Author's Note

This chapter was edited and proofread by ZeroOneInFinn. His help and work are much appreciated, and I hope you will notice the spike in quality.

Chapter two: Birthday Colt Part 1 [E]

"Let's go over today's schedule again, shall we, your highness?" Miss Inkwell spoke as she followed my path and pace. Her eyes were focused onto a clipboard that was attached to a metal contraption leading to her large bowtie.

"Very well, miss Inkwell." I spoke with a pleasant tone as I kept my posture as what ponies of higher standing, compared to a so-called 'commoner,' referred to the elegant and proper way of trotting.

It has been nearly six years since my exile to this Narnia-clone of a world and in one week my sixth birthday would be celebrated, not that I was looking forward to it, but it was a day where at least no one deliberately tried to fuck me over, so there was at least a single pro about it. Looking back at the time that has passed, I can honestly say that it was one weird-ass ride, and something changed, but I don't know why or what. After Mother and I spent a surprisingly enjoyable day together, it appears as if a competition has broken out between the Sun Monarch and the Nurse Unicorn in an attempt for the title of 'best mother' and earning me as their prized possession. I was, and am incredibly unsure how I feel about that development, and it does worry me. Celestia, undefined ruler and goddess of the sun, played games with a mortal about something so precious to her, it made me wonder if either she had a sadistic kind of humor given that she has all the cards and time in the world, or that she pities her attempts this much.

My calculations show that the odds of her partaking in this tug of war out of compassion rather than personal satisfaction are three to one. The Game spoke from the corner of my mind as he subtly integrated my schedule into a mental timetable.

"Your majesty, are you listening to what I am saying?" Inkwell stopped for a moment to push away the clipboard and allow full sight of her face.

I stopped and painfully suppressed a roll of my eyes. "Yes, miss Inkwell. At two, there will be snacks, at three proper etiquettes with Porcelain Vase, four there will be lunch. Five evening gymnastics with Corporal Coast Boulder and light cardio, seven will be a Math lesson, and eight will be storytime. Nine and ten I will have free time before bed." I repeated her tirade in a shortened form, one thing I hated about this life was the goddamn plans, at this point they probably have a chart for each possible hour where I might go to the toilet.

Inkwell nodded slowly, pushing her little clipboard back in front of her face and continued her walk. "Good to see that you are listening. Now, it’s about nine a clock, meaning that there is still time for a healthy breakfast before your lessons with Princess Celestia."

"And when can I play today?" I asked from the side with a confused look.

"Playtime is after your lesson with the Princess and elevenses." Inkwell noted from the side, scribbling onto her paper, perhaps to record my free time right above the little note that said, 'I ain't no machine.' The lessons were not partially hard and even allowed me to get a few points in every stat, ugh, the mere thought about Miss Heavenly Delight’s classes on behavior around young fillies, and social events make the goblins look friendly.

"We have arrived, sir." Inkwell announced as she stopped in her tracks, though I continued my trot, already dreading what I was about to face yet again. "Oh, and please do try to eat a bit more. A bit of meat and muscle on the ribs provides a more regal message to your future subjects." I silently pouted at her words, the guards suppressing their reactions and opened the hall that awaits.

A large, long hall stood in front of me, bearing only two exits, these being a pair of large double doors on each side, as well as an obscene amount of windows. The room bore little in terms of decoration: A few pictures, a little fireplace, and a massive table nearly ranging from one side of the room to another. This was 'just' a private dining room.

"Star, it is nice that you could make it today." Celestia chirped from the left side of the table, waving with one of her hooves like a commoner would do to her. It was not unusual that I ate breakfast in the dining room, it's just that Celestia would often simply lack time to join me.

"Do not just stand there, or your hooves might root themselves into the ground." Gentle added gently from the right side, her comment sounding a bit forced, however.

I staggered for a bit, before walking towards the tip of the table, precisely between both the Princess and Gentle, their momentarily quivering lips were a clear sign of displeasure. Despite their attempts to win me over, I did not choose to give in to either side due to a few very valid reasons. I owe Gentle my current position, as otherwise I would've been 'abducted' by one of the emergency items from the Game and brought into the wild where I'd have to deal with much more physical shit. Celestia, on the other hand, allowed me a safe position with plenty of opportunities to grow stronger, as well as having the best disguise ever, who would believe the perfect, pure-hearted prince to be rotten to the core?

I opened my mouth with an unwanted click, though before I could utter a word, the door behind me opened loudly, followed by a continuous trail of squeaking. I turned around, expecting to see a food cart, much to my surprise all I could see was a massive bunch of nothing. I raised an eyebrow before turning around; however, this action was abruptly stopped when my eyes met with a large platter on which a mountain of pancakes rested. Fruits, berries, and whipped cream alongside syrup adorned the delightful meal and transformed its appearance into that of a happy face.

