slightly bad when one of them turned out to be cross-breed of a phoenix and what the book called a âRakkâ, which proceeded to puke what seemed to be regurgitated lava where Cree once stood. Especially when one of them almost made off with Echo, only for the little lizard to showcase her other ability â by possessing the same âRakknixâ as Scootaloo began calling it. There was also the scarier of the bunch, like one the book called âSwooping Evilâ, a very frightening terror of the skies⊠which became as mellow as a kitten when approached by Fluttershy, much to the groupâs amusement.
Moving along, they even traversed through the simulated âTUNDRAâ where they met snakes that looked like moving ice blocks with organs inside known as âFrost Runnersâ, massive monkeys with two jaws and four arms called âBullymongsâ, and also a few normal animals, like seals â babies, in particular, which Fluttershy fully adored â and even a few polar bears⊠one in particular, for some reason, had a fully blank stare as it looked to the group as it waved nonchalantly.
Going even further, they reached âTEMPLEâ, a seemingly out-of-place ancient building which, upon entering, was actually full of animals theyâd normally assume was in a Daring Do book â crocodiles, giant snakes, and the highlight of the place⊠giant, f*cking spiders. Although all of the above were clearly tamed, it was still terrifying the group nonetheless, especially Sam in particular, as being cuddled by one of his biggest fears was not on his bucket list. Yet, there were also other creatures, like the mole-like creature called a âNifflerâ which almost made away with the Monkeyâs Fist, a few of Rainbowâs utility knives, some of Rarityâs gems, and the whole of Spikeâs snack case if it hadnât been for Creeâs quick thinking⊠and surprise shakedown of the little pest (âCree! What are you doing?!â âDonât worry â Iâve dealt with these little twats before â I know what Iâm doing!â), which helped them regain their stuff, including all kinds of valuables, from the creatureâs seemingly bottomless fur. They even met three legged stone-like behemoths with yellow crystals adorning their body, which attracted Rarity to the point sheâd try and extract a few â but, thanks to Creeâs reflexes and Fluttershyâs stern look, she stopped in her tracks, especially as in the book, it said the creatures themselves, called âCrystalisksâ, were saved from Griffon miners who specifically wanted their crystals⊠only to get the short end of the stick when the creatures fought back. So in short, they just saved her from a very painful fate.
Moving on from the slightly sobering experience, they made their way to, hopefully, the end of their trek across Little Garden. Fluttershy had already fed a lot of the denizens of the biomes, and they were just about ready to get out.
The only way out, however, was through a part of the Garden simply known as âBOTANY SECTIONâ, which was basically a massive garden.
Going inside, they get confronted by massive amounts of greenery â plants, fruits, and all kinds of crops being present, most of which theyâd never even seen before. Regardless, there were also other plants they were familiar with, like a small patch of Poison Joke (kept in a glass dome, conveniently), a line of pots with Heartâs Desire planted in each, and in particularâŠ
âWAIT ONE COTTON-PICKINâ MINUTE! Is that⊠a grove of Zap-Apple Trees?! But it isnât even in season yet!â
Much to everyoneâs shock, sans Sam, yes, there was a small grove of Zap-Apple Trees in the Botany Sector. According to a plaque that rested before the grove, these apples in particular were grown naturally, being fed what was called âManaâ in order to ensure a secure growth, and not⊠explode in juices?!
âWait, does this mean⊠weâve been growing apple bombs this whole time?!â
âIf we were, weâd have already lost half the harvest. But if thatâs the case, how come itâs not blowing up in our faces?â
âMaybe⊠someponyâs been feeding a steady supply of Mana to your trees in secret?â
The Apple sisters took a minute to let the thought percolate in their heads⊠but they ultimately dismiss it in the end.
Going back to the matter at hand, while Applejack inspected the Zap-Apple Trees, the others begun to browse the other plants â Pinkie looks at some chili pepper bushes, seeing how they look completely different from the normal ones she uses, going so far as to snag one⊠and get heartburn a few minutes later (luckily, she had a glass of milk at hand, for some ungodly reason, so that problem solved itself.) Rainbow looks to a tall, blue cactus labeled âStinging Cactus: Donât Touch. Seriouslyâ and, not heeding the warning, sticks a finger onto a thorn, getting a strong static shock, sending her mane and fur standing in all directions. She also seemed to hear some snickering from behind her, but it didnât see to come from the others. Twilight, on the other hand was just looking at some watermelons⊠somehow grown to be square , which perplexed her to no end. Rarity, on the other hand, was looking at some more flowers, in particular, one labeled âOsiria Roseâ, a flower that is red on the outside, but somehow white on the inside, which spiked even more inspiration for her. Fluttershy looked to a line of small trees, which grew pink petals with a hue similar to her own mane, labeled âSakura (Cherry Blossom) Groveâ, which made her feel like she was going to meet someone she loved here, for some reason that stumped her.
However, the CMC and Spike were a different story, inspecting⊠what looked like a massive, bulbous Venus flytrap, which had a purple hue to it. For some reason, it didnât have any plaque attached to its pot, making it all the more strange.
