Infamous: New Beginningsby Art InspiredChaptersIntroductionenergy- first choiceenergy- first choice- goodenergy- first choice- evil flash backSasha's Return - Second ChoiceevilgoodIntroductionDr. Wolf’s secret report findings #283. Hours of research has led me to the understanding that Cole is invincible… And when I say invincible, I mean his consciousness will never cease to exist. If he uses the RFI, his body will be dead, but his mind will be sucked into a different world. What’s worse is if this happens, he will not be able to return to this universe… I do not want to go into detail as to how this is possible, but rather simply say that he could end up in a number of parallel universes that is undiscovered by us. This breakthrough will literally be the ultimate in science discoveries. It’s just too bad this will never be known to the outside world. People will think Cole McGrath is dead, when really, his conscience, memory… Basically his whole mind will be transported to another world and will probably develop a new body for itself to use… Depending on which world he is in, however. I tried to tell him, but time was short and I missed my chance. It may be better if he doesn't know. Not only that, but I don’t know what will happen to the other conduits once the RFI is activated. For all I know, they could end up in the same universe or a completely different one! This may be harming other beings that we have yet to discovered, and technically still don’t know about. It is without a doubt that Cole will survive… But is there a possible way of getting him back home? ________________________________________________________________________________ The dazed and oddly confused Cole McGrath awoke in a field of colorful flowers. Sun shined down upon his buzz cut mane and warmed his body. Looking around with one hell of a head ache, he said “What… Where am I? I thought… THE BEAST!” He stumbled to his hooves and panicked. “Where is he? Did I kill him? I must have…" Loosing concentration on his deceased foe, he noticed his body. Seeing the lightly grey coat and the new form he had taken, he began to wonder why he was a pony. “What the hell? Am I… I’m a pony... Why am I a pony?” He stumbled and walked through the flowers trying to remember what happened just before firing up the RFI only to remember a bright blue light and then nothing. “Am… Am I dead? Did I die after the explosion? That must be it, but then, why am I a pony... do i still have my powers?” He pointed his hoof forward and fired a blue streak of lightning. It eradicated and burned some flowers where the bolt landed. Smiling at his unique talent, he said "Even if I'm dead, I'll still have powers." Blue skies filled the air, and in the distance, he could see a town. Cole decided to go investigate to see if he could find someone to talk to. As he tried to gallop, he tripped a few times before getting the hang of things. This world was nothing like earth. Cole saw mountains and beauty all around him as he approached the town. When he got to the entrance, he slowed down and crashed once more. A local gave him a hand by grabbing his hoof. “Well, someone’s in a hurry.” The local said. Cole just got to his hooves and proceeded to enter the town. Walking through, he saw it was extremely colorful, and everybody was a pony. As he walked through the town, he saw everybody looking at him. He did stick out like a sore thumb. Unlike everyone else, he had a different look; Scars on his face, and a shaved mane. He looked around and tried to think of what to say. Just before he did though, a mare walked out of a local bakery. The way she looked put his odd style to shame. She had a beautiful mane that sparkled in the light and was decorated with royalty jewelry; Not to mention the fact that she had wings on her sides and a horn sticking out of her hear. She saw Cole and gasped. As she walked over to the stallion, Cole cocked his head while frowning. “Well, a new comer in the town of Ponyville? What’s your name?” The mare asked. Cole hesitated before deciding to introduce himself. “The names Cole McGrath… I’m a little lost… And confused.” The mare smiled and said “I can understand that. I sense a power within you.” All the other ponies gathered round the two as they talked. Cole knew he would be in trouble if he hurt any civilians by showing off, so he denied it. Princess Celestia giggled and turned around. “Very well then… I guess you can’t stop this attack then!” The mare whipped around and fired a ray of supernatural magic from her horn straight at Cole. He responded by firing lightning back at the beam. The two were locked in a magic struggle. Sparks surged out of Cole’s hooves and pushed back the magic of the mare. The crowd stood with mouths wide open, some screaming in terror. Finally, the two ran out of juice and stood there, Cole panting more than the mare. All the other ponies watched as Cole could here murmur’s spread through the crowd. “How did he do that?” “He’s not a unicorn!” “He shouldn’t be able to use magic.” Cole, losing his temper, yelled at the mare while asking “What the hell?! Why would you fire at me? I didn’t harm you!” The mare caught her breath and said “Because you lied to me. I knew you were special… Just like her.” Cole stopped his anger to ask who the mare was talking about. “Over the last few hours." The mare said. "She’s been ruining Canterlot, so I arrested her. Not an easy task when she can control burning hot sludge! She goes by the name of Nix. Cole’s jaw dropped as he heard her name. Nix was still alive and was causing mayhem here. At least he wasn’t the only conduit here, and if Nix was here, that meant Kuo might be here as well. Things were starting to look like it would be alright, but what was this place? Cole asked this and the mare explained. “First, my name is Princess Celestia. I raise the sun of Equestria, which is this world; Universe of ponies… Something must have happened in your world that transported you here. Ponies like you who are earth ponies, not unicorns, have been showing up with special magical powers. You’re not the only one, and it’s starting to become a real problem. So far, Nix and you are the only ones I’ve met, but I have heard reports of other just like you two. I believe Nix called them… Conduits was it? Please, come to Canterlot and explain how you got here. Perhaps we can make sense of this crazy ordeal.” Cole did as the mare said and followed her to some carriage. There was just enough room for two. As they flew to Canterlot, Cole explained what happened in his world and Celestia explained where he was and gave him some insight about the area, location and what kinds of ponies inhabited the universe known as Equestria. ________________________________________________________________________________ More to come! Next time, Cole meets Luna and has to make a choice. I have been wanting to do this for some time, but decided not to until now. I just got back from vacation and intend on writing more assuming this does good. It WILL have karmic decisions and a different story lining. The good/bad story will be out line and you will be able to see which one is the bad story and which one is the good story. Hope you enjoyed reading the introduction. energy- first choiceEnergy Cole and princess Celestia arrived at the Canterlot city and Cole realized he wasn’t on the grid, so why was he not drained yet? “Uh… Princess.” He began to ask. “Look, I noticed there are no electric currents like light poles in this city... In order to survive, I need electricity… So, why do I feel like I’m still healthy?” Princess Celestia put her hoof to her lip to think. “Well… It could be all the magic in this world.” Cole stared at the mare with eyes that said Do you really expect me to believe that crap? Princess Celestia explained in a better tone of voice. “Magic flows freely in this world. Unicorns absorb magic and use it with their horns. You could be absorbing the same magic and converting it into electricity! That would make the most sense.” Cole wasn’t one to believe in something like magic, but then again, if he has a permanent grid, things become easier. A constant flow of energy is something that could really be used to his advantage. As they reached the palace gates, princess Celestia told Cole to follow her to the dungeon so he could see his friend. “It is tragic.” Princess Celestia said as she led the way. “Your world’s science is its magic, and our magic is our science. The thought of you and your friends coming here frightens me. If their anything like Nix, this will be horrible.” Cole assured the princess that some conduits were bad, and some were good. The two reached the Nix's cell. It was protected by a force field of pink and purple light surrounding all corners of all the walls. Nix looked way different than her normal human state. She had dreadlocks and a red coat. Black freckles could be seen on her cheeks and her eyes were the same color, but still unforgiving. When Nix saw Cole, she ran up the shield of magic aura