"I got up a bit earlier to make you breakfast." Celestia commented from her side with a smile and tilted head, beaming with pride as she looked at me. I stared at her with a bland look for just a moment, wondering if she would start drugging my food again. "Oh, do not hesitate Star, despite my lack of time and position I have regularly cooked. Do give it a try!" She urged with admirably soft insistence.

I looked at the plate, deciding whether or not I should observe it first, but decided against it in the end, it had no use after all as any excuse would draw suspicion, not to mention that I gained the title of 'iron stomach' under the servants, at least if my ears did not lie to me whenever I crept along the halls.

I enveloped a silver fork with my magic and poked the closest edible frisbee. The pancake gave in so easily it made me wonder if it even was solid, a closer look denied this theory, but sparked another interesting fact, the food item was so bouncy that it repelled the fork's attempts to penetrate it. I gave the plate a confused look before stabbing it a bit more roughly and brought the excavated piece to my mouth. The delightful bite was soft and lofty as the very air, sweet as honey yet not overwhelming while a light touch of powdered sugar tickled my tastebuds, the various fruits freeing their juices that mixed with the cream and syrup, creating an experience that I would remember as long as it would take an average pony to lose the gained pounds.

"This is delicious!" I shouted loudly with enjoyment, before ramming another forkful into my mouth and chewing violently on it. Unlike most sweets in this world, this one bore not enough sugar to melt away my teeth. Gentle's facial muscles twitched with each chew, and her pain was justified, given her inability to cook anything I like, at least, better than the chefs at the castle.

"So, Star." Gentle started, softly coercing my attention away from the blessed meal. "Your Birthday is in a week, and I wondered what you might like to get?" Celestia suppressed a frown, displeased with her statement.

"Well." I started, before taking another bite, practically swallowing it whole. "I could always use a few more books."

"I know, but isn't there something you might like other than books?" Gentle asked with interest, which I did not fault her for, my room, as well as a guest room in the castle, were practically filled with tomes that I ingrained into my mind and would, later on, study to gain their abilities. It would be suspicious if hundreds of books were to just vanish over the course of a few minutes, especially from a room in the castle.

"Do not pressure Star, he just started to feast and has a stressful day in front of him." Celestia shushed Gentle, though not as effective as it once did, given Gentle's rather annoyed look that I could still spot despite the well-made mask.

'Stressful? I call carrying around a kilogram of Optu-ominous-25 through a fucking concrete jungle while a clock is constantly reminding you of how much time is between you living or turning to a pile of dust stressful. This here? A breeze.' I thought while the glares between the two mares intensified, one better hidden than the other.

"An instrument." I broke the silence, causing both of them to stop their little fight. "Something quiet, peaceful, and small so I can always carry it around me." Even I had no more idea what I was talking about, but hey, better than another book. It probably won't be better.

"You wish for an Instrument?" Celestia asked with surprise as she raisedrose an eyebrow.

"Well, I'd also like to see a bit more of Equestria, like a visit or a short vacation."

"Star, such decisions cannot be made this hastily, where are we even supposed to stay?" Celestia blurted out, her spoon dropping into the bowl as she raised her head. It was clear to me that she was not favoring my wish.

"That's not a problem, we could visit the Neighara falls and spend the night at my parents in Font Meadow, it's only an hour away so we wouldn't even have to go that long. Plus, I'm sure my parents will be ecstatic to finally meet their grandfoal." Gentle beamed vividly, I'd dare to say she was more excited about the idea to leave this city than I was.

"That sounds awesome, can we Mommy?" I asked with a broad smile.

Celestia stared at me with a bewildered expression, unused to being outsmarted. Things not going her way, she forced out a: "Sure." with a short nod and strained smile. "Now, Star, please eat up, you have a long day awaiting you." I was in a lot of shit, but it was worth it. Maybe.

"You don't have to tell me that twice!" I answered loudly as I began to inhale the pancakes, fully aware that I may have tipped the scale of this war in Gentle's favor, even if it was just a tiny bit against the mountain that was Celestia. As I was destroying the food in front of me, I could not ignore the strain on Celestia's face as she ate her large bowl of oatmeal, if I knew any better, I'd say that she was planning something, the problem was that I didn't know what.

I let out a deep sigh as the last remaining pancake scrap was erased off the face of this world, the large portion being broken down in a matter of seconds. My moment of peace was broken when a high pitched, squealing cut through the silence. I looked up to see Celestia standing up silently and walking towards the other gate, I followed her without a second of hesitation, however not before throwing Gentle one last smile, who returned this gesture.

"You know that you cannot be this careless, Star." Celestia spoke without even turning her head towards me as I finally caught up to her fast pace.

"But why?" I asked, not whiningly, but honestly interested in her insecurity, at this point, I was unsure if I would even visit a public school, or whatever the noble equivalent was. "It's just a few hours away with the train." Even I could pay for this trip with the bits I *ahem* found on the ground.

