Just a Man

Chapters

Bare Conscience
A Stroll Through the Woods
The Pinnacle of Heroism

Bare Conscience

The moon glimmered an eerie sliver light in the darkness of miles of forest all around. A few twigs snap signalling something coming, or rather, two beings blazing a trail through the thicket of the woods. The pair pant heavily making their hot breath noticeable in the cold night air. Both beings looked to be middle aged horse-women, no older than their mid twenties. They looked exhausted, especially the white, slightly taller one leaning against the other blue horse-woman.

They were too terrified to even slow down their current pace. Every instinct told them desperately to give up the chase. To succumb to their chaser's will. That urge only made them double their efforts. "Come on, sister. I can feel we are about to lose them." The blue horse woman coaxed the white one.

The white horse-woman nervously stared at her younger sister not sure if her gut was entirely accurate. "Maybe... Maybe the Elite Masters will take mercy on us if we give ourselv-"

The blue one glared down at her elder sister's irrational train of thought. "No. Do you know what their guards do to runaways? They break them, sister. We have no choice but to run."

A gathered russle of noise soon began to crescendo into a small roar of orders from the guards. The women both gasped moving at a faster pace. The white one's movement slowed down as a desperate moan escaped her lips. The blue one's eyes bulge out in fear. It was getting too much for her sister to handle. Their evil masters did.... something unspeakably horrible to her. Even though the younger sister couldn't figure out what exactly it was yet.

Her muzzle grew into a red blush; her hind legs twitching with every step. The blue one desperately searched for somewhere to hide, but she couldn't find much of anything in the middle of the giant forest. That was until a sole light flickered to her left.

Without much thought, she made a break for the source of light with her sister in tow. The loud trudging sound, unfortunately, alert the guards of their presence.

"Catch the slaves quickly, men!" The 'leader' shouted. Several spell casters shot bolts of low voltage lightning. Most barely missed their bodies. The blue one nearly tripped over twice.

Their attempt at escape failed when a bulky guard tackled the horse-women to the ground causing the blue woman to reel in a daze. The moonlight revealed the guard to be a human. An unnatural human at that. His eye color was a deep amber seeming to swirl with raw power and dominance. He grinned turning the two downed horse-women on their backs to the ground with a hand each.

The blue one struggled in his grip while the white one moaned louder and only squirmed slightly. "I caught the two troublemakers, boss. What should we do with these filthy slaves now?" He inquired.

The leader of the group smirked, but pretend to think for a moment. "Hmm, let me think... What do you think, doofus! Fuck the alicorn bitches!"

The giant human went 'oh' seeming to be dumbfound of that answer. He then starts tearing their pathetic excuse of clothing rags like a wild beast with unbridled bloodthirst. The blue one screamed which seem to have a mix effect on the watching guards. Suddenly, a weird sensation crawled up everyone's spine. This even causes the big brute of a human to pause from the raw presence it was spilling out to the environment around them. Something wasn't right at all. The leader human could feel it. Something was watching them. "Show yourself monster!" He proclaimed.

Nobody dared move until something black stepped out of the shadows of the forest depths. It appeared to have a horn and to be pony shape strangely enough. The figure then fully stood in the moonlight revealing a black unicorn stallion in public view. The stallion seem to have jeans and a torn shirt, but it did ease the humans present. Just a lowly slave.

"Oh good. Just a slave. I'm sure he is probably just confused about what is going on. You two pleas-" The leader turned his head to address the two guards but stopped seeming to feel excruciating pain in his chest. He slowly lowered his gaze to see a blood red soaked hand with a beating heart in the palm. The hand crushed the organ spraying blood on the grass. The leader's body shortly fell limp afterwards.

The guards, even the horse-women, didn't seem to believe what just happened. One minute the stallion was twenty feet away, then the next he zoned in and took out a heart through the metal and bone protecting it! The black unicorn pulled the blood drenched hand out of the corpse before letting his magic clean the hand almost instantly.

"I have nothing against humans, but what you all are doing is crossing a line that I prefer to stay away from myself. If you want to continue to still breathe, I suggest you stop planning on raping these mares and leave this forest." He threatened in a even tone.

Some of the humans broke out of the shock before instantly start charging their magical power. The black stallion grinned looking more like a psycho's than a friendly one. Two of the human guards end up restraining the horse-women before the giant, heavily armored, human stomped his way toward me.

Even with the limited amount of brain cells, he realized the actions of what the stallion wrought. "Good stallions wait patiently until they are told to perform. For your disobedience and killing a fellow master, you will be put to death." The brute said evenly as well.

The stallion chuckled at him. "So the 'warrior' class human believes he can take me down? Funny. I don't think you know what power level you are facing. Hey, you idle mages, scan my level power." The stallion said half interested in the humans' reactions.

The brute growled impatient. "Enough chatter! You die today!" The man shouts. Suddenly, all of the idle mages began to scream in different degrees of fear. This had the 'warrior class' human's attention almost immediately. "WHAT is it now?"

"His level power.... It's off the charts. And..... it's growing stronger every minute!" One of the mage humans replied back. The warrior human's eyes immediately widen in unexpected terror.

The stallion laughed hard making a horse women confused of his actions. "There's the face I have been looking for: unrestrained terror! What a sight!"

The charging mages stopped their quiet chanting before a huge beam of pure blue magic rained down on the black unicorn. The stallion's fur burned under the assault causing the male to scream in pain. Pleasant smiles spread across the group of mages. The horse-women, however, looked greatly mortified by the display of power.

"It's a good thing the Ultra Gods made several fatal flaws in your race's genes. No matter how much your race reproduces, it can not with stand electricity at this high of a voltage. No matter how godlike in strength the slave races have, this weakness will always cripple you. Die in agony, slave." One of the mages comments laced with malice. The stallion fell on one knee barely able to stand.

The warrior human slowly walked over to the black stallion seeming to get over his initial fear of the unicorn. Many horrifying thoughts crossed the sisters' mind knowing this would surely be an end to a rare noble soul amongst the ponies. The warrior raised his hands together before bashing them against the stallion's back over and over. The sisters couldn't watch the sheer brutality of the act the guards were committing.

The stallion's grunts of pain strangely turned to short pained chuckles. Almost like he was loopy on marijuana, one of those drugs the Masters gave regularly to their 'toys'. The stallion slowly stood up from his kneeling position. The warrior, in the meantime, trying desperately to snap the stallion's spine in half. The humans and two ponies watched in both horror, and slight fascination, at the rapidly healing black stallion.

He grabbed the warrior's mighty fists before twisting them violently the opposite direction tearing his forearms completely off his elbows. The brute screamed in pain greatly disturbed by the fact of how easily the monster stallion broke his arms. Blood spread everywhere all over the ground. He then kicked the brute on his chestplate causing the giant to fall with a great 'thud'.