saying “Cole, baby! What in the world are you doing here? Last I saw you, we were fighting the beast… Wait, and did we get him? Tell me we whooped his ass. If he’s still alive I will destroy him.” Cole could tell Nix was still upset about the whole ordeal and told her to relax. “I understand he killed your… uh… babies… but, seriously, he’s dead. I’m confident in that. Now then, how did you survive?” Nix smiled and told her story. “I was sitting on a skyscraper about three blocks down from the beast. My body was scorched and I was dying… But then, I saw a bright light burst out of nowhere… After that… I awoke in this city alley way… I uh, kinda lost my temper when I saw what I looked like. I rampaged through the town for a bit and got arrested shortly after. So, here I am.” Cole turned to the princess to ask if there were any casualties. “Only a few hurt ponies with burns, but no deaths, thank goodness.” Cole looked at Nix with an angry look planted in his face. “What were you thinking?” He said. “Hurting others… I thought you had changed.” Nix giggled and said “Oh, please. These ponies mean nothing, just like the people back home! You think because I took down the beast with your ass that means I turned over a new leaf? Hell no! I did that because he killed my babies, not for the people; couldn’t care less about those bitches!” Cole rolled his eyes as a unicorn guard came around the corner asking for the princess's help. The princess left, leaving Cole here alone with Nix. He looked at the red pony and said “This is beyond messed up. If you want to live in this world, you’re going to have to cooperate. There are unicorn out there that have just as much power as we do. You already set a bad name for conduits. More of our kind is showing up around this world and we need to make it clear to the princess that we aren’t a threat!” Nix, still in her pool of self-arrogance, said “Why don’t… You break me out! We can start an army, you and me.” Cole interjected by saying “Or, I can ask the princess to let you free, which I think she will; so long as you promise to never hurt another pony again.” Nix sat and looked at her hoofs. “I’ll let you decide.” Cole pondered his choices. (On one hand, I can talk to the princess and try to convince her to let Nix go…) (Or I could just let her go and say she broke out, and then does as she says and form an army…) energy- first choice- goodEnergy- first choice- good Cole looked at Nix with the expression of a hero and said “I’m here to help these ponies any way possible. Forming an army of conduits isn’t what I’m here to do.” Nix slumped over and said “Fine… Whatever… But I doubt the princess will be willing to let me free.” “I think she will.” Cole argued. “All you have to do is say sorry and swear you will never do this again… We need to be trusted just as much as we need to trust at this point. I think these ponies might be able to get us home with work, and we can’t get them to help us if we go around hurting them; got it?” Nix shook her head. They waited a moment before Princess Celestia came back. As she entered, Cole said his friend had an apology for her. Nix drew a heavy sigh. “Look, we got off on the wrong foo… Uh, hoof, I guess I should say… I’m sorry for going ballistic back there… If you let me go; I promise I won’t do it again.” Princess Celestia smiled and said “Very well… I’ll let you go… But, if I find out you hurt any more of my subjects, you will find yourself right back in this cell.” The force field was dropped and the barred cell door opened with screeching. Nix exited and walked up to Cole. “Thanks babe… I guess we do need all the help we can get if we want to return home.” Nix and Cole was brought into the throne room. The day was ending and Celestia needed to lower the sun. As she sat down on her throne, her horn glowed yellow and the rays of sunlight shined through the stained glass located behind her. As she finished, another mare entered. This one was an alicorn as well, but blue. Her hair looked like a compilation of stars, but she was a tad bit younger looking then Princess Celestia. “Sister.” She said as she walked into the room. “Have you any word of the phenomena known as conduits?” Seeing Cole and Nix standing next to each other to Celestia’s left, she stared at them with inspecting eyes. Her sister said “Actually, I have! These two show promise as protectors of the peace.” Luna walked up to the two and asked “Isn’t she the one who attacked our city?” Celestia smiled and said “Don’t worry Luna, she apologized and promised me she will never do that again. As for the other one, he seems to have a good aura about him. I think he will be a great Canterlot guard.” Luna agreed and waited for the subject changer. (Cole now had a more positive outlook on his current situation. Things would be pretty good now that he and Nix would be able to help. His posture improved and a slight smile formed on his face. Cole now has the rank of Guardian.) Princess Celestia looked at the two and said “Now then, I have received word about a certain conduit in Manehatten. Do you think you could go handle it?” Cole assured her he and Nix would investigate with positive results. The princess thanked them and said “All I want you to do is bring them here, to me or my sister; whoever is currently awake. We will try and convince them to become part of our cause… What I plan on doing is forming a new unit… A group of new ponies that can help protect and serve the cities of Equestria, or at least until Luna and I figure out how to send all the conduits home. I trust you to carry out this mission correctly and efficiently.” Cole and Nix looked at each other and Cole said “Don’t you go dying on me now!” Nix’s response was “Same to you, Sparky!” As the two prepped themselves for the mission, Princess Celestia went to bed. The train would take them anywhere they wanted to go. As they exited the station within Manehatten, Cole had Nix followed him. Nix looked at Cole and said “So… You think you still got it in you? Before we go looking for this dude in the city, let’s head to the rooftops to see what powers you still have.” energy- first choice- evilEnergy- first choice- evil Cole looked at her and said in a dark voice “Alright, I’ll bust you out… But you have to strike me down to make it look like you escaped. The only reason I’m doing this is because I don’t think the princess can get us home, but if we gather an army of conduits, we might have a fighting chance. With all our powers combined, I think we can find a way back home. Now, back up.” Cole raised his hooves to the barred cage and said “We do this together. When I strike, you strike.” Lightning and molten sludge hit the force field hard burning and electrocuting it from both sides as the force of the two conduit’s power became too much to handle, the shield dissipated allowing Nix to escape. As she left the cell, she attacked Cole, slamming him into the wall. “AH! What the hell? That was way too hard!” He said clenching his chest. “That’s revenge for choosing Kuo over me!” Nix claimed with a crooked smile. As she ran off for the palace exit, Cole stayed behind and waited for the princess to return. When she arrived, she became furious at the fact that the cage was empty. “Where is she Cole?” She asked. Cole shook his head and fibbed “She escaped! I tried to stop her, but she was too strong… Sorry.” The princess took off to try and stop Nix in vain. Nix was long gone by now. Cole was carried by one of the guards to the throne room. As he sat to the left of Celestia, he could tell she was angry at his inability to stop Nix. “Well… This is just great!” She said sarcastically. “I knew I should have stayed… Look, this isn’t your fault. I should have stayed and kept watch. Now we have a murderous, powered up pony headed for what appeared to be Manehatten. My guards confirmed that this is where she was headed… Cole, in order to redeem yourself, you need to chase after her. Also, be on the lookout for a conduit there. My informants tell me there’s one in the general facility.” As she finished, another mare entered. This one was an alicorn as well, but blue. Her hair looked like a compilation of stars, but she was a tad bit younger looking then Princess Celestia. “Sister.” She said as she walked into the room. “Have you any word of the phenomena known as conduits?” Seeing Cole, she asked if that was one of them. Celestia replied by saying “Yes… But he has already gotten off to a bad start. He let Nix free. You met Nix; She was the one who controlled the flaming sludge.” The mare approached Cole and looked him up and down while Celestia introduced her as her sister. Luna asked Cole why he couldn’t stop her. Cole lied about it by saying she was just too strong. (Cole now has a dark appearance and bad posture. Due to his poor decision, his lightning is now red. He is now an underground thug.) The two princess's told Cole to go to Manehatten at once. As the sun set, he entered the train traveling to Manehatten. When he exited the station, Nix