"The cost of the train or its location within Equestria's border are obsolete." Celestia spoke with a lightly, aggravated tone, bordering faint aggression, and a hint of irritation. "Even I have to be always careful outside of Canterlot and that with good reason." She turned her head towards me, bearing a cold expression. "You are very important for me, the future of my country and, I daresay, ponykind as a whole." She stated as her look darkened slightly. "There are many creatures that do not have kind views on Equestria, be it of past and current events, or even fanatic predictions of the future. In other words, wandering around with nothing between you and a menace will end very poorly." Her head turned forward again.

I kept my mouth shut with slight pain from the pressure, I was not entirely interested in the wellbeing of this country. However, it appeared as if now it was tied to my own health as well. A hint of bitterness spread through my mouth as I listened to her words again in my head, especially the part where she mentioned 'her country' and 'ponykind as a whole' led me to believe that she was scheming something big, but not what... I could really understand why someone like Discord has such a distaste for her.

"So, I will have to live in Canterlot forever?" I asked with a hint of sadness, I hated cities, but the sad truth was that, at least in the old world, that was the only place where you could find decent work outside of fixing clocks.

"No." Celestia answered shortly as her magic aura enveloped her chamber's gates, several clicks ringing out, something that’s never happened before, when did she install a plethora of locks on her bedroom's door? "However, it is of great importance that if you do visit a place inside of Equestria's borders that you do so with at least adequate protection." I was inclined to ask what 'adequate' meant but decided against it, given her heavy insistence for any of my travel locations being only in her country.

I entered her chamber, it still bore the usual design patterns, even if the room now reeked of high doses of Magic and Aether, not like Hauhuto's house, a tad drier. I stopped for a moment once inside at the sight of Cadance, her legs folded under her belly while she struggled to keep her head upwards. The pink devil honestly looked like she ran two marathons only that she appeared to be arid and smelled better.

"Cadance, are you feeling well?" I asked cautiously while suppressing the sudden urge to twitch the moment Celestia closed the door behind her.

"Huh, wha-what?" Cadance's eyes shot wide open while frantically looking around, before finally coming to a halt when her eyes fell onto me. They were red, cold, and a tad empty as if something drew out nearly all her power. "Oh, hello, Star, I didn't see you there." Her face, no, scratch that, her whole body looked like she lost a few shades of color.

"Why do you look like that Cadance, what happened?"

"Do not be concerned, Star." Celestia said as she walked past me and lay down next to Cadance, the warmth seemingly giving Cadance hints of strength. "Cadance merely charged a particular pure crystal with her magic, a mana gem if you will." Her calmness did not give me any reassurance at all, given that the pink alicorn looked like she lost part of her soul, even if her coat regained its color at a frightening speed.

"Are you sure that is healthy?" I asked as I slowly walked closer to the duo and lying down in front of the pair.

"It is less damaging of the mind or body and more of a lack of energy, it can be compared to an intensive workout." Celestia clarified, before bringing several books from her desk to us, a box from which blue light emitted was ignored. "Now, we have wasted enough time already. Open the history book to page twenty eight, the pre-separation era, in this age, the very first steps were taken that would, later on, result in the development of the three tribes." And thus, her tirade began, happily, as I did not dare to interrupt her, remind her, or even talk about any subject she might find 'displeasing.'

A deep, reeking, and molding scent filled my nose as I stomped through the damp, dark cave in which previously the hobgoblin resided: a monster of muscle, skin, and rotten teeth. Now that the beast was gone, only a few drizzles of blood, and the much more prominent puddle of the ebony liquid, alongside the chair of the goblin boss reminded me of its former existence.

I stomped through this section of the hideout, hints of anger and a combination of dread filled me of the events that were to come tomorrow. Each night after the one where I wished to visit the, sigh, Neighagra falls, I had spent trotting-fuck! Walking in circles while pondering, or at least, attempting to as my mind was practically blank.

'Damn horse, why do you have to make me think about everything, just what the hell are you playing at?!' I thought angrily while increasing both my noise and pace through the room, leaving only the shadows to change their motions from the flickering wall torches. 'I’ll take a fucking bond style death over these fucking mind games, just what the hell is this all about.'

I stopped and held a hand on my forehead, it was warm, nearly boiling, and this only fuelled my anger exponentially. 'Something happened when Cadance was born, but what? What does the owl have to do with anything and for heaven's sake, why does a feel-good touch play such a damn, huge role!' I grit my teeth even stronger, now rocks were sent flying from my rage and lack of knowledge.

"Gugh!?"

I snapped my head towards the cave's entrance while my glare could melt holes into whatever unlucky fool wandered into my vicinity. A goblin, fat, and meeker at the same time, carrying only a fitted loincloth and a small bone with him stared vividly at my armor, taking components of both the guard as well as the boss.