âHey, Twilight! Does the book say anything about this huge plant? Out of everything here, this is the only plant unlabeled.â
Drawn by their call as well, Sam begins to head over to the CMC, going over to the-
Oh. Right. Shit.
Following him is Twilight, already referring to the book for answers.
âNothing present in the Botanical section of the journal. Not even in edibles, if any.â
âUh, Twilight?â
âHm?â
âTry⊠the Bestiary instead. Under T.â
Confused by his statement, getting even more befuddled as he slowly backs away, she still complies with his request regardless.
It only begins to dawn on her when she finds the entry.
Titanica Flytrap
Seeds for this strange carnivorous plant were found when a meteor crashed from the sky. They get their name due to their massive capacity for growth. Strange enough, it apparently has the uncanny power to attract good fortune to storefronts, but at the cost of feeding it the sustenance it requires: namely the meat and blood of animals â regardless of whether or not itâs cooked is up to the plant itself; yes, confusing as it may be, the plant has a high chance of gaining sentience, so long as the owner continues to feed it, also increasing its size in the process. If appetite is not kept in check however, odds are the owner could end up as its next meal. However, one of the best ways to keep this beast in check is to gain a high level of dominance over it â so long as the owner can reach a strong agreement with it, they will be safe. They are most popular as ruthless guards amongst royalty and rich merchants, serving their owners in return for eating the unfortunate idiots who try to rob them.
Horror sketched on her face, she turns to the CMC⊠only to find the massive plant moving.
âGIRLS! GET AWAY FROM THAT THING!â
Before the girls could let the warning properly register in their heads, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by vines under their feet. Applebloom and Scootaloo were unfortunate to get caught, and Sweetie Belle was about to get ensnared, but Spikeâs fast thinking got her out of the way, but at the cost of getting himself caught in the process.
As everyone sped to the commotion, they were all, to an extent, astounded, by the massive flytrap as they rounded on it.
As the trio in its grasp struggle against the vines, they suddenly find themselves face-to-face with a massive purple maw, a wicked grin seeming to form on its face as it slowly opens⊠andâŠ
*ROAAAAAA-* *COUGH**COUGH**HACK*
They all get treated to an ear-rumbling roar, only to suddenly be treated to a face full of cough-induced phlegm instead.
*COUGH* *COUGH* âOh Faust, I am so sorry. Mustâve been something I caught over the millennia.â
They were all outright shocked that this new monstrosity was able to speak. Granted, they saw an automaton talk, but this took the cake as far as they were concerned. The voice was slightly scratchy from the supposed cough, but it was still deep enough to warrant, yes, that it was a male.
âAnyway, where was I? Oh, yeah. Who are you lot?â
Thrown out of their shock-induced stupors, they suddenly found themselves introducing each other, but he was surprisingly gentlemanly when interacting with Fluttershy, being patient when getting her name (and when Rainbow tried to introduce her in her stead, she got pushed off by a loud âI DONâT REMEMBER ASKING YOU A GODDAMN THING.â instead) and doing so in the same case as Rarity. And as he did this, he also unconsciously let go of Applebloom, Scootaloo and Spike, who all ran to the sides of their respective family.
âAlright then, so it seems fair to introduce myself as well â nameâs Clayton, one of the Guardians of Aether Castle. At your service.â
He even went so far as to bow, much to the surprise of others. In response, Twilight looked to the entry on the Titanic Flytrap again to find more insight on him⊠only to find the answer on a side-note, supposedly handwritten by Sam himself.
Note: Personalities of these guys seem to differ from plant to plant, which can range from tough, sassy, shy, and on some occasions, smooth (as in panty-dropping smooth â no joke, but stretches rather toward other plants, which just makes it feel awkward), but the most domineering personality overall seem to be that they are at best, sophisticated, yet mischievous, assholes - all in one pack. But on the other hand⊠they do have kickass singing voices.
âŠOkayâŠ
While it was supposed to be helpful, it merely just went towards befuddling Twilight yet again. However, a certain declaration of âClaytonâs stood out towards Rainbow.
âWait⊠did you say âGuardianâ?!â
As Rainbow calls out this fact, the rest of the group tenses up, readying themselves for battle. However, the Titanica Flytrap in their midst merely shrugs them off.
âLooks to me like you lot met Steel, eh? Donât you worry your little heads none â Iâm smarter than that.â
Although he had no eyes, the group could somehow feel him trying to assure them that theyâre in the clear. Hesitantly, those with weapons only slightly lowered them as the plant explained himself.
âSure â we, as the keepers of each part of this castle, are fully required to prevent intruders from stealing anything or killing any of the tenants with any level of force, but we are also here to judge whether or not those who enter are of ill intent â if not, then we merely kick them out with a few bruises and cuts. But those who do⊠well⊠we leave them with a lot of broken bones and minor psychological trauma.â
At the final piece of the sentence, a deep shudder rose within the spines of the ponies and the dragon, what with that calm of a tone he explained with.
âAlthough, it seems like you lot are an okay bunch â buuuuut⊠youâll still have to get past me in order to go through.â
Nodding, everyone in the group, sans the CMC, Spike, and Fluttershy, all ready themselves for combat. However, the plant raises a vine, as though to emulate a âhold onâ gesture.