The mages fired up their spell casting again, however, the stallion was ready for it this time. He charged up his magic in the tip of his pointer finger before aiming at the group of helpless mages. He actively made a 'piew' sound shooting each wizard effortlessly through their hearts; making it look like a magic finger-pistol machine gun. The remaining guards standby passively too scared to actually make a move against the monster.

A muffled grunt of pain caught the stallion's attention as the two previous human guards held the two alicorn slaves in front of them. Both armed with a knife to their throats. "Stand down, slave, and lay down your life. Or else these pretty faces will spray their life all over the grass."

The guards smirked inwardly at remembering how to cow a strong willed stallion. All it took was a bit of persuasion. The stallion seem to blink out of existence appearing behind the threatening humans using their hostage weapons. He then plunge their own blades into the back of their skulls, killing them instantly. The two humans fell like rocks, both women immediately free themselves from them and fall to their knees to catch their shaky breath.

That display seem to shred the last bit of confidence out of the group of guards. They scattered like rodents back into the thicket of the forest around them. The stallion sighed in great relief before wincing in pain at the half healed burnt marks and bruises on his body. He would need to attend to his wounds, but he ignored the pain temporarily checking on the alicorns. They appeared to be unharmed, only their previous clothes rags suffered any real damage. Any finer details of their condition were still unknown, yet since it was dead middle of the night, it made it hard to tell if they were really fine physically. What mattered right now was that they were safe. Still, it was quite a pain to not be able to check them out more thoroughly at a time like this. What a pain this night as become....

The alicorns glanced at their savior with wonder and concern for the stallion's beatings in the clash. He smiled confidently putting the alicorns at ease slightly. "Don't worry. I'm fine, but we need to move quickly to my cabin." Shadow urged.

He left them heading to the source of light while the blue horse-woman picked the white one up. The stallion finally limped over to the entrance walking inside the cabin

The sisters followed suit in the log cabin. The adrenaline seem to fade faster than I previously thought, making the pain in my shoulders spike. I hissed leaning aginst a nearby wall. What have I gotten myself into now? The world's problems seem to never leave me alone these days. I inwardly sighed.

"U-Um, sorry to bother you, but why did you save us?" The blue one said easing the entrance to the cabin closed.

I searched through my house for proper medical supplies to fix my current wounds. "Anybody with any kind of moral compass would have stepped in that situation. I just so happened to be nearby." I replied.

"Yeah..... Of course." I looked back at her, pondering her response.

"I'm guessing not many folks around here would lend you a hand without wanting something in return, is that right?" The blue one meekly nods placing the elder sister on a couch nearby. He approached the blue alicorn with a warm smile. "It's what I do in my free time, so I don't ask for anything in return. It's for free. People, err, in your case, ponies call me Shadow Faze."

The blue horse-woman seem to relax a little bit more now that I introduced myself, but she still remain rather silent.

"Do you have a name, child?" Shadow asked breaking the silence.

"Well, Master always referred to me specifically as 'Blue Bitch'." She replied.

Shadow winced, heavily, and not because of his wounds either. "That's not a name. That's an insult; a degrading phrase."

She seem to get a face of realization from my speculation. 'Oh' was all she said. I didn't have to think too hard to come up with a better solution. I noticed that she looked almost exactly like a certain blue alicorn.

"Since you don't have a name. I can suggest a name for you, if you want that." She nodded her head slowly not really sure if I could come up with a better name. "How about Luna Galactica."

She blinked a few times rolling the name in her mind. A small smile curved up her lips. "That.... 'name' has a nice ring to it. Alright, for now on, I'll be known as Luna Galactica." A strange pulse of blue light flashed in the mana filled air before it quickly disappeared. More questions formed from this new development. But before I could voice my confusion, the white horse-woman began to stir.

Author's Note

And the first chapter is out. I haven't quit on this series just because of a few bumps in my previous story.

So Shadow is in a new predicament due to his actions once more. Don't worry, all will be explained more in due time! Also, I'm curious, how many of you have actually read the entire story Universal Acceptance? If you haven't then you should read it first. It's a really good read. It maybe focused a little more around the sexual aspect of things, but it's got some very good backstory and main character implications of his actions. Not spoiling the book though.

Anyway, enough chit chat, as a wise pink mare once said: time is candy! (Or Alex Side if you were there when his channel was popular.)

Until next chapter.....

A Stroll Through the Woods

I glanced at the awakening white alicorn. Luna rushed to her side worried for her for some reason. I then noticed a huge visible blush on her face before she began to pant heavily. I was curious, not in the perverted sense, but in a logical way, not sensing any magical ailment that might have caused her lustful condition.

"P-Please..... I... need-"

"Resist, sister! Don't fall for their trickery!" Luna interrupt her. The white alicorn didn't seem to hear her judging by the eye-rolled expression in between complete bliss and unattainable agony.

It seemed she was too far into it to remove this the more simpler ways. "Luna, I'll need you to step back."

Luna eyed me with the first implications of suspicion in my actions. "Don't worry. I don't plan to resort to a solution as extreme as fucking her. No, this needs a more delicate touch." I said.

The blue alicorn seem satisfied, if a little uneasy, with my answer before I made a closer inspection on her body. It didn't take me long to find what I was looking for. My eyes widened. Of course, I knew that whoever controlled these ponies were an expert at genetic breeding, but this was completely different. They were able to rewrite some of this mare's gene entirely to fit her as a doll for their needs. But that wasn't the problem that was causing this forced reaction.

My hands started to glow a yellow color before I touched one of her arms. The white alicorn flinched under my touch and shuffled uncomfortably. I closed my eyes and examined her mind. Just entering her skull made my head dizzy. Any normal stallion would have passed out from the mental shock that struck me because of how powerful and quick it was. However, I'm not a normal pony, so I easily entered her mindscape. A bright light flashed in front of me blinding me for a few seconds.

I stumbled almost losing my balance before looking around. I was in some sort of castle. I looked at myself seeing my half transparent body. That meant I successfully entered the mare's mind. I was going to search the castle for some clues until a terribly loud lewd sound broke the silence of the halls. I shift my head toward the door behind me before opening it in my horn magic.

The sight I saw scarred into my mind. A human, no, a giant monster of a human was using and abusing this poor white alicorn with various lewd actions.

The giant human had unnatural blue eyes that swirled like a vortex of raw energy, endlessly searching for more power. His muscles were well defined passed the point of regular human bodybuilders on Earth by comparison alone. He wore no official articles of clothing, but I could tell his legs were just as well defined. His hair was long and naturally straight, but it seem to almost defy gravity with it, waving in an eternal manner that radiate with magic as well.

And while this mare continued to suffer between pleasure and pain, this monster would get a satisfied smile or pleasure out of her uncontrollable reactions.

This sickened me to a level I haven't felt since that caribou encounter, except this feeling was a thousand times stronger than whatever the caribou could do. The caribou were bubbling idiots that felt like they could take on an army of super powered godlike ponies and win. They would automatically have failed, and gone extinct if their world's Discord hadn't assist them in a deus ex machina way.

