Wrath of the Seven Lords: The Beginning

by Autistic Retard

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Original Character, Adventure
Length: 28704

Cipher discovered an ancient scroll that revealed a lost history about the existence of evil lords that ruled before the founding of Equestria. He was eager to find answers, but being attacked by monsters convinced him to look for a new home first.

The story takes place mid-way during Season 2 of the show so the progression in this story will coincide with the timeline of the original show but with a lot of rewritten context and original concepts that I made.

Take in mind that this is in an Alternate Universe so none of this is canon to the show or something like that... but it's your choice if you would take this storyline in consideration. This story will follow the original series but with a lot of changes according to how the story progresses. The ending will be very different from the original series. If you don't like rewritten versions of the original series, then this isn't really a story that would appeal to you, but feel free to check it out anyway!

Cipher Emblem, a unicorn who lived in a remote village in the Badlands, discovered an ancient scroll while he was wandering near the canyons. He took the scroll with him and went back to his abode. The scroll revealed to be a very ancient manuscript that was written in an ancient code. With the help of a deciphering spell, he was able to translate the writings. As he was reading the scroll, however, his house was raided by a bunch of Ophiotaurus. After having to deal with the raiders and barely surviving the attack, he decided to finally venture out and move in to a place where he can live without the trouble of getting his home assaulted by aggressive creatures.

Published 2020-05-01 04:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-07-20 10:04:09 UTC

Chapter 2: Forward

Forward

Cipher tightened the bandana that folded around his head. He needed a place to settle in and he won't let annoying jolts in his brain stop him. He trotted at the edge of the steep rock he was on and looked down.

"If only I can teleport, I would've been outside this place already..." Cipher grumbled, wishing he could do the spell.

The indigo unicorn was very talented in magic. From performing simple dowsing spells to conjuring elemental attacks, he could basically cast more magic than any ordinary unicorn could.

He is also a quick learner and he possesses very powerful intuition on things—allowing him to understand something almost immediately. Force-fields, magic reflection, psychokinesis, transmutation, you name it. He spent almost all his spare time (when he's not reading or fighting monsters) in practicing magic. But despite all his efforts, there are some spells he could never conjure—even some simple ones.

He knew how to do it though. The whole process of imagining the destined location in one's mind and concentrate energy to transfer on that location was something he knew how to execute. It's just that he couldn't do it in action.

It wasn't just on teleportation. He also had difficulties conjuring other spells—even those that he found easy to learn. The only thing that was preventing him from performing those spells is his injury in his head that causes the zaps.

Whenever he focuses on something for a long time, his mind goes overdrive and causes these annoying jolts when it can no longer handle the information being processed. He had difficulties doing activities that require full concentration and whenever he does, he gets interrupted by the pain that occurs. He was lucky to even comprehend ideas that he learned when studying.

"I still can't believe what was written in the scroll. I know it's written by Ink Slinger, but to have a manuscript that existed so long ago that practically talked about evil rulers before Equestria came to be is so unbelievable. I mean how come nopony knew of this or no information about these ancient lords were written in history books?" Cipher thought of the idea that he failed to process from before.

"Well, there are no teachers or historians in the Badlands or even anypony who I could talk to in the place that know these things. They probably just focused on trying to live, like what I was doing for the past 'twenty' years..."

Cipher remained deep in his thoughts. Had he actually been living in the Badlands for twenty years? Did his parents actually live there too? Did they leave him there after a while? Or were they dead the moment he was born?

Cipher knew both his name and age. He did an age-determination spell a few days back and his age revealed to be twenty years, three months, and twenty-eight days. He at least knew his date of birth, but not his place of birth. He didn't know how to perform a spell to identify his place of origin, so he just assumed that maybe he lived his whole life in the Badlands. But because of his amnesia, however, he could be completely wrong.

Having 'amnesia' was an analytical assumption. He can recall the first time he'd seen himself living in that old hut of his but the certain memory was hazy. Thanks to all the reading and all the studying, he concluded that there was something wrong with him and that it wasn't just some accident that made his memories before whatever happened to him disappeared.

He could recall memories of himself asking the locals for help about why he was there, like a poor foal asking where his parents were. He kept asking them the same questions: "Where am I?", "What is this place?", "How did I get here?"

But nopony approached him. Nopony gave him help. Nopony gave him answers to his questions. Nopony at all.

Being tired of not receiving any help, he decided to do something about it. Having amnesia didn't stop him from learning his way around. If it wasn't from the books he read, he would've already died while still asking for answers.

At first, it was very difficult to cope with the surroundings. Being very clueless of where you are can get you into a lot of trouble if you don't know what you're doing. And being in one of the most dangerous places in Equestria, stupidity is just straight up asking for death to get you immediately.

How he was able to live for a long time despite his condition was very fascinating. And being able to adapt and learn magical spells while fighting monsters all the time was something too legendary to be true (I mean it's better than saying plot armor so...).

It didn't take long for him to find some explanations for his current condition (again, thanks to the books he was able to scavenge during his time there), but being able to come up with a conclusion of claiming to have 'amnesia' took him a long time to do. It took years of research and studying—it would've been easier if not for being disturbed by the brain zaps and the monsters who always bother him.

Since there was nopony to help him during his time in his chaotic home, he only relied on himself. He lived far away from the locals and only visited the marketplace when he needed to buy stuff. Whenever he went to the marketplace, ponies would freak out or run away. That's why when he needed to buy something, the merchants just gave some of their goods to him because of fear. Not that Cipher would steal the goods anyway or just forcefully take the stuff from them—he was a loner but he wasn't a bad pony, even if the locals think that he was.