Something snapped in me.

In a moment's notice, the Goblin was ripped from its position into my outstretched hand, before its head was nearly crushed by my force. The animal squealed loudly while trashing, attempting to attack my arm only for all damage to be blocked, and yet as I stared at this pathetic image of resistance, I felt only... nothing. The Goblin let out an ear-piercing howl before it’s sizzling flesh overtook his voice, or perhaps, he was just silent after that, given that a mana blade cut through his skull. The body fell limply to the ground with no grace as the black liquid flooded the hole and the ground underneath it.

"Insect." I spat silently, before sharply turning around, not bothering to pick the corpse up, and walked towards the hobgoblin's former throne. I landed on the crude construct expecting it to creak, but despite its appearance and stench, it was actually quite comforting, all it needed was thirty liters of bleach and enough air freshener to make new jersey smell bearable for a few minutes, and I might even take it to my training realm.

As I played on the fantasy of furnishing my little edge in the world, a single speck of rock fell onto my nose, followed by a low growl. I cannot foretell how I reacted this way, but in a moment's notice, my arms shot upwards, my halberd materializing between my pals, and stabbed upward. A shriek that reminded me of nails running across glass rang out before I slammed whatever I stabbed onto the ground in front of me.

The large beast thrashed around violently as it attempted to dislodge the medieval weapon from its back, but I was faster and stronger. I clambered the shaft under my left armpit, before jumping on the beast’s back and ramming two mana knives into its upper back. The steam coming from the flesh, juicy and slimy, had a sweet tone to it that took off some horror of the monster beneath me. I cursed silently under my breath as I watched my opponent's health bar, still bearing some fight. I let all of my weapons disappear, the beast lost balance from the sudden shift of weight both inside and outside, causing it to tumble lightly, allowing me to grab the Hobgoblin club from my inventory and ramming the heavy weapon downwards. The crunch that followed caused shivers to run across me as the beast let out one last cry.

I breathed gradually as I rolled away from the creature, my heart pounding heavily while a stinging sensation plagued my legs. I pantingly leaned forward so see brown spikes lodged into my flesh, I bore little thought as I ripped them out, however, I stopped after the first one left my meat, a sprinkling, searing sensation nibbling away my flesh, a green goo coated it: poison. I took a deep breath, shutting my eyes with painful force before looking at my health, seeing it stop dropping after having activated [Meditate].

"Must've been small fry." I mumbled, frighteningly uncaring of the event, having played out only a moment's notice before, yet I did not push this any further. "The fuck...?" I mumbled as I inspected the corpse, it was a giant cockroach, even as I circled it. It resembled it nearly perfectly, was it not for the orange blood that seeped from it, as well as its strange face, or what remained of it. It did not look like a roach's face, it appeared to me like it had skin and two eyes, but the inward bent, shattered visage answered no questions.

"Observe."

???
Level: 6
Classified information

I raised an eyebrow at the strange textbox, I had a high enough level, but somehow it appeared to be warded off, or rather, I was not allowed to read the information.

"Uh, Game? I think your textboxes a tad buggy?" I wondered with a hint of confusion, tilting my head at the riddle.

I must disagree, all functions are working without any hindrance. The Game answered, despite my serious confusion.

"Then why won't you show me the stats of the roach?"

It is classified information that I am not allowed to reveal. Please do not, under any circumstances, attempt to acquire this knowledge. His insistence was almost... painful.

"If you say so..." I mumbled while staring at the roach's face for a few moments, it made me feel a bit uneasy staring into its foggy, empty, round irises before flames started to consume the corpse. Not even bones or ash remained. I was unsure if I wanted to know more.

"Are you sure this is safe?" I asked innocently with great concern as I leaned over the railing as my eyes darted downwards. A tingling sensation in my stomach only worsened the overall experience.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Celestia asked as she overlooked the scenery, her mane flowed gracefully through the wind while her wings ever so often twitched, yearning to soar through the sky.

My eyes slowly traveled towards Gentle Touch, clamping every limb, including the tail, against her body while shivering like a dog during a thunderstorm, twitching every so often when our means of transportation would shake weakly. I forced my gaze upon the clouds again, underneath which the land flew past us with high speed as the carriage, drawn with four armored pegasi pulled the 'vehicle' with high speed.

"Just a hunch." I answered shortly, watching as great meadows turned to a few villages, forests to rocky landscapes and mountains grew frequently in number evermore. Closing my eyes, I allowed the strong wind to flow in, and through me, this sensation filled me with life.

Our current height is about 1462 meters above the ground. The Game informed me silently, not breaking away my focus on the scenery..