showed herself right behind him. “Thanks for busting me out. It really means a lot to me.” She said walking up to him. Cole rolled his eyes and said “Look, if we’re going to form an army, I need Intel from the princess’s. There’s more than one, so we need to play them as long as possible. I need to see how powerful they are. Once I know what I need, we’ll deal with them, but for now, you need to help me find this conduit.” Nix agreed, looked at Cole and said “So… You think you still got it in you? Before we go looking for this dude in the city, let’s head to the rooftops to see what powers you still have.” flash backflash back Flash backs Cole decided to see if his tether bolt still worked. As he pointed his hoof to a nearby building, he shot out the line of lightning to the top and reeled himself in. As he jumped on, Nix yelled “Oh, yea! That’s what I’m talking about!” Cole sparked his hand feeling like he barely wasted any energy. Nix yelled to him to get his attention once more. “Hey! I’m gonna throw you a barrel and you try your hand… Uh, hoof at shocking it! Think you can handle that?” Cole looked down at the red pony and told her to proceed. A few barrels flew up and Cole electrocuted each one. As they fell down to the streets with a crash, a crowd came and wondered what was happening. Then Nix yelled “Alright, were gonna see if you still got that ability to control and throw objects.” She blasted a carriage used for transportation up to the building. Cole brought his hoofs up and focused on the huge object. It floated in midair with lightning surrounding it. Nix stomped her hooves in the ground as a symbol of applause. “Good, good! Now, bring it down slowly while catching this barrel.” Cole set it down and caught the object just before it hit his head. Nix yelled to Cole saying “Yea, baby, yea! Now plant a grenade on it and make some fireworks. I filled it up with some of my highly flammable goop. Soon as that grenade pops, we’ll have a nice explosion in the sky.” Cole threw a grenade onto the barrel and threw it up into the air. As it exploded, fireworks filled the night air, and all the civilians watched. After that, Nix yelled for Cole to jump down. “Come on, demon! You got nothing to worry about! Gravity can’t hurt you!” Cole smiled as he leaped to the ground. The impact didn’t hurt even though he fell three stories down, but he’s had harder falls. As he landed he did a barrel roll and planted his hoofed firmly into the ground. The stallion looked at Nix while smirking and said “I still got it!” As the two left the scene, ponies surrounded the area still marveling in the show he just put on. “Uh, Nix… You think it’s a good idea to show off so early?” Cole asked. Nix chuckled and said “look, if we’re going to be here for a while, their gonna have to get use to our abilities.” Cole shrugged and agreed. As they looked for this conduit, they reminisced in the old days. “Remember when Bertrand turned into that giant parasite?” Cole asked as they turned a corner headed east. Nix rolled her eyes while saying “Don’t remind me. That thing was the ugliest thing I ever saw. It took the entire town to take that bitch down!” The two reached the edge of town to find nothing. With them being a little frustrated, Cole said “Where is this guy? You’d think we would have…” Suddenly, the ground felt like it was vibrating. In the distance, Cole could see what looked like a yellow light approaching the city. Nix looked at Cole with a smile and said “Come on, demon! Let’s go greet this guest!” The two headed off towards the light with haste. As they approached the thing, Cole received a flood of memories of when he was at Empire City. The man who almost killed Trish; Alden, was there; but now, he was way more powerful than the last time they met! Cole had battled Alden before and won. His giant machine was his source of power. Just before he finished Alden off, Alden jumped into the river never to be seen by Cole again, except for now. The giant robotic shielding Alden controlled was way bigger than last they fought. Inside the mouth was Alden, being shielded by a technological force field. Nix looked at Cole and asked what this was. Cole said “it’s Alden! He was the one who almost got a juice boost from the Ray Sphere, but Zeke and I stopped him in the nick of time.” Alden spoke with a scratchy and tempered voice “Cole… McGrath! It’s been to long! Now that I have you where I want you, I plan on making sure that I don’t fail this time!” The thing’s arm raised and fired one hell of a laser beam at Cole and nix. Cole shot thunder at it forcing it back while electrocuting the mechanism, and nix fired flaming sludge balls as the head. Soon, the laser was pushed back into the arm blowing it into bits. Cole brought down one big lightning storm onto the mechanism igniting the sludge that was all over the thing’s head. It fell to pieces and spat the pony out. As Alden landed at the hooves of Cole, he looked up to see Cole’s pissed off face. Alden looked like he did in Empire City, only in pony form. His old wrinkled were clearly visible all over his body and his one bad right eye looked just as gruesome. Cole picked the pony up and slammed him on one of the bar poles while saying “No river for you jump into this time, huh? You’re coming with me! If you try to escape, I won’t hesitate to strike!” Cole shocked Alden's hands with bolt cuffs to secure him and lead Alden to the town’s train station. Nix was ordered to stay behind to keep look out for other conduits that may reveal themselves. As the two left the train station in Canterlot, Cole yawned from exhaustion. It wasn’t really early enough for Princess Celestia to be up, so he would have to turn Alden in to Luna. As he reached the throne room, still keeping an eye on Alden, he saw Luna looking over some papers. Luna took Alden to a cage and secured him as to prevent him from escaping, then showed Cole to his quarters. As they walked down to the room all the way at the end, he said “Huh, my own room… It’s gonna feel good sleeping in my own bed rather than a couch outside.” ________________________________________________________________________________ Alright, I need to update the karmic links for this chapter. Just hold tight. This may take a while. Sasha's Return - Second ChoiceSasha’s returned - Second Choice “Cole… Cole… how’s my favorite freak? I know you’re sleeping, thinking of me… oh, how I’ve missed you. Do you remember my lust for you, how much love I wanted to give you? We can still be together, ever though, you rejected me… and if that bitch, nix, is in the way… well, I can kill her for you. We both have similar powers, her and I, but I think my mind morphing spells could force her into utter insanity. Wouldn’t that make you happy, my love? Seek me out, and we’ll talk, but if you come aggressively, I’ll have no choice but to defend myself. You remember how powerful I was back in empire city, don’t you? Imagine that, only ten times more destructive… the sun’s up, so I’ll be leaving you now. Just remember, Trish is dead, and nix will never be able to satisfy you the way I can.” Cole awoke to a flood of distasteful memories. Sasha, the conduit mind controller was here. That wasn’t any ordinary dream; it was her speaking out to Cole in his nightmares. As the pony got out of his bed, he heard a knocking on his door. “Uh, come in.” Celestia entered with a tired expression, and asked “if I’m not mistaken, you’ll need gear for your daily missions. I’ve taken a few snap shots of your old regalia and made you a uniform.” Her horn spiked up and formed a t-shirt, yellow and black. Then, the jeans with the general London logo on it were made. As Cole put on his new clothes, he thanked her highness and asked, “I’ll also need a cell phone. Do you know what that is?” Celestia just smiled and summoned one along with new Bluetooth devices. At least five for his personal contacts, in case he ever found some. One whisked up to her ear and vice versa for Cole. The conduit giggled with that same, scratchy voice and asked, “So, what’s my first mission?” Just before Celestia was able to reply, Cole got his answer from a distant, crashing sound. It echoed off the walls and cold knew he needed to investigate it immediately. He jumped out of his balcony and fell ten storied down to the next roof. Hopping from building to building, he caught the sight coming from the ground. Reapers were running havoc through the Canterlot streets, at least ten on the ground, and five on the roof tops. On all of their shoulders were wired guns of varying designs. Some were assault rifles, and some were heavy shot guns. Then, out of nowhere, one with a missile launcher blasted his weapon down at Cole from high above. It made a direct hit and sends the stallion hurdling to the ground. As his vision blurred, everything became white. Suddenly, a bleached conduit reaper warped in front of a huge crowd of pedestrian civilians. He startled them so much, that they had to run for cover, but unfortunately, for Cole, they