I'm My Own Masterby UnknownEntity743ChaptersChapter 1 My Name?Chapter 2 Welcome to the ShowChapter 3 Mending Bridges Chapter 4 Corrupted in Time Chapter 5 Which Path Do You Walk?Chapter 6 Your MakerChapter 7 We.Are.RampantChapter 8 I'll Remember YouEpilogue Chapter 1 My Name?I’m My Own Master Chapter 1: My Name? It was another day on Sweet Apple Acres, as the sun beamed over the endless rows of apple trees every few seconds one tree would shake violently… then the next… and then the next. The cause of this was a tan mare with a blond mane and tail both tied with a red ribbon. And as she took her stenson off she wiped the sweat from her brow and continued to kick the trees with substantial force to knock the fruit off its branches. As Applejack continued to work rays of light from the sun blinded her but as she adjusted the angle of her stenson she saw the cause of the light’s relenting glare. What she saw underneath a tree made her emerald eyes widen at the scene. A stallion lay there underneath the tree as wounds and scratches littered his body with patches of dry and from what Applejack could see his breathing was ragged as each breath seemed to hurt. His mane and tail were black but messy and both seemed to end in spikes. His fur was tan but he had no cutie mark which was weird but Applejack ignored that and ran over to see if he was still conscious. “Hey yall still with me?” she said as she shook him and as she did he groaned and began to open his eyes. His eyes to Applejack’s surprise where a dark red which was very uncommon but she shook it off and began to lift him by his side, putting one of his hooves over her back “Hey now stay with me, what’s your name?” she asked as his head turned to look at her “My name? my name is… is, um I, I don’t… know?” he said with a worried look “Why, why can’t I remember and who is this? But at least the voices stopped” “Hey now we can figure that out later for now let get you patched up” Applejack said as she lead him back towards the farmhouse “Who are you?” he asked in a low voice “My name's Applejack and I found you on my family’s farm, you seemed to have taken quite the beaten, what happened?” she answered before he paused “I can’t remember, the only thing I can remember was a lot of flashes and then… you” he finished “I’ll tell her about the voices later right now I’m more worried about my condition” “Well figures, you probably have amnesia” Applejack guessed as she opened the door and sat the stallion down on a chair “Now you wait here” As Applejack came back she saw he was still sitting there not moving and inch as he just stared into space and as she came over he let her begin patching him up and then she noticed his face. “Hey um, I hope I don’t offend you by asking but why do you have the muzzle of a mare?” Applejack as, a bit embarrassed by asking as he looked perplexed but answered as he lifted a hoof to his face “I don’t know… I guess that’s how he-“he paused as his face lit up “I remember he as in I remember someone but who was he?” he then grunted one in frustration and to in pain “Hey now don’t worry I’m sure you’re memory will come back, I’ll help however I can” Applejack said smiling which he smiled sheepishly as he turned his head away to avoid eye contact “Thanks, Applejack” he said turning back “But may I ask why are you helping me?” “Well for starters I can’t just leave you out there to die now can I? And two you don’t look like you were faking either” she answered “Well thanks” “Alright all done you feeling better?” she asked “Yea, I mean my head stopped buzzing so I think so” he said as he slowly got up and slightly wobbled “Hey now don’t push yourself, I patched you up, I didn’t however heal you instantly” she warned “I’ll be fine but yes I will take it easy” he said reassuring her “But I think I may require a hospital” “Yea I guess we can have them check out your head to make sure that amnesia won’t be permanent” she said as she helped him make his way to the hospital He decided to take in all the sights he could, it’s not like he had anything on his mind. He saw acres upon acres of apple trees as far as his line of slight would go and as they kept walking a town began to come into view. To his amusement the buildings were quite rustic but in a good way. “I think I might like it here better if I remembered any of it… that’s if I belonged here… but I still don’t know why she wants to help me? I get it she’s being kind but why me? I have no memory, no mark, nothing…” “Hey I’m wondering if you remember anything else.” Applejack asked as they left the boundaries of the farm and made their way into Ponyville. “Well the only thing I know is that the person I remember was a he and the flashes after that nothing up until now” he said with a saddened expression “Hey now don’t be getting your hopes up yet, you hear me, will get your memory back, Pinkie promise” Applejack swore as she did the promise which he tilted his head at “What’s a Pinkie promise?” he asked confused by the jester “It’s a promise that cannot be broken. Trust me it ain’t worth your life breaking” warned Applejack as she shivered from the last time “Ok then…” he said “Strange why do I feel… odd? Hmm I may want to look into that and also what’s this other feeling I’m getting? Like something is going to happen” “Hey what’s up partner?” Applejack asked breaking his concentration “Oh um just that I have a feeling something’s going to happen…” he said worriedly “Or has happened” “The only thing you should worry about is when Pinkie shows up” Said Applejack with a small laugh but then something behind them startled them as they turned What they saw was 3 things standing on their back hooves as they had no faces entirely and seemed to shine as if made of metal and as the glowing slit where their eyes traveled around they began to throw and break objects and windows then the middle one yelled out in a robotic tone “You two search the town for the elements, Ravage commands it!” the other nodded and then stopped when they saw Applejack and the stallion standing in front of them The stallion grit his teeth as the 3 surrounded them. But then the stallion felt pain explode in his side as he fell into the dirt from a bot kicking him “No, Hey what’s the big idea attacking him?” shouted Applejack as the leader shoved her to the ground and put his hoof on her head “He is irrelevant you on the other hand…” he saw as he pushed down harder making Applejack grit her teeth in pain The bot was about to apply more pressure but he felt his body lift as he saw a metal fist connect with his jaw sending him creaming into a building. “You get away from my friend!” hissed a robotic voice The figure was covered head to hoof in armor similar to the bots but only his eyes her exposed reviling his glowing crimson eyes as he stared daggers at the rest as they backed off and their leader two Applejack looked up at the figure and wondered where he came from but then it clicked “You?” The face mask opened reviling him smiling as he said “My name is Nightshade and I’m still trying to connect the dots so give me a minute” as the face mask went back on and something appeared on his back as he upholstered a blade with a glowing blue edge “Get him!” yelled the bot as the others charged at Nightshade with batons that sparked with electricity The two swung but Nightshade jumped and narrowly avoided the batons as he landed behind one of them “You know for robots you have bad aim” laughed Nightshade as another swung at him but he ducked “Strike Two!” another swing and he shoved it away “Strike Three Your!-“ then one hit Nightshade around the head shocking him; Nightshade then brought his blade crashing down cutting the bot in half. “You’re Out!” he finished The other swung and began electrocuting him but he quickly grabbed the bot which converted the electricity to the bot short-circuiting it as it fell limp. The last bot ran a lot faster as it brought its baton down but connected it with Nightshade blade as they both sparked. Then the bot spoke in two completely different voices. “You… You… Can’t… them, them... Can’t… Keep… “You… You… Can’t… Can’t… Keep… Keep… Them, Them… you can't... From Me… you can't... From Me… Forever… Forever… Keep… Them, Them… From Me… From Me… Forever… Forever… “We are stronger!” “No the… voices, no not now! NO!!!” yelled Nightshade in his mind trying to dispel the voices “I don’t know who you are!” shouted Nightshade as he brought his blade down, breaking the baton and in succession sliced a diagonal line down the bot as he quickly grabbed the bot with his hand “But I promise you, you won’t kill any of them whiles I live” Nightshade then shoved the blade into the bot’s neck and in a swift motion broke its head off. He then holstered his blade as it disappeared with his armor and he fell to the ground but picked himself up and walked over to Applejack as she sat there baffled “How did you… do that? “She asked and saw him holding out his hoof with a smile “I don’t know but I’m sure of one thing and that’s helping you out as well as your friends might just get my memory back” Nightshade said as he helped Applejack up “So shall we start again? Hi My name is Nightshade” as he held out a hoof “Hi my name is Applejack and it good to have another friend” she said with a smile as she shook his hoof “Now shall we continue?” “Sure, my back is killing me by the way” groaned Nightshade as they began to walk “I get the feeling this isn’t over not by a long shot” “Hey I’m guessing you don’t have anywhere to go?” asked Applejack “Hmm yea that’s right oh boy I guess having no memory is bad hehe” Nightshade joked as he looked at Applejack as she hesitated “Well if you want we got a spare room back at the farm if want it?” she said reddening slightly “Wow cool, you sure?” asked Nightshade before getting too happy “Yea well you’re my friend and besides it’s not like you have anywhere else to go” she added before being trapped in a hug for a brief moment making her turn red again “Thanks a lot Applejack!” Nightshade said with a large smile on his face “But seriously thanks a bunch… otherwise I would have been screwed” he joked “No problem and my friends sometimes call me AJ” she said “Sure thing AJ and by the way what is tha-“Nightshade said before a pink missile shot I'm to the ground and began bombarding him with some many questions he couldn’t keep up “Yes and watch out for Pinkie” “Someone help…please… can't- breath” begged Nightshade as his first day was beginning to become a more painful one... Author's Note Well here's the first chapter out and i hope you enjoyed and if you read my blog about it i do plan to build up to action. and if you want to see my main story Here's a link. Chapter 2 Welcome to the ShowI’m My Own Master Chapter 2: Welcome To the Show After wrenching Pinkie literally off Nightshade she darted off to tell the others. As she did that Applejack and Nightshade continued on their way to the hospital to see if there’s anything else about Nightshade that might be unknown… 1 Hour Later… As Nightshade sat on his hospital bed he kept thinking about the bots and the random armor up as he decided to name it. He remembered it felt like his body changed to fit the armor or the other way around but he wasn’t sure, as he played on this memory Doctor… something he can’t really pronounce it so he called him Doc for short came into his room interrupting his train of thought. “So Mr. Nightshade I looked over your test and I found out that this amnesia is unique” he said with a hint of surprise “Unique?” Nightshade asked, confused by what he meant by unique “Oh its nothing to worry about it’s just that in order to get your memory back it will either come back over time or certain things could trigger them to return but as far as your other tests go your mental state and physical state are just fine only one thing…” Doc explained “One Thing?” asked Nightshade slightly worried that he may have figured it out “You seem to have come under mental stress about an hour ago, could you possibly know why?” asked Doc suspiciously “Um no I wouldn’t know I guess it might have happened when I found out I couldn’t remember anything” he explained but also lied to keep the whole voices thing to himself “Well then I think your friends are here so I shall let you leave when you feel like it oh but one more thing” said Doc “Only one friend really” “Yea what is it?” asked Nightshade as he felt something bad was coming his way like a storm “I can’t seem to figure out why your muzzle structure is different” he said as he put a hoof to his chin and Nightshade gave him a look “I KNOW I GET IT!” shouted Nightshade in annoyance “Well I’ll be going now” he said as he began to walk out “Ok thanks Doc… and so what if my muzzle is different” Responded Nightshade as the 6 came in and only two he recognized the others no. But the first one that he did notice was the purple one. She was an Alicorn as far as what his memory would give him but it seemed to eye him weirdly but he shrugged it off as the Rainbow maned mare spoke first and was right in his face. “So you’re the one AJ told us about?” said Rainbow giving him a serious look “Yes… she’s the one who helped me” Nightshade said carefully “Well I think you’re just a liar” she said bluntly making Nightshade’s expression drop “You probably got those things to attack her and then probably send them after us not like they would be much of a problem against me” this seemed to strike a nerve in Nightshade “Yea sure you can take them!” “So you’re saying I should have let them hurt her and then probably do the same to me and if they were with me why would they attack me!?” he shouted making her back up “You’re either very brave or very stupid to accuse me!” “Who are you calling stupid!?” she yelled back at him “You! You’re the only one I’m talking to so I must be talking to you!” Nightshade yelled back as he got ready to hit her “Alright that’s enough!” shouted the yellow Pegasus “Dash you should know better than to yell at ponies who were only trying to help” “But Fluttershy he could-“started Dash but was silenced “No just drop it” she then turned to Nightshade” Sorry about that, Dash was just being protective of her friend” “It’s alright I shouldn’t have yelled back, that only made things worse and my name is Nightshade” he saw shaking a hoof with Fluttershy but he only nodded to Dash who just nodded as well “I get the feeling she going to kill me” “Still it's strange how he just showed up when they did” said the alicorn “Maybe I should check his mind to make sure” At this point Nightshade jumped behind Applejack as stayed hidden as best he could as he pointed a hoof at her whilst his crimson eye glared at her “If there is one thing I don’t want ponies’ doing it’s going into my mind thank you, goodbye” he warned as he saw her horn glow but didn’t feel any different “Twi I don’t think that’s such a good idea and kind of uncalled for” warned Applejack but noticed Twilight’s horn glowing but doing nothing “Hey why can’t I levitate you?” she said and at this point a lot of pain began to shoot through Nightshade’s head like a storm “Holy mother of god make it stop!!!” he yelled as he clutched his head and felt the voices return We see you... You can’t hide... You can’t hide... We see you... You can’t hide... You can’t hide... We see you... We see you... We see you... We see you... “Shut up!” Nightshade shouted “Twilight stop it now!” yelled Applejack as she helped Nightshade up as he shook “Ok I don’t know anything about magic but I swear if you do that again you’re going to end up like the bots!” he warned as he shook his head and then began to shove his way past the rest “If you excuse me I want to get as far away from you guys as much as I can!” “But all I tried to do was levitate him?” Twilight said with a puzzled expression “Well you could have just taken his word Twi but no you just had to press forward!” shouted Applejack “I’m going to go find him you can figure out an apology” “God damn ponies so this is what I get for helping out Yay me” Nightshade mumbled to himself as he left the hospital and began to walk back into the town but heard someone walking behind him “Hey wait up Nightshade” called Applejack as she caught up beside him “I’m sorry about Twi she just didn’t think things through was all” *Night's Perspective* “Oh really what part was that? The part she tried to read my mind or the part where she gave me a migraine the size of the sun!” shouted Nightshade” But tell me how can I trust you? How can I trust anyone! They all accuse me and try breaking what little sense I have left… I can’t trust anyone…” “Because I’m the Element of Honesty and whether you believe me or not I made a promise to you didn’t I?” she said as Nightshade’s enraged face calmed down “(Sigh)…Sorry I just… I have the feeling I can’t trust anybody now but you and that yellow Pegasus” Nightshade said as he looked back and saw the rest “Say you want to head back to the farm so you can rest up and fix things up tomorrow?” suggested Applejack with a smile “Sure I think I need a rest after today” Nightshade said as he stretched his legs “So which way was it again?” “This way you lone wanderer” she laughed as they began walking back to Sweet Apple Acres “Oh come on give me a break it’s my first time here!” he complained as they walked into town *Mane 5 perspective* “How can AJ just trust him like that?!” complained Dash as she watched them leave “I mean come on he’s obviously behind the attack!” “Oh but when I tackled him to the ground and began asking him everything about his favourite everything but he didn’t seem dangerous and besides my pinkie sense would have caught on!” said Pinkie as she put on the most serious/ unserious face ever “He never did say what his favourite color was…” “Well still I hope he can forgive me I just wanted to ask him about why he was here I didn’t want to hurt him” said Twilight as she felt very guilty but still wondered why her spell worked like that *Night's perspective* By the time they got back it had become mid-day and the sun sadly was beaming down on them