Cipher didn't have a job nor was he rich, so when the locals decided to not give Cipher the food that they sell anymore, Cipher thought of growing his own food in the back of his house. It didn't take long for the food to grow since he used magic to make the crops grow faster.

He also discovered a spell where he can materialize bits—it's one of those spells that proved to be very useful in his situation but thought it was a bit unfair for others who have jobs. He rarely used the spell and the only time he really used it was when he was desperate to buy a book to read.

Though it still confused him as to where the bits were coming from. The Badlands was a closed area, giant steep rocks and canyons surrounded the whole place, making hiking or trekking impossible. The marketplace had an unstable economy. There's never enough stock for items, items are either too cheap or too expensive, workers are either too sick or in no condition to work, items have no variety, and of course, monsters sometimes destroy the goods.

But despite all those, the marketplace was still making business and selling goods. He didn't know if there was some sort of black market or if there was actually a way for the other places to import and export their goods with the marketplace in the Badlands. Whatever the reason was, he didn't care any longer. His house was destroyed and he needed a new one.

Cipher snapped back from reality and realized that the sun was already setting.

"Jeez, how long was I spacing out?" Cipher blinked to his surprise. He had been spacing out for too long and he wasn't even able to find a way to jump down safely, until now.

"Oh wait, I can do this..." Cipher activated his magic and his hooves started to glow. He took a few steps back and galloped over the edge of the steep rock. He landed on the ground, safely and without causing a loud sound. The landing, however, created a small gust of wind from the ground.

The spell he conjured allowed him to fall from high places without feeling the force of impact when landing on the ground. The magic that was in his hooves served as shock absorbers, dissipating the massive amount of kinetic energy that entered his body and the remaining energy was then absorbed in his magic. The remaining kinetic energy absorbed was then released the moment he landed, producing a small gust of wind, making his fall painless.

Cipher turned around and took a look back at the place where he once lived. He was finally going to leave. He was unsure of what to feel at that moment.

He wanted a place where he can feel at home, without the disturbance of the uncertain weather or the ravaging monsters that always interrupt him. He wanted to learn and do new things—things he couldn't do in his old home. He wanted to be free. And now, this was it. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

It wasn't because he deeply hated the place. Sure, just walking around the canyons and immediately getting attacked by giant moles or bull-serpent creatures was rather annoying. Locals thinking you're a monster or unpredictable weather occurring every day can very much irritate anypony.

But Cipher was able to adapt to that kind of style in his life. He got used to living in an extremely hostile environment but like any other living being, he too had limitations.

He grew tired of being vigilant all the time. He wanted to eat without being paranoid of what would come for him on the front door. He wanted to sleep without always having to cast a magical barrier around him (this sometimes drain his energy in his sleep, so he ends up not being able to sleep at all). He wanted to walk in the hills without the need to look above for falling rocks.

The unicorn gave a heavy sigh and trotted forward, for it was the only direction he intended to go to.

Forward.

Author's Note

Okay here are a few notes to take in mind:

Cipher's pyschokinetic abilities can range from holding a small rock to a large object such as a bookshelf. He can't lift anything bigger or heavier like something as massive as a boulder. If he could, he would have been able to get out of the Badlands just by stacking boulders or compiling everypony's houses in the remote village. And, no, he can't lift himself or fly.

Cipher's transmutation capabilities are impressive but not immensely powerful. He could transform any object like a cup or a plate into something entirely different from the original object. However, his injury in his brain prevented him from transforming objects into something complex, like contraptions or machines. He also can't transform anything gigantic like mountains or houses. So yes, if you thought that maybe Cipher could've transformed an object into a catapult to launch himself out of the Badlands or turn the canyons into something small so he can just walk out from it, then sadly, no.

Chapter 2 and 3 was only supposed to be in one chapter but since I made Chapter 2 focus on Cipher's past, I figured that his travel would be kinda irrelevant to the main topic of this chapter so I put that in Chapter 3. Sorry if this chapter was short.

Please do leave a comment below if you see any errors, I will correct them as quickly as I can.

A big thanks to 'Kujamih' for helping me proofread!

Chapter 3: The Town Outside the Badlands

The Town Outside the Badlands

"So this road did lead out of the Badlands. I recall that the Forbidden Jungle is in the opposite direction. Wonder where this one takes me..." Cipher pondered as he trotted down the road.

Cipher Emblem continued to follow the road that led him out of the Badlands. He put all of his bothersome thoughts aside, at least until he can find a new home.

As he was walking, he looked ahead and saw what appeared to be a small town in the distance.

"Huh. Well, what do you know?" Cipher raised an eyebrow as he trotted towards the town.

Cipher got a full view of the town. It resembled a Western-like town filled with two-story false-front buildings, having vertical facades with square tops and hidden gable roofs. The entrance of the town had a train station beside a very noticeable sign that read—

"Welcome to Dodge Junction"

The indigo unicorn carefully observed the town. It was rather peaceful. The sun had already set and moonlight rose over the settlement. There were several ponies outside their homes, quietly eating and chatting with other ponies. He noticed that most of them were wearing cowboy hats and top hats.

"So we have some kind of cowboy town here?" Cipher silently commented, trotting down the road. He continued his walk when he heard two ponies talking to each other on the street. They were sitting on wooden stools