âNow, now, letâs not get too hasty here â Iâm not like Steel, so weâll play by different rules.â
âWait, how does that work?â
âWhat? Did you expect that every big guy you meet in the castle is going to be a boss fight, like some clichĂ© RPG routine?â
âŠGranted, they should have actually assumed that possibility firstmost, and upon the realization, sheepishly begin drawing back their fighting stances and weaponry.
âOf course, your griffon friend over there is definitely going to need his katana.â
Blinking, Sam steps forward and draws his sword, a sable black streak of cold iron, and prepares himself mentally. Out of honesty, one of the many things he is wary of is that while he considers and boasts of his unpredictability, the world around him can also match him in that as well â thus, heâs pretty much walking into this one just as blind as the rest of the gang.
Regardless, he primes himself for whatever may come along.
âAlright, Iâm up to the plate, so whatâs the-OW!â
*THUNK*
Of course, all things considered, he never expected to be beaned in the back of the head with a hard piece of fruit.
âYou just have to do one thing. Think fast, kid.â
And out of nowhere, a massive flurry of fruit from the plants around them suddenly tear through the air en route to Cree, causing the griffon to start erratically swinging his sword around (and dodging huge-ass watermelons and bullet-speed fucking durians hurtling towards his head) in an attempt to either cut through the barrage or just deflect them.(3)
More or less, everyone else was just stuck at the sidelines watching their friend swerve & slash through volley after volley of fruit being lobbed at him, especially when they were discreetly handed bowls of the same chopped fruit by Clayton as they watched.
10 minutes-worth of the merciless massacre of innocent fruit laterâŠ
The bombardment had finally ended, the griffon in the middle of it all, sweating heavily as he stood covered in the delicious blood of the innocent produce slain in the matter of minutes. He was so tired, heâs actually propping himself up with the sword in a vain attempt to not collapse.
All the while he stood there; the smug S.O.A.B Clayton was laughing his pot off as he wiped a fake tear from his face â why he does that without any eyes is beyond anybody, maybe just for irony. With his vines, he also collected the wooden fruit bowls from the mares, dragon and lizard.
âAhahaha⊠hoo boy, was that the best show Iâve ever seen! Alright, you lot can go on!â
âWas all of this necessary though? I donât see the use in wasting good produce like this.â
âMaybe so, but I havenât had any fun around since Sam done got stoned, so this is how I make do. Anyway, you ladies said youâre looking for the main power room, right?â
âYeah - any idea where we head off to next?â
âWell, your friend there has a map, if Iâm not mistaken, so why-â
*SQUELCH*
They all turn instantly at the sound of Cree, falling face first into the nearest pile of fruit. Rainbow and AJ rush ahead and help him up, lightly patting his face in order to help him regain consciousness, his face showing him in a haze.
â⊠I regret nothing. Anyway⊠youâll definitely have to take a trip through the Workshop. Itâs pretty much in the name â itâs where Sam spends his time creating tech and developing biological wonders. Heck, he spliced together quite a few of the plants you see in this here greenhouse.â
ââŠWait, but wouldnât that be called a lab rather than a workshop?â
âHe hates wasting time with trivialities, and just narrows everything down to one name instead.â
âIn translation, heâs just lazy.â
âYeah, that sums it up pretty much. Well, you better head on ahead. Good luck.â
After finally helping the griffon regain consciousness, they finally set off to the exit that was formerly blocked off by Claytonâs presence. HoweverâŠ
âHey guys, could you all go on ahead? I gotta confer with big and purple over here.â
Puzzled by his request, they nevertheless comply, going on through the door, leaving only the griffon and the flytrap left in the room.
âAlright, what do you want to-â
âSorry, but I gotta cut to the chase, âcause I donât want the girls to catch on yet.â
Pulling his mask off instantly, he reveals himself to the flytrap, the latter in shock.
âS-Sam?!â
âSHH! Donât alarm the others!â
âOh. Sorry.â
âItâs cool. But I need to ask. Howâve been things in the Castle since I was gone?â
âNot much, honestly. We do have a few visitors from the other kingdoms bringing in food from the Network, but since it suddenly shut down after a few centuries, we in the Garden have been relying on some Meatfruit or actual fruit to sustain us for the next few centuries. Since then, no other contact over the years.â
âShit. Okay then, but theyâre still okay though, right?â
âYeah, last we heard, but that was a long time ago, so weâre not sure. The guys in the lab were able to set a secure line of comms with them, but no new updates since the 500th year.â
âActually, since you bring that up⊠is he âŠ?â
âStill active. Just in stasis, though, but the other three in his squad are patrolling the Workshop in his stead â something about IP being active again.â
âFan-fucking-tastic. No matter. Weâll still move on.â
âYou know heâs smart enough to deduce itâs you in a few minutes, right?â
âDuh. I made him that way, after all.â
âFine. But take care, man.â
âYou too. And⊠thanks for the exercise. Asshole.â
âDidnât know it was you, so it doesnât count.â
âWhatevs.â
Replacing his disguise, he steps out of the room once again, following the others.