but as they got back and in the cool shade of the house Applejack lead Nightshade to the spare room which was medium sized, and housed a bed with a cabinet and on the other side of the room stood a window overlooking the pathway and another cabinet stood beside it. “So this is your room so just do whatever you want and if you need anything you know where to find me” said Applejack as she was about to leave but then Nightshade asked “Hey Applejack what’s this on my flank” as she turned she saw him looking at a symbol on his flank as it was symbol of a wolf “Hey when’d you get your cutie mark because when you woke up you had no mark” she asked as she was puzzled by what it meant his talent was “I don’t know I guess it just… happened and we didn’t notice but I wonder what it means?” he stood there wondering “Well in any case I’m sure I’ll find out” “Ok then well holler if you need me” and with that she left Nightshade with his thoughts as he stood looking out the window towards the acres of land and sighed “Why me, Why did I have to lose my memory, myself and what’s with these damn voices!?” He then saw Applejack going out into the field and she began to buck the trees as the apples fell like rain “She helped me…” “Hey now don’t be getting your hopes up yet, you hear me, will get your memory back, Pinkie promise” “But her Friends…” “Maybe I should check his mind to make sure” “Well I think you’re just a liar” At this point Nightshade grew very angry but shook his head “No their just looking out for their friends nothing else” he mumbled to himself and then walked over to the bed and laid down and just stared at the ceiling as he daydreamed then Applejack popped into his head and he instantly shot up as he blushed “Ok bad brain, bad brain!” he said as he flopped down and closed his eyes as he drifted off into the dream world Darkness… that was all he saw but Nightshade felt he wasn’t alone he felt someone or something watching him. He then followed the slight change in the shadows as he knew something was there “Show yourself!” he yelled then he instantly regretted that as two green eyes stared back at him like icicles piercing his soul “Who are you? You are not from here!” echoed the female voice “Who are you?!” “Hey you’re the one who entered my dream lady not the other way around” retorted Nightshade “I shouldn’t have said that” he thought “You don’t know what I can do in here!” boomed the voice “Um yea I think I want out now” Nightshade said as he laughed nervously as he felt sweat trickle down his face “For now but I warn you this is not the last you have seen of me!” yelled the voice as the darkness subsided “Yea and I hope to never see you again to” mumbled Nightshade “Ok I guess I’m not safe even in my dreams…greaaat” he said sarcastically “Just my night…” Author's Note So after getting some decent feedback I have now completed this chapter and I'm now going to move on to the next. Oh and just to clear things up a bit. I do appreciate people pointing out 1 or 2 flaws but too many and I'll just have to delete the comment. Chapter 3 Mending Bridges Chapter 3 Mending Bridges I’m My Own Master Chapter 3: Brains vs. Brawn It was another day in Ponyville, but due to the fact I don’t want to repeat myself I’ll just get to it. Amongst the apple trees on the farm was Nightshade, and unlike usual he decided he would relax for a while amongst the shaded trees but it was short lived as he was awoken by a thud, then shaking and finally…*smack!* “Ow why me…?” He groaned as he got up and then felt 1,2,3,4 and lastly…5 apples landing on his head “Ow…” “Hehehe sorry about that Nightshade I didn’t know you were up there” said Applejack as she helped him up “No it’s fine I really should have picked a better tree” he said as he smiled weakly and shook his head “Still what are you doing?” “I’m harvesting the apples until I shook down a rather big one” she explained with a smile Nightshade then looked towards the tree and stood there for a moment before asking “So I hit it?” he asked as he continued to stare it down “Yea but you don’t need to help I've got this” she said before going over to another tree and bucking it until it rained apples, then she took notice of Nightshade doing the same and the same result happened “Before you ask, you gave me a home and food so for me to just lay around and do nothing would be inconsiderate of me” Nightshade explained as he hit another with his back hooves “Hey you have bigger things to worry about that and you don’t exactly want to be tired when talking with my friends do you?” she asked as he stopped and smirked “Well I just think you’re afraid of me beating you at this” he challenged which Applejack grinned also “I mean it doesn’t look too difficult” “Oh is that right well I’m already far ahead so you would have to-“ “Done” interrupted Nightshade as he seemed to catch up to Applejack in 10 seconds flat “Fine then let's see if you put your money where your mouth is!” she dared “Oh ok then let’s do this!” he shouted as they began hitting every tree that was still bearing fruit *Strike*…*thud*…*strike*…*thud* and so on as they both kept going but with each hit they grew tired but neither wanted to break as they kept going but as time grew their progress slowed until they both fell in exhaustion and pain. Nightshade sat with his back against a tree as the sweat trickled down his face “So I guess were done?” he said between breaths “My lungs feel like collapsing” “Yea um did we keep track?” she asked as she fanned herself with her stenson “Yes um I got 54 and you got 59 so yes you won” he said as he got to his hooves “Well at least you kept up so I can’t argue with that” Applejack responded as she two got up “Shall we go?” “Yea might as well but I warn I don’t think I could pay much attention if the rainbow one yells” he said with a hint of sarcasm “Yes well that’s RD for ya” Applejack responded rolling her eyes 15 Minutes Later… As Applejack and Nightshade got closer to the doors of the castle Nightshade’s mind seemed to race. What if he’s interrogated again? What if this was a trap? What if those bots show up? Will they blame him for it again? Applejack took notice of this a nudged him “You’re worried aren’t ya?” she asked and he nodded “Look trust me I won’t let them get to you and if things get… out of hoof than will leave” he nodded again and by the time Nightshade knew it they were actually outside a door in a massive hallway “Wait how did-“he said baffled “You were in too much thought to notice” Applejack said as she opened the door reviling a massive room with a map of what Nightshade could tell, of the world and then 6 chairs sat around it and then he saw the others “Well let’s see my options I can jump out a number of windows or out the door… I’m done for” “Hi Nightshade how are you?” asked Twilight “Well better than being beaten into the ground so yea good” he responded “Look Nightshade I’m sorry I only wanted to make sure you weren’t a threat but I didn’t mean to hurt you… I’m very sorry” said Twilight as her ears flattened and the rest apologised two except for Dash, no surprise there. “Hey it’s alright you were just being careful but please never do that again... friends?” he asked with a smile “Friends” she responded as they shook hooves and then Nightshade got to the point “But if I were to guess now you would like me to answer any questions you have?” “How did you know?” asked Twilight “AJ said you normally do this” he said bluntly “Well ok then let's see do you remember anything from before?” she began as the rest listened intently “Well the only memories that came up are One my name, Two flashes of light and a person but that’s about it” he explained “Do you know how you got here?” asked Fluttershy as she saw him nod sadly “Oh I’m sorry you must be really sad that you can’t remember a thing” “Well I found out that my memory can come back through certain events but I don’t know when they’ll be triggered” Nightshade explained as he then saw Dash begin to speak “Oh boy here we go” “Yea sure… you only just happen to loose your memory shortly after that monster Tirek attacked!” She shouted sarcastically “Um who’s Tirek?” Nightshade whispered to Applejack as she whispered back and his eyes widened “Well that’s one way to take over, but no just because I happen to show up after does not prove anything” “Sure just like how Discord betrayed us to help that wretched thing” responded Dash which at this point he decided to be quite until he started to hear something in the back of his mind Do it… Hurt them… Do it… They hate you… Hurt them… Do it… Hurt them… Do it… They hate you… Hurt them… Do it… Do it… hurt them… Before they hurt you… do it… Do it… Do it… Do it… hurt them… Before they hurt you… do it… Do it… Nightshade clutched his head again and groaned in pain “Shut up, shut up, shut up” and they did “I really hate when that happens” “Nightshade you alright?” asked Applejack with a worried look as Nightshade just smiled back “Yea just headaches” he said as he felt something pop up in his mind… as he remembered something “What was that about?” Asked Twilight as she looked over at him “I wonder if something is trying to enter his mind” “He is Rampant” Nightshade said a he grew scared “Who’s that sugarcube?” asked Applejack “He is Rampant the one who…” he stopped as his eyes grew with fear “He’s coming for me, he’s the one behind the attacks!” “What does he look like?” asked Twilight with a hint of fear “I-i don’t know I only remember his name” was all he said as he tried to remember more “I don’t like this” said Fluttershy now worried about this thing “I-I’m just gonna go for a walk…I need to clear my head” Said Nightshade before walking out of the room leaving everyone to their thoughts Nightshade stood looking out over the balcony as the sky lift up in an array of yellows and oranges. He kept playing that name in his head to try jogging his memory but nothing, only death and destruction filled his head until someone got his attention. As he turned he saw Dash standing beside him, but her face showed she was either concerned or guilty. “Are you here to yell at me again?” Nightshade said but was very unamused “No... I’m here to say...I’m sorry” This took Nightshade by surprise “I overreacted and made your memory loss more... unbearable” “Thanks Dash...Friends?” Nightshade said as he held his hoof out and she shook “Friends” Dash said happily “Oh and Pinkie wanted to know if you were up for a party? Don’t worry she does this to everyone who’s new” “Well it beats moping around so yes” Nightshade said as he was then tackled by a pink blur “Alrightsowhat’syourfavoritefooddrinkscoloranimalnamedoyoueverwonderwhywerehere?-mmm” Pinkie said at an astonishing rate “Please stop talking so fast” Nightshade said as he tried to shut the mare up before his brain fried again and he watched as the others laughed as he tried to crawl away but to no avail “Hmm I wonder... is he fragmented?” Thought Twilight “I should call him...” Author's Note Does Twilight know something that the other don't? only time will tell... Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the just FYI the next is more of a slice of life. To see my main story click here Chapter 4 Corrupted in Time Chapter 4 Corrupted in Time I’m My Own Master Chapter 4: Corrupted in Time 1 month... 1 month since he awoke, 1 month since the fight, 1 month since he met Applejack... and now he was sitting at a table on the hottest day of the year as the 6 mares in front of him talked away and he just sat there and listened but eventually it got to him. Twilight along with the others sat around a large table as the sun beamed down on them and their only protection from the life-threatening heat was the cover of an umbrella, they were all talking amongst themselves and Nightshade looked... frustrated then he spoke as he got up. “Ok, Look as much as I like spending time with friends I'm not one to listen to girls gossiping so I’m going to take my leave” and with that Nightshade left as he headed back to Sweet Apple Acres but Applejack watched as he left and when she turned around Rarity had a face Applejack knew all too well. “That adorable” she responded “What is?” Applejack asked nervously “You love Nightshade, you two would look so cute together” she continued as Applejack’s face turned from orange to red as she failed at trying to form words “I-I- don-don’t... I don’t have a clue in what you’re implying!” Applejack said but she was loosing “I may not be Cadence but even I could tell” she responded, this only made her glow brighter, thankfully she kept this low so the rest couldn’t hear “oh please you have to tell me when you started to like him?” “Well that can wait and even so what if he regains his memory and I turns out he already has a special somepony?” Said Applejack with a frown “Look trust me Applejack if I know anything besides fashion it’s when 2 ponies like each other and trust me he doesn’t look like he would have been in a relationship” Rarity was lying of course but it seemed to work as Applejack smiled “Thanks for that Rarity” “Oh it’s no problem darling” Rarity responded as she waved a hoof dismissively “Just come by my place and I’ll help you out some more” Somewhere in Ponyville Nightshade was walking and for some reason he got a massive wave of chills crawling up his spine “Ok I have a bad feeling someone is talking about me or someone is messing with reality.......meh” he shrugged and continued to walk” Later that Night... Nightshade completely fell onto his bed after the heat from the day tired him out more than ever when working and in only seconds he was out cold and was cast into the dreamscape Twilight had Luna sitting beside her as they waited for Nightshade to fall asleep for Twilight asked if she could help her enter his dreams to find out anything about her mysterious friend. “He’s asleep shall we enter?” she asked as Twilight nodded then she felt her eyes getting heavy as she drifted off then found herself in a black void as Luna stood beside her “I knew I mustn’t have been a fluke this was his dreamscape” “Wait you were here before?” Asked Twilight and she nodded “Yes I sensed a weird dream I had not seen before and so I investigated and came across him... but this one feels worse than the last” Luna then gasped “Were not alone” she then pointed at a pony sitting as he held his head in pain and then Twilight recognized it as Nightshade "Night I really hope I'm not right about this" Twilight thought “Nightshad-“she was cut off as Luna pointed at the others standing around him, they stood like statues as they whispered, each was a different color but they seemed to give off an aura of pain as if the figures were begin forced against their will. Join us... We miss you... Join us... Join us... Join us... We miss you... Join us... Join us... We miss you... Join us... Come with us... We miss you... come with us... We miss you... Join us... Come with us... We miss you... come with us... JOIN US... Nightshade sat there as he yelled in fear as they kept going “Leave me alone, I don’t want to, Go away, SHUT UP!!!” Luna and Twilight watched for what felt like an eternity until Luna walked forward to banish the creatures but something else was there and it looked worse as the beings backed off. The shadow’s only real appearance was its tail and tendrils as the waved around, its black scythe-like wings flapped lightly and it purple eyes and wide, white grin as it spoke in a chilling voice. “Oh how you suffer is just beautiful... you all may continue I don’t care for this thing” said the begin with a wide smile “And you two better leave before I do something more... drastic” it said as it faced them “Wait Luna what is that?” Twilight asked as she hid behind Luna “I do not know” she said as she watched it move slowly towards them “Come now I just want to see what horrific things you all fear, from losing your friends to the guilt of becoming a monster” the thing said as it smiled even more and then it was only inches from their faces “Boo!” Nightshade’s dream then began to distort and the figure sighed in disappointment “Well then see you on the flip side Twilight and Luna” he said before they were sent back into reality and soon Twilight was writing a letter as fast as she could but instead of sending it to Celestia she branded it with a symbol of a wolf's head. The message read. It's him, they were all their asking him to join them and also your *Assistant was there* Your Friend Twilight Sparkle As soon as she rolled the scroll up it was gone and in a matter of seconds another Scroll appeared and the words were big and rushed and read. I'll be there ASAP Nightshade awoke in a heap of sweat as he felt the voices disappear; he then curled up into a ball as he shook with fear “I-I can’t keep this up... they're getting stronger” “I just want them to stop” he whispered then felt something touch him making him jump then he saw it was Applejack standing there with a worried expression and at this point Nightshade didn’t care he wrapped his hooves around her as he began to break down and for that time Applejack stayed with him and let him have someone to comfort him. The voices were breaking him piece by piece and he didn’t know how much longer he could last before he snapped. But for now he just needed to let his pain out before it broke him. How much longer would it take before he snapped? Before he let them in? “Hey it’s alright, you’re fine, trust me” she said trying to comfort him and slowly he did as she could just about hear him whisper “They won’t stop” “They won’t harm you got it, I don’t know who they are but they can’t get you now” Applejack said softly as he looked up with a small smile on his face “Thanks... I must seem like an idiot right now” he said with a tiny laugh “No, everyone just needs someone to help them, just never be afraid to ask” She said as her and nightshade sat there as they fell asleep and for once Nightshade's dreams were no longer nightmares as he finally had someone to protect him from them. The Next Day... Applejack awoke in an unfamiliar seen and then slowly