My eyes hovered towards the horizon, the flight had already lasted an hour, the pegasi still not giving in into mortal fatigue, but this mattered not as the sight drew me in ever so more. The large belt of clouds, various holes allowing me sight onto the world below, painted an image that showed the world only in its natural beauty, an ocean of white, green, and the occasional blue.

"It is a mesmerizing sight, isn't it?" Celestia asked, but to my ears, it mattered not who uttered those words, for all I could reply on was-

"Yeah..."

The carriage landed softly, not once creaking or cracking, just the wind being thrown and thrashed around as the four pairs of wings descended. All eyes were drawn onto the metal object, or rather, those who resided inside. Some bowed, others kneeled, a few scrambled, and a large amount froze upon meeting gaze with the pony princess herself. Celestia smiled gently as she opened her mouth, but before a word was uttered by her, another took this place.

"Sweet, sweet Ground! Oh, how much I missed you!" Gentle roared out as she jumped from the carriage, her lips seemingly touching the ground first before it was kissed respectively by the shivering, sweating unicorn mare. She suddenly stopped, petrified, as her head slowly was raised, eyeing those who stared at her in return. Touch's face twitched slightly, checks starting to take on a red hue as she slowly scrambled back into the carriage.

"There is no need to gift us so much attention, my subjects." Celestia called out, drawing away the attention from Gentle, yet having seemingly basked in those few moments where she was not the center of attention. "Please return to your duties and continue your activities." The crowd dispersed quickly, an aura of respect and authority, washing them away like smudges on a window during a rainstorm. It made me wonder just how that was this effective; usually, people have to threaten with violence to make onlookers scram.

"They really were interested in you." I called out, not explicitly saying which Mare gained more attention.

"I take it you did not enjoy this flight as much as our offspring did?" Celestia asked softly, borderline vividly with a low, yet pitched tone. A shiver rocked across Gentle's back as her face heated even further.

I rolled my eyes playfully as I jumped out of the carriage and looked over the area, the space had cleared up, but the sight was not what drew me to inspect the situation. I felt the watchers again, at least twenty in their number as they soared across the sky, a few staying above me, observing. I wonder if those bastards would ever leave me alone.

"Come on, you can do this, just like the client said. Take aim, hold steady, press the button, and run." I mumbled to myself as I fiddled with my bag, its content clinking and clanking like heavy metal coins in an oversized pouch.

Sweat ran down my face as my heart threatened to burst, all while a deep, empty sensation threatened to eat me alive. I grit my beak as I opened the bag again, it was all there in the exact order just like the last time I looked, and the time before. I glided my talons across the robust and heavy string, the fiber giving in only a little while bouncing back in place with much greater force.

I jerked and pressed myself against the back of the stand and into the shadows, my medallion's top gleamed with a purple shine. I clamped my beak shut, ceased breathing and noises alike. My feathers itched terribly, every second was agony while this torture went on. The shine stopped.

"F-fuck that w-was close." I cursed under my breath as I pushed my bag close to my chest, its contents nearly threatened to snap in half. I took a breath as one of my claws went to my throat, gently squeezing it while gulping hard. 'J-just one shot, that's all. You've got to do this Wilhelm, there isn’t another option.' I grit my beak ever harder, nearly daring to crack it, before slinging the bag onto my back and moving towards another shadow as a high pitched tone drew away curious gazes.

I smiled vividly as I stared into the large waterfall, the enormous amounts of water rushed down the mountain's cliff with frightening force, daring to pulverize any object and being in its wake, even if it was the impurity of the air. A deep whiff of the clean mountain wind worked wonders on toxic levels of grumpiness.

"Enjoying the air, Star?" Celestia said as she walked up to me, she stopped her attempts to understand my minimalistic way of thinking and gratitude for the simple things like fresh air and food containing less than fifty-six percent biologically degradable plastic. They really did not appreciate what they had.

"Yup, it's great up here!" I exclaimed joyfully as I eyed the flower petals and leaves flowing through the air, their colors reflecting the pure sunlight. However, another sniff woke a different emotion in me. It was a stinging scent, heady and sweet, while a bell's ringing stole away my attention. "Huh, what's that?" I asked while pointing my hoof at the strange metal contract, what was the round thing on the waffle?

"Hmm?" Celestia hummed as she turned around, before tilting her head. "Well, it is a warm day, so a scoop of ice cream won't hurt too much, I assume."

"Iced cream?" I asked with confusion, giving the Mare a blank stare.

"Oh, you probably don't know what ice cream is." Gentle said as she levitated her purse up to her face and skimming through it. "In Canterlot, it is hard to find any sweet that is not chocolate or caramel, but it's quite common on the land. Come, I'll buy us some, I'm sure it will even satisfy your sweet tooth." Gentle said with a smile with anticipation that made me wonder if she just really wanted the sweet for herself or if my reaction enticed her more to do this expensive act.