But this one human felt the complete opposite. I could feel the ripples of power radiate off his very being that made Hades seem like a minor god. This was the same power that was wrapped around this white mare's mind: the being that was controlling her every action. This human must have acquired a huge amount of magical might in his years of training to become so powerful, but it didn't matter.

The reason this human made me feel so sick inside was not because of what evil deeds he has done to this mare necessarily, or that he is possibly behind the rapid changes in both mare's bodies. No, it was because this sack of meat reminded me of them. I grit my teeth feeling it sharpen in my mouth.

I walked up to this lewd scene getting very close. This is when the giant human finally noticed me. He didn't seem amused by my intrusion, but he definitely looked shocked I was standing there.

"I've never seen you before. And you looked like a healthy slave too. They must be making a new line of slaves these days." He idolly commented.

I let the dark feelings envelop my body letting the shadows fill into me. I smiled crudely. "No. But now I know who to look for in this screwed up world. You shall be the first to face my fury."

The giant only had a few more moments of bewilderment before I blast him with a beam of shadows. His nonphysical form got absorbed almost instantly by the angry shadows. The mindscape turned immediately white again.

This time, all I saw around me was a white void. I looked around wondering why I was still here until I saw the alicorn mare smiling at me. She looked to had been crying, but that smile said they weren't sad tears anymore. "Thank you."

My vision fell into darkness.

My eyes opened again seeing that the white alicorn had fully gotten over her weird condition. I glance to my right seeing Luna stand there speechless. To her, I performed a miracle. I let go of the white alicorn seeing her raise only feeling slightly weak.

"Thank you.... I can't ever repay your kindness..." She replied.

I helped her stand smiling warmly at her. "Don't worry about 'repaying' it. I don't need anything."

Luna looked flabbergasted. "B-But... How did you do that?! She was sick and almost completely far gone, and now she is completely normal again!"

I looked at Luna again. "I went into her mind and tackled her problem in the form of a dream. I believe it's called dream walking to some experts." The blue alicorn seem amazed that this method existed. I heard the unanswered question in her mind. "Yes, I can teach you this method, if you really desire to know."

Luna looked hesitant for a moment before her determination winned out. "Then I'll like to learn dream walking from you, Mas-"

"Please don't call me 'Master'. That title always rubbed me the wrong way." I insisted.

She swiftly nods. "Sorry, I got a habit of doing that. I would like to learn dream walking, Shadow."

"Sure. We can start tonight. Before we get too comfortable though, I got some questions for the both of you." The white and blue alicorns both look worried by my mood shift. I set the white mare down on the couch again before glancing at the white one. "But first, do you have a name, unless you want me to call you 'white alicorn' all the time."

"Celestia..... My Master used to call me that before he changed....." She quietly replied. Luna looked saddened by this fact.

"So he didn't used to be this... abusive to you?"

"Well, he was more caring about my feelings before he went to that last meeting with all the Masters." Celestia continued.

"Wait, wait, how many of these 'Masters' are there?"

"Every human has at least one to two pony slaves." Luna quickly interjects.

"I see. But what kind of system do these 'Masters' have?" Celestia and Luna look perplexed at each other. "Is there like a caste system with the different variety of Masters there is in the world?"

"I believe so, yes. The group of Masters we came from are called the Elite Masters. I guess they are important people..." Celestia said.

I placed a finger on my chin. "So I need to look for these Elite Masters..." I walked in my room searching for a few items. The two alicorns looked back at me.

"What are you doing?" Luna asked.

"We need to hit the road soon. The survivors of my intervention will surely get a searching party together to scope out the area to find you two." I found two dark cloaks before handing each sister one. "These are to hide your appearance. Are ponies allowed to wear clothes?"

"I... guess so. Only richer Masters really have the money to afford such things." I nodded snapping plain clothes on their figures. The sisters stood gobstrucked at the sudden appearance of fitting clothes.

I head for the door before snapping on the plainest clothes I could find in my dimensional space. "Let's get a move on, shall we?"

We had walked for a couple miles out without speaking another word to each other. It seemed like the mares really do want to escape from these unnatural humans' grasp. We currently were holding up in the middle of a small clearing in the dense woods around us. Surprisingly, the forest is extremely vast compared to the other one I have been in, but I have a lot more available magic in this realm then I did in the previous version.

Luna yawned breaking my train of thought momentarily from the magical firepit I made. It's magical due to the flames not producing any smoke into the air while still burning in an eternal light. Magic is very helpful.

"W-Why did you save us?" The meek, bemused Celestia asked. Luna immediately listened in.

I glanced at the stump she sat on carefully considering her question. Why would I save two helpless slaves of this realm? Sure, they are two younger and weaker versions of the Celestia and Luna I remember, but I didn't really had to save their skin for any functional reason. This world operated fine without their help.

I sighed leaning back a bit to stare at the clear sky filled with dazzling stars. "No particular reason. I just felt the urge to rescue you from your horrible fate."

The white alicorn didn't look too upset, but also bore a form of frustration deep within her heart. A moment of silence passed. "You should have just let them capture us.... The Elite Masters have stronger lesser masters than the one you previously fought. I fear your noble cause will be for nothing if you don't hide yourself."

I glared at Celestia. "I'm not a coward that got a sudden burst of confidence, Celestia. I spent a lot of time fending off worse foes for a simple bite to eat in my youth. I did nothing noble to those bastards to warrant praise. Most decent people consider what I did as monstrous. I slaughtered them with anything I deemed good to kill them with, and I enjoyed their suffering. I do what I want when I want it. I just don't cross certain moral lines," I got up and poked the fire pit with a materialized stick stirring the fire. "If you find what I said upsetting or disgusting, then you can still leave. Unless you choose to leave you can count on me to protect you. Just don't mistake my actions for heroic feats. I don't do that shit." My words seem to make the sister speechless.

I spent a few more moments poking and placing more wood on the flame before sitting back down. Luna seemed to come to a realization. "You've done this before, haven't you Shadow?"

The question made me freeze momentarily, but I couldn't help the memories of my past adventures fill my mind. All the grim details and depression settled into my mind. I sighed knowing I shouldn't be saying such sentimentality. "I'm really old, Luna. I've seen many things and wittness many friends and loved ones suffer fates worse than death because of my actions. I'm a curse that can't escape any realm due to my very nature. I know how my tale is going to end. I've played this game since I was first stripped of my mortality, and I'll continue playing it long after you both are gone."

Celestia and Luna didn't seem to understand what I was talking about, but it didn't matter. Once I drop these two at a safe location, out of the Elite Masters' reach, we can then part ways while I deal with some unfinished business. I stared in to the magical flame a little longer. "Gets some sleep. We get up early to travel again."