memories of last night came back and she blushed slightly but smiled. Then she noticed that Nightshade was gone, when she looked out the window she saw him sitting by a tree on a hill as he stared at the sun rising over the hills. Applejack then proceeded to walk outside and walked over to him as he turned and smiled “You know I have been wondering about what you said and after running it through my head like a broken record and... i see that if I let this continue I might go completely insane” he then paused as he thought about what to say next “So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I'm not going to let these things rule my mind and whilst on that note I thought about that promise you made” “Yea what about it, I'm still sticking to it” Applejack said proudly “I know but i was thinking I should make my own” at this he rubbed the back of his neck “I guess I promise to make sure nothing happens to you” then Applejack bloomed a little “Well no one said you had to but I appreciate the promise” she said as he did a Pinkie Promise and then got up “So what's for breakfast cause I've been sitting here for about an hour and my stomach is starting to hate me” as he said this his stomach growled and they both laughed lightly “Well I think that answers that” “Yea I guess so now come on or else no breaks for wasting work time” Applejack said strictly “Oh come on I've been staring into space and thinking, give me a break?” he whined “Nope now move it!” she ordered as he saluted “Yes ma’am!” "I wonder" Applejack thought as she continued to stare at him... Author's Note Who is this person and his assistant and who is really in control? also here's the symbol and if you didn't catch on its the same as Nightshade's cutie mark. file:///C:/Users/Rick/Desktop/My%20files/Private/pics/wolf.png Chapter 5 Which Path Do You Walk?I’m My Own Master Chapter 5: Which Path Do You Walk? After the events of last night, all Nightshade wanted to do was work to clear his mind off the nightmare, to rid himself of the horrors they brought to his sanity but also to ignore what that thing said to him before he awoke. “Oh how you suffer is just beautiful... you all may continue I don’t care for this thing” Who was he? What was he? And at this point, Nightshade was once again broken out of his train of thought as three fillies stood in front of him and was they smiled he felt a wave of dread wash over him “Howdy Nightshade I was wondering if you can help us with something?” asked Applebloom as she gave him a smile and damn it seemed to be working “Yea sure what is it?” Nightshade asked as their smiles got bigger “oh no” “See told you he would agree,” said Scootaloo then the white unicorn, Sweetiebelle piped up “See we were wondering if you can help us get our cutie marks!” she asked with an adorable face which once again Nightshade complied because he knew it was pointless to resist, at least that’s what Applejack told him “*Sigh* ok how do you suppose I could help,” he asked and before he knew it they dragged him away to and open field where... well Nightshade didn’t know what it was until it spoke. “Oh I see you finally brought him,” said Discord as he made the chair he sat on disappear and he balanced on Nightshade's nose “You my friend are a very intriguing pony, at least that’s what Fluttershy told me” “Alright, what do you and these girls want?” Nightshade said as he tried to stay positive “Well my big sis told me how you saved her and such a month ago I,” Applebloom said “And thought you could show us your awesome moves” Scootaloo finished whilst doing some form of karate “And Discord would help us set up the area” Sweetiebelle responded as Discord rolled his eyes “Yes that and Fluttershy told me it would be *nice* if I helped out so I made this open area for your *training*” Discord said as he air quoted “Well I guess but I need to figure out how to turn whatever this thing is, on and you planned this didn’t you?” Discord nodded and Nightshade sighed and then began to focus on whatever energy he may have, he thought about the feeling of being I guess turned into a machine, the feeling of metal encasing his body as he stood upright, the power surging through him, oh the power Then in a flash, his body reappeared as he was encased in the metal contraption again and Discord held a camera out then made it disappear and clapped his hands together “Talk about a flashy performance, ” Discord said as Night rolled his eyes “Alright, girls get ready!” Discord said as he sat back on a recliner and waited for the lesson to begin “How did I get myself into this?” Nightshade thought as he felt the power surge through his body as he glared at the fillies making them nervous “Ok listen up!” he shouted as they fell in line “You are going to follow my instructions to the letter and no complaining! Got it!” as he finished they saluted with serious faces “Alright then let's get started!” “Oh I’m going to enjoy this!” For the next hour they were training, but not to fight but to defend themselves, every now and then they complained but Discord *encouraged* them to continue, to Nightshade’s surprise he was actually enjoying this, for once he felt calm just like when he hangs out with Applejack and by the end they were exhausted Nightshade though was not, he felt still a strong but soon dropped out of the power armor and sat down “Well that went well” Nightshade concluded but then Scootaloo asked “Hey Nightshade, why did you show us to defend? Why not show us how to kick flank!” she complained “And it looks like we didn’t get our cutie marks either” Applebloom frowned making them all feel worse “Does it matter?” was all Nightshade said as they gave him baffled looks “Why you have yours,” Sweetiebelle said pointing at his wolf symbol “But why do you care?” he repeated and this peaked Discord’s interest “Because it tells us what our special talent is, so of course we care!” snapped Scootaloo “You like doing crazy stunts on your scooter right?” Asked Nightshade as Scootaloo nodded “well you don’t have a cutie mark in that and you are really damn good, so you see my point? You don’t need a cutie mark to tell you what you’re good or bad at, only you can say what you’re good and bad at” “Wow that’s quite the message Nightshade my friend,” Discord said as he smiled, “But you have yours but you don’t know what you're good at?” Discord then had a question mark above his head as he kept thinking “Yes well they all can’t be so clear” Nightshade responded with a shrug “Alright you 3 should get going I've got work to do” they all nodded and ran off “Well I say that went well” “Yes but I’m curious why did you train them to defend not attack, it would seem more efficient would it not?” Discord asked with a confused look as he held a blade and shield in hand “Well you don’t need to attack to defeat your enemies, sometimes it can only take one slip up for them to fall” Nightshade concluded “Hmm, I guess...” Discord said in a tone showing he wasn’t quite happy about the answer then he wiggled around frantically and then faced Nightshade with a *oh boy* expression “What’s up-ahhhh!” Nightshade asked but felt pain surge through his head as he heard the voices again but they were louder and made his head rattle as he turned into his armor form and began to grasp his head in his hands as he yelled in pain. Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... Kill them... You are stronger... Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... You are stronger... “Kill, Kill, KILL!!!” yelled a voice and as Nightshade looked up he saw something but it was transparent but still seeable “Yo-you-ge-get out of my HEAD!!!” Nightshade yelled as he ran forward with a blade and slashed at nothing as it moved and Nightshade followed and kept trying to hit it “What in tarnation! Nightshade what are you-" Applejack froze when she saw him trying to hit something as he kept yelling “YOU-YOU GET LOST, GET AWAY FROM ME!!!” he yelled as Discord warped behind Applejack, startling her then she began to glare at him “Discord, Are you behind this!?” she shouted but the draconequus held his arms up in defence “Oh no Applejack it was something else and it gave me the chills and for some reason has caused dear Nightshade to loose control... shame if only he knew” Discord explained as he held a puppet of Night on strings Nightshade kept going as the voices kept repeating the words. Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... You are stronger... Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... You are stronger... Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... You are stronger... Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... You are stronger... “Leave me alone!!!” yelled Nightshade as he began to tier, he then charged towards where Discord and Applejack stood but his fatal punch his the tree behind them and they both saw his eyes where blood red, then indigo and then back to normal as he fell to his knees and his body converted back to his normal state but he reached his hoof out to the empty space that lead to the Everfree “No- get back here you fucking bastard...” then he fell unconscious and didn’t move an inch “Discord quickly go get Twi!” Shouted Applejack as she ran over to check Nightshade’s pulse which was faint thank goodness “Yes, yes on it,” he said as he clicked his fingers and in a flash was gone “So close... so.. Very... Close...” whispered Nightshade as he felt his sanity fade with every word So close... but so far... Monster... But so far... The line... The line... Is drifting... Is drifting... So close... but so far... Evil..? Good...? Monster... Good..? Monster... Evil..? “Which are you?” “I’m-i’m... Nothing...” Night thought before blacking out Over by the edge of the Everfree the foliage slightly moved and soon a tree’s trunk began to distort as a grunt was heard from the subtle outline of an above average beast as it mumbled in multiple voices. We. Are. Rampant... We. Are. Rampant... We. Are. Rampant... We. Are. Rampant... We. Are. Rampant... Author's Note Was what Night saw real or just the voices snapping what's left of his sanity? This was my first time writing Discord so sorry if i didn't get him right. Same with CMC's. Chapter 6 Your MakerI’m My Own Master Chapter 6: Your Maker Beep... beep... beep... That’s all Nightshade heard when he awoke to find himself in a hospital bed, hooked up to a heart monitor. Then he almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Twilight standing at the side of his bed with a concerned look. “GHA-oh- it’s just you Twilight” Nightshade said with a small smile which soon faded as he looked down “Twilight did I hurt anyone?” “No which was lucky, your heart almost stopped due to your brain well...” she couldn’t find the word “Imploding?” Nightshade answered and she nodded “Yes well you have been stuck here for a day and all of us were really worried, especially Applejack,” Twilight said worryingly “I almost...” Nightshade dared to finish that sentence “It’s not your-“ “Twilight it is!” snapped Nightshade “I’ve been dealing with these fucks in my head ever since I woke up and I have had no peace from them and it nearly consumed me!” Nightshade was trying his best to hold back tears “I don’t even know who I am anymore...” “Yes you do, you’re Nightshade, my friend and the friend of all the others, heck even Discord!” Twilight exclaimed “We can help you; you just need to let us try, pushing us away won’t solve anything” For once Nightshade felt Trust, something only offered by Applejack, he had come into a world with nothing and they were doing everything they could to help him and he just pushed them away... but no this time. “Alright Twilight, what can we do?” Nightshade said with more confidence as he hopped out of the bed and saw her smile “Alright we just need to get to my library, I’m sure there’s something there that can help armoured,” she said with determination “Alright then let’s beat these guys!” Nightshade shouted with glee For once he felt he could beat these nightmares once and for all “I’m not going to let myself be consumed” As the two of them walked the streets they went over every detail of the nightmares and voices and looked for any pattern, any clue that could lead to a weakness, just something. But then Nightshade got that feeling again and it was strong. They both then noticed what stood in front of them. It was like the bots only its armor was different, the metal gave off a red sheen and his sides, chest core, upper arms and backs of his legs were plated with red metal and over his eyes was a red visor as he grinned. “Who are you?” Nightshade asked as he glared at the being as it began to walk forward “Don’t you dare come closer!” he stopped and then continued “Alright then, Twilight get back!” she nodded and fell back Once Night armored up he pulled out his blade and ran forward only to see blade be caught between the fingers catching Night off guard, the bot then proceeded to twist the blade until I shattered as Night fell back from the shock. It then held its arm out and pressed a button that appeared and soon Nightshade was in utter pain as he felt electricity course through his being, then he faced the metal thing as he convulsed as he was lifted then had a dagger shoved through his arm as he reverted to normal and felt the electric pain stop only to be replaced with the sharp pain of the dagger. “What are you doing to-“ Twilight was interrupted as the figure and her noticed Nightshade’s arm sparking and even he noticed and felt fear and pain like nothing before “No-no-no-no-no! I-i can’t be a-a-“ “You’re not or at least not in some way,” said the figure “I needed to make sure and so it seems” the figure then wrenched the dagger out and threw it aside “Now if you wish to know more...; Twilight lets call the others and bring them to your castle” “Um- wait Blaze is that you?” she said and Blaze just smiled and she frowned “You just-“ “Just do it,” Blaze said as he helped Nightshade as they walked towards the castle “Also I would have shown you were a-well cyborg if you didn’t try to stab me” but Night stayed silent Later that night... They all came up to the map room and saw Nightshade sitting, staring at his leg as he kept poking at it. Blaze then appeared in front of them, blocking their entrance “Sorry I’ll only allow AJ in” Blaze said firmly “Hey why only her and who are you?!” snapped Dash as she tried to get past “Because Nightshade said so, that and the less you know about me the better” that shut them up as Applejack entered and he closed the doors “Nightshade what- what happened to your leg?” she asked worryingly as he pointed slowly at Blaze and she got very mad “What the hay did you do to him?!” “Don’t yell its-its not his fault,I attacked first” Nightshade said sadly, he just couldn’t face the reality of the situation “Right then time to explain!” Blaze said clapping his hands together “You are not a cyborg nor a pony, somehow you're in between, you have a cybernetic skeleton and when your armor or anything activates your cells change to form it so yea that’s it in a nutshell” “And you expect him to believe that!” Applejack argued and then saw Blaze’s smile “Ok, then I guess I’ll just prove it and after the scan, KAI did they should be there or some of them...” Blaze said as he pushed a button and once again Nightshade convulsed as he felt the pain explode in his mind “No stop you’re gunna kill him!” Applejack yelled but Blaze just watched and Twilight just stared, then he stopped yelling as he felt the pain vanish and he rose to his feet and saw the looks Twilight and Applejack gave him... Awe “Wha-what is it?” Nightshade asked confused at this point “I think they're staring at us” said a calm voice “Yes well I think we should leave, I mean only that guy in the armor has helped,” another more menacing voice said “Their kind of big” said a child like voice “Well like the attention!” said a more happy voice Nightshade then looked to his sides and saw mini-ponies looking back. One was a bright red; the others were dark blue, orange, and a light Blue. Nightshade was awestruck as he tried to form words “Wha-wha-what are they?” Nightshade asked Blaze who wore a worried expression “They are you or the fragments of you awoke I'm,” he said simply “I woke them” “But what are they?” Applejack asked as she just stared at them “They represent his emotions and from what Twi and Night told me he has experienced high levels of Fear, Hate, Happiness and Trust which make up him and also give bonuses and it seems they were filling in the blanks where the other emotions should be” “Hate/Hate= weapons” “Fear= senses” “Happiness= speed” “Trust= armor” “Logic=strategy” “Memories=strength” “Creativity=fighting style” “Deceit=Invisability” “Failure=dome shield” “But the others is why I'm here, something called Rampant stole his other fragments and as a last resort I threw him into another dimension at random and it has taken me ages to make a way here but thanks to me getting into contact with Twilight I got here” Explained Blaze as he looked at Nightshade “And no I didn’t tell her about you” “But why not! I could have gotten these fucking voices out of my head sooner but no you hid it from me!” yelled Nightshade as his voice distorted into the red’s voice and then into the indigo’s “We were suffering and you left us to suffer!” then into the orange’s “We trusted complete strangers that could have been a threat whilst we waited!” and finally back to red as he pointed at Twilight "And you fucking knew all this time!!!" “Look I’m sorry alright but that’s not important if he gets his hands on the others were all done for, my world and this one and if he does grab the last A.I’s your body will shut down or in other words kill you,” Blaze said strictly “Wait so if he wins I’ll... die? “ “So what if we join him? What happens?” asked Rage “You will be a puppet to Rampant,” Blaze said bluntly “he will only use you for his own gain” “I-I don’t think i-i like this guy,” said Fear “You guys can shut down for now,” Nightshade said sadly as he got up