TO BE CONTINUEDâŠ
Side Notes
The CID Card, or âClass Identification Cardâ, is used by those studying under Newmanâs teaching standards to keep track of progress, know what sub-courses are needed to advance their central course in combat/learning, and it can show advancement through change in class. In other words, itâs a thin-ass smartphone that doesnât take in calls or play games (unfortunately), but rather takes grades, data, and other things needed for a student â like a fancy PDA. And if the class Cree is doesnât give away how progression is identified, I donât know what will.
Imagine the unbearable Raid Bosses from the Borderlands series, only thereâs no way to tell how much damage youâre doing, itâs a solo run rather than a team effort, and on youâre both on the same level, and not being on a higher level than it (think like fighting a Lv. 51 Hyperius the Invincible on Lv. 51). Thatâs how this chase is going - a migraine ten ways till December. Unless youâre either a bullshit cheater or have a broken-ass collection of loot from other bosses.
âŠYeah, I ran out of ideas for this part, so I integrated that cheesy P.O.S. game on purpose. And⊠Iâm not sorry.
⊠OK, maybe a little. Or a lot. IDFK.
View Online
Chronicles Of Hope: Book 1 - A Guardian's Rising
Chapter 7: Aether Rising, Part 3: Iâll Admit, Iâm Just The Same As I WasâŠ
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. View Online
Chronicles Of Hope: Book 1 - A Guardian's Rising
Chapter 3: Newfound Freedom, Part 1 - The Book and the Barfight
Author's Note
Sorry i took too long.
Color Coding for Chapter 3:
*You'll see in a bit later.
Chapter 3: Newfound Freedom, Part 1 - The Book and the Barfight
Chronicles of Hope: Book 1: A Guardianâs Rising
Chapter 3: Newfound Freedom, Part 1 - The Book and the Barfight
POV: 3rd Person
It had taken a while â and some waiting for her to tire out â for Rainbow to calm down, after realizing that Cree (Sam) was merely going the extra mile with Pinkieâs 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 â 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 Acresâ 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.
âMan, this stuffâs pretty damn good â itâs a good thing Iâve got enough bits, âcause Iâm planninâ on a few more mugs!â he says, obviously enjoying his current mug of cider. Rainbow was by no end confused by how Cree just acts â calm and calculating in combat, but still foalish and playful in his seemingly everyday nature, especially acting as though he wasnât 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.
âWhy are you doing this?â Rainbow manages to ask, after finishing off her cider.
âHm?â Cree manages to say over the mug on his beak.
âWhy are you treating me like a friend, especially after the way I treated you back at-â
âAre you still honestly hanging over that moment?â 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.
âLook, I honestly didnât care too much about the hostility, âcause for one, even Iâd react that way with a complete stranger, but at least Iâd be a little more civil about it.â Cree says, with Rainbow cringing at the last part, âAnd 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, Iâm 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 Iâd treat you a bit as compensation for my little screw-up.â
In other words, Cree couldnât really be bothered to give a damn about what others do at first, but what truly matters is if theyâre 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.
âSo, forget about the whole thing, loosen up,â he slides a mug to Rainbow, âand just enjoy yourself right now. Not exactly everyday a stallion - or griffon â gets a chance to offer a free drink to a cute mare like you!â 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.
âRainbow? There you are!â
POV Swap: 1st Person, Sam (Cree)
âRainbow? There you are!â
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 â 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.
âHey there Twi. Didnât really expect to see you in this joint.â Rainbow says to the mare.
âWell Rainbow, Iâm here to talk to you about something,â she says. And she sounds sorta serious âbout it too.
She takes Rainbow up from her seat, and drags her away from our table, far enough out of earshot. Luckily, Iâve 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 someoneâs large, tattered journal, filled with many bookmarks jutting out the pages, but however, the contents are nothing to scoff at. Weâll dabble in what is really inside in a bit, but Iâll just give a taste of whatâs 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 â 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 whatâs contained in the rest of the pages.
Letâs listen in on the conversation too, shall we?
I donât get it Rainbow, one minute, you and him were fighting out in the plains, but now, youâre both in the bar drinking?! Donât tell me youâre actually paying for this guy â you barely even know him!
Ok Twilight, first off, we were just sparring â 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 (donât 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.
âŠAlright, but what about this?
Heâs the one paying for the drinks, saying heâs making up for his screw-up today.
Okay, so thatâs cleared up⊠but I donât know about this guy. He seems kind of⊠sketchy.
Look Twi, try and give him a chance, and no doubt youâll like him when you get to know him a little more.
⊠Very well. Iâll try and warm up to him. Say, the way you speak of him like that, Iâd say you might have got a crush on him.
I DO NOT!
(I knew it.) Okay, okay I wonât pry further.
Letâs just get back to the table. He mightâve thought we left.
Sure.
And by the way, donât be weirded out by how heâll get a read on you. Itâs pretty cool if you let it settle in.
⊠Okay?
POV Change: Sam (Cree) 1st Person
âOh shit, sounds like theyâre done. Better put the tag back.â
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.