headed right his way. “Awe, crap…” Cole thought, “If these ponies keep charging me, I’ll ultimately be trampled. Not only that, but it’ll knock me out for sure. There’s only one solution to preventing me from getting even more thrashed. I can blast them with a force push and send half of them flying to their unavoidable deaths, Or let them trample me, and deal with the pain… but then I may not be able to save the city… ugh…” evilSasha's Return - Second Choice - Evil Cole’s thoughts raced as his hoof blasted every pony into the air. As they floated there, his fears became true. His powers were so intense that some landed on roof tops. Most made a devastating landing. He got to his hooves and grunted from the previous blast. One pony reaped after another slammed down from the roofs and came running at Cole. His time was short, so he barrel rolled over to a nearby dumpster. Grenade after grenade was sent to the villains, and soon, one by one, they all were blown to bits. Most died instantly, while some lived. One in particular that survived was the red hooded being that blew Cole off the roof and put him in that choosy situation in the first place. Cole walked up to the pony; his hooved wrapped around the reaper’s neck collar and in an instant, Cole sucked the life energy out of his victim. The pony lay there, dead and motionless. Next thing Cole heard was Celestia’s upset voice. “COLE!” the stallion turned to see her highness in a fit of pure anger. “You’ve killed perfectly good prisoners! They could have had vital information, and you killed damn near every single one! Not only that, but you also managed to injure several bystanders! What is wrong with you?!” Cole’s head lowered as his annoyed mind churned with the rash decision he just made. “I… just wanted to stop the reapers… and when those ponies were running-” “You should have let them trample you! I was right here all along, and I could have stopped them myself. Thanks to your stupid decision, you’ve not only coasted lived, but vital Intel we needed.” The princess turned and finished, “the throne room, now!” Cole entered the grand area, taking in his surroundings; he saw her highness sitting on her throne, pissed more than ever. Dead ponies surrounded her throne. They were all the souls Cole took this morning. He looked around, grimacing at the open eyed bodies and tried not to seem disgusted. Celestia said, “eight lives were lost… because of you Cole… and now, I must inform the family members of this occurrence. I hope you’re happy with your decision. Next time, be more level headed. Now excuse me, I have a mortician to contact.” Cole left his rage at the boiling point. He remembered so much from his life, and wondered how he could have let this happen, but then remembered Sasha, the way she invited him into her heart, the tempting taunts she planted into his consciousness; he began to question if he truly liked this situation he found himself in. did he want to be the hero of the day, or the villain he was always labeled with. Even in New Marais, the title of the demon of empire city made his identity seem criminal, and unjust. Maybe, it was time to become what everyone thought of him, but if he did change, he’d have to keep it a secret, at least for now as to make sure Celestia wouldn’t kick him out and ruin the developing plan he was forming. Walking into his room, he saw nix smiling from his balcony. She said, “I’ve got a lock on a pretty powerful conduit. She’s one hell of a power house. If you follow me and come on over to Manehatten, I bet we can take her down together.” “Do you know her name, or what she looks like?” “She has relatively short, jet black hair, and her lower forelegs are hidden by sludge. I saw her entering the sewers earlier, just before the sun rose… are you in?” Cole understood this had to be Sasha, and looked forward to seeing how powerful she’s become in the last year. He agreed and the two left, headed to the train station. On their way, Cole called Celestia and explained he’d have a new conduit in bars by the end of the day. Afterword’s, he handed over a Bluetooth to nix and said, “Anytime you wanna talk, just let me know.” The two beings would arrive in little less than an hour, ready to battle this bitch with everything they had. goodSasha's Return - Second Choice - Good Cole shielded his eyes as he repaired for the onslaught of hooved. One by one, the rock hard legs kicked and slammed his head and body. The pain was unbearable, and just when he thought he couldn’t take much more, it ended, and the lowering sounds of galloping ponies disappeared behind his ears. Burned, bruised and beat, Cole laid there, dripping blood leaked from his head. Cuts and one big gash scarred his frame, and as he reached his hoof out for assistance, reapers encircled the dazed pony. The guns pointed themselves at his head, and just when he thought his death was imminent, they all fell to the ground. One conduit lay on top of Cole, but was quickly removed by an aura of magic. Her highness, princess Celestia had used a sleeping spell on the enemies. Every last reaped in this area was slumbering peacefully. Cole looked up to see her striding over, a huge grin spread across her face. Her horn lowered and slightly touched Cole’s mangled head. As she did, Cole heard her say, “Sleep… you’ve earned this. I’m so proud of you, Cole.” Waking up in the royal infirmary, the healing stallion looked around, his vision extremely hazed. All he could do was to think, heal… HEAL DAMNIT! Just like that, spectrum luminosity swirled around Cole’s body and instantly mended his wounds. His head lifted and smiled. Magic was just like electricity in this world. He didn’t need a generator, or a light bulb to heal. All he needed was to concentrate on the enchanted air, and in no time at all, he’d heal. Cole looked at his chest. The slash that was once plainly seen on his chest was covered by bandaged. His hoof lifted to his head and felt the binds that stopped the blood from spewing out. Removing them, he inspected his body. Every single cut; every slight bruise was gone, like magic. He laughed at this, more than he had in a good while. Suddenly, his room door opened, and a flood of ponies came in. Cole recognized them as the ones who trampled him in the streets. They all circled the stallion, all with apologetic faces. Celestia was the last one to enter, and once she saw Cole fully healed, she gave a sigh of relief. “I guess the magic of this world did this to you. That, or my nurses and doctors are miracle workers.” All the ponies gave Cole their thanks for not hurting them, something Celestia knew he could’ve done, but instead, took an embarrassingly horrid defeat. She apparently explained this to each one, and asked them to visit Cole while he was recovering. The conduit smirked and asked “you’re all a lot kinder than in my world, but then, I guess this is to be expected… has Celestia explained what’s going on at all?” Her highness spoke up by explaining, “While you were asleep, healing, I took a long, and overly time consuming interview with one of the equestrian reporters. They’ve published this at the front page explaining everything that’s occurring right now.” Cole thought these were all the visitors, but as they all left after an hour of getting to know some of them, the stallion saw nix enter. Celestia almost got pushed to the side by her. She looked down at Cole with worried eyes and asked, “Are you okay, babe?” Cole sat up and got to his hooves. He smirked her way and uttered, “fine… just fine. I’ll be ready to get back to work anytime you’re ready.” Her highness cleared her throat before speaking. “Actually, there’s a development in the town you two were at not too long ago. One conduit emerged, but she’s extremely powerful. I’ll be sending both of you her way to deal with her immediately. Bring her back unharmed, and I’ll take care of things from there.” Cole pondered what this conduit was like and asked for some sort of description. “She’s got a jet black mane, and her lower legs are coated in mind controlling goo… I don’t know her name, but she’s terrorizing Manehatten. Go there, and stop her tyranny with haste.” Cole knew this had to be Sasha, and left to confront her. As Cole left, he thanked Celestia for saving him back there. He was rarely rescued, usually things were the other way around, so for this to happen was a really awesome development in his opinion. Entering the bus, nix and Cole discussed the good old days of when they were in New Marais. Cole wondered if quo was somewhere in Equestria, and if she was, then things would be able to turn out better, for everyone. He gave nix her Bluetooth and told her to call him anytime she needed his help. They’d reach Manehatten in less than two hours, and would need to use precision to defeat this conduit, while protecting some of the other ponies that would most likely be in danger, but f things were anything like last time, she’d probably be in the sewers, so nopony would probably be harmed during their battle.