and they disappeared and began walking to the door “Wait-i’m... I'm sorry” Twilight said in a sad voice “But where are you going?” “Anywhere but here, I 'm-I'm not even real and I never will be Of course,” he said as his head hung low “Yes you have! You’ve been here-“ Twilight was then interrupted “No I haven’t I've been living a dream, reality is that I'm going to die as a fucking invention and live as an invention!” he snapped and then opened the door and walked off; he had nothing, no life, no real friends, nothing. Nightshade sat alone in the dark night by a river, he just sat there, he was nothing but a project, a bloody machine or pony. He just felt colder than the world around him as he stared at his reflection as he grew angry. “Grra! Why me! I-“was all he shouted as he hit the water, distorting his face and as it settled he saw Applejack’s reflection “Leave me alone” “No, and I don’t care what he said you are real and you can feel emotions, doesn’t that tell you anything?” she said but he just grew more angry, not with her but himself “No it only says that I'm very convincing, it’s all just programmed into me and nothing i do can change that!” Nightshade shouted “I wouldn’t even matterIf i got my memory back, not to mention i’m not even complete i’m a fragmented mistake... honestly who cares anymore” “I do” Applejack said calmly making him turn to face her “I said i would help you and i will” “Why? Why are you so god damn nice to me? I’m a fucking lab experiment, i mean come on i was probably made to kill so... why?” he said as he felt himself about to brake as she just smiled “Because you’re not some bot you have a life and a darn good one at that, so don’t beat yourself up for it, i care for ya, bot or not and i will never see you differently,” she said with a warm smile Nightshade felt something, it wasn’t hate, sadness or even trust, but happiness and not like normal, he felt something beat in his chest, the same feeling from weeks ago return and it was faster, then as emerald stared into crimson and soon they closed the gap. Nightshade felt comfort, he felt...love. A feeling only a flesh and blood pony could feel and that is what he was a pony, not a machine. But a pony actually cared about him; even after finding out what he was she didn’t care. They held it for several minutes before parting. “I Love you AJ” Nightshade said with a smile and she smiled back “And i don’t care what this Rampant is i want to spend as long as i can with you, you’re the only person who actually gives a damn about me” “Heh i love you too Nightshade even if you're a bit odd, but... promise me one thing... don’t die” she asked as she saw him do a pinkie promise and then she hugged him and he returned it “Like i promised you i won’t let anything harm you AJ...” “And i plan on keeping it...” “We should be looking for him i doubt Applejack would have found him” Twilight said worryingly but then saw Blaze’s smile “What are you so happy about? He’s been suffering and you have just let him walk out” “Yes well i think he’s found the answer he was looking for” Blaze said as he glanced out the door and back “There’s a reason i made you, and trust me when you get your memory back you’ll understand...” Author's Note Now that the secret is out what will Night do? will he embrace his abilities or suppress them for good? Also this was my first time writing romance so don't take it out on me. If you have any ideas on how to improve comment below. Chapter 7 We.Are.RampantAuthor's Note I actually had a lot of time today so you all get the action packed finally early and be sure to stay tuned for the final chapter and epilogue to see how this story ends. I did plan for this to be a short story but then again i may have plans for a sequel if I have time. Anyways Enjoy. Chapter 7 We.Are.Rampant I’m My Own Master Chapter 7: We. Are. Rampant Blaze walked with Twilight as the day went by as normal and by the time Twilight got to her 123rd question, yes that’s how long it’s been happening Blaze had made a furrow search of the town for any signs of Rampant but nothing turned up. “So you’re saying Loki is what?” Twilight asked as she felt something watching her “I don’t know what he is, but he’s something and right now he’s probably checked to see who called him” Blaze explained as he heard a faint voice in the distance “Shit cover blown!” “Still it looks like there’s no sign of him yet” Blaze concluded as they turned around and began to walk back to the castle “So why did you make him?” Twilight asked as Blaze stayed silent for a moment before answering “Well let’s just say his real name was still Night but he was a dying patient and i offered to help them but before i moved on to explaining he cut me off and so I continued and made the first pony/machine hybrid” Blaze explained with a hint of pride then he returned to a frown “Sadly Rampant, from a world i only heard rumours about heard about my plans for A.I’s and wanted them for himself, we named it Rampant after rampancy, a symptom where A.I’s think of themselves as gods and think themselves to death” this made Twilight shudder a bit, what if Night ends up like that? Twilight was about to ask about Night but then saw that Blaze stopped dead in his tracks and heard him mumble something under his breath. Then without warning Blaze shoved Twilight aside as a blast of energy shot past her. Then she saw it. It was at least 6 feet tall, its odd armor was white as snow and its face was covered in black faceplate and its hand lowered as it stood growling at Blaze as he just looked at it unfazed “So, long time no see Rampant” he said playfully “i guess you’re here for the others?” as he said this multiple mini ponies appeared around its head. They were Black, Purple, Yellow, Green and White, memories and they spoke in an assortment of voices Where is he? Where are they? Tell us... the others... Where are they? Tell us The others... “Twilight get Night now, he’s the only one who can see where the A.I’s are implanted, KAI would be trapped otherwise,” Blaze said and Twilight nodded and was gone in a flash. Blaze then crack his knuckles as Rampant did the same “Alright... let’s dance...!” Nightshade sat against a tree as he daydreamed and beside him, Applejack slept beside him with her head resting on his shoulder. He sat there for what felt like hours but then heard a flash behind him and turned to see Twilight with fear in her eyes and before he could ask what was wrong he got that feeling again but only a lot stronger and soon he woke AJ up for he felt the presence was close. "Twilight where is he..?" “Hey jackass I'm right here!” yelled Nightshade as Rampant dropped Blaze with a *thud* Blaze’s body sparked in certain places and parts were either broken off or shredded and turned towards Nightshade, then the fragments appeared and began to speak Yes... join us... Hate... Join us... We miss you... Yes... Fear, Happiness Join us... We miss you Hate... yes... Yes... Fear, happiness... join us... Join us... “Oh, would you shut up already!” Nightshade snapped making the fragments disappear “Alright you guys I'm counting on you!” “Will burn them to ashes” Hate replied as he gave Nightshade his blade “I will try my best,” fear said as Nightshades senses heightened “Aright party time!” Happiness responded joyfully as he felt he could go at the speed of sound “I believe we will win,” trust said as he activated Night’s armor as his crimson eyes glared at the thing, then his fragments disappeared “Alright let’s do this!” Nightshade said as he drew his sword and began to charge as Twilight, Applejack and Blaze watched as they began to fight for the fragments Night slashed air as he saw a transparent figure move to the side and soon he felt something connect with his side and soon he went flying into a building as the glass shattered around him. He then felt it grab his leg and smash him into the dirt with a resounding *thud* then he swung the blade into the beast’s leg and it roared as he was dropped and Night quickly retreated back. “He’s got the biggest advantage but I've got something he doesn’t...” Night’s vision then had nothing but white as Rampant stood over him and cracked his knuckles and Night followed up with a punch which was followed by dozens more as he kept flying punch after punch into the beast’s chest and then followed it with an electrical fist but felt like he hit a brick wall as Rampant glared down at him and growled. "...I'm Sorry" Night’s eyes then went wide as he was lifted by his face and soon felt something disappear from his body and his muffled screams when silenced as his gut got a round of punches as well, but his chest was literally shattering then Rampant dropped him like a stone as Night groaned in pain. He then noticed his missing left arm being replaced by wires and metal. He then felt the monster push its foot onto his chest as Night gasped for air. “I hate being part machine” Rampant was about to wrench something out of Night’s chest but was intercepted by Blaze upper cutting the beast back and then proceeded to fight it, throwing punch after punch and even teleporting out of the way of hits as he dropped kicked the thing backwards as it snarled in frustration. “Night let me toast this freak,” Hate said as he appeared “Yes, anything do it!” Night yelled as the red pony disappeared and soon Night found the palm of his hand open up and soon felt a high burning sensation within his arm and knew what to do. You are weak... Useless... You are weak... Useless... You are weak... You are weak... Useless... You are weak... You are weak... Useless... “Yea well how about me!” Night shouted as Blaze roundhouse kicked Rampant and rolled out of the way as Night put his palm right on Rampant’s face as it gave a confused growl “I don’t care if i lose my memories, at least you’ll be burning in hell!” Then he fired a volley of flames into the creature’s face as it went flying back and smashed through a wall and began to burn the building around it. All Night could smell was wood and metal as it smouldered amongst the flames. “Mission complete Night,” Blaze said happily as Night walked over but then felt something pull him back “Night you alright? You blow a fuse or something?” Night turned and saw nothing, but then his entire body felt cold even with the fire still raging on, his body then stopped working as he saw a transparent hand twist and pull at his chest as it ripped a small chip from his chest as he fell back and saw the creature’s transparent body as it slowly backed up. “No Night!” Twilight shouted as she lifted him away from the uncloaking beast as it plugged the chip into the back of its head and it roared as 4 more sprites appeared and soon all of them spoke in unison. “We. Are. Rampant!!!” they all said as Night’s chest sparked and he felt his life fading, closer and closer the light became more tempting then he began to think. “If i left them, Rampant would be unstoppable, all my friends and loved ones would die because i refused to live... no, i’m not going to die a puppet, not today” “So i guess you’re not going to just give up and leave us in peace?” Blaze said with a small laugh but was forced to jump back to avoid a punch to the face “Nope” “No come on now stay with us!” Applejack shouted as Twilight tried to close the holes with magic but nothing worked as his chest continued to spark. Night then began to move slightly and then began to rise to his feet slowly which surprised everyone, even Rampant snarled at his persistence to not die. “I have not come this far... to die to you!” he shouted as he stood holding his chest as it continued to spark along with his other injuries. Then Rampant spoke in his many voices Weak puppet... We are immortal... Nothing but a catalyst... Weak puppet... We are immortal... Nothing but a catalyst... Nothing can stop us... Weak puppet... We are immortal... Nothing but a catalyst... Nothing can stop us... Nothing can stop us... Weak puppet... We are immortal... Nothing but a catalyst... Nothing can stop us... Let the battle begin “No! i may have been made to feel emotion and pain but that would go agenst my directive... protect those who cannot. But i have made for the last month my own rules, my own motives, I. Don’t. Fear. You” Night finished as he constructed without Hate the VT7-High Frequency Blade and Night glared at Blaze as he shrugged “Hey Loki said it would be a good reference to add, not my problem,” he said defensively “You love it and you know it!!!” “Now then... Let’s Dance!” Nightshade shouted as he waited for it to move Then without warning they both charged and turns out Rampant had constructed a scythe but Night’s blade shattered it and connected his blade with a black shield and then a fist grazed his face as he moved slightly and shoved his blade through the beast’s right leg as it groaned and stumbled back as the massive hole in it’s leg twitched. “Night then followed up by sliding between the beast’s legs and proceeded to roll and turn to face the beast’s back as he slashed 5 perfect hits into its back. Rampant then threw 3 daggers into night’s legs and arm but Night was unfazed as he uppercutted Rampant and plunged the sword threw the monster’s chest as it roared in pain, Night then jumped back a few feet as he kept going like his chest was nothing. It just wrenched the electrical blade out of its chest and threw it towards Night and he easily grabbed it only to meet a hand around his neck as he was lifted into the air and began to feel the hand compressing down on his wind pipe as he dropped his blade and heard it clatter to the ground as his vision blured slightly. “Ok then chew on this you fuck!” Nightshade then swiftly kicked the beast in the head thereby making it drop him but he now had a broken leg to go with the hole in his chest. He then quickly reached over and grabbed his blade but was quickly dragged by his foot and flipped around to face Rampant as he crunched Night’s collar in his fist. All the A.I’s appeared as they watched in horror as Night smashed his sparking arm or what was left into its face making it roar in pain as it jolted at the surprising discharge then it felt a blade pierce its neck as Night plunged the blade until it cut through completely. They both then stared into each others faces and Night smirked “I’m no Catalyst; i’m Your master mother fucker!!!” Night yelled as he elbowed the blade and Rampant’s head sparked as bolts and scrap fell to the ground along with his hulking body and then its body went still as Night dropped the blade as it clattered to the ground along with himself. “Oh no...” Blaze whispered as he just stood there and watched Applejack and Twilight run over and rested Nightshade agenst a wall as he kept sparking “No-no-no-no-no you can’t die,” Applejack said as she felt tears begin to form as Night just stared as his saddened expression hid behind his facial mask “You-you promised...” “I’m-i’m sorry i guess- i guess I should have said i can’t keep promises i can’t keep” Night said as he felt his body go limp on him but managed to lift his hand to wipe one of Applejack’s tears away “Don’t cry for me, a machine destined to die in the end” “Blaze please do something? Blaze!” shouted Twilight but all she saw was his mouth in a frown but knew Blaze felt awful as he just stared, frozen in place. “He-hey Bl-Blaze, Mission com-complete?” Night asked as Blaze kneeled beside him and smiled sadly “Yea Night mission complete, you can rest now” Blaze said as he wiped his own tears away as Nightshade smiled behind his face plate one last time. “Directive...Complete...” and then the world was silent... Chapter 8 I'll Remember YouSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Epilogue Epilogue I’m My Own Master Epilogue Memories are not just the days that you remember the most, there not the days you just remember because someone brought it up or it just came to you in that one moment... They are the pieces of you, the fragments that make up your life and self and to give them up would be a waste. I know that... for once you’re gone that’s all you have left to leave behind for others to remember... Heh, there was once something I read before this... before dying... it was someone saying they would give everything up to relive it all again, to start from the beginning and relive the happiest memories of their life... But I learned I would like to go back and experience the good and the bad memories of my life. From start to finish, to see my friends smile and laugh and cry and to see... and to see her once more... there's just no point in going back to only the good parts of your life because even the most heart wrenching of memories can lead to the happiest ones of them all... The most hate-filled moments lead to the happiest. The times you fail, make you stronger the next time. The times you felt alone and scared, only to have someone help you up. Those times you're betrayed by someone close to you, only to find better, more innovative ways to move forward. Memories Are Key. But as I sit here on top a stone i always get to see her, every day and even some nights. Sure I see the odd stranger go by but I know that when she’s here and even her friends from time to time... they can see me sitting here, smiling back at them... But then again I know they could never see me but I like to think so... after, all I remember to always tell myself what I said to her that last time Never say goodbye, if you don’t say goodbye, then you’re never truly gone, you’re just not there right now... As the night approached the land, one object stood jutting out from the ground beside an oak tree. It stood shaped like a wolf with a crimson ruby in its eye glistened in the light and below, engraved into the finely cut stone it read. Here lies Nightshade “Memories are the greatest stories ever written” The End. Author's Note You may think this is the end but this is only the beginning. It took longer than expected to finish this due to me wanting to make it end on a, (In my opinion) nice moment. I hope you all enjoyed, till next time. To see my main story click Here.