We had manage to get up relatively at nine in the morning, judging by my internal clock, for just enough time to pack everything we had to continue our journey. Among the forest we stumbled upon a lone tavern of sorts in the middle of an isolated clearing. A soft tone was being played inside, but not enough to make out words or distinct beats. Two body guards blocked the entrance to this building completely armed to the teeth.

I looked back at the sisters. "I need you both to stay here and make yourself scarce. Hide anywhere and don't come out unless it's me."

"Are you sure you're fine alone?" Luna asked a bit suddenly.

I gave her a flat look. "I'll be fine. Nothing in there can really hurt me. Besides, a little information gathering should not put too much attention on me. You two just worry about keeping yourself invisible. Got it?" They nodded. "Good, I'll be back."

I then continued my casual trek to the guarded door. The guards eyed me cautiously studying my moves with astute precision. I smiled seeming to startle the pony body guards. "Good evening gentlemen. I'm just here to get inside. Preferably in one piece."

They looked at each other before giving me an distinct glare. "I'm afraid that only VIPs of the Blue Knuckles are allowed inside, slave. Please leave the premise immediately."

I deeply sighed. Out of all the brothels it just had to be the least likely one to allow free passage. I swiftly activate a quick mind manipulation spell seeing both of there faces fall neutral. "I have a pass. Can I come in now?"

"Of course, sir. Please step inside." The other guard replied motioning with his hands to come in.

That was the easy part. The harder part was finding what I was looking for effectively. If this brothel is anything like I remember them to be, then it's a place of stored secret information just waiting to be known. I opened the door immediately being assaulted by a familiar tune. I believe it was called "Bad Romance" when I crossed on to a certain world without magic.

I tsked at the choice of the song. I had nothing against the singer or the song itself, but it was not a song that I wanted to hear at that very moment. Around the inside I noticed that several of the humans that enjoyed the various entertainment in the brothel. The servant ponies would sometimes glance at me with suspicion. Even some of the slaves seem to think I was hear to cause trouble. When they believe I was looking at them they would immediately focus on something else. My thoughts immediately drifted on ownership of the brothel. I wonder if 'Blue Knuckles' is a gang.

I was so focused in my thoughts that I didn't notice bumping into two bouncers. One was a human bodybuilder while the other was a bulky earth pony; both dressed in loose tuxedos.

I looked up at the duo. "How did you get in? You don't look like a memeber of Blue Knuckles to me." The human bouncer commented.

I kept my calm attitude casually glancing at my wrist idolly saying: "Well, it seems that I stumbled at the wrong place. I was looking for the leader of Blue Knuckles."

This seem to catch their interests. "Oh really? Well then it's a good thing we're here." The human bouncer nod toward the earth pony.

The earth pony walked up and grabbed both of my shoulders. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't make me budge. I let the poor pony struggle before lazily turning to the human again. "I won't cause anymore trouble, but you should be careful what you do. I might see it as a threat on my life, if you try anything to hurt me, of course." I nonchalantly said.

The expression he made was priceless! I guess he has never seen gravity in action before. Can't blame him, gravity is a pain to control.... if you're not me.

"I-I suppose our boss has some time for you. I'll get him right away." The human bouncer quickly left while the earth pony continued to try in vein to pull me up.

I rolled my eyes stepping forward suddenly. This caused the bulky stallion to fall hard on his buttox. "Your comrade left. I suggest to try to at least be a bit hospitable. I'd hate to find out how hard it is to remove a blood stain from my clothes. I'm wearing a pretty expensive tuxedo, you know." I commented glancing at the earth pony.

That seem to calm and frighten the pony bouncer a bit faster than I thought. It must be the intimidating aura I let off..... Damn it. That explains the odd behavior.

I sighed forcing my aura back into my body again making it invisible once more. The earth pony seem to subconsciously relax with the presence gone. The back door to the brothel opened up revealing the human bouncer. He motioned me to come inside, so I followed him. The earth pony took post out side the doorway shutting it behind me.

"You're a lucky stallion. I have never seen the boss ever allowing a non-Blue Knuckle inside his personal chambers. You must be something special." The human said.

It didn't take us long to enter the room he mentioned running into five men in proper roaring-twenties gangster clothing. The shorter of the men were a blue version, but clearly seem to have a sort of leadership ranking among the men. The four others had machine guns, and were dead set on protecting the shorter man with their lives.

"This is Mob Boss Jino. He owns this brothel-tavern."

The short man in the white and blue striped fedora, and same pattern suit stared evenly at our presence. I didn't mark him much of a threat, but humans here owning guns was something I didn't expect to find in this world. I gave him the same courteous stare smiling slightly. "Very nice to meet you, Mr. Jino."

"A pleasure, strange stallion." He glanced at the human bouncer before he swiftly took his leave. The Mob Boss' guards split to let Jino walk up to me from his comfortable seat. "I've heard from my bouncer that you wished to talk to me in person. Normally I would refuse to allow anyone to see my face, but your display of unexplored predator in ponykind awoke something in me. I couldn't help but admire that uniqueness about you. I've never even seena fellow master accomplish the same feat. I'm a magician myself, but that display was quite fascinating. How did you do it?"

This dude must have a hard on for powerplays.... Great. "Tricks like that require hard training regiments. I would advise against trying to replicate that spell. Most casters end up imploding into meat mush from the raw force of the spell." I replied.

Jino grimaced. "I see... Quite unfortunate. What is your request then."

My eyes hardened, "I presume you know information detailing about a master group known as the Elite Masters?"

The Mob Boss paused choosing his words carefully. "I do have infomation on the infinite magical bastards. But what use does a lone stallion have for this valuable amount of information? How much are you willing to pay?"

I sighed knowing where he was going with this conversation. "Money won't be an issue. I do, however, want to know everything you have about the Elite Masters. In return I'll give you one thousand pounds of pure gold."

Every man's eyes grew big in that moment. Such amount of gold would make anyone rich, almost for the rest of their lives. But the offer seemed too good to be true. The Mob Boss' eyes narrowed.

"So you're saying that you'll hand us a thousand pounds of gold for information of the Elite Masters' whereabouts? No tricks, no catch." He reiterated.

"Yup. I know you'll have no choice but to report this trade in to them," --Jino's eyes widen in disbelief at my accurate guess-- "So I'm making it simple for both mine and yours sakes. Do we have a deal?"

It was pretty obvious what he chose. "Deal," he motions a guard to come closer before whispering into his ear. That same guard later ran into a concealed door. "While he gets your information, you can forfill your end of the bargain."

I snapped my fingers materializing a pile of gold bars from the air. Stunned silence filled the room. "That should cover it. You can have a guy count all one thousand of them." Jino nods quite satisfied with his prize.

A moment later, the guard came back with three people in tow with him. The first unknown was currently being dragged by the bodyguard. She was a human female that wore odd shiny, fancy clothing that would look ridiculous for normal clothing wear. She also wore gold hoops and some make-up. What made her different from the other humans I have seen was due to the fact that her eyes were a normal deep brown color, no swirls in the mix. She was screaming to stop being 'manhandled'.