Me not knowing a certain kind of sweet was nothing unusual, my human mom and aunt never really gave them to us unless for special occasions. I couldn't even buy them, sugar got so damn expensive because of its use in chemistry as a stabilizer, and the fake shit made me feel the rot overtaking my teeth.

I followed the two grinning mares towards the strange device that radiated a chilling cold from it, the last customers, a mare and a colt, left the stand. They appeared to be a tad too happy for something that looked like colored snow.

"Well, hello, miss and mi-my Princess Celestia!" The stallion's calm demeanor suddenly shifted to a panicking mess as he struggled to keep his sweat from ruining his wares. "I-I've been keeping the health code close to my heart, I swear."

Celestia's cheek muscles strained, if she was suppressing a giggle or retaining a frown I knew not. "Please be at ease, I have not come here to announce you guilty of any crime, we have simply gained a sudden craving for sweets." I'm starting to wonder if this mare can make any sentence sound professional.

"Oh-oh..." The stallion let out a sigh of relief, slowly rising up again. While making a point of law enforcement, I rarely saw any kind of guard, like, anywhere.

Ponies are fearful and curious herd animals, a patrol of guards marching through the town will most likely gain the population's attention and might spread concern through the masses. The Game elaborated, revealing yet another custom of this bizarre world.

"I'd like a scoop of vanilla, please, and you Celestia?" Gentle said as she started to pour a large number of bits onto the makeshift counter, causing the stallion to scramble, a gibberish escaping his mouth as he tried to push the payment back at Gentle. His flailing didn't hit a single coin.

Celestia jerked momentarily, clearly surprised. "Ehm, chocolate." She spoke, apparently still in disbelief, making even me wonder who broke her.

"Star?"

"Strawberry, please." I didn't pay attention to my own words, but when could strawberry make anything worse?

"I-I can't take money from you, your highness." He pushed words through his teeth as he piled the small mountain of gold together, fifteen bits in total.

"I insist," Celestia said with a smile, her eye's corners twitching weakly, something was eating at her.

"W-well if t-that's the case." The Stallion spoke as he scooped a large portion of flavored snow onto the cones, a hint of milk radiated from the food, nullifying my snowball theory. "Please do enjoy."

"I'm sure we will." Gentle said. She was more fiddly today than usual, perhaps excited to meet her parents after all those years? I decided not to reply as we walked away from the stall, the man's relief could be felt even minutes away. "Do try to eat it quickly or it will melt, but not too fast either." The fuck is that supposed to mean?

I stared into the red, borderline pink orb as a frosty smell chillingly made its way through my nose, while the familiar, sweet stinging of the fruit sent shivers across my skin.

Lick.

"Are you alright, Star?" Celestia asked after a few silent moments.

"Yes..."

Lick
Lick
Lick

'T-that was close.' I thought grimly, my chest rose and sank, daring to rip apart my shirt that was already stained with sweat. I let my bag fall onto the ground next to me, this old watch post had been long abandoned and served as a good hideout, nobody would look here.

Each desperate gasp for air eased my painful worry only slightly given the task ahead. 'S-stop worrying so much, you're not a bad Griffin, but you have to pull this through for Martha.' I grit my beak, grasping the bag and ripped it open, revealing a metal crossbow, a set of black crystal bolts. The handle bore an engraving.

'A gift to the hero of Pridestone, may your bolts always find their targets.'

'Take aim, press the trigger, run.'

I shakingly grasped the weapon with my shivering claws, the construct laid heavily in my grasp. I pulled the string back, the mechanism delivered excellent resistance but eventually settled with a heavy click. I jerked from the sudden sound, before taking a bolt and shoving it into the weapon.

I lifted the crossbow with heavy strain onto the railing, various ponies' reflections walking across the glass, however in the center stood still one, little unicorn: Light grey fur and silver mane adorning the foal.

I tensed up, wondering if I really was going to do this, but there was no other way when the path was clear, the trigger would be pulled. 'I'm so sorry, little cub.' I thought with a heavy heart, awaiting my chance while aiming at the head, it would be a quick, painless end.

Nibbling away at the plain, but still delicious cone, a remnant of one of the greatest foods I was granted to consume, my mind blankly stared forward while my body followed the two adult mares, both chatting idly at topics I had no quarrel meddling into. Their little conversation ended, however, when our eyes fell upon a large gathering of ponies, for me, it blocked every shred of sight, yet, Gentle and Celestia seemed to have been caught by the image for just a moment.

By consuming a particular food item, you received [fire resistance] for 5 minutes. Fire damage is reduced by 20 points.

I didn’t ask The Game how a food item could grant me resistance to flames, even less than how it could heal mortal wounds, but even if I had this yearning for knowledge, the Princess allowed me not to think before I was levitated onto her back. I was about to question her sudden action, but I found the answer faster than I could've asked for.