Chapter 1 My Name?I’m My Own Master Chapter 1: My Name? It was another day on Sweet Apple Acres, as the sun beamed over the endless rows of apple trees every few seconds one tree would shake violently… then the next… and then the next. The cause of this was a tan mare with a blond mane and tail both tied with a red ribbon. And as she took her stenson off she wiped the sweat from her brow and continued to kick the trees with substantial force to knock the fruit off its branches. As Applejack continued to work rays of light from the sun blinded her but as she adjusted the angle of her stenson she saw the cause of the light’s relenting glare. What she saw underneath a tree made her emerald eyes widen at the scene. A stallion lay there underneath the tree as wounds and scratches littered his body with patches of dry and from what Applejack could see his breathing was ragged as each breath seemed to hurt. His mane and tail were black but messy and both seemed to end in spikes. His fur was tan but he had no cutie mark which was weird but Applejack ignored that and ran over to see if he was still conscious. “Hey yall still with me?” she said as she shook him and as she did he groaned and began to open his eyes. His eyes to Applejack’s surprise where a dark red which was very uncommon but she shook it off and began to lift him by his side, putting one of his hooves over her back “Hey now stay with me, what’s your name?” she asked as his head turned to look at her “My name? my name is… is, um I, I don’t… know?” he said with a worried look “Why, why can’t I remember and who is this? But at least the voices stopped” “Hey now we can figure that out later for now let get you patched up” Applejack said as she lead him back towards the farmhouse “Who are you?” he asked in a low voice “My name's Applejack and I found you on my family’s farm, you seemed to have taken quite the beaten, what happened?” she answered before he paused “I can’t remember, the only thing I can remember was a lot of flashes and then… you” he finished “I’ll tell her about the voices later right now I’m more worried about my condition” “Well figures, you probably have amnesia” Applejack guessed as she opened the door and sat the stallion down on a chair “Now you wait here” As Applejack came back she saw he was still sitting there not moving and inch as he just stared into space and as she came over he let her begin patching him up and then she noticed his face. “Hey um, I hope I don’t offend you by asking but why do you have the muzzle of a mare?” Applejack as, a bit embarrassed by asking as he looked perplexed but answered as he lifted a hoof to his face “I don’t know… I guess that’s how he-“he paused as his face lit up “I remember he as in I remember someone but who was he?” he then grunted one in frustration and to in pain “Hey now don’t worry I’m sure you’re memory will come back, I’ll help however I can” Applejack said smiling which he smiled sheepishly as he turned his head away to avoid eye contact “Thanks, Applejack” he said turning back “But may I ask why are you helping me?” “Well for starters I can’t just leave you out there to die now can I? And two you don’t look like you were faking either” she answered “Well thanks” “Alright all done you feeling better?” she asked “Yea, I mean my head stopped buzzing so I think so” he said as he slowly got up and slightly wobbled “Hey now don’t push yourself, I patched you up, I didn’t however heal you instantly” she warned “I’ll be fine but yes I will take it easy” he said reassuring her “But I think I may require a hospital” “Yea I guess we can have them check out your head to make sure that amnesia won’t be permanent” she said as she helped him make his way to the hospital He decided to take in all the sights he could, it’s not like he had anything on his mind. He saw acres upon acres of apple trees as far as his line of slight would go and as they kept walking a town began to come into view. To his amusement the buildings were quite rustic but in a good way. “I think I might like it here better if I remembered any of it… that’s if I belonged here… but I still don’t know why she wants to help me? I get it she’s being kind but why me? I have no memory, no mark, nothing…” “Hey I’m wondering if you remember anything else.” Applejack asked as they left the boundaries of the farm and made their way into Ponyville. “Well the only thing I know is that the person I remember was a he and the flashes after that nothing up until now” he said with a saddened expression “Hey now don’t be getting your hopes up yet, you hear me, will get your memory back, Pinkie promise” Applejack swore as she did the promise which he tilted his head at “What’s a Pinkie promise?” he asked confused by the jester “It’s a promise that cannot be broken. Trust me it ain’t worth your life breaking” warned Applejack as she shivered from the last time “Ok then…” he said “Strange why do I feel… odd? Hmm I may want to look into that and also what’s this other feeling I’m getting? Like something is going to happen” “Hey what’s up partner?” Applejack asked breaking his concentration “Oh um just that I have a feeling something’s going to happen…” he said worriedly “Or has happened” “The only thing you should worry about is when Pinkie shows up” Said Applejack with a small laugh but then something behind them startled them as they turned What they saw was 3 things standing on their back hooves as they had no faces entirely and seemed to shine as if made of metal and as the glowing slit where their eyes traveled around they began to throw and break objects and windows then the middle one yelled out in a robotic tone “You two search the town for the elements, Ravage commands it!” the other nodded and then stopped when they saw Applejack and the stallion standing in front of them The stallion grit his teeth as the 3 surrounded them. But then the stallion felt pain explode in his side as he fell into the dirt from a bot kicking him “No, Hey what’s the big idea attacking him?” shouted Applejack as the leader shoved her to the ground and put his hoof on her head “He is irrelevant you on the other hand…” he saw as he pushed down harder making Applejack grit her teeth in pain The bot was about to apply more pressure but he felt his body lift as he saw a metal fist connect with his jaw sending him creaming into a building. “You get away from my friend!” hissed a robotic voice The figure was covered head to hoof in armor similar to the bots but only his eyes her exposed reviling his glowing crimson eyes as he stared daggers at the rest as they backed off and their leader two Applejack looked up at the figure and wondered where he came from but then it clicked “You?” The face mask opened reviling him smiling as he said “My name is Nightshade and I’m still trying to connect the dots so give me a minute” as the face mask went back on and something appeared on his back as he upholstered a blade with a glowing blue edge “Get him!” yelled the bot as the others charged at Nightshade with batons that sparked with electricity The two swung but Nightshade jumped and narrowly avoided the batons as he landed behind one of them “You know for robots you have bad aim” laughed Nightshade as another swung at him but he ducked “Strike Two!” another swing and he shoved it away “Strike Three Your!-“ then one hit Nightshade around the head shocking him; Nightshade then brought his blade crashing down cutting the bot in half. “You’re Out!” he finished The other swung and began electrocuting him but he quickly grabbed the bot which converted the electricity to the bot short-circuiting it as it fell limp. The last bot ran a lot faster as it brought its baton down but connected it with Nightshade blade as they both sparked. Then the bot spoke in two completely different voices. “You… You… Can’t… them, them... Can’t… Keep… “You… You… Can’t… Can’t… Keep… Keep… Them, Them… you can't... From Me… you can't... From Me… Forever… Forever… Keep… Them, Them… From Me… From Me… Forever… Forever… “We are stronger!” “No the… voices, no not now! NO!!!” yelled Nightshade in his mind trying to dispel the voices “I don’t know who you are!” shouted Nightshade as he brought his blade down, breaking the baton and in succession sliced a diagonal line down the bot as he quickly grabbed the bot with his hand “But I promise you, you won’t kill any of them whiles I live” Nightshade then shoved the blade into the bot’s neck and in a swift motion broke its head off. He then holstered his blade as it disappeared with his armor and he fell to the ground but picked himself up and walked over to Applejack as she sat there baffled “How did you… do that? “She asked and saw him holding out his hoof with a smile “I don’t know but I’m sure of one thing and that’s helping you out as well as your friends might just get my memory back” Nightshade said as he helped Applejack up “So shall we start again? Hi My name is Nightshade” as he held out a hoof “Hi my name is Applejack and it good to have another friend” she said with a smile as she shook his hoof “Now shall we continue?” “Sure, my back is killing me by the way” groaned Nightshade as they began to walk “I get the feeling this isn’t over not by a long shot” “Hey I’m guessing you don’t have anywhere to go?” asked Applejack “Hmm yea that’s right oh boy I guess having no memory is bad hehe” Nightshade joked as he looked at Applejack as she hesitated “Well if you want we got a spare room back at the farm if want it?” she said reddening slightly “Wow cool, you sure?” asked Nightshade before getting too happy “Yea well you’re my friend and besides it’s not like you have anywhere else to go” she added before being trapped in a hug for a brief moment making her turn red again “Thanks a lot Applejack!” Nightshade said with a large smile on his face “But seriously thanks a bunch… otherwise I would have been screwed” he joked “No problem and my friends sometimes call me AJ” she said “Sure thing AJ and by the way what is tha-“Nightshade said before a pink missile shot I'm to the ground and began bombarding him with some many questions he couldn’t keep up “Yes and watch out for Pinkie” “Someone help…please… can't- breath” begged Nightshade as his first day was beginning to become a more painful one... Author's Note Well here's the first chapter out and i hope you enjoyed and if you read my blog about it i do plan to build up to action. and if you want to see my main story Here's a link.
Chapter 2 Welcome to the ShowI’m My Own Master Chapter 2: Welcome To the Show After wrenching Pinkie literally off Nightshade she darted off to tell the others. As she did that Applejack and Nightshade continued on their way to the hospital to see if there’s anything else about Nightshade that might be unknown… 1 Hour Later… As Nightshade sat on his hospital bed he kept thinking about the bots and the random armor up as he decided to name it. He remembered it felt like his body changed to fit the armor or the other way around but he wasn’t sure, as he played on this memory Doctor… something he can’t really pronounce it so he called him Doc for short came into his room interrupting his train of thought. “So Mr. Nightshade I looked over your test and I found out that this amnesia is unique” he said with a hint of surprise “Unique?” Nightshade asked, confused by what he meant by unique “Oh its nothing to worry about it’s just that in order to get your memory back it will either come back over time or certain things could trigger them to return but as far as your other tests go your mental state and physical state are just fine only one thing…” Doc explained “One Thing?” asked Nightshade slightly worried that he may have figured it out “You seem to have come under mental stress about an hour ago, could you possibly know why?” asked Doc suspiciously “Um no I wouldn’t know I guess it might have happened when I found out I couldn’t remember anything” he explained but also lied to keep the whole voices thing to himself “Well then I think your friends are here so I shall let you leave when you feel like it oh but one more thing” said Doc “Only one friend really” “Yea what is it?” asked Nightshade as he felt something bad was coming his way like a storm “I can’t seem to figure out why your muzzle structure is different” he said as he put a hoof to his chin and Nightshade gave him a look “I KNOW I GET IT!” shouted Nightshade in annoyance “Well I’ll be going now” he said as he began to walk out “Ok thanks Doc… and so what if my muzzle is different” Responded Nightshade as the 6 came in and only two he recognized the others no. But the first one that he did notice was the purple one. She was an Alicorn as far as what his memory would give him but it seemed to eye him weirdly but he shrugged it off as the Rainbow maned mare spoke first and was right in his face. “So you’re the one AJ told us about?” said Rainbow giving him a serious look “Yes… she’s the one who helped me” Nightshade said carefully “Well I think you’re just a liar” she said bluntly making Nightshade’s expression drop “You probably got those things to attack her and then probably send them after us not like they would be much of a problem against me” this seemed to strike a nerve in Nightshade “Yea sure you can take them!” “So you’re saying I should have let them hurt her and then probably do the same to me and if they were with me why would they attack me!?” he shouted making her back up “You’re either very brave or very stupid to accuse me!” “Who are you calling stupid!?” she yelled back at him “You! You’re the only one I’m talking to so I must be talking to you!” Nightshade yelled back as he got ready to hit her “Alright that’s enough!” shouted the yellow Pegasus “Dash you should know better than to yell at ponies who were only trying to help” “But Fluttershy he could-“started Dash but was silenced “No just drop it” she then turned to Nightshade” Sorry about that, Dash was just being protective of her friend” “It’s alright I shouldn’t have yelled back, that only made things worse and my name is Nightshade” he saw shaking a hoof with Fluttershy but he only nodded to Dash who just nodded as well “I get the feeling she going to kill me” “Still it's strange how he just showed up when they did” said the alicorn “Maybe I should check his mind to make sure” At this point Nightshade jumped behind Applejack as stayed hidden as best he could as he pointed a hoof at her whilst his crimson eye glared at her “If there is one thing I don’t want ponies’ doing it’s going into my mind thank you, goodbye” he warned as he saw her horn glow but didn’t feel any different “Twi I don’t think that’s such a good idea and kind of uncalled for” warned Applejack but noticed Twilight’s horn glowing but doing nothing “Hey why can’t I levitate you?” she said and at this point a lot of pain began to shoot through Nightshade’s head like a storm “Holy mother of god make it stop!!!” he yelled as he clutched his head and felt the voices return We see you... You can’t hide... You can’t hide... We see you... You can’t hide... You can’t hide... We see you... We see you... We see you... We see you... “Shut up!” Nightshade shouted “Twilight stop it now!” yelled Applejack as she helped Nightshade up as he shook “Ok I don’t know anything about magic but I swear if you do that again you’re going to end up like the bots!” he warned as he shook his head and then began to shove his way past the rest “If you excuse me I want to get as far away from you guys as much as I can!” “But all I tried to do was levitate him?” Twilight said with a puzzled expression “Well you could have just taken his word Twi but no you just had to press forward!” shouted Applejack “I’m going to go find him you can figure out an apology” “God damn ponies so this is what I get for helping out Yay me” Nightshade mumbled to himself as he left the hospital and began to walk back into the town but heard someone walking behind him “Hey wait up Nightshade” called Applejack as she caught up beside him “I’m sorry about Twi she just didn’t think things through was all” *Night's Perspective* “Oh really what part was that? The part she tried to read my mind or the part where she gave me a migraine the size of the sun!” shouted Nightshade” But tell me how can I trust you? How can I trust anyone! They all accuse me and try breaking what little sense I have left… I can’t trust anyone…” “Because I’m the Element of Honesty and whether you believe me or not I made a promise to you didn’t I?” she said as Nightshade’s enraged face calmed down “(Sigh)…Sorry I just… I have the feeling I can’t trust anybody now but you and that yellow Pegasus” Nightshade said as he looked back and saw the rest “Say you want to head back to the farm so you can rest up and fix things up tomorrow?” suggested Applejack with a smile “Sure I think I need a rest after today” Nightshade said as he stretched his legs “So which way was it again?” “This way you lone wanderer” she laughed as they began walking back to Sweet Apple Acres “Oh come on give me a break it’s my first time here!” he complained as they walked into town *Mane 5 perspective* “How can AJ just trust him like that?!” complained Dash as she watched them leave “I mean come on he’s obviously behind the attack!” “Oh but when I tackled him to the ground and began asking him everything about his favourite everything but he didn’t seem dangerous and besides my pinkie sense would have caught on!” said Pinkie as she put on the most serious/ unserious face ever “He never did say what his favourite color was…” “Well still I hope he can forgive me I just wanted to ask him about why he was here I didn’t want to hurt him” said Twilight as she felt very guilty but still wondered why her spell worked like that *Night's perspective* By the time they got back it had become mid-day and the sun sadly was beaming down on them but as they got back and in the cool shade of the house Applejack lead Nightshade to the spare room which was medium sized, and housed a bed with a cabinet and on the other side of the room stood a window overlooking the pathway and another cabinet stood beside it. “So this is your room so just do whatever you want and if you need anything you know where to find me” said Applejack as she was about to leave but then Nightshade asked “Hey Applejack what’s this on my flank” as she turned she saw him looking at a symbol on his flank as it was symbol of a wolf “Hey when’d you get your cutie mark because when you woke up you had no mark” she asked as she was puzzled by what it meant his talent was “I don’t know I guess it just… happened and we didn’t notice but I wonder what it means?” he stood there wondering “Well in any case I’m sure I’ll find out” “Ok then well holler if you need me” and with that she left Nightshade with his thoughts as he stood looking out the window towards the acres of land and sighed “Why me, Why did I have to lose my memory, myself and what’s with these damn voices!?” He then saw Applejack going out into the field and she began to buck the trees as the apples fell like rain “She helped me…” “Hey now don’t be getting your hopes up yet, you hear me, will get your memory back, Pinkie promise” “But her Friends…” “Maybe I should check his mind to make sure” “Well I think you’re just a liar” At this point Nightshade grew very angry but shook his head “No their just looking out for their friends nothing else” he mumbled to himself and then walked over to the bed and laid down and just stared at the ceiling as he daydreamed then Applejack popped into his head and he instantly shot up as he blushed “Ok bad brain, bad brain!” he said as he flopped down and closed his eyes as he drifted off into the dream world Darkness… that was all he saw but Nightshade felt he wasn’t alone he felt someone or something watching him. He then followed the slight change in the shadows as he knew something was there “Show yourself!” he yelled then he instantly regretted that as two green eyes stared back at him like icicles piercing his soul “Who are you? You are not from here!” echoed the female voice “Who are you?!” “Hey you’re the one who entered my dream lady not the other way around” retorted Nightshade “I shouldn’t have said that” he thought “You don’t know what I can do in here!” boomed the voice “Um yea I think I want out now” Nightshade said as he laughed nervously as he felt sweat trickle down his face “For now but I warn you this is not the last you have seen of me!” yelled the voice as the darkness subsided “Yea and I hope to never see you again to” mumbled Nightshade “Ok I guess I’m not safe even in my dreams…greaaat” he said sarcastically “Just my night…” Author's Note So after getting some decent feedback I have now completed this chapter and I'm now going to move on to the next. Oh and just to clear things up a bit. I do appreciate people pointing out 1 or 2 flaws but too many and I'll just have to delete the comment.