The second one closest to the fancy clothed human was an aqua color mane and blue coat unicorn mare with dazzling baby blue eyes. She didn't seem alarmed at the current situation, but she did seem concerned for her friend.

Lastly was a yellow-gold coat and red-orange mane pegasus stallion. He had dull pink eyes That didn't really fit his color scheme, but I was fine with it. The stallion didn't seem all too happy with this whole situation especially with the female human being 'manhandled'. He currently was trailing in the back of the group two paces behind the bodyguard.

I raised an eyebrow at the emerging group, looking back at the Mob Boss. Jino smiled sweetly. "I may have lied about knowing about the Elite Masters, but I do have some employees that know them fondly. They decided to hold up at my brothel and work here. The woman you see here is named Charie Wu. She came from China before ending up exported to the New Globe."

Now that explanation stumped me. Before I could ask, the woman, Charie, butt into the conversation. "What?! You sold me out to this..... stallion, Jino, really?! You can't do this to me! I'm-"

"He offered forty times more coin than what you gave to me when you first took shop in my brothel, Charie. I'm a man of business, and I help whoever has the bigger budget to spend. Now off you three go. Bodyguards, escort them out!"

Jino didn't give them time to respond while two of the guards forcefully escort them out of the room. I stood there in bemuse shock at the incoming situation at hand.

The Mob Boss looked at me again. "I'm afraid that's all I can offer for you mister......"

"Shadow Faze, Mister Jino." I replied.

"Right. A pleasure doing business with you." I took that my cue to leave his personal chambers.

That entire experience shook me up. I was half expecting the Mob Boss to straight up try to kill me for being a lesser born in this world's caste system. Apparently, the nature of people isn't what it seems. I must have just had a bad experience with the first group of humans I met in this world. These humans are complicated. Just like life and meaning is, I suppose

I walked out the door simultaneously breaking the spell I placed on the two outside pony guards. They didn't even know what happened. Poor bastards.

I mentally shrugged them off before walking to the information group that I, somehow, 'out bought'. The stallion in the group glared dangerously at me getting close to my face. "This is all your fault. Our lives were quiet and peaceful before you came along and snatched that peace with it! Do even kno-"

I yawned in his face causing him to recoil and stumble on his words. "Blah, blah, blah. Can you not? I'm not a slaver, nor could I due to my race, it seems. All I want is information about the Elite Masters," The last sentence seem to catch Charie's attention. "I have no idea why Jino decided to kick you guys out. That was his decision. Now, which one of you know the whereabouts of the Elite Masters?" I asked getting fairly impatient with the backtalk. The stallion fumed at my conversation skills.

However, whatever he was about to say died in his mouth when the woman placed a hand on his shoulder. "I am the one who knows about the Elite Masters, but we can't discuss the details near the brothel." She firmly said.

I nodded. "Fair enough. You can come out girls!" Celestia and Luna came out of the bushes wearily eyeing the newest editions to the 'team'. Everything seem to freeze still at the sister's reveal. Charie's eyes widen in a mix of confusion and shock.

"Celestia?"

The white alicorn harshly glared at the woman for even speaking her name. "Hello, Charie."

Author's Note

Another fine chapter. I had this, and the first, chapter on the backburner for a while which is why it's well thought out. Anyway, now it looks like Celestia might have some unspoken history with the freshly introduced woman. Shenanigans and more action ensures.

(Sorry about the mix up in the publishing process. Accidental slip on the finger pressing.)

Until next chapter...

The Pinnacle of Heroism

We moved on foot through the woods to a more secluded section to get inforational tidbits of information. I knew it won't be easy to pry information about these Elite Masters, but, at the moment, she was my only solid lead. We eventually made camp in the partial clearing. I calmly watch Charie and Celestia exchange a silent staring match. The unspoken question still lingering in the air.

"Do you two know each other from somewhere?" I asked.

They continue the stare for a moment longer before Charie decide to answer me. "Yeah, I used to be the.... well, lead scientist to create the ultimate exotic pet project."

I cocked my head. "Ultimate Exotic Pet Project? Is that supposed to be a DNA splicing, and possibly, breeding experiment or somthing?" The used-to-be doctor seemed a bit apprehensive I guessed that right off the bat. I backpedalled. "Sorry, I have a bad habit of guessing possibly fairly accurate guesses. I'm not normally that specific. I just figured-"

"It's quite fine, Shadow. I'm just a bit boggled that you have quite the bit of knowledge for that particular field." She replied swiftly.

I looked at the greenery around us. "Let's just say I have dabbled with genetics before."

"Well, ok then. It should be much easier for you to understand." Charie looks back at Celestia receiving a deeper scowl. She looked deeply saddened before continuing. "The Ultimate Exotic Pet Project, or UEPP, was started and funded by the Elite Masters to bred the ultimate multipurpose 'comfort toys' through magic and bioengineering. The project was a long grueling process, it barely produced promising results until roughly a couple decades ago. This breakthrough produced the possiblity to create the first ever mythical fabled creatures dubbed 'alicorn'. During the project, only the first two subjects manage to survive the process in the laboratory. This leap in discovery led the project to be an overall success which led the elite masters to take the test subjects away for training." The hatred in Celestia's eyes burned with a fiery passion like no other remembering the humiliation and torture she and her sister must have to suffer through, thanks to this woman.

I was a bit surprised honestly. Anyone else would have been very reluctant to even be sharing a small part of this sensitive information so openly. She didn't seem bothered letting other people know as long as they were far away from spies and potential easedroppers. Either way, it was clear to me now that Charie was responsible for Celestia and Luna's creation. Yet, something didn't seem to settle well with me.

"Hmm. So from what you told me, you were largely responsible in the creation of these alicorns that are in front of me. And if what you are saying is true, then they would not know who you were so quickly..... How do you two know each other?"

Charie paused in thought, but it didn't last long. Celestia spoke up while Luna seem to shrink at the question a little. "I'll tell you..... Our innocence and lack of knowledge seem to annoy the masters, so she was task in making sure we got a bare minimum form of education. In other words, she was our caretaker, our mother for ten years, I think. They were the best years, and only happy memories, in my entire life..... until she handed us to the masters herself. Practically gave us to them willingly! She abandoned us. I didn't realize that fact, or what would happen to my sister and I until we were begging for mercy from our cruel masters...," I saw Charie flinch under Celestia's harsh tone. "And she still did nothing! She never even tried to stop our suffering once! The only time she was there for us was when the masters had all our first viriginities taken in public!"

Charie looked to be in verbal anguish. "Celly, I-"

Celestia walked up in her face glaring hateful daggers into her eyes. Her fists shaking violently. "Don't. ever. use. that nickname. Ever. Again. You lost every right long before I turned into..... into...." Her voice lost its intensity a moment later staring at me with a deep hopelessness.