"Stallion and Mares."

"Fillies and Colts of all ages."

"We welcome you to the grand magic show of the fantastic-"

"Fantabulous-"

"Amazing-"

"Breathtaking-"

"Lulamoons"

I stared at the odd pair atop the large stage with a hint of confusion, but mostly curiosity. The platform reminded me a bit of a theater, decorated with stars and glitter and whatnot.

The two performers, both unicorns, wore magician's cloaks and hats while standing in a dominant pose in front of the crowd. The stallion had a teal coat, alongside a white and pale blue mane, his cutie mark nearly hidden was that of three golden stars. The Mare, on the other hand, had an orange coat, her mane followed the stallion's example only that the blue was replaced with orange.

I raised an eyebrow at the odd pair, their choice of clothing was cringeworthy, there was no denying it, yet it still drew the eye in.

"I'm JackPot-"

"And I am Showcase-"

"And together we'll deliver a world-class show of its finest."

'Why do those two talk so weirdly and-hold on a minute, his name is Jack-pot?! Why the fuck is Jack normal here, but John is some kind of eldritch spell?!' I grumbled mentally while resisting the urge to pout.

JackPot lifted his hat, the absurd piece of cloth, and pulled out a bottle filled with some sort of blue gas. All of a sudden, he smashed the object onto the ground, a wave of vapor escaped with great power, blowing away bits and pieces of dirt, cloaking the duo in the smoke.

"Do not fret, the show is about to begin." A female voice spoke mysteriously, strangely echoing.

Rockets fired out of the smokescreen, flying only so high before exploding into a misty substance, slowly descending upon us and slowly absorbing most of the sunlight, shrouding the area in a dark blanket. The crowd of ponies quickly sank into discomfort, chittering and chattering broke out while a few even seemed to have broken into a panic.

"Fear not, dear watchers, we merely wish to show you of our travels-"

"Of lands containing things of imagination-"

"Further than anypony has ever trotted."

The large fog cloud on the stage swirled violently, particles of blue and orange, led the smoke into a vortex from which a shadowy figure emerged: A bear, but not just any, a titanic beast towering the platform. The creature roared loudly as the stellar markings on its body began to glow in a blue hue.

"The great and powerful Ursa Major, housed in castle sized caves in the deepest and most dangerous forest, the Everfree."

The fog twisted into a bipedal form, melting and losing shape, before becoming a mighty, seven-headed hydra, glowing orange eyes adorned it while its head squirmed and squealed, screaming painfully.

"The mighty Hydra of the forsaken swamp, Nazmir."

And once again, the smoke swirled, however, this time the duo made it their duty to pull the most significant figure they could muster. The shadows grew and inflated to sizes that seemingly scratched the very heavens, the beast sprouted wings and a maw large enough to swallow a pony whole while it's paralyzing, cold, pale blue eyes ripped out the very few shreds of hope any unfortunate victim might once have possessed.

"The banished dragon lord, Manus."

"Those were a few of the great beasts we’ve encountered on our journey, yet only scraps of what we may present to you."

The large dragon broke and shattered into itself, flooding the ground with smoke that wished and wavered, seemingly distorting reality, yet, it was just a mind trick. Once the smoke settled, the duo stood on a large podium, atop their hind legs and hoof in hoof.

"The question is, can you make it without fainting in awe?"

'Seems like this place got a good chunk more interesting.' I thought with a smile while I leaned forward, holding myself on Celestia's long neck. 'Now, where are the small Irish people trying to steal our wallets?'

I stared coldly onto the ground from a cloud far above. Left. The crowd of ponies gathered nearly swallowed the Princess and the Crown Prince. Right. No pony had spent more than fifteen seconds following the VIPs. Left. No suspicious pony has been sighted yet. Right.

"You're going to snap your own neck if you continue this guard dog crap, you know that, Thunder." Agent Sky spoke from behind me.

I shifted slightly, keeping one eye on the target while swaying the other towards my 'partner.' "You don't seem awfully concerned with the safety of the Crown Prince, Sky, especially given our objective."

"Urgh, I've been following Prince Star, for what now, nearly six years, I'm pretty sure he is safe, especially given how durable that colt it is, I swear, there are x rays of his skull and brain crushed. I repeat, his skull was caved in."

"Rumors." I mumbled sternly while turning my head a little more towards her; every bit of my frown mattered. "Even if those stories are true, it is our job and duty to prevent things from getting a step further than that."

"Yeah yeah, grumpy, you sure you aren't getting a tad old? There hasn't been a single attempt on nobility, less so royalty, in what, like three-hundred years." Sky rolled her eyes in a most infuriating way. "Stop it already, you're going to get even more wrinkles if you continue."

"I take wrinkles over lazy, flabby skin." I commented. She turned her head with a lot of force towards me with a glare that could've made my father proud, seems like things don't always stay the same. "Hey, now you're doing it."