Chapter 3 Mending Bridges Chapter 3 Mending Bridges I’m My Own Master Chapter 3: Brains vs. Brawn It was another day in Ponyville, but due to the fact I don’t want to repeat myself I’ll just get to it. Amongst the apple trees on the farm was Nightshade, and unlike usual he decided he would relax for a while amongst the shaded trees but it was short lived as he was awoken by a thud, then shaking and finally…*smack!* “Ow why me…?” He groaned as he got up and then felt 1,2,3,4 and lastly…5 apples landing on his head “Ow…” “Hehehe sorry about that Nightshade I didn’t know you were up there” said Applejack as she helped him up “No it’s fine I really should have picked a better tree” he said as he smiled weakly and shook his head “Still what are you doing?” “I’m harvesting the apples until I shook down a rather big one” she explained with a smile Nightshade then looked towards the tree and stood there for a moment before asking “So I hit it?” he asked as he continued to stare it down “Yea but you don’t need to help I've got this” she said before going over to another tree and bucking it until it rained apples, then she took notice of Nightshade doing the same and the same result happened “Before you ask, you gave me a home and food so for me to just lay around and do nothing would be inconsiderate of me” Nightshade explained as he hit another with his back hooves “Hey you have bigger things to worry about that and you don’t exactly want to be tired when talking with my friends do you?” she asked as he stopped and smirked “Well I just think you’re afraid of me beating you at this” he challenged which Applejack grinned also “I mean it doesn’t look too difficult” “Oh is that right well I’m already far ahead so you would have to-“ “Done” interrupted Nightshade as he seemed to catch up to Applejack in 10 seconds flat “Fine then let's see if you put your money where your mouth is!” she dared “Oh ok then let’s do this!” he shouted as they began hitting every tree that was still bearing fruit *Strike*…*thud*…*strike*…*thud* and so on as they both kept going but with each hit they grew tired but neither wanted to break as they kept going but as time grew their progress slowed until they both fell in exhaustion and pain. Nightshade sat with his back against a tree as the sweat trickled down his face “So I guess were done?” he said between breaths “My lungs feel like collapsing” “Yea um did we keep track?” she asked as she fanned herself with her stenson “Yes um I got 54 and you got 59 so yes you won” he said as he got to his hooves “Well at least you kept up so I can’t argue with that” Applejack responded as she two got up “Shall we go?” “Yea might as well but I warn I don’t think I could pay much attention if the rainbow one yells” he said with a hint of sarcasm “Yes well that’s RD for ya” Applejack responded rolling her eyes 15 Minutes Later… As Applejack and Nightshade got closer to the doors of the castle Nightshade’s mind seemed to race. What if he’s interrogated again? What if this was a trap? What if those bots show up? Will they blame him for it again? Applejack took notice of this a nudged him “You’re worried aren’t ya?” she asked and he nodded “Look trust me I won’t let them get to you and if things get… out of hoof than will leave” he nodded again and by the time Nightshade knew it they were actually outside a door in a massive hallway “Wait how did-“he said baffled “You were in too much thought to notice” Applejack said as she opened the door reviling a massive room with a map of what Nightshade could tell, of the world and then 6 chairs sat around it and then he saw the others “Well let’s see my options I can jump out a number of windows or out the door… I’m done for” “Hi Nightshade how are you?” asked Twilight “Well better than being beaten into the ground so yea good” he responded “Look Nightshade I’m sorry I only wanted to make sure you weren’t a threat but I didn’t mean to hurt you… I’m very sorry” said Twilight as her ears flattened and the rest apologised two except for Dash, no surprise there. “Hey it’s alright you were just being careful but please never do that again... friends?” he asked with a smile “Friends” she responded as they shook hooves and then Nightshade got to the point “But if I were to guess now you would like me to answer any questions you have?” “How did you know?” asked Twilight “AJ said you normally do this” he said bluntly “Well ok then let's see do you remember anything from before?” she began as the rest listened intently “Well the only memories that came up are One my name, Two flashes of light and a person but that’s about it” he explained “Do you know how you got here?” asked Fluttershy as she saw him nod sadly “Oh I’m sorry you must be really sad that you can’t remember a thing” “Well I found out that my memory can come back through certain events but I don’t know when they’ll be triggered” Nightshade explained as he then saw Dash begin to speak “Oh boy here we go” “Yea sure… you only just happen to loose your memory shortly after that monster Tirek attacked!” She shouted sarcastically “Um who’s Tirek?” Nightshade whispered to Applejack as she whispered back and his eyes widened “Well that’s one way to take over, but no just because I happen to show up after does not prove anything” “Sure just like how Discord betrayed us to help that wretched thing” responded Dash which at this point he decided to be quite until he started to hear something in the back of his mind Do it… Hurt them… Do it… They hate you… Hurt them… Do it… Hurt them… Do it… They hate you… Hurt them… Do it… Do it… hurt them… Before they hurt you… do it… Do it… Do it… Do it… hurt them… Before they hurt you… do it… Do it… Nightshade clutched his head again and groaned in pain “Shut up, shut up, shut up” and they did “I really hate when that happens” “Nightshade you alright?” asked Applejack with a worried look as Nightshade just smiled back “Yea just headaches” he said as he felt something pop up in his mind… as he remembered something “What was that about?” Asked Twilight as she looked over at him “I wonder if something is trying to enter his mind” “He is Rampant” Nightshade said a he grew scared “Who’s that sugarcube?” asked Applejack “He is Rampant the one who…” he stopped as his eyes grew with fear “He’s coming for me, he’s the one behind the attacks!” “What does he look like?” asked Twilight with a hint of fear “I-i don’t know I only remember his name” was all he said as he tried to remember more “I don’t like this” said Fluttershy now worried about this thing “I-I’m just gonna go for a walk…I need to clear my head” Said Nightshade before walking out of the room leaving everyone to their thoughts Nightshade stood looking out over the balcony as the sky lift up in an array of yellows and oranges. He kept playing that name in his head to try jogging his memory but nothing, only death and destruction filled his head until someone got his attention. As he turned he saw Dash standing beside him, but her face showed she was either concerned or guilty. “Are you here to yell at me again?” Nightshade said but was very unamused “No... I’m here to say...I’m sorry” This took Nightshade by surprise “I overreacted and made your memory loss more... unbearable” “Thanks Dash...Friends?” Nightshade said as he held his hoof out and she shook “Friends” Dash said happily “Oh and Pinkie wanted to know if you were up for a party? Don’t worry she does this to everyone who’s new” “Well it beats moping around so yes” Nightshade said as he was then tackled by a pink blur “Alrightsowhat’syourfavoritefooddrinkscoloranimalnamedoyoueverwonderwhywerehere?-mmm” Pinkie said at an astonishing rate “Please stop talking so fast” Nightshade said as he tried to shut the mare up before his brain fried again and he watched as the others laughed as he tried to crawl away but to no avail “Hmm I wonder... is he fragmented?” Thought Twilight “I should call him...” Author's Note Does Twilight know something that the other don't? only time will tell... Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the just FYI the next is more of a slice of life. To see my main story click here
Chapter 4 Corrupted in Time Chapter 4 Corrupted in Time I’m My Own Master Chapter 4: Corrupted in Time 1 month... 1 month since he awoke, 1 month since the fight, 1 month since he met Applejack... and now he was sitting at a table on the hottest day of the year as the 6 mares in front of him talked away and he just sat there and listened but eventually it got to him. Twilight along with the others sat around a large table as the sun beamed down on them and their only protection from the life-threatening heat was the cover of an umbrella, they were all talking amongst themselves and Nightshade looked... frustrated then he spoke as he got up. “Ok, Look as much as I like spending time with friends I'm not one to listen to girls gossiping so I’m going to take my leave” and with that Nightshade left as he headed back to Sweet Apple Acres but Applejack watched as he left and when she turned around Rarity had a face Applejack knew all too well. “That adorable” she responded “What is?” Applejack asked nervously “You love Nightshade, you two would look so cute together” she continued as Applejack’s face turned from orange to red as she failed at trying to form words “I-I- don-don’t... I don’t have a clue in what you’re implying!” Applejack said but she was loosing “I may not be Cadence but even I could tell” she responded, this only made her glow brighter, thankfully she kept this low so the rest couldn’t hear “oh please you have to tell me when you started to like him?” “Well that can wait and even so what if he regains his memory and I turns out he already has a special somepony?” Said Applejack with a frown “Look trust me Applejack if I know anything besides fashion it’s when 2 ponies like each other and trust me he doesn’t look like he would have been in a relationship” Rarity was lying of course but it seemed to work as Applejack smiled “Thanks for that Rarity” “Oh it’s no problem darling” Rarity responded as she waved a hoof dismissively “Just come by my place and I’ll help you out some more” Somewhere in Ponyville Nightshade was walking and for some reason he got a massive wave of chills crawling up his spine “Ok I have a bad feeling someone is talking about me or someone is messing with reality.......meh” he shrugged and continued to walk” Later that Night... Nightshade completely fell onto his bed after the heat from the day tired him out more than ever when working and in only seconds he was out cold and was cast into the dreamscape Twilight had Luna sitting beside her as they waited for Nightshade to fall asleep for Twilight asked if she could help her enter his dreams to find out anything about her mysterious friend. “He’s asleep shall we enter?” she asked as Twilight nodded then she felt her eyes getting heavy as she drifted off then found herself in a black void as Luna stood beside her “I knew I mustn’t have been a fluke this was his dreamscape” “Wait you were here before?” Asked Twilight and she nodded “Yes I sensed a weird dream I had not seen before and so I investigated and came across him... but this one feels worse than the last” Luna then gasped “Were not alone” she then pointed at a pony sitting as he held his head in pain and then Twilight recognized it as Nightshade "Night I really hope I'm not right about this" Twilight thought “Nightshad-“she was cut off as Luna pointed at the others standing around him, they stood like statues as they whispered, each was a different color but they seemed to give off an aura of pain as if the figures were begin forced against their will. Join us... We miss you... Join us... Join us... Join us... We miss you... Join us... Join us... We miss you... Join us... Come with us... We miss you... come with us... We miss you... Join us... Come with us... We miss you... come with us... JOIN US... Nightshade sat there as he yelled in fear as they kept going “Leave me alone, I don’t want to, Go away, SHUT UP!!!” Luna and Twilight watched for what felt like an eternity until Luna walked forward to banish the creatures but something else was there and it looked worse as the beings backed off. The shadow’s only real appearance was its tail and tendrils as the waved around, its black scythe-like wings flapped lightly and it purple eyes and wide, white grin as it spoke in a chilling voice. “Oh how you suffer is just beautiful... you all may continue I don’t care for this thing” said the begin with a wide smile “And you two better leave before I do something more... drastic” it said as it faced them “Wait Luna what is that?” Twilight asked as she hid behind Luna “I do not know” she said as she watched it move slowly towards them “Come now I just want to see what horrific things you all fear, from losing your friends to the guilt of becoming a monster” the thing said as it smiled even more and then it was only inches from their faces “Boo!” Nightshade’s dream then began to distort and the figure sighed in disappointment “Well then see you on the flip side Twilight and Luna” he said before they were sent back into reality and soon Twilight was writing a letter as fast as she could but instead of sending it to Celestia she branded it with a symbol of a wolf's head. The message read. It's him, they were all their asking him to join them and also your *Assistant was there* Your Friend Twilight Sparkle As soon as she rolled the scroll up it was gone and in a matter of seconds another Scroll appeared and the words were big and rushed and read. I'll be there ASAP Nightshade awoke in a heap of sweat as he felt the voices disappear; he then curled up into a ball as he shook with fear “I-I can’t keep this up... they're getting stronger” “I just want them to stop” he whispered then felt something touch him making him jump then he saw it was Applejack standing there with a worried expression and at this point Nightshade didn’t care he wrapped his hooves around her as he began to break down and for that time Applejack stayed with him and let him have someone to comfort him. The voices were breaking him piece by piece and he didn’t know how much longer he could last before he snapped. But for now he just needed to let his pain out before it broke him. How much longer would it take before he snapped? Before he let them in? “Hey it’s alright, you’re fine, trust me” she said trying to comfort him and slowly he did as she could just about hear him whisper “They won’t stop” “They won’t harm you got it, I don’t know who they are but they can’t get you now” Applejack said softly as he looked up with a small smile on his face “Thanks... I must seem like an idiot right now” he said with a tiny laugh “No, everyone just needs someone to help them, just never be afraid to ask” She said as her and nightshade sat there as they fell asleep and for once Nightshade's dreams were no longer nightmares as he finally had someone to protect him from them. The Next Day... Applejack awoke in an unfamiliar seen and then slowly memories of last night came back and she blushed slightly but smiled. Then she noticed that Nightshade was gone, when she looked out the window she saw him sitting by a tree on a hill as he stared at the sun rising over the hills. Applejack then proceeded to walk outside and walked over to him as he turned and smiled “You know I have been wondering about what you said and after running it through my head like a broken record and... i see that if I let this continue I might go completely insane” he then paused as he thought about what to say next “So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I'm not going to let these things rule my mind and whilst on that note I thought about that promise you made” “Yea what about it, I'm still sticking to it” Applejack said proudly “I know but i was thinking I should make my own” at this he rubbed the back of his neck “I guess I promise to make sure nothing happens to you” then Applejack bloomed a little “Well no one said you had to but I appreciate the promise” she said as he did a Pinkie Promise and then got up “So what's for breakfast cause I've been sitting here for about an hour and my stomach is starting to hate me” as he said this his stomach growled and they both laughed lightly “Well I think that answers that” “Yea I guess so now come on or else no breaks for wasting work time” Applejack said strictly “Oh come on I've been staring into space and thinking, give me a break?” he whined “Nope now move it!” she ordered as he saluted “Yes ma’am!” "I wonder" Applejack thought as she continued to stare at him... Author's Note Who is this person and his assistant and who is really in control? also here's the symbol and if you didn't catch on its the same as Nightshade's cutie mark. file:///C:/Users/Rick/Desktop/My%20files/Private/pics/wolf.png