One of my hands were firmly placed on my rapid-beating heart. Unpleasant memories took form in my mind, but they quickly disappeared feeling the same anguish Celestia and Luna were feeling. Celestia stared mildly shocked at my reaction. Luna looked at me with a subtle curiousity and surprise. I manage to get my irrational heart under control before answering them.

"..... Let's move until we find what we're looking for. Do you at least have a location of where the Elite Masters might be, Charie?"

She focused on me. "It's been too long since I retired from being Royal Scientist. By now, they could have easily moved locations. I know of a guy That us still in touch with them, however, maybe he could help."

I nod. "Then we leave now to your friend's location." I eyed the Charie's pegasus and unicorn companions. They stood in relative silence behind her. They were like statues which creeped me out a bit. We walked back on the beaten path lead by Charie to our next destination.

The night blanket the world around us before we knew it. Charie told us we the location of her friend is a decent ways away from the city populations. Even though I haven't stumble upon a city yet in these woods. Regardless, we stopped here to get our energy back again for the trip. Celestia and Luna were sharing a bed due to shape and weight limiting our movement. Charie and her two companion's were talking amongst themselves. Most likely exchanging boring conversations to each other.

I couldn't get an ounce of sleep. Especially since the fire kept waking me up. I don't know why, but my body is not responding like it normally would. It's almost like its forcing itself awake. It's probably just my nerves. My ears swiveled a bit hearing the alicorn sister bag russle. I looked up to see Luna wrapped her arms around Celestia smiling to herself. It looked so peaceful and.... familiar.

"Mmmm."

I groaned. "Come on, sweetie. You have your own bed."

"But it's thundering outside.... And.... I'm scared..."

"Oh?" I rose from my sleeping prone position. "I thought the scary, tough girl of mine slayed that creature of darkness a long time ago?"

She didn't seem to look me in the eyes. "It's not the thunder that scares me..... I..... You go to other places and save them without a single thought.... Will you save us from evil too? Will you protect us?"

I placed a gentle hand on her head. A sweet smile graced my lips. "Of course, my little dark angel. I'll do anything in my power to save you. No matter where you are."

Her eyes seem to brighten at my response. "Really?!"

"Really." I picked her up and placed her in her proper bed, next door to my room. She didn't seem pleased with doing this. "Now get some sleep, okay?"

She huffed, but complied to my wishes settling into her bed sheets. "Ok-ay. Good night Daddy..."

"Good night, Tina."

I snapped out of my dazed phase when Charie tapped my shoulder. "Hey Shadow. Are you okay?"

I looked back at Charie briefly before staring back into the fire again. "Yes. I'm fine. I can't sleep, so I'll take night watch."

Charie seem to frown slightly at my reply, but didn't push the topic any further. She straightened up to full height. "If you say so." Her two companions beckoned Charie somewhere else leaving me alone with my thoughts again. That memory.... I know it was mine, but it was like I censored those events for some reason.... Tina.... all this time I had something precious besides Zecora in the next multiverse. It's unsettling how the memory just comes back after all this time. But the why can be sorted out later once I deal with the Elite Masters circle problem first. I was still going to watch out for these group of misfits after all.

I didn't get a wink of sleep, but the rest of my traveling companions slept like rocks. Not like sleep deprivation bothers me anyway..... Okay, maybe a little, but that's only because of my current physical form! We set on the road again that morning. We eventually breeched the thicket of the forest into a valley of sorts with a winding dirt path to an out-of-the-way village. Although the village wasn't more than twenty houses and a tavern. Charie beckoned us to the pub saying something about her friend loves to drink booze often. It didn't help ease the intense stares of the townsfolk.

"A-Are you sure this is the right place?" Luna asked, a bit tensed.

"Of course it is! No village around the Farcry Forest is this.... underdeveloped. It's part of the reason the village is so famous." Charie replied opening the door into the tavern.

I stared at Charie's back of her head irritated. I see even the universe wants to throw its own puns at my face.

The strong smell of alcohol hit the newbies like a freight train. You could tell with their noses wrinkling in disgust at the smell. Strong adventurers and bounty hunters idoly chattered amongst themselves throughout its thick atmosphere. And for a pub, it was a bit spacious even with so many people inside.

"Alright I suggest we split into two groups. Celestia, Luna and I got the left side of the tavern. You and your companions take the right."

Charie looked slightly irritated. Her companions stared at her for an answer. "Whatever you say 'boss'."

I rolled my eyes glancing behind me to spot the two alicorn sisters. "Alright. Stay close to me. Pubs can get very dangerous if you're not cautious enough." They nod in agreement before we sat down at the bar counter.

The bar tender took a passing glance at potential new customers. He noticed the alicorn sisters with recognition. I took advantage of his shock. "I know this sounds blunt, but are you a friend of Charie, perhaps?"

That snapped his attention on me. Critically eyeing me with suspicion. He walked up to us before leveling a stare at me. "I know many people by the name 'Charie'. I also happen to know a lot of things."

This guy was playing the cold shoulder. Fine. "I understand. You can't always put a name to a face. However, you might know a woman named Doctor Charie Wu."

The human seem to freeze at that name, or it could be that I know the name specifically. His voice dramatically dropped. "Okay, what exactly do you want to know about her?"

I sighed. "I don't want to know anything about her. What I want to know is where can I find the Elite Masters?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not exactly sur-"

The doors to the pub open when I suddenly felt an urge to kill him. I pulled out a dagger before opening his throat wide open. Everyone in the pub stared at me in mute horror.

I felt the words force their way out of my mouth. "I said, I wanted another damn drink you damn son of a whore!" I felt the stares begin to annoy me, so I stood up glaring harshly at the people around me.

"Master, you shouldn't be so-" I hit Celestia across the face sending her to the ground.

"Shut it, bitch!"

What the hell is going on?

Celestia whimpered holding her cheek in pain. I felt like my body was acting on its own. I heard a set of footsteps entering the pub before my lowered awareness finally noticed the approaching figures. I turned around seeing something incredibly bizzare.

The obvious leader of the group was a human male he had to be at least five feet tall. He was not the most physically built human in the pub, but what he did have was an unsheathed sword. He also had fancy looking knight armor on his body that you would see straight out of a fantasy game. The strangest part about the human was he didn't look like he had a distinct face you could just simply make out. All that was clear to me was his sneering smile, in my direction.

Behind him was three mares in overexposing slutty outfits. Two of them were unicorns while the last one was a earth pony of sorts. The earth pony mare was some how different though. She looked to gave a certain divinity to that of a goddess. Of what I wasn't entirely sure.