"I liked you more before, pop." She commented. I was about to open my mouth but was stopped upon seeing her face before she jumped off the cloud.

I gritted my teeth and pulled out a communication stone. I cracked the gem with a hit of my hoof while staring at the shaking gleaming on the horizon. "Attention, a suspicious individual has been found, likely armed with a long-ranged weapon. Immediately escort VIPs to safety."

"This is so exciting." I said while attempting to contain my enjoyment.

The Hydra and the dragon were battling one another, thrashing around the place while circling the crowd, every so often just barely missing a pony with a swipe or stomp. The crowd sank into an adrenaline rush, understandable, holo films don't have shit on this.

"Your Highness." A male voice woke me from my petrified state, alongside the heavy rocking his touch caused. Touch?

Princess Celestia turned around slowly, visibly annoyed by the interruption. "I hope you have a very good reason for this interruption, Sargeant." She seemed to be rather Grim, much more than usual. At least when some pony says something awful, not even the suggestion to remove an orphanage for a public bath made her this angry.

"It appears as if bees took a liking to our candy. It would be best not to start a fight."

I nearly fell over when her muscles tensed up, shifting her entire back in the process as if she was about to take off at a moment's notice, which was weird. I doubt there was anything powerful enough to pose a threat to her, other than the owl perhaps.

I believe she is more concerned about your wellbeing.

'I survived having my head crushed?'

Piercing damage is much more dangerous for beings with high regenerative abilities as they not only prevent healing as long as an object is lodged into the flesh, but the shredded meat hinders regeneration. This does not concern us, as our health is based on total hull damage, in other words, how much this body is destabilized.

'And dear Mommy does not know that, good, I need a few secrets on my side as well.' I thought while looking over her shoulder at the messenger.

"Star Touch, Gentle Touch, it appears as if we have to leave a bit earlier than originally anticipated," Celestia spoke tensely as she walked past the guard, not awaiting an answer or protest from Gentle, who silently followed.

'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!' I screamed in my head, wishing yet again the sweat out of my eyes, my claws quivered and clawed at the crossbow with painful force to keep from slipping away. I gulped, my ribs hurt so much, the horrible kick wound acting up again, while a stinging sensation traced across my skin.

'Why in Tartarus did I have to wait, just why!?' I screamed in my head while my breathing slowly went out of control.

Four figures walked out of the smoke.

I pushed my head forward, my eye nearly touching the glass of my scope while I frantically searched through the group. 'White, pink, grey, Grey! Prey!' I followed the group that entered a golden carriage with my crosshair. I crammed the weapon in a death grip while I slowly pulled the button, and my sight suddenly snapped to the right.

I, I couldn't feel a thing, 'wh-what was happening to me?' I laid on the ground, my crossbow in front of me while my sight was fixated in one direction. I could just barely hear a voice, mumbling and muffled, but I could make out one more thing before my vision was flooded with red and covered with black.

"Reporting."

I froze in place, my vision quivered, switching between the Neighara falls and a black, empty world leading towards a desolate land on which creatures of horrific proportions and forms wandered. I grit my teeth, surpressing the urge to cry and laugh at once while an unholy touch stole away my warmth and breath. I shivered horrifically, so cold, I felt my brain itch, the urge to vomit blood rose while I could feel the numbness and decay, a corrupting presence tearing into my flesh.

I attempted to turn my head towards the source but was forced against the warm, soft barrel of Mommy as she firmly held her wings against me. I pressed my body against Celestia's and my hoof onto the ground, clinging onto everything I could while the horrific drain lessened.

'W-what the hell is that!?' I screamed in my head, but I could not differentiate if I was loud or deaf.

A being carrying large quantities of negative emotions was killed, and released the entirety of the collective mind at once. This force, now containing a very basic version of an Aether Heart, or as you call it, soul, drags more negativity with it before it lands in the Nightmare realm where a 'Living Nightmare' is created, a sentient monstrosity. I did not know what he was talking about, I couldn't find any sense while my mind cracked under pressure.

'What does that have to do with me!?' I cried, shivering my flesh's fibers clung to one another with all their strength, this rot, it was tearing me apart, even when it was but a memory now.

It appears as if the original creature wished ill upon you, and the nightmare will likely try to continue the legacy.

My eyes snapped open as nearly all emotions, but one left me cold. Dread. Nightmares, their very presence was enough to kill a man or drive him insane. So many poor souls were dragged there, countless unfortunate souls I will one day join, but in what way was yet to be decided.

I dwelled on the idea for a few more moments as I stared over the telling, letting the cold winds soothe my anxiety while a soft tune playing in my head, one which's origin I still could not decipher. I wanted not to think anymore. I endured the ever so slowly vanishing decay while watching the scenery, wondering how long it would remain this way.