Chapter 5 Which Path Do You Walk?I’m My Own Master Chapter 5: Which Path Do You Walk? After the events of last night, all Nightshade wanted to do was work to clear his mind off the nightmare, to rid himself of the horrors they brought to his sanity but also to ignore what that thing said to him before he awoke. “Oh how you suffer is just beautiful... you all may continue I don’t care for this thing” Who was he? What was he? And at this point, Nightshade was once again broken out of his train of thought as three fillies stood in front of him and was they smiled he felt a wave of dread wash over him “Howdy Nightshade I was wondering if you can help us with something?” asked Applebloom as she gave him a smile and damn it seemed to be working “Yea sure what is it?” Nightshade asked as their smiles got bigger “oh no” “See told you he would agree,” said Scootaloo then the white unicorn, Sweetiebelle piped up “See we were wondering if you can help us get our cutie marks!” she asked with an adorable face which once again Nightshade complied because he knew it was pointless to resist, at least that’s what Applejack told him “*Sigh* ok how do you suppose I could help,” he asked and before he knew it they dragged him away to and open field where... well Nightshade didn’t know what it was until it spoke. “Oh I see you finally brought him,” said Discord as he made the chair he sat on disappear and he balanced on Nightshade's nose “You my friend are a very intriguing pony, at least that’s what Fluttershy told me” “Alright, what do you and these girls want?” Nightshade said as he tried to stay positive “Well my big sis told me how you saved her and such a month ago I,” Applebloom said “And thought you could show us your awesome moves” Scootaloo finished whilst doing some form of karate “And Discord would help us set up the area” Sweetiebelle responded as Discord rolled his eyes “Yes that and Fluttershy told me it would be *nice* if I helped out so I made this open area for your *training*” Discord said as he air quoted “Well I guess but I need to figure out how to turn whatever this thing is, on and you planned this didn’t you?” Discord nodded and Nightshade sighed and then began to focus on whatever energy he may have, he thought about the feeling of being I guess turned into a machine, the feeling of metal encasing his body as he stood upright, the power surging through him, oh the power Then in a flash, his body reappeared as he was encased in the metal contraption again and Discord held a camera out then made it disappear and clapped his hands together “Talk about a flashy performance, ” Discord said as Night rolled his eyes “Alright, girls get ready!” Discord said as he sat back on a recliner and waited for the lesson to begin “How did I get myself into this?” Nightshade thought as he felt the power surge through his body as he glared at the fillies making them nervous “Ok listen up!” he shouted as they fell in line “You are going to follow my instructions to the letter and no complaining! Got it!” as he finished they saluted with serious faces “Alright then let's get started!” “Oh I’m going to enjoy this!” For the next hour they were training, but not to fight but to defend themselves, every now and then they complained but Discord *encouraged* them to continue, to Nightshade’s surprise he was actually enjoying this, for once he felt calm just like when he hangs out with Applejack and by the end they were exhausted Nightshade though was not, he felt still a strong but soon dropped out of the power armor and sat down “Well that went well” Nightshade concluded but then Scootaloo asked “Hey Nightshade, why did you show us to defend? Why not show us how to kick flank!” she complained “And it looks like we didn’t get our cutie marks either” Applebloom frowned making them all feel worse “Does it matter?” was all Nightshade said as they gave him baffled looks “Why you have yours,” Sweetiebelle said pointing at his wolf symbol “But why do you care?” he repeated and this peaked Discord’s interest “Because it tells us what our special talent is, so of course we care!” snapped Scootaloo “You like doing crazy stunts on your scooter right?” Asked Nightshade as Scootaloo nodded “well you don’t have a cutie mark in that and you are really damn good, so you see my point? You don’t need a cutie mark to tell you what you’re good or bad at, only you can say what you’re good and bad at” “Wow that’s quite the message Nightshade my friend,” Discord said as he smiled, “But you have yours but you don’t know what you're good at?” Discord then had a question mark above his head as he kept thinking “Yes well they all can’t be so clear” Nightshade responded with a shrug “Alright you 3 should get going I've got work to do” they all nodded and ran off “Well I say that went well” “Yes but I’m curious why did you train them to defend not attack, it would seem more efficient would it not?” Discord asked with a confused look as he held a blade and shield in hand “Well you don’t need to attack to defeat your enemies, sometimes it can only take one slip up for them to fall” Nightshade concluded “Hmm, I guess...” Discord said in a tone showing he wasn’t quite happy about the answer then he wiggled around frantically and then faced Nightshade with a *oh boy* expression “What’s up-ahhhh!” Nightshade asked but felt pain surge through his head as he heard the voices again but they were louder and made his head rattle as he turned into his armor form and began to grasp his head in his hands as he yelled in pain. Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... Kill them... You are stronger... Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... You are stronger... “Kill, Kill, KILL!!!” yelled a voice and as Nightshade looked up he saw something but it was transparent but still seeable “Yo-you-ge-get out of my HEAD!!!” Nightshade yelled as he ran forward with a blade and slashed at nothing as it moved and Nightshade followed and kept trying to hit it “What in tarnation! Nightshade what are you-" Applejack froze when she saw him trying to hit something as he kept yelling “YOU-YOU GET LOST, GET AWAY FROM ME!!!” he yelled as Discord warped behind Applejack, startling her then she began to glare at him “Discord, Are you behind this!?” she shouted but the draconequus held his arms up in defence “Oh no Applejack it was something else and it gave me the chills and for some reason has caused dear Nightshade to loose control... shame if only he knew” Discord explained as he held a puppet of Night on strings Nightshade kept going as the voices kept repeating the words. Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... You are stronger... Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... You are stronger... Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... You are stronger... Kill them... make them suffer No mercy... You are stronger... “Leave me alone!!!” yelled Nightshade as he began to tier, he then charged towards where Discord and Applejack stood but his fatal punch his the tree behind them and they both saw his eyes where blood red, then indigo and then back to normal as he fell to his knees and his body converted back to his normal state but he reached his hoof out to the empty space that lead to the Everfree “No- get back here you fucking bastard...” then he fell unconscious and didn’t move an inch “Discord quickly go get Twi!” Shouted Applejack as she ran over to check Nightshade’s pulse which was faint thank goodness “Yes, yes on it,” he said as he clicked his fingers and in a flash was gone “So close... so.. Very... Close...” whispered Nightshade as he felt his sanity fade with every word So close... but so far... Monster... But so far... The line... The line... Is drifting... Is drifting... So close... but so far... Evil..? Good...? Monster... Good..? Monster... Evil..? “Which are you?” “I’m-i’m... Nothing...” Night thought before blacking out Over by the edge of the Everfree the foliage slightly moved and soon a tree’s trunk began to distort as a grunt was heard from the subtle outline of an above average beast as it mumbled in multiple voices. We. Are. Rampant... We. Are. Rampant... We. Are. Rampant... We. Are. Rampant... We. Are. Rampant... Author's Note Was what Night saw real or just the voices snapping what's left of his sanity? This was my first time writing Discord so sorry if i didn't get him right. Same with CMC's.
Chapter 6 Your MakerI’m My Own Master Chapter 6: Your Maker Beep... beep... beep... That’s all Nightshade heard when he awoke to find himself in a hospital bed, hooked up to a heart monitor. Then he almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Twilight standing at the side of his bed with a concerned look. “GHA-oh- it’s just you Twilight” Nightshade said with a small smile which soon faded as he looked down “Twilight did I hurt anyone?” “No which was lucky, your heart almost stopped due to your brain well...” she couldn’t find the word “Imploding?” Nightshade answered and she nodded “Yes well you have been stuck here for a day and all of us were really worried, especially Applejack,” Twilight said worryingly “I almost...” Nightshade dared to finish that sentence “It’s not your-“ “Twilight it is!” snapped Nightshade “I’ve been dealing with these fucks in my head ever since I woke up and I have had no peace from them and it nearly consumed me!” Nightshade was trying his best to hold back tears “I don’t even know who I am anymore...” “Yes you do, you’re Nightshade, my friend and the friend of all the others, heck even Discord!” Twilight exclaimed “We can help you; you just need to let us try, pushing us away won’t solve anything” For once Nightshade felt Trust, something only offered by Applejack, he had come into a world with nothing and they were doing everything they could to help him and he just pushed them away... but no this time. “Alright Twilight, what can we do?” Nightshade said with more confidence as he hopped out of the bed and saw her smile “Alright we just need to get to my library, I’m sure there’s something there that can help armoured,” she said with determination “Alright then let’s beat these guys!” Nightshade shouted with glee For once he felt he could beat these nightmares once and for all “I’m not going to let myself be consumed” As the two of them walked the streets they went over every detail of the nightmares and voices and looked for any pattern, any clue that could lead to a weakness, just something. But then Nightshade got that feeling again and it was strong. They both then noticed what stood in front of them. It was like the bots only its armor was different, the metal gave off a red sheen and his sides, chest core, upper arms and backs of his legs were plated with red metal and over his eyes was a red visor as he grinned. “Who are you?” Nightshade asked as he glared at the being as it began to walk forward “Don’t you dare come closer!” he stopped and then continued “Alright then, Twilight get back!” she nodded and fell back Once Night armored up he pulled out his blade and ran forward only to see blade be caught between the fingers catching Night off guard, the bot then proceeded to twist the blade until I shattered as Night fell back from the shock. It then held its arm out and pressed a button that appeared and soon Nightshade was in utter pain as he felt electricity course through his being, then he faced the metal thing as he convulsed as he was lifted then had a dagger shoved through his arm as he reverted to normal and felt the electric pain stop only to be replaced with the sharp pain of the dagger. “What are you doing to-“ Twilight was interrupted as the figure and her noticed Nightshade’s arm sparking and even he noticed and felt fear and pain like nothing before “No-no-no-no-no! I-i can’t be a-a-“ “You’re not or at least not in some way,” said the figure “I needed to make sure and so it seems” the figure then wrenched the dagger out and threw it aside “Now if you wish to know more...; Twilight lets call the others and bring them to your castle” “Um- wait Blaze is that you?” she said and Blaze just smiled and she frowned “You just-“ “Just do it,” Blaze said as he helped Nightshade as they walked towards the castle “Also I would have shown you were a-well cyborg if you didn’t try to stab me” but Night stayed silent Later that night... They all came up to the map room and saw Nightshade sitting, staring at his leg as he kept poking at it. Blaze then appeared in front of them, blocking their entrance “Sorry I’ll only allow AJ in” Blaze said firmly “Hey why only her and who are you?!” snapped Dash as she tried to get past “Because Nightshade said so, that and the less you know about me the better” that shut them up as Applejack entered and he closed the doors “Nightshade what- what happened to your leg?” she asked worryingly as he pointed slowly at Blaze and she got very mad “What the hay did you do to him?!” “Don’t yell its-its not his fault,I attacked first” Nightshade said sadly, he just couldn’t face the reality of the situation “Right then time to explain!” Blaze said clapping his hands together “You are not a cyborg nor a pony, somehow you're in between, you have a cybernetic skeleton and when your armor or anything activates your cells change to form it so yea that’s it in a nutshell” “And you expect him to believe that!” Applejack argued and then saw Blaze’s smile “Ok, then I guess I’ll just prove it and after the scan, KAI did they should be there or some of them...” Blaze said as he pushed a button and once again Nightshade convulsed as he felt the pain explode in his mind “No stop you’re gunna kill him!” Applejack yelled but Blaze just watched and Twilight just stared, then he stopped yelling as he felt the pain vanish and he rose to his feet and saw the looks Twilight and Applejack gave him... Awe “Wha-what is it?” Nightshade asked confused at this point “I think they're staring at us” said a calm voice “Yes well I think we should leave, I mean only that guy in the armor has helped,” another more menacing voice said “Their kind of big” said a child like voice “Well like the attention!” said a more happy voice Nightshade then looked to his sides and saw mini-ponies looking back. One was a bright red; the others were dark blue, orange, and a light Blue. Nightshade was awestruck as he tried to form words “Wha-wha-what are they?” Nightshade asked Blaze who wore a worried expression “They are you or the fragments of you awoke I'm,” he said simply “I woke them” “But what are they?” Applejack asked as she just stared at them “They represent his emotions and from what Twi and Night told me he has experienced high levels of Fear, Hate, Happiness and Trust which make up him and also give bonuses and it seems they were filling in the blanks where the other emotions should be” “Hate/Hate= weapons” “Fear= senses” “Happiness= speed” “Trust= armor” “Logic=strategy” “Memories=strength” “Creativity=fighting style” “Deceit=Invisability” “Failure=dome shield” “But the others is why I'm here, something called Rampant stole his other fragments and as a last resort I threw him into another dimension at random and it has taken me ages to make a way here but thanks to me getting into contact with Twilight I got here” Explained Blaze as he looked at Nightshade “And no I didn’t tell her about you” “But why not! I could have gotten these fucking voices out of my head sooner but no you hid it from me!” yelled Nightshade as his voice distorted into the red’s voice and then into the indigo’s “We were suffering and you left us to suffer!” then into the orange’s “We trusted complete strangers that could have been a threat whilst we waited!” and finally back to red as he pointed at Twilight "And you fucking knew all this time!!!" “Look I’m sorry alright but that’s not important if he gets his hands on the others were all done for, my world and this one and if he does grab the last A.I’s your body will shut down or in other words kill you,” Blaze said strictly “Wait so if he wins I’ll... die? “ “So what if we join him? What happens?” asked Rage “You will be a puppet to Rampant,” Blaze said bluntly “he will only use you for his own gain” “I-I don’t think i-i like this guy,” said Fear “You guys can shut down for now,” Nightshade said sadly as he got up and they disappeared and began walking to the door “Wait-i’m... I'm sorry” Twilight said in a sad voice “But where are you going?” “Anywhere but here, I 'm-I'm not even real and I never will be Of course,” he said as his head hung low “Yes you have! You’ve been here-“ Twilight was then interrupted “No I haven’t I've been living a dream, reality is that I'm going to die as a fucking invention and live as an invention!” he snapped and then opened the door and walked off; he had nothing, no life, no real friends, nothing. Nightshade sat alone in the dark night by a river, he just sat there, he was nothing but a project, a bloody machine or pony. He just felt colder than the world around him as he stared at his reflection as he grew angry. “Grra! Why me! I-“was all he shouted as he hit the water, distorting his face and as it settled he saw Applejack’s reflection “Leave me alone” “No, and I don’t care what he said you are real and you can feel emotions, doesn’t that tell you anything?” she said but he just grew more angry, not with her but himself “No it only says that I'm very convincing, it’s all just programmed into me and nothing i do can change that!” Nightshade shouted “I wouldn’t even matterIf i got my memory back, not to mention i’m not even complete i’m a fragmented mistake... honestly who cares anymore” “I do” Applejack said calmly making him turn to face her “I said i would help you and i will” “Why? Why are you so god damn nice to me? I’m a fucking lab experiment, i mean come on i was probably made to kill so... why?” he said as he felt himself about to brake as she just smiled “Because you’re not some bot you have a life and a darn good one at that, so don’t beat yourself up for it, i care for ya, bot or not and i will never see you differently,” she said with a warm smile Nightshade felt something, it wasn’t hate, sadness or even trust, but happiness and not like normal, he felt something beat in his chest, the same feeling from weeks ago return and it was faster, then as emerald stared into crimson and soon they closed the gap. Nightshade felt comfort, he felt...love. A feeling only a flesh and blood pony could feel and that is what he was a pony, not a machine. But a pony actually cared about him; even after finding out what he was she didn’t care. They held it for several minutes before parting. “I Love you AJ” Nightshade said with a smile and she smiled back “And i don’t care what this Rampant is i want to spend as long as i can with you, you’re the only person who actually gives a damn about me” “Heh i love you too Nightshade even if you're a bit odd, but... promise me one thing... don’t die” she asked as she saw him do a pinkie promise and then she hugged him and he returned it “Like i promised you i won’t let anything harm you AJ...” “And i plan on keeping it...” “We should be looking for him i doubt Applejack would have found him” Twilight said worryingly but then saw Blaze’s smile “What are you so happy about? He’s been suffering and you have just let him walk out” “Yes well i think he’s found the answer he was looking for” Blaze said as he glanced out the door and back “There’s a reason i made you, and trust me when you get your memory back you’ll understand...” Author's Note Now that the secret is out what will Night do? will he embrace his abilities or suppress them for good? Also this was my first time writing romance so don't take it out on me. If you have any ideas on how to improve comment below.