This sudden group of whack jobs grew even more suspicious with the sword that he carried in his hands. It couldn't be no longer than a medium sized dagger, but the details of this sword seemed strangely familiar. The sword's blade itself seem to be ancient beyond its own carbon dating, yet it was sturdy enough to stay intact. An ancient language of some kind was written on the hilt with a similar look to a Chinese dragon going up along the blade part of the sword. Even with these extra details it looked incredibly ordinary in the man's hands.

My actions continued against my wishes. I sneered. "What are you looking at stupid monkey? Do I have a bannana in my mane?"

Who even says that?!

I may not be able to make out his exact face, but I could tell unbridled rage seeped from my lower intelligent insult. He got into a battle position. The earth pony goddess looked extremely uneasy for a moment.

"Master Anon, wait! We need to take the Slave Raper in one piece!"

The man, now named Anon, charged at me. "Screw the consquences now! No one calls me a 'stupid monkey' and gets away with it!"

Normally, I would be able to dodge such a simple straight forward attack. A brave warrior with two brain cells could. But for some reason, my stupid body just stared in dumbstruck horror.

He skewered me with his dagger/sword immediately forcing me to the ground. I hacked up my own blood a scream of agony tore from my abused throat. Anon grinned manically glaring at me with pure evil deep within his incognito eyes. He pulled the blade out before stabbing me repeated with the blade. The pain continued to fill my mind. I lost track of time in his attacks.

My vision swirled, but I could tell everyone was watching. Everyone of them, including my travelling companions not even a minute ago. Even Celestia and Luna stared down at me with raw hatred and disgust. They seem to be glad I was getting what was coming to me. I was nothing to them, to all of them. Just an evil monster getting hacked to pieces by a random 'hero'.

Hero

That word sparked something in my tainted mind. A word that set fire to my soul. A deep seething hatred that refused to die in me even after all these years. My focus returned to the man mutilating my soon-to-be corpse. I saw a sick green light illuminate from the sword. A familiar magic trying to overwrite my entire being. This clued me in on what exactly was going on.

The pain suddenly vanished from the rapid stabbing into my chest. I smiled sinisterly at the man above me.

You want to play this game? Fine. I immediately grabbed the man's hand preventing the blade to impale me again. I felt the raw power flow through me. The primal need to right the wrong this blade forced upon this world.

A distorted chuckle broke my lips making my smile widen further. I could tell Anon's eyes widen in absolute fear of my new aura. "TimE tO PaY fOr YoUr sInS!" I felt the scene shift.

The bartender rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not exactly sure if I know the Elite Master's whereabouts. What I do know is-"

The doors to the pub open abruptly. A pang of realization must have awaken inside the bartender. Eyes wide, he felt for the nonexistent wound on his neck. I turned to the enterance spoting the man, Anon, the earth pony goddess, and the two mare unicorns. The wimpy man walked into the tavern like he, somehow, owned the place.

"Face me you worthless coward! You, the Slave Rapist, will not harm anymore sluts on my watch! For I, the Mighty and Powerful Anon, will defeat your need-to-be punished ass and feed it to Cerberus himself!" Anon yelled out into the tavern. That broke everyone out of their conversations to glare at the man at the enterance. Even Celestia and Luna didn't appreciate his foul language and inflated ego.

The man continued. "It's okay if you want to beg for your worthless life. I'm the god of justice after all." He approached me, but I didn't attempt to move to him. His female companions seem to settle near the entrance, waiting for him.

I sighed knowing what I needed to do. "Sorry, but no 'god of justice' would break the natural law of sequential order to restore 'justice' into the world." I snapped my fingers watching his own shadow coil tightly around Anon. Anon's mare companions stared in utter shock at this display.

The man screamed in surprise trying to break free from its grip. I smiled amused by his struggles. I glanced back at the bartender. "Excuse me for a moment. This won't take very long."

The bartender wordlessly stared at me before I grabbed the shadow bound Anon carrying him into the bathroom. The female companions seem to sense his need for help following after me. I carefully placed Anon against the wall. Although, my strength accidentally made an imprint into the wall itself with the bound Anon. The earth pony goddess glared at me, her blue magic sparking to life from her finger tips. The unicorns did the same with their horns.

"Let Master Anon go, you vile monster! This hero will cleanse you from this wor-" the earth pony goddess started, but I already knew where this was going.

My black magic encased her, and the unicorn's entire bodies before restraining them with said magic. Their weaker magics seem to quickly fizzle out with their confidence. I rolled my eyes. "Would you just shut the hell up? I would do this out in the crowd, but I have questions that need answering before I do anything extreme." I glared back at the bound Anon watching him stiff up at my intense stare.

"H-How can this be? A villain defeating a hero? The villain is supposed to be defeated! Brave chosen heroes always win! They never lose! This is wrong, you're all wron-" I kicked him hard in the face. His head recoiled hitting the wall. I could tell I knocked some teeth out with the blood running down his lips.

I crouched down to his eye level showing the deep anger in my soul. "A 'hero never loses', huh? I'll explain something to you real quick, 'chosen hero'. What you were told are nothing but lies," My eyes must have drifted in a colder look seeing Anon shiver from my presence. "Heroes are nothing but destiny's play things. They have always been from the very start. Villains, however, are what happens after fate is done with discarded hero trash. You want to know the truth? You're no better than that dust bunny on the bathroom floor over there. Hell, you won't last long enough to even make a real impact on anything. The only reason you can even influence the world around you is because of the sword you have in your hands. Speaking of which..."

My magic flared again removing the odd blade from his person and placing it far away from him. "Now normally, I don't care for the name titles because, in the end, they are useless words." I cracked my knuckles and bare my sharpening teeth and fingers before staring back at him. "But calling yourself a hero doesn't make you one. You're an imposter trying to be something that this world clearly lacks. It makes me sick you think you have the right in deciding who lives or dies. I don't appreciate someone using logic to try and force their image of what they see me as upon me."

Anon actually shook in his bounds. He might have peed on himself by the monstrous aura I released in order to further drive my point out. All he did was stutter uselessly in an attempt to retaliate back. Suddenly, all my features return to their pony normal self before I smiled. "Now, tell me where the location of the Elite Masters are, boy. You seem to have enough knowledge about me to know a proper answer. I expect a truthful answer."

Anon stuttered a few more moments before I placed a hand around his neck, putting a bit of pressure. "They are in the Alpha Plains! Th-They told me to capture you alive, I swear! Just let me live, please."

That's all the information I needed to hear. "See? That wasn't so hard, now was it, Anon?" I got back up and turned around walking toward the bathroom door. "Oh, I almost forgot. I did promise I would make you pay for your sins. Maybe a couple legs would compensate for your past deeds."

Just then, a sudden memory surfaced to the forefront of Anon's mind. The dawning horror evident in his face. His shadow retreat from his legs before my magic engulfed each leg independently. He begged, but mercy for him was deaf to my ears. A loud series of snaps, cracks, pops, and Anon screaming in pain soon followed after.