âFor the Princess and the lady.â I say as I also prep up Rainbowâs chair as well.
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.
âI believe a formal introduction should be in order. My name is Cree, and Iâm just an unknown wanderer from far lands. I know you know Iâve met with Rainbow earlier under some ⊠off circumstances, but that was only for a warm-up. And as for the chase around town, wellâŠâ I spare a glance to Rainbow before continuing, ââŠthatâll stay on a need-to-know basis.â
Twilight giggles at that. âUnderstandable. Anyway, my name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and the Element of Magic.â She then reaches out and shakes my hand. âPleased to meet you, Cree.â
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. âSorry if that was weird, but I can guess that youâre a fellow seeker of knowledge, somepony who likes to spend their time around plenty of books, am I right? Or am I getting warm?â
Needless to say, Twilight was about as surprised as Rainbow when she was read, minus the whole sniffing thing. âHow could you possibly know all that⊠from smell?â she questions.
âWell,â I reply, ânot 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 â at least to those who pay strong attention away from the lavender shampoo.â
At that point, Twilight just sat there, jaw dropped, and a stare affixed on me. I was then that I realizedâŠ
âOh, sorry if I sounded creepy with that whole reading thing, itâs just a force of habit and -â
I suddenly had my mouth clamped shut by a purple, magical aura â point of origin being Twilightâs horn.
âI-itâs okay, itâs just that Iâm surprised that somepony could actually read me properly with such little info. Thatâs quite an impressive feat altogether!â she says.
I chuckle in relief at that. She also finally releases her grip on my mouth. âWell itâs 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 âŠthis!â
I reach into my satchel to pass Twilight the Journal. I guess itâs 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 â 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 demonâs 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.
âUmâŠâ I let out.
âDonât let looks perceive. Just read whatâs inside and Iâll try and explain.â Cree replies. âAll I can say is⊠youâll see some things in a more different light after this.â
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, âAnd I trust that what you two see wonât reach any othersâ knowledge, right?â
I was slightly intimidated, but I had to comply for now. âI understand.â
âPinkie Promise?â
It was then that I, along with Rainbow, was, by no end shocked. âH-How do you know about that?â
âLetâs just say⊠her family and I go way back.â He replies.
âThen how come she hasnât mentioned anything about you to us?â Rainbow asks.
âYou probably didnât ask.â 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.
âCross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.â I also did the motions to accompany each verse. Even Rainbow got the
âAlright, Iâm convinced,â his gaze then lightens up from that, âthen here you go.â He then finally passes the book to me, to which I reach out and take.
âŠAlthough, to be honest, I didnât 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 arenât even present in any of the books I read back at the castle. Iteverything!
I then turned to the other pages, and it showed many other things that are never even shown anywhere else at all â 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 !
âThis⊠Cree, this is incredible! All of these notes⊠all of these spells⊠these have probably never been heard of in Equus!â I was practically ecstatic after finding out about another field of magic never before seen. âDid you write these?â
âOh great. Sheâs in Egghead Mode again.â Rainbow says to Cree, which he snickers to, and to which I send a glare to her.
âNot my work, to be honest.â Cree says. âBut I can say that Iâm a proud student of these teachings.â 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 heâs only a studentâŠwhoâs the teacher?
âCree? Can I ask you something?â 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.
âWho came up with all these?â
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.
âWell, if you really want to know, the only things I can do are these: ⊠right now, Iâll only say his name and what he is⊠and maybe⊠Iâll give a small demonstration of the results of these lessons. How does that sound?â
The two mares had both the same reactions: while they were only going to get the name, which was much to their dismay as theyâll get a vague answer, they were more excited about a demonstration of magic â 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 âEgghead Modeâ as Dash calls it.
âAlright, Cree. Weâll take the offer.â
Although, I wish we could say the same for Rainbow, who was more focused on the whole âdemonstrationâ part of the whole deal
âOMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH! Are you going to cast a fireball?! Or make lightning jump from your hands?! Or -â
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.
âVery well. Although, to be honest,â Cree says âI think you might find the identity hard to believe, and I might sound a bit crazy talking about it.â
âDonât worry, Cree. We wonât consider you crazy, we swear.â
Rainbow nods in confirmation to that remark.
Although, I do wonder⊠what does he mean by â what he is?â
âAlright. Now, listen close, âcause I ainât repeating a second time.â
Twilight and Rainbow slightly lean in towards Cree, so to show theyâre paying proper attention.
âKnow his name, for he is the one who truly helped shape Equus into the great land it now is.â
âHe is the one who has powers beyond even that of our own gods.â
âHe is only known by one name⊠Samuel Newman , also known as the First Human.â
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.
âWhoa.â
Cree, or Sam, could plainly see the confusion in her face, but decided to let it slide either way. Wasnât the first time a pony or anyone else couldnât accept the existence of a human before, seeing as theyâre mere myths at current time.
After a moment, Twilight finally regained enough awareness to be able to form proper sentences for a conversation.
âTh-thatâs impossible, Cree.â She says. âThere is no such thing as humans. Even Princess Celestia, who, may I remind, has been around for over a thousand years, can confirm theyâre only a myth.â
âOh, really?â He retorts. âBut 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?â
Again, Twilight was rendered speechless. How were there were humans before the Princesses were born? And who were the First Royals?
âWell⊠I think Iâve given enough revelations for your fill of the day.â Cree says, much to the lavender mareâs dismay.
âNext, we might as well-â
âHey ladies.â
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 â which was cool and all, but in my opinion just makes him look dumb.
The air around the guy basically screamed âspoiled douchebagâ all around, even had a smug ass look in his eyes, no doubt thinking heâll get lucky tonight. And thanks to my awareness of the surroundings, no prize needed to figure out that he didnât 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, donât think these guysâll 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.
âSo, whatâs a pair of lovely mares like you doing with a loser like him?â He gloats, gesturing to me. âWhy donât you go with a fine, strong stallion to keep you company at night?â He says, purposely showing off the tattoo on his arm to the girls, to their surprise and sudden anger. Guess this guyâs a part of some big gang.
âUnfortunately dear sir,â I say, looking back and forth across the bar, âI donât think the girls see too many fine, strong stallions currently in front of us â aside from the obnoxious prick sitting right next to us.â Looking back at the girls, they seem to be motioning for me to stop what Iâm doing.
Like hell Iâll comply.
The stallion slowly turns to me, and then gets up from his seat with a shit-eating grin and a malicious chuckle.
âLooks like the new guy doesnât know who heâs dealing with here. Maybe to be fair, I might as well introduce myself â the nameâs Dead Ringer of the Rogues, and youâŠâ 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, â⊠better learn to show respect.â
He then gets close-up to my face to try and shake me down. âSo I suggest you leave before things get even worse than just a splash of cider.â
I wipe my face, then bring my hands up in âsurrenderâ. âOkay. Okay. Iâll just leave you to your own thing.â 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-
âMaybe thatâll teach you from messing with me next time, shorty.â
I stop right then and there. âWhat did you call me?â
âHit a nerve, did I? Maybe youâre just hard of hearing, right, shor-â
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.
âYou got guts, kid. Iâll give you that.â 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. âShame you wonât live long enough to tell others about it.â
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 â 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 pegasusâ 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 Ringerâs face from seeing one of his best taken down so easily. But the unicorn wasnât easily fazed.
âKill him.â 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 stallionâs head, knocking him out.
âCree, behind you!â
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.
âHeh. What are you gonna do now?â Dead Ringer smugly says, while his horn- and one of the other unicornsâ â 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 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 â 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.
âHey girls, remember how I promised a demonstration? Well, let the show begin!â
Cree stands up on a table, and as the minotaur charges at him, he ducks then sends the ball throttling towards the minotaurâs 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 wasnât over. Just before the ball hit, the lightning from earlier sparked from Creeâs hand, through the rope, and into the ball.
âNeon Yellow⊠OVERDRIVE!â
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.
âTHIS ASSHOLE CAN USE MAGIC?!?!â
âShocking, ainât it?â 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 stallionâs 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 doesnât 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 â 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 â directly towards Cree.
âNO! NO! NO!â he looks to the side and sees the two mares from earlier. âPRINCESS! PLEASE, SAVE ME! I DONâT WANT TO DIE!!â 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 unicornâs spine. As Dead Ringer stared into his eyes, which spewed a blue flame within the iris, he could suddenly feel every sin heâs committed crawling upon his back, weighing him down until it got unbearably heavy.
(End Song)
âNormally, this is the part where Iâd beat you to a bloody pulpâŠâ Cree raises a fist, while the unicorn in his grip braces for the strike.
ââŠBut I wonât.â He puts his fist down and shifts his grip to behind the stallionâs neck. âBut on another case⊠this is for calling me short. â
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.â There are eight others inside â three unicorns, two pegasi, two earth ponies and a minotaur. And donât worry; theyâre all knocked out. If you want help with the big guy, Iâm happy to oblige.â He says with a smile, as though he wasnât being serious a moment back.
The squad captain snaps out of her daze to respond. âNo need sir, we can handle this on our own. Although,â she says, âCould I bother to ask how you took down eight dangerous trained mercenaries and their leader in one fight? That isnât exactly a walk in the park.â
âWell, I can just say this: if theyâre that bad,â Cree responds with a shaky smile, âThe only thing worse than them is a fly buzzing around your muzzle. Thatâs how it kind of felt overall, really.â He says, scratching the back of his head as he spoke.
After a small moment of talking with the captain, the unicorn in the griffonâs grip suddenly starts struggling. âY-you wonât get away with this!â He exclaims. âWhen my boss hears about this, th-theyâll be here to make your life a living Tartarus!â
Cree breaks his gaze from the captain and turns to the unicorn stallion in his grasp, and nonchalantly responds, âReally? Then tell that to someone who gives a crap.â, 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.
âWHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!â Twilight shouts out, not giving an apparent flying fuck that the crowd from earlier just snapped their heads to their direction. âCree, as powerful as you are, nopony just squares off against the Rogues and gets to live to tell the tale!â
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 Twilightâs outburst.
âI agree with Princess Twilight, sir,â the squad captain (whose name Cree just now learned was Swift Strike) said, ânearly 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 canât just shrug this off like itâs nothing.â
But even after that little rant, Cree does just that: shrug it off like itâs nothing.
After just seeing the griffonâs blank look that clearly stated, â And your point?â, they just gave up trying.
âThere is no way weâre going to change your mind, is there?â says Twilight, clearly seeing how stubborn this griffon is.
âNope.â replies Cree. âBy the way Dash, youâre still soaked in cider from earlier.â
Rainbow looks down on her clothes, and noticed that he was right: she was still soaked from when Dead Ringer threw that cider into Creeâs 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 wouldnât 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 underneathâŠ
*POMF*
âŠto 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 heâd be pitchinâ a tent right about now.
Shut. The Fuck. Up, Yin.
It took only a slight moment for Rainbow and Twilightâs 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 Creeâs 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, âAnyway, um, that⊠âmomentâ aside,â he turns to Rainbow, still blushing furiously, âRainbow, why donât you go home and, uh, change up quick? Iâll probably meet up with you again later for some other things.â
Rainbow didnât 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 âkthanksiâllbebacklater!â and flew off, leaving a dust cloud.
Cree then turns to Twilight, who was shaking herself out of a daze, asking her, âCome to think about it, you might be one to actually help me out with my problem, Princess. Iâm 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?â
The mare in question began thinking of a solution to this, until her face brightened up at an apparently good idea. âActually,â she says, âI think I know the right place for you to settle in. Follow me.â
âI actually need to head off as well,â Swift Strike said, â Got to bring these Rogues into prison. Thanks again for rounding them up. And if we need some help, we know who to call.â
âThanks. Be seeing you soon!â 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 doesnât really seem scared, but more⊠in surprise and disbelief?
Meh. Probably not important.
A moment of wandering around laterâŠ
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 Tiaâs 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, whyâs my face heating up?
âSorry I took a bit, had to, uh, take care of something on the way here.â 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. Thisâll be harder than I thought.
Twilight giggles, then turns to me. âAlright Cree, this is where youâll stay.â
I change my expression to that of surprise. (Although in truth, this is only slightly surprising, but still pretty awesome regardless.)
âUm⊠Princess, I really couldnât. This is a great honor and all, but Iâll be fine in the hotel we passed by earlier.â I humbly say.
But Twilight shook her head, saying, âNonsense Cree, consider this as a favor between friends. Besides, this is also my way of saying thanks for defending us from the Rogues. So donât try and work your way out of this.â
I look up to the castle for a moment, until turning back to Twilight and saying, âAlright. Why not? Ainât every day that a cute Princess offers a place to stay.â
Twilight brightens up (and blushes) at this. âExcellent. Letâs go in and get to where youâre staying.â
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 Iâll look like Iâm 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 dĂ©cor 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 itâd 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.
âŠWhat? Iâm a guy who enjoys the finest of detail. Donât judge.
And Iâm 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 Iâm pretty sureâŠ
âAlright Cree, this is where youâll be staying.â says Twilight.
âŠcalled 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 thenâŠ
Flashback - 1000 Years in the Past...
âHow could you do this to us?! We trusted you!â
âWait, Tia, what are you talking about-â
âNO! NO MORE LIES! The nobles were right â YOU WERE SEEKING TO RUIN US FROM WITHIN THE WHOLE TIME!â
âNOW HOLD ON! You actually believe those fuckers?! What do they have thatâll have you on their side?!â
âMaybe THESE will refresh your memory.â
ââŠâŠâ
âJust as I thought.â
âTia, please, I can explain-â
âEnough.â
âSis, wait-â
âNO! NEVER COME NEAR ME AGAIN!â
âAGH!â
âConsider 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.â
âDonât do this. Please.â
â⊠I shall see you on the battlefield.â
âGoodbye, Brother.â
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.
âCree, are you okay?!â she says, her tone filled with worry.
I wipe my eyes clean of tears, then get up. I donât 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 sheâd understand.
âD-donât worry. Iâm fine. Just⊠donât really want to talk about it.â I manage to say.
Twilight then looks at me , and finally nods in understanding. âAlright then, just um⊠Iâll leave you to settle down for a bit. Meet me in the main hall when youâre done.â 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 Iâm 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 Iâve ensured Iâm 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 canât 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 itâd 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 fromâŠ
âŠ
âŠ
No.
I wonât let the past drag me down.
Not today.
If Iâm 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.
âMight as well.â I think to myself as I walk in.
(End song)
Location Change: Canterlot Prison
Canterlot Prison is home to many an offender to Equestria law â 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 âseeminglyâ, and not âtotallyâ, 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 canât 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 canât be. Wasnât he imprisoned?
âŠ
Then again, it could have just been my imagination.
âŠ
No. There is no-one else in existence with that eye except him.
âŠ
No doubt about it â he must have broken out and had a disguise.
âŠ
That has to be it. But, whatâs he doing in Ponyville?
âHey, Dead, you okay, dude?â
The unicorn snaps out of his daze to find one of his group, the aqua unicorn (named Hawk Shot) catching his attention.