IntroductionDr. Wolf’s secret report findings #283. Hours of research has led me to the understanding that Cole is invincible… And when I say invincible, I mean his consciousness will never cease to exist. If he uses the RFI, his body will be dead, but his mind will be sucked into a different world. What’s worse is if this happens, he will not be able to return to this universe… I do not want to go into detail as to how this is possible, but rather simply say that he could end up in a number of parallel universes that is undiscovered by us. This breakthrough will literally be the ultimate in science discoveries. It’s just too bad this will never be known to the outside world. People will think Cole McGrath is dead, when really, his conscience, memory… Basically his whole mind will be transported to another world and will probably develop a new body for itself to use… Depending on which world he is in, however. I tried to tell him, but time was short and I missed my chance. It may be better if he doesn't know. Not only that, but I don’t know what will happen to the other conduits once the RFI is activated. For all I know, they could end up in the same universe or a completely different one! This may be harming other beings that we have yet to discovered, and technically still don’t know about. It is without a doubt that Cole will survive… But is there a possible way of getting him back home? ________________________________________________________________________________ The dazed and oddly confused Cole McGrath awoke in a field of colorful flowers. Sun shined down upon his buzz cut mane and warmed his body. Looking around with one hell of a head ache, he said “What… Where am I? I thought… THE BEAST!” He stumbled to his hooves and panicked. “Where is he? Did I kill him? I must have…" Loosing concentration on his deceased foe, he noticed his body. Seeing the lightly grey coat and the new form he had taken, he began to wonder why he was a pony. “What the hell? Am I… I’m a pony... Why am I a pony?” He stumbled and walked through the flowers trying to remember what happened just before firing up the RFI only to remember a bright blue light and then nothing. “Am… Am I dead? Did I die after the explosion? That must be it, but then, why am I a pony... do i still have my powers?” He pointed his hoof forward and fired a blue streak of lightning. It eradicated and burned some flowers where the bolt landed. Smiling at his unique talent, he said "Even if I'm dead, I'll still have powers." Blue skies filled the air, and in the distance, he could see a town. Cole decided to go investigate to see if he could find someone to talk to. As he tried to gallop, he tripped a few times before getting the hang of things. This world was nothing like earth. Cole saw mountains and beauty all around him as he approached the town. When he got to the entrance, he slowed down and crashed once more. A local gave him a hand by grabbing his hoof. “Well, someone’s in a hurry.” The local said. Cole just got to his hooves and proceeded to enter the town. Walking through, he saw it was extremely colorful, and everybody was a pony. As he walked through the town, he saw everybody looking at him. He did stick out like a sore thumb. Unlike everyone else, he had a different look; Scars on his face, and a shaved mane. He looked around and tried to think of what to say. Just before he did though, a mare walked out of a local bakery. The way she looked put his odd style to shame. She had a beautiful mane that sparkled in the light and was decorated with royalty jewelry; Not to mention the fact that she had wings on her sides and a horn sticking out of her hear. She saw Cole and gasped. As she walked over to the stallion, Cole cocked his head while frowning. “Well, a new comer in the town of Ponyville? What’s your name?” The mare asked. Cole hesitated before deciding to introduce himself. “The names Cole McGrath… I’m a little lost… And confused.” The mare smiled and said “I can understand that. I sense a power within you.” All the other ponies gathered round the two as they talked. Cole knew he would be in trouble if he hurt any civilians by showing off, so he denied it. Princess Celestia giggled and turned around. “Very well then… I guess you can’t stop this attack then!” The mare whipped around and fired a ray of supernatural magic from her horn straight at Cole. He responded by firing lightning back at the beam. The two were locked in a magic struggle. Sparks surged out of Cole’s hooves and pushed back the magic of the mare. The crowd stood with mouths wide open, some screaming in terror. Finally, the two ran out of juice and stood there, Cole panting more than the mare. All the other ponies watched as Cole could here murmur’s spread through the crowd. “How did he do that?” “He’s not a unicorn!” “He shouldn’t be able to use magic.” Cole, losing his temper, yelled at the mare while asking “What the hell?! Why would you fire at me? I didn’t harm you!” The mare caught her breath and said “Because you lied to me. I knew you were special… Just like her.” Cole stopped his anger to ask who the mare was talking about. “Over the last few hours." The mare said. "She’s been ruining Canterlot, so I arrested her. Not an easy task when she can control burning hot sludge! She goes by the name of Nix. Cole’s jaw dropped as he heard her name. Nix was still alive and was causing mayhem here. At least he wasn’t the only conduit here, and if Nix was here, that meant Kuo might be here as well. Things were starting to look like it would be alright, but what was this place? Cole asked this and the mare explained. “First, my name is Princess Celestia. I raise the sun of Equestria, which is this world; Universe of ponies… Something must have happened in your world that transported you here. Ponies like you who are earth ponies, not unicorns, have been showing up with special magical powers. You’re not the only one, and it’s starting to become a real problem. So far, Nix and you are the only ones I’ve met, but I have heard reports of other just like you two. I believe Nix called them… Conduits was it? Please, come to Canterlot and explain how you got here. Perhaps we can make sense of this crazy ordeal.” Cole did as the mare said and followed her to some carriage. There was just enough room for two. As they flew to Canterlot, Cole explained what happened in his world and Celestia explained where he was and gave him some insight about the area, location and what kinds of ponies inhabited the universe known as Equestria. ________________________________________________________________________________ More to come! Next time, Cole meets Luna and has to make a choice. I have been wanting to do this for some time, but decided not to until now. I just got back from vacation and intend on writing more assuming this does good. It WILL have karmic decisions and a different story lining. The good/bad story will be out line and you will be able to see which one is the bad story and which one is the good story. Hope you enjoyed reading the introduction.
energy- first choiceEnergy Cole and princess Celestia arrived at the Canterlot city and Cole realized he wasn’t on the grid, so why was he not drained yet? “Uh… Princess.” He began to ask. “Look, I noticed there are no electric currents like light poles in this city... In order to survive, I need electricity… So, why do I feel like I’m still healthy?” Princess Celestia put her hoof to her lip to think. “Well… It could be all the magic in this world.” Cole stared at the mare with eyes that said Do you really expect me to believe that crap? Princess Celestia explained in a better tone of voice. “Magic flows freely in this world. Unicorns absorb magic and use it with their horns. You could be absorbing the same magic and converting it into electricity! That would make the most sense.” Cole wasn’t one to believe in something like magic, but then again, if he has a permanent grid, things become easier. A constant flow of energy is something that could really be used to his advantage. As they reached the palace gates, princess Celestia told Cole to follow her to the dungeon so he could see his friend. “It is tragic.” Princess Celestia said as she led the way. “Your world’s science is its magic, and our magic is our science. The thought of you and your friends coming here frightens me. If their anything like Nix, this will be horrible.” Cole assured the princess that some conduits were bad, and some were good. The two reached the Nix's cell. It was protected by a force field of pink and purple light surrounding all corners of all the walls. Nix looked way different than her normal human state. She had dreadlocks and a red coat. Black freckles could be seen on her cheeks and her eyes were the same color, but still unforgiving. When Nix saw Cole, she ran up the shield of magic aura saying “Cole, baby! What in the world are you doing here? Last I saw you, we were fighting the beast… Wait, and did we get him? Tell me we whooped his ass. If he’s still alive I will destroy him.” Cole could tell Nix was still upset about the whole ordeal and told her to relax. “I understand he killed your… uh… babies… but, seriously, he’s dead. I’m confident in that. Now then, how did you survive?” Nix smiled and told her story. “I was sitting on a skyscraper about three blocks down from the beast. My body was scorched and I was dying… But then, I saw a bright light burst out of nowhere… After that… I awoke in this city alley way… I uh, kinda lost my temper when I saw what I looked like. I rampaged through the town for a bit and got arrested shortly after. So, here I am.” Cole turned to the princess to ask if there were any casualties. “Only a few hurt ponies with burns, but no deaths, thank goodness.” Cole looked at Nix with an angry look planted in his face. “What were you thinking?” He said. “Hurting others… I thought you had changed.” Nix giggled and said “Oh, please. These ponies mean nothing, just like the people back home! You think because I took down the beast with your ass that means I turned over a new leaf? Hell no! I did that because he killed my babies, not for the people; couldn’t care less about those bitches!” Cole rolled his eyes as a unicorn guard came around the corner asking for the princess's help. The princess left, leaving Cole here alone with Nix. He looked at the red pony and said “This is beyond messed up. If you want to live in this world, you’re going to have to cooperate. There are unicorn out there that have just as much power as we do. You already set a bad name for conduits. More of our kind is showing up around this world and we need to make it clear to the princess that we aren’t a threat!” Nix, still in her pool of self-arrogance, said “Why don’t… You break me out! We can start an army, you and me.” Cole interjected by saying “Or, I can ask the princess to let you free, which I think she will; so long as you promise to never hurt another pony again.” Nix sat and looked at her hoofs. “I’ll let you decide.” Cole pondered his choices. (On one hand, I can talk to the princess and try to convince her to let Nix go…) (Or I could just let her go and say she broke out, and then does as she says and form an army…)
energy- first choice- goodEnergy- first choice- good Cole looked at Nix with the expression of a hero and said “I’m here to help these ponies any way possible. Forming an army of conduits isn’t what I’m here to do.” Nix slumped over and said “Fine… Whatever… But I doubt the princess will be willing to let me free.” “I think she will.” Cole argued. “All you have to do is say sorry and swear you will never do this again… We need to be trusted just as much as we need to trust at this point. I think these ponies might be able to get us home with work, and we can’t get them to help us if we go around hurting them; got it?” Nix shook her head. They waited a moment before Princess Celestia came back. As she entered, Cole said his friend had an apology for her. Nix drew a heavy sigh. “Look, we got off on the wrong foo… Uh, hoof, I guess I should say… I’m sorry for going ballistic back there… If you let me go; I promise I won’t do it again.” Princess Celestia smiled and said “Very well… I’ll let you go… But, if I find out you hurt any more of my subjects, you will find yourself right back in this cell.” The force field was dropped and the barred cell door opened with screeching. Nix exited and walked up to Cole. “Thanks babe… I guess we do need all the help we can get if we want to return home.” Nix and Cole was brought into the throne room. The day was ending and Celestia needed to lower the sun. As she sat down on her throne, her horn glowed yellow and the rays of sunlight shined through the stained glass located behind her. As she finished, another mare entered. This one was an alicorn as well, but blue. Her hair looked like a compilation of stars, but she was a tad bit younger looking then Princess Celestia. “Sister.” She said as she walked into the room. “Have you any word of the phenomena known as conduits?” Seeing Cole and Nix standing next to each other to Celestia’s left, she stared at them with inspecting eyes. Her sister said “Actually, I have! These two show promise as protectors of the peace.” Luna walked up to the two and asked “Isn’t she the one who attacked our city?” Celestia smiled and said “Don’t worry Luna, she apologized and promised me she will never do that again. As for the other one, he seems to have a good aura about him. I think he will be a great Canterlot guard.” Luna agreed and waited for the subject changer. (Cole now had a more positive outlook on his current situation. Things would be pretty good now that he and Nix would be able to help. His posture improved and a slight smile formed on his face. Cole now has the rank of Guardian.) Princess Celestia looked at the two and said “Now then, I have received word about a certain conduit in Manehatten. Do you think you could go handle it?” Cole assured her he and Nix would investigate with positive results. The princess thanked them and said “All I want you to do is bring them here, to me or my sister; whoever is currently awake. We will try and convince them to become part of our cause… What I plan on doing is forming a new unit… A group of new ponies that can help protect and serve the cities of Equestria, or at least until Luna and I figure out how to send all the conduits home. I trust you to carry out this mission correctly and efficiently.” Cole and Nix looked at each other and Cole said “Don’t you go dying on me now!” Nix’s response was “Same to you, Sparky!” As the two prepped themselves for the mission, Princess Celestia went to bed. The train would take them anywhere they wanted to go. As they exited the station within Manehatten, Cole had Nix followed him. Nix looked at Cole and said “So… You think you still got it in you? Before we go looking for this dude in the city, let’s head to the rooftops to see what powers you still have.”
energy- first choice- evilEnergy- first choice- evil Cole looked at her and said in a dark voice “Alright, I’ll bust you out… But you have to strike me down to make it look like you escaped. The only reason I’m doing this is because I don’t think the princess can get us home, but if we gather an army of conduits, we might have a fighting chance. With all our powers combined, I think we can find a way back home. Now, back up.” Cole raised his hooves to the barred cage and said “We do this together. When I strike, you strike.” Lightning and molten sludge hit the force field hard burning and electrocuting it from both sides as the force of the two conduit’s power became too much to handle, the shield dissipated allowing Nix to escape. As she left the cell, she attacked Cole, slamming him into the wall. “AH! What the hell? That was way too hard!” He said clenching his chest. “That’s revenge for choosing Kuo over me!” Nix claimed with a crooked smile. As she ran off for the palace exit, Cole stayed behind and waited for the princess to return. When she arrived, she became furious at the fact that the cage was empty. “Where is she Cole?” She asked. Cole shook his head and fibbed “She escaped! I tried to stop her, but she was too strong… Sorry.” The princess took off to try and stop Nix in vain. Nix was long gone by now. Cole was carried by one of the guards to the throne room. As he sat to the left of Celestia, he could tell she was angry at his inability to stop Nix. “Well… This is just great!” She said sarcastically. “I knew I should have stayed… Look, this isn’t your fault. I should have stayed and kept watch. Now we have a murderous, powered up pony headed for what appeared to be Manehatten. My guards confirmed that this is where she was headed… Cole, in order to redeem yourself, you need to chase after her. Also, be on the lookout for a conduit there. My informants tell me there’s one in the general facility.” As she finished, another mare entered. This one was an alicorn as well, but blue. Her hair looked like a compilation of stars, but she was a tad bit younger looking then Princess Celestia. “Sister.” She said as she walked into the room. “Have you any word of the phenomena known as conduits?” Seeing Cole, she asked if that was one of them. Celestia replied by saying “Yes… But he has already gotten off to a bad start. He let Nix free. You met Nix; She was the one who controlled the flaming sludge.” The mare approached Cole and looked him up and down while Celestia introduced her as her sister. Luna asked Cole why he couldn’t stop her. Cole lied about it by saying she was just too strong. (Cole now has a dark appearance and bad posture. Due to his poor decision, his lightning is now red. He is now an underground thug.) The two princess's told Cole to go to Manehatten at once. As the sun set, he entered the train traveling to Manehatten. When he exited the station, Nix showed herself right behind him. “Thanks for busting me out. It really means a lot to me.” She said walking up to him. Cole rolled his eyes and said “Look, if we’re going to form an army, I need Intel from the princess’s. There’s more than one, so we need to play them as long as possible. I need to see how powerful they are. Once I know what I need, we’ll deal with them, but for now, you need to help me find this conduit.” Nix agreed, looked at Cole and said “So… You think you still got it in you? Before we go looking for this dude in the city, let’s head to the rooftops to see what powers you still have.”
flash backflash back Flash backs Cole decided to see if his tether bolt still worked. As he pointed his hoof to a nearby building, he shot out the line of lightning to the top and reeled himself in. As he jumped on, Nix yelled “Oh, yea! That’s what I’m talking about!” Cole sparked his hand feeling like he barely wasted any energy. Nix yelled to him to get his attention once more. “Hey! I’m gonna throw you a barrel and you try your hand… Uh, hoof at shocking it! Think you can handle that?” Cole looked down at the red pony and told her to proceed. A few barrels flew up and Cole electrocuted each one. As they fell down to the streets with a crash, a crowd came and wondered what was happening. Then Nix yelled “Alright, were gonna see if you still got that ability to control and throw objects.” She blasted a carriage used for transportation up to the building. Cole brought his hoofs up and focused on the huge object. It floated in midair with lightning surrounding it. Nix stomped her hooves in the ground as a symbol of applause. “Good, good! Now, bring it down slowly while catching this barrel.” Cole set it down and caught the object just before it hit his head. Nix yelled to Cole saying “Yea, baby, yea! Now plant a grenade on it and make some fireworks. I filled it up with some of my highly flammable goop. Soon as that grenade pops, we’ll have a nice explosion in the sky.” Cole threw a grenade onto the barrel and threw it up into the air. As it exploded, fireworks filled the night air, and all the civilians watched. After that, Nix yelled for Cole to jump down. “Come on, demon! You got nothing to worry about! Gravity can’t hurt you!” Cole smiled as he leaped to the ground. The impact didn’t hurt even though he fell three stories down, but he’s had harder falls. As he landed he did a barrel roll and planted his hoofed firmly into the ground. The stallion looked at Nix while smirking and said “I still got it!” As the two left the scene, ponies surrounded the area still marveling in the show he just put on. “Uh, Nix… You think it’s a good idea to show off so early?” Cole asked. Nix chuckled and said “look, if we’re going to be here for a while, their gonna have to get use to our abilities.” Cole shrugged and agreed. As they looked for this conduit, they reminisced in the old days. “Remember when Bertrand turned into that giant parasite?” Cole asked as they turned a corner headed east. Nix rolled her eyes while saying “Don’t remind me. That thing was the ugliest thing I ever saw. It took the entire town to take that bitch down!” The two reached the edge of town to find nothing. With them being a little frustrated, Cole said “Where is this guy? You’d think we would have…” Suddenly, the ground felt like it was vibrating. In the distance, Cole could see what looked like a yellow light approaching the city. Nix looked at Cole with a smile and said “Come on, demon! Let’s go greet this guest!” The two headed off towards the light with haste. As they approached the thing, Cole received a flood of memories of when he was at Empire City. The man who almost killed Trish; Alden, was there; but now, he was way more powerful than the last time they met! Cole had battled Alden before and won. His giant machine was his source of power. Just before he finished Alden off, Alden jumped into the river never to be seen by Cole again, except for now. The giant robotic shielding Alden controlled was way bigger than last they fought. Inside the mouth was Alden, being shielded by a technological force field. Nix looked at Cole and asked what this was. Cole said “it’s Alden! He was the one who almost got a juice boost from the Ray Sphere, but Zeke and I stopped him in the nick of time.” Alden spoke with a scratchy and tempered voice “Cole… McGrath! It’s been to long! Now that I have you where I want you, I plan on making sure that I don’t fail this time!” The thing’s arm raised and fired one hell of a laser beam at Cole and nix. Cole shot thunder at it forcing it back while electrocuting the mechanism, and nix fired flaming sludge balls as the head. Soon, the laser was pushed back into the arm blowing it into bits. Cole brought down one big lightning storm onto the mechanism igniting the sludge that was all over the thing’s head. It fell to pieces and spat the pony out. As Alden landed at the hooves of Cole, he looked up to see Cole’s pissed off face. Alden looked like he did in Empire City, only in pony form. His old wrinkled were clearly visible all over his body and his one bad right eye looked just as gruesome. Cole picked the pony up and slammed him on one of the bar poles while saying “No river for you jump into this time, huh? You’re coming with me! If you try to escape, I won’t hesitate to strike!” Cole shocked Alden's hands with bolt cuffs to secure him and lead Alden to the town’s train station. Nix was ordered to stay behind to keep look out for other conduits that may reveal themselves. As the two left the train station in Canterlot, Cole yawned from exhaustion. It wasn’t really early enough for Princess Celestia to be up, so he would have to turn Alden in to Luna. As he reached the throne room, still keeping an eye on Alden, he saw Luna looking over some papers. Luna took Alden to a cage and secured him as to prevent him from escaping, then showed Cole to his quarters. As they walked down to the room all the way at the end, he said “Huh, my own room… It’s gonna feel good sleeping in my own bed rather than a couch outside.” ________________________________________________________________________________ Alright, I need to update the karmic links for this chapter. Just hold tight. This may take a while.
Sasha's Return - Second ChoiceSasha’s returned - Second Choice “Cole… Cole… how’s my favorite freak? I know you’re sleeping, thinking of me… oh, how I’ve missed you. Do you remember my lust for you, how much love I wanted to give you? We can still be together, ever though, you rejected me… and if that bitch, nix, is in the way… well, I can kill her for you. We both have similar powers, her and I, but I think my mind morphing spells could force her into utter insanity. Wouldn’t that make you happy, my love? Seek me out, and we’ll talk, but if you come aggressively, I’ll have no choice but to defend myself. You remember how powerful I was back in empire city, don’t you? Imagine that, only ten times more destructive… the sun’s up, so I’ll be leaving you now. Just remember, Trish is dead, and nix will never be able to satisfy you the way I can.” Cole awoke to a flood of distasteful memories. Sasha, the conduit mind controller was here. That wasn’t any ordinary dream; it was her speaking out to Cole in his nightmares. As the pony got out of his bed, he heard a knocking on his door. “Uh, come in.” Celestia entered with a tired expression, and asked “if I’m not mistaken, you’ll need gear for your daily missions. I’ve taken a few snap shots of your old regalia and made you a uniform.” Her horn spiked up and formed a t-shirt, yellow and black. Then, the jeans with the general London logo on it were made. As Cole put on his new clothes, he thanked her highness and asked, “I’ll also need a cell phone. Do you know what that is?” Celestia just smiled and summoned one along with new Bluetooth devices. At least five for his personal contacts, in case he ever found some. One whisked up to her ear and vice versa for Cole. The conduit giggled with that same, scratchy voice and asked, “So, what’s my first mission?” Just before Celestia was able to reply, Cole got his answer from a distant, crashing sound. It echoed off the walls and cold knew he needed to investigate it immediately. He jumped out of his balcony and fell ten storied down to the next roof. Hopping from building to building, he caught the sight coming from the ground. Reapers were running havoc through the Canterlot streets, at least ten on the ground, and five on the roof tops. On all of their shoulders were wired guns of varying designs. Some were assault rifles, and some were heavy shot guns. Then, out of nowhere, one with a missile launcher blasted his weapon down at Cole from high above. It made a direct hit and sends the stallion hurdling to the ground. As his vision blurred, everything became white. Suddenly, a bleached conduit reaper warped in front of a huge crowd of pedestrian civilians. He startled them so much, that they had to run for cover, but unfortunately, for Cole, they headed right his way. “Awe, crap…” Cole thought, “If these ponies keep charging me, I’ll ultimately be trampled. Not only that, but it’ll knock me out for sure. There’s only one solution to preventing me from getting even more thrashed. I can blast them with a force push and send half of them flying to their unavoidable deaths, Or let them trample me, and deal with the pain… but then I may not be able to save the city… ugh…”