I didn't take pleasure in the screams, but this had to be done. By the time my magic was done twisting and mangling leg bones, Anon had passed out with his legs going several different angles, almost like a living leg pretzel. I knew he was alive at least, so I decided to leave him like that. I left no evidence to trace back to me anyway.

I wrapped the odd sword in my magic again before warping it into my space inventory

"Damn you, you sick bastard! I'll kill you! I swear on my life you'll pay deeply for hurting him!" The earth pony goddess screamed.

I froze my advance to the door. I wasn't particularly mad at her, but rather, I felt incredibly sad at her ignorance. I turned toward the three captured mares in my magic. The goddess glared with intense hatred while the unicorns seem too traumatized to notice all the commotion that went down. I stared evenly at the goddess watching her try to intimidate me with verbal violence. Except normal threats don't seem to make me feel anything.

So I decided to share what I saw. "What you think you know about your 'Master' Anon is entirely wrong, Beyla. You have been placed under his spell from the moment you first accompanied his journey. I can only glance into memories for a short time, but I saw what he has done to you and those two mares behind you. Not only that, but the innocent people he murdered... He mercilessly murdered ponies, humans, and other races to raise his own status... All in cold blood. He would come up with new creative ways in torturing his victims for all that they were worth before ruining their lives completely. And you cheered happily in the background calling the poor souls begging for their lives vile names. None of that should have been forgotten.

"You may think he is a true hero of honor, but that same hero of honor took your virginity in order to satisfy his own carnal desires. The two behind you had worse treatments." The earth pony goddess' eyes widen in shock and doubt. I snort at her realization before turning back to the exit. "You can believe me, or not. It makes no difference what others think of me. Though, if you still want to follow up on revenge then I would have to fight you for real next time."

I left just before she could respond back. I don't like to linger in one place for long. Celestia and Luna were waiting anxiously at the bar. I also noticed I couldn't hear anything in the bathroom. I inwardly sighed.

Old habits die hard, I suppose.

I effortlessly deactivated the silence barrier and any other magic restrains in the bathroom before walking up to Celestia and Luna. They looked awfully worried and uneasy.

"What's wrong?" I asked not sure why they looked that way.

"Y-You just suddenly went into the bathroom with an aggressive man in tow. I th-thought you were going to die..." Luna said trying to seem as small as possible in the public eyes.

Celestia didn't look too happy. "Why do I feel like you slapped me for some reason? I know it never happened, so why do I feel like it did."

I smiled in a calm manner. "Brief spontaneous burst of phantom pain can happen from past traumas. Besides, I think I have what we came for."

Luna's ears perked up. "Really?"

"Yup." I looked to the bartender. "Hey, bartender, do you happen to know where the Alpha Plains are?" I asked.

The bartender looked thankful I didn't bring up anything more personal. "Sure. It's Northwest from here. I believe it's two weeks on foot."

I half smiled placing a handful of bits on the counter. "Thanks for all your help. Here's to compensate for everything." The bartender said his pleasantries in return. Before I left the tavern for good, I might have erased any bystanders memories of what transpired in the pub. At least enough to not make it suspicious.

Either way, Celestia, Luna and I regrouped back with Charie and her company. Another step closer to meeting the puppet masters.

Two of the Elite Masters sat comfortably in cushioned chairs in their castle. One wore a green color themed robe with a flipped up hoodie attached to it. This Elite Master just kept his face hidden within the darkness of his hoodie shade. He was slightly taller than the other.

The other Elite Master had on a blue color themed robe. His robe swirled with new, different patterns every second. The blue robed Master held a crystal orb gazing into the ball. A picture of Shadow with his companions could be seen in the view. His eyes swirled an almost eternal amount of raw power, like an endless blue whirlpool

"Are you sure that's him? He looks drastically different than before. Even his power is not that impressive. We could easily squash this bug flat." The green robed man said dismissively.

The blue robed Master held back a sneer. "While it might seem farfetched, I saw the Dark Lord returning to us in this universe. There's no mistaking his chilling fear aura. And if we don't act soon I don't see a future for any of us."

The green robed master grunted in annoyance massaging his forehead with two fingers. "Geez, this asshole doesn't know when to throw in the towel. I suppose he lives up to his reputation, even if he's supposed to be dead. Espolio will not be pleased to hear this."

The blue robed master rolled his eyes. "Obviously. But I think I might have the perfect solution to deal with this problem. After all, we have our own monster." He snapped his fingers before a sphere of bright blue light encircled the platform in front of them. A beaten and bruised female draconequus laid on the floor.

The draconequus had an anthropomorphic slim, voluptuous feminine body, big breasts and a plump ass. She had two blackish blue hippogriff wings, long back, spiraling curved horns, green cat like eyes, and a cobra hood with a yellow interior stretching along her neck. Her body has smooth silky blue scales that look like luxurious blue skin. Thin narrow feline claws with tuffs of dark pink on her body. She has a long tail that was covered in deep pink tuffs ending with a scorpion shaped telson. Unknown stone bracelets were placed firmly around her wrists, ankles and neck as a safety precaution by the Elite Masters.

The draconequus shakenly tried to stand in her current, naked state, in an attempt to not look pathetic in front of her master. The blue robed master rolled his eyes before flicking his wrist. Right before her eyes the wounds and pain quickly fade away like they were never inflicted on her body. Even now, this sort of power terrified her. The draconequus wanted to question the purpose for her summons, but her mouth remained closed in fear of receiving her master's wrath.

"I have summoned you here for a very important task," The blue robed master raised the orb in his hands for her to see, the image focused on Shadow. "I want you to end this stallion's life. Make sure that this fool can never come back from the grave again."

She slowly prostate herself in a deep bow. "Your will is my law, Master Reinto."

"Good, don't disappoint me, Cosmos." The female draconequus shift her current form into a snake body, making her voluptuous figure disappear. She quickly floated off to complete her mission.

The green robed master scoffed. "You still have the order spirit bitch? I thought she was gotten rid of a long time ago."

Reinto, the blue robed master, idoly shrugged staring back at the orb in his hands. "Even broken toys can be useful. Besides, we have no clue how powerful he is right now. This is the perfect chance to see what he can truly do."

The green robed master sighed standing up from his chair. "Whatever. Call me if anything interesting happens." His form reflected into a thousand images of himself before disappearing in thin air

Reinto continued to stare into the orb. All he could do was wait and see what happened next.

Author's Note

Quite the flip-around!

Oh, yeah, you might be wondering why the hell an 'Anon' is here in this world. Don't worry, there is an explanation to that. This Anon is like those bad representations of horribly done Anons. I might have got a bit of inspiration from a Discord journal story.

As for the strange scenes of the 'fight'.... Just know that it's not time warping, or time travel of any sort.

Here is a link to the draconequus I'm referencing to in the story.

New: Wow, quite a while to wait. Hopefully I satisfied y'all enough for what's to eventually come..... MORE ANSWERS!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter installment.