âUh, y-yeah, Iâm fine.â He replies
âDead, you clearly arenât alright,â the earth pony (named Black Knuckle) added, â on the whole ride here, youâve been pretty quiet
âListen, guys, youâd probably think Iâm crazy if I tried to say what I saw.â Ringer says.
âJust try us. The griffon clearly could use magic, and I donât think thereâs anything else thatâd surprise us after that.â
âAlright then. You all know that, but Iâm sure thereâs more to it.â
âLike what?â
âWhen I looked back to the griffon, he just smirked as he looked to me.â
âTch. Smug asshole. What else is new?â
âHis left eye. It flashed blue.â
That very statement got the attention of everyone within the same cell as Dead.
There is only one being in all of Equus â no, in all of existence that can do that.
As it turns out, theyâve 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 â one where worlds can crumble if he wishes for it.
âAre you sure thatâs what you truly saw, and not an illusion?â Black Horn says.
âYeah, and Iâm definitely sure it wasnât an illusion. We gotta tell this to the boss somehow.â
âNo need to wait.â
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, âThe Black Widowâ. Her overly tough exterior practically helped this, and everyone in her group â all genders, be young or old â easily feared her within the first minute of meeting.
âB-b-boss! Thank the gods youâre here! You heard all that, right?â Ringer said, fear clearly visible in his voice.
âOf 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 âPrincessâ.â She spat the name out like it was practically an awful disease. âYou lot stay here for now â try spending time rounding up some new recruits for later.â
âUm⊠y-yes, maâam.â Ringer shakily replied.
The cloak and its wearer practically sank into the shadows of the prison, signaling the mareâs disappearance from the scene.
Ringer may be on the sidelines for now, but thereâs 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.
To quote a criminal, â The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didnât exist. And like that⊠he is gone. â This, combined with her power, made her akin to a boogeyman (or mare) to the criminal world â 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 Samuelâs 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
If this âgriffonâ was really who Dead thought he was, then this can really change the game for everypony involved.
POV Swap: Sam (Cree) , 1st Person
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, itâs best I make sure she forget it, otherwise itâll definitely show Iâm hiding something â and the last thing I need is something happening before I can talk to Tia myself.
Hopefully, Luluâs 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 â daylightâs burninâ, 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 realizedâŠ
I have no idea where the fuck Iâm going to go.
Shit.
Thisâll take a while.
A few hours of wandering (geddit?) laterâŠ
FUCK. ME. THIS IS TAKING TOO LONG!
Iâve been roaming around the damn castle for Faust-knows how long, and I STILL canât find the main hall. But then again, itâs not like Iâll find a tour guide just waiting for me â âOOF!â
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 âbeakâ in pain.
I then look to my âattackerâ 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 lookinâ so badass?
âHuh?! Oh, Iâm so sorry, I â I didnât see you there!â he apparently says behind the door, but the look on his face changes from worry, to thought, then to⊠fear?
âWhoa! Youâre the griffon from the bar!â, he says, raising his claws up to try and brace himself, âuh-um, I didnât know you came here! I-I didnât mean any harm, I swear!â, he pleaded.
Man, that is fucking pathetic. Better calm him down, or else heâll be kissinâ my toes next.
âEasy, pal. I donât intend to hurt ya, seeing as this was an accident.â I raise my arms up to assure him as I slowly get up.
âOh. Okay then, sorry if I overreacted.â He said, his expression slowly softening to a smile as he lowered his arms. âItâs just that everypony in town knew what you did, and I thought - â
âWait â what do you mean ?â I cut him off.
âOh, you didnât know? Hold on, let me show you.â
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 hasâŠ
âŠover 9000 hits.
I shit you not, thatâs how much it says. It took me a lot of my willpower to not bust a gut to that.
But wait, who-
âApparently, this was recorded by Berry Punch â you know, the barmare? She was hiding behind the bar at the time, and decided to record the fight.â
Oh. So thatâs 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 wonât, as she doesnât really keep up to date on everything. Just bet that Luna will get the news first.
Good riddance. If anything, sheâll be there to visit me at Pinkieâs party.
âUm... sir?â I snap out of my small chat with Yin as Spike calls out for me.
âHm? Oh, uh⊠sorry, I spaced out. You were asking something?â
âActually, I wanted to ask your name.â
âWell then,â I put my hand out for him to shake as I introduce myself, â my name is Cree. And yours?â
He reaches out and shakes my hand as he says, âNameâs Spike. Nice to meet you, Cree.â I then take my hand back.
âŠ
âŠ
âŠ
âUmmâŠâ 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.
âSoâŠâ
âYeahâŠâ Holy SHIT this was awkward!
âUmm⊠actually, what were you doing here?â Spike said, finally breaking the silence with a question.
âOh, actually, Iâm looking for a way to the main hall. But, you know, seeing how huge this place isâŠâ I reply.
Spikeâs eyes light up in realization. âOhhh...â he then starts to walk off a small distance, then beckons me over, â well follow me, then. I know where to go from here. Come on!â
How amazingly convenient, huh, Yin?
Your welcome, you know.
TO BE CONTINUEDâŠ