evilSasha's Return - Second Choice - Evil Cole’s thoughts raced as his hoof blasted every pony into the air. As they floated there, his fears became true. His powers were so intense that some landed on roof tops. Most made a devastating landing. He got to his hooves and grunted from the previous blast. One pony reaped after another slammed down from the roofs and came running at Cole. His time was short, so he barrel rolled over to a nearby dumpster. Grenade after grenade was sent to the villains, and soon, one by one, they all were blown to bits. Most died instantly, while some lived. One in particular that survived was the red hooded being that blew Cole off the roof and put him in that choosy situation in the first place. Cole walked up to the pony; his hooved wrapped around the reaper’s neck collar and in an instant, Cole sucked the life energy out of his victim. The pony lay there, dead and motionless. Next thing Cole heard was Celestia’s upset voice. “COLE!” the stallion turned to see her highness in a fit of pure anger. “You’ve killed perfectly good prisoners! They could have had vital information, and you killed damn near every single one! Not only that, but you also managed to injure several bystanders! What is wrong with you?!” Cole’s head lowered as his annoyed mind churned with the rash decision he just made. “I… just wanted to stop the reapers… and when those ponies were running-” “You should have let them trample you! I was right here all along, and I could have stopped them myself. Thanks to your stupid decision, you’ve not only coasted lived, but vital Intel we needed.” The princess turned and finished, “the throne room, now!” Cole entered the grand area, taking in his surroundings; he saw her highness sitting on her throne, pissed more than ever. Dead ponies surrounded her throne. They were all the souls Cole took this morning. He looked around, grimacing at the open eyed bodies and tried not to seem disgusted. Celestia said, “eight lives were lost… because of you Cole… and now, I must inform the family members of this occurrence. I hope you’re happy with your decision. Next time, be more level headed. Now excuse me, I have a mortician to contact.” Cole left his rage at the boiling point. He remembered so much from his life, and wondered how he could have let this happen, but then remembered Sasha, the way she invited him into her heart, the tempting taunts she planted into his consciousness; he began to question if he truly liked this situation he found himself in. did he want to be the hero of the day, or the villain he was always labeled with. Even in New Marais, the title of the demon of empire city made his identity seem criminal, and unjust. Maybe, it was time to become what everyone thought of him, but if he did change, he’d have to keep it a secret, at least for now as to make sure Celestia wouldn’t kick him out and ruin the developing plan he was forming. Walking into his room, he saw nix smiling from his balcony. She said, “I’ve got a lock on a pretty powerful conduit. She’s one hell of a power house. If you follow me and come on over to Manehatten, I bet we can take her down together.” “Do you know her name, or what she looks like?” “She has relatively short, jet black hair, and her lower forelegs are hidden by sludge. I saw her entering the sewers earlier, just before the sun rose… are you in?” Cole understood this had to be Sasha, and looked forward to seeing how powerful she’s become in the last year. He agreed and the two left, headed to the train station. On their way, Cole called Celestia and explained he’d have a new conduit in bars by the end of the day. Afterword’s, he handed over a Bluetooth to nix and said, “Anytime you wanna talk, just let me know.” The two beings would arrive in little less than an hour, ready to battle this bitch with everything they had.
goodSasha's Return - Second Choice - Good Cole shielded his eyes as he repaired for the onslaught of hooved. One by one, the rock hard legs kicked and slammed his head and body. The pain was unbearable, and just when he thought he couldn’t take much more, it ended, and the lowering sounds of galloping ponies disappeared behind his ears. Burned, bruised and beat, Cole laid there, dripping blood leaked from his head. Cuts and one big gash scarred his frame, and as he reached his hoof out for assistance, reapers encircled the dazed pony. The guns pointed themselves at his head, and just when he thought his death was imminent, they all fell to the ground. One conduit lay on top of Cole, but was quickly removed by an aura of magic. Her highness, princess Celestia had used a sleeping spell on the enemies. Every last reaped in this area was slumbering peacefully. Cole looked up to see her striding over, a huge grin spread across her face. Her horn lowered and slightly touched Cole’s mangled head. As she did, Cole heard her say, “Sleep… you’ve earned this. I’m so proud of you, Cole.” Waking up in the royal infirmary, the healing stallion looked around, his vision extremely hazed. All he could do was to think, heal… HEAL DAMNIT! Just like that, spectrum luminosity swirled around Cole’s body and instantly mended his wounds. His head lifted and smiled. Magic was just like electricity in this world. He didn’t need a generator, or a light bulb to heal. All he needed was to concentrate on the enchanted air, and in no time at all, he’d heal. Cole looked at his chest. The slash that was once plainly seen on his chest was covered by bandaged. His hoof lifted to his head and felt the binds that stopped the blood from spewing out. Removing them, he inspected his body. Every single cut; every slight bruise was gone, like magic. He laughed at this, more than he had in a good while. Suddenly, his room door opened, and a flood of ponies came in. Cole recognized them as the ones who trampled him in the streets. They all circled the stallion, all with apologetic faces. Celestia was the last one to enter, and once she saw Cole fully healed, she gave a sigh of relief. “I guess the magic of this world did this to you. That, or my nurses and doctors are miracle workers.” All the ponies gave Cole their thanks for not hurting them, something Celestia knew he could’ve done, but instead, took an embarrassingly horrid defeat. She apparently explained this to each one, and asked them to visit Cole while he was recovering. The conduit smirked and asked “you’re all a lot kinder than in my world, but then, I guess this is to be expected… has Celestia explained what’s going on at all?” Her highness spoke up by explaining, “While you were asleep, healing, I took a long, and overly time consuming interview with one of the equestrian reporters. They’ve published this at the front page explaining everything that’s occurring right now.” Cole thought these were all the visitors, but as they all left after an hour of getting to know some of them, the stallion saw nix enter. Celestia almost got pushed to the side by her. She looked down at Cole with worried eyes and asked, “Are you okay, babe?” Cole sat up and got to his hooves. He smirked her way and uttered, “fine… just fine. I’ll be ready to get back to work anytime you’re ready.” Her highness cleared her throat before speaking. “Actually, there’s a development in the town you two were at not too long ago. One conduit emerged, but she’s extremely powerful. I’ll be sending both of you her way to deal with her immediately. Bring her back unharmed, and I’ll take care of things from there.” Cole pondered what this conduit was like and asked for some sort of description. “She’s got a jet black mane, and her lower legs are coated in mind controlling goo… I don’t know her name, but she’s terrorizing Manehatten. Go there, and stop her tyranny with haste.” Cole knew this had to be Sasha, and left to confront her. As Cole left, he thanked Celestia for saving him back there. He was rarely rescued, usually things were the other way around, so for this to happen was a really awesome development in his opinion. Entering the bus, nix and Cole discussed the good old days of when they were in New Marais. Cole wondered if quo was somewhere in Equestria, and if she was, then things would be able to turn out better, for everyone. He gave nix her Bluetooth and told her to call him anytime she needed his help. They’d reach Manehatten in less than two hours, and would need to use precision to defeat this conduit, while protecting some of the other ponies that would most likely be in danger, but f things were anything like last time, she’d probably be in the sewers, so nopony would probably be harmed during their battle.