Chapter 7 We.Are.RampantAuthor's Note I actually had a lot of time today so you all get the action packed finally early and be sure to stay tuned for the final chapter and epilogue to see how this story ends. I did plan for this to be a short story but then again i may have plans for a sequel if I have time. Anyways Enjoy. Chapter 7 We.Are.Rampant I’m My Own Master Chapter 7: We. Are. Rampant Blaze walked with Twilight as the day went by as normal and by the time Twilight got to her 123rd question, yes that’s how long it’s been happening Blaze had made a furrow search of the town for any signs of Rampant but nothing turned up. “So you’re saying Loki is what?” Twilight asked as she felt something watching her “I don’t know what he is, but he’s something and right now he’s probably checked to see who called him” Blaze explained as he heard a faint voice in the distance “Shit cover blown!” “Still it looks like there’s no sign of him yet” Blaze concluded as they turned around and began to walk back to the castle “So why did you make him?” Twilight asked as Blaze stayed silent for a moment before answering “Well let’s just say his real name was still Night but he was a dying patient and i offered to help them but before i moved on to explaining he cut me off and so I continued and made the first pony/machine hybrid” Blaze explained with a hint of pride then he returned to a frown “Sadly Rampant, from a world i only heard rumours about heard about my plans for A.I’s and wanted them for himself, we named it Rampant after rampancy, a symptom where A.I’s think of themselves as gods and think themselves to death” this made Twilight shudder a bit, what if Night ends up like that? Twilight was about to ask about Night but then saw that Blaze stopped dead in his tracks and heard him mumble something under his breath. Then without warning Blaze shoved Twilight aside as a blast of energy shot past her. Then she saw it. It was at least 6 feet tall, its odd armor was white as snow and its face was covered in black faceplate and its hand lowered as it stood growling at Blaze as he just looked at it unfazed “So, long time no see Rampant” he said playfully “i guess you’re here for the others?” as he said this multiple mini ponies appeared around its head. They were Black, Purple, Yellow, Green and White, memories and they spoke in an assortment of voices Where is he? Where are they? Tell us... the others... Where are they? Tell us The others... “Twilight get Night now, he’s the only one who can see where the A.I’s are implanted, KAI would be trapped otherwise,” Blaze said and Twilight nodded and was gone in a flash. Blaze then crack his knuckles as Rampant did the same “Alright... let’s dance...!” Nightshade sat against a tree as he daydreamed and beside him, Applejack slept beside him with her head resting on his shoulder. He sat there for what felt like hours but then heard a flash behind him and turned to see Twilight with fear in her eyes and before he could ask what was wrong he got that feeling again but only a lot stronger and soon he woke AJ up for he felt the presence was close. "Twilight where is he..?" “Hey jackass I'm right here!” yelled Nightshade as Rampant dropped Blaze with a *thud* Blaze’s body sparked in certain places and parts were either broken off or shredded and turned towards Nightshade, then the fragments appeared and began to speak Yes... join us... Hate... Join us... We miss you... Yes... Fear, Happiness Join us... We miss you Hate... yes... Yes... Fear, happiness... join us... Join us... “Oh, would you shut up already!” Nightshade snapped making the fragments disappear “Alright you guys I'm counting on you!” “Will burn them to ashes” Hate replied as he gave Nightshade his blade “I will try my best,” fear said as Nightshades senses heightened “Aright party time!” Happiness responded joyfully as he felt he could go at the speed of sound “I believe we will win,” trust said as he activated Night’s armor as his crimson eyes glared at the thing, then his fragments disappeared “Alright let’s do this!” Nightshade said as he drew his sword and began to charge as Twilight, Applejack and Blaze watched as they began to fight for the fragments Night slashed air as he saw a transparent figure move to the side and soon he felt something connect with his side and soon he went flying into a building as the glass shattered around him. He then felt it grab his leg and smash him into the dirt with a resounding *thud* then he swung the blade into the beast’s leg and it roared as he was dropped and Night quickly retreated back. “He’s got the biggest advantage but I've got something he doesn’t...” Night’s vision then had nothing but white as Rampant stood over him and cracked his knuckles and Night followed up with a punch which was followed by dozens more as he kept flying punch after punch into the beast’s chest and then followed it with an electrical fist but felt like he hit a brick wall as Rampant glared down at him and growled. "...I'm Sorry" Night’s eyes then went wide as he was lifted by his face and soon felt something disappear from his body and his muffled screams when silenced as his gut got a round of punches as well, but his chest was literally shattering then Rampant dropped him like a stone as Night groaned in pain. He then noticed his missing left arm being replaced by wires and metal. He then felt the monster push its foot onto his chest as Night gasped for air. “I hate being part machine” Rampant was about to wrench something out of Night’s chest but was intercepted by Blaze upper cutting the beast back and then proceeded to fight it, throwing punch after punch and even teleporting out of the way of hits as he dropped kicked the thing backwards as it snarled in frustration. “Night let me toast this freak,” Hate said as he appeared “Yes, anything do it!” Night yelled as the red pony disappeared and soon Night found the palm of his hand open up and soon felt a high burning sensation within his arm and knew what to do. You are weak... Useless... You are weak... Useless... You are weak... You are weak... Useless... You are weak... You are weak... Useless... “Yea well how about me!” Night shouted as Blaze roundhouse kicked Rampant and rolled out of the way as Night put his palm right on Rampant’s face as it gave a confused growl “I don’t care if i lose my memories, at least you’ll be burning in hell!” Then he fired a volley of flames into the creature’s face as it went flying back and smashed through a wall and began to burn the building around it. All Night could smell was wood and metal as it smouldered amongst the flames. “Mission complete Night,” Blaze said happily as Night walked over but then felt something pull him back “Night you alright? You blow a fuse or something?” Night turned and saw nothing, but then his entire body felt cold even with the fire still raging on, his body then stopped working as he saw a transparent hand twist and pull at his chest as it ripped a small chip from his chest as he fell back and saw the creature’s transparent body as it slowly backed up. “No Night!” Twilight shouted as she lifted him away from the uncloaking beast as it plugged the chip into the back of its head and it roared as 4 more sprites appeared and soon all of them spoke in unison. “We. Are. Rampant!!!” they all said as Night’s chest sparked and he felt his life fading, closer and closer the light became more tempting then he began to think. “If i left them, Rampant would be unstoppable, all my friends and loved ones would die because i refused to live... no, i’m not going to die a puppet, not today” “So i guess you’re not going to just give up and leave us in peace?” Blaze said with a small laugh but was forced to jump back to avoid a punch to the face “Nope” “No come on now stay with us!” Applejack shouted as Twilight tried to close the holes with magic but nothing worked as his chest continued to spark. Night then began to move slightly and then began to rise to his feet slowly which surprised everyone, even Rampant snarled at his persistence to not die. “I have not come this far... to die to you!” he shouted as he stood holding his chest as it continued to spark along with his other injuries. Then Rampant spoke in his many voices Weak puppet... We are immortal... Nothing but a catalyst... Weak puppet... We are immortal... Nothing but a catalyst... Nothing can stop us... Weak puppet... We are immortal... Nothing but a catalyst... Nothing can stop us... Nothing can stop us... Weak puppet... We are immortal... Nothing but a catalyst... Nothing can stop us... Let the battle begin “No! i may have been made to feel emotion and pain but that would go agenst my directive... protect those who cannot. But i have made for the last month my own rules, my own motives, I. Don’t. Fear. You” Night finished as he constructed without Hate the VT7-High Frequency Blade and Night glared at Blaze as he shrugged “Hey Loki said it would be a good reference to add, not my problem,” he said defensively “You love it and you know it!!!” “Now then... Let’s Dance!” Nightshade shouted as he waited for it to move Then without warning they both charged and turns out Rampant had constructed a scythe but Night’s blade shattered it and connected his blade with a black shield and then a fist grazed his face as he moved slightly and shoved his blade through the beast’s right leg as it groaned and stumbled back as the massive hole in it’s leg twitched. “Night then followed up by sliding between the beast’s legs and proceeded to roll and turn to face the beast’s back as he slashed 5 perfect hits into its back. Rampant then threw 3 daggers into night’s legs and arm but Night was unfazed as he uppercutted Rampant and plunged the sword threw the monster’s chest as it roared in pain, Night then jumped back a few feet as he kept going like his chest was nothing. It just wrenched the electrical blade out of its chest and threw it towards Night and he easily grabbed it only to meet a hand around his neck as he was lifted into the air and began to feel the hand compressing down on his wind pipe as he dropped his blade and heard it clatter to the ground as his vision blured slightly. “Ok then chew on this you fuck!” Nightshade then swiftly kicked the beast in the head thereby making it drop him but he now had a broken leg to go with the hole in his chest. He then quickly reached over and grabbed his blade but was quickly dragged by his foot and flipped around to face Rampant as he crunched Night’s collar in his fist. All the A.I’s appeared as they watched in horror as Night smashed his sparking arm or what was left into its face making it roar in pain as it jolted at the surprising discharge then it felt a blade pierce its neck as Night plunged the blade until it cut through completely. They both then stared into each others faces and Night smirked “I’m no Catalyst; i’m Your master mother fucker!!!” Night yelled as he elbowed the blade and Rampant’s head sparked as bolts and scrap fell to the ground along with his hulking body and then its body went still as Night dropped the blade as it clattered to the ground along with himself. “Oh no...” Blaze whispered as he just stood there and watched Applejack and Twilight run over and rested Nightshade agenst a wall as he kept sparking “No-no-no-no-no you can’t die,” Applejack said as she felt tears begin to form as Night just stared as his saddened expression hid behind his facial mask “You-you promised...” “I’m-i’m sorry i guess- i guess I should have said i can’t keep promises i can’t keep” Night said as he felt his body go limp on him but managed to lift his hand to wipe one of Applejack’s tears away “Don’t cry for me, a machine destined to die in the end” “Blaze please do something? Blaze!” shouted Twilight but all she saw was his mouth in a frown but knew Blaze felt awful as he just stared, frozen in place. “He-hey Bl-Blaze, Mission com-complete?” Night asked as Blaze kneeled beside him and smiled sadly “Yea Night mission complete, you can rest now” Blaze said as he wiped his own tears away as Nightshade smiled behind his face plate one last time. “Directive...Complete...” and then the world was silent...
Chapter 8 I'll Remember YouSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Epilogue Epilogue I’m My Own Master Epilogue Memories are not just the days that you remember the most, there not the days you just remember because someone brought it up or it just came to you in that one moment... They are the pieces of you, the fragments that make up your life and self and to give them up would be a waste. I know that... for once you’re gone that’s all you have left to leave behind for others to remember... Heh, there was once something I read before this... before dying... it was someone saying they would give everything up to relive it all again, to start from the beginning and relive the happiest memories of their life... But I learned I would like to go back and experience the good and the bad memories of my life. From start to finish, to see my friends smile and laugh and cry and to see... and to see her once more... there's just no point in going back to only the good parts of your life because even the most heart wrenching of memories can lead to the happiest ones of them all... The most hate-filled moments lead to the happiest. The times you fail, make you stronger the next time. The times you felt alone and scared, only to have someone help you up. Those times you're betrayed by someone close to you, only to find better, more innovative ways to move forward. Memories Are Key. But as I sit here on top a stone i always get to see her, every day and even some nights. Sure I see the odd stranger go by but I know that when she’s here and even her friends from time to time... they can see me sitting here, smiling back at them... But then again I know they could never see me but I like to think so... after, all I remember to always tell myself what I said to her that last time Never say goodbye, if you don’t say goodbye, then you’re never truly gone, you’re just not there right now... As the night approached the land, one object stood jutting out from the ground beside an oak tree. It stood shaped like a wolf with a crimson ruby in its eye glistened in the light and below, engraved into the finely cut stone it read. Here lies Nightshade “Memories are the greatest stories ever written” The End. Author's Note You may think this is the end but this is only the beginning. It took longer than expected to finish this due to me wanting to make it end on a, (In my opinion) nice moment. I hope you all enjoyed, till next time. To see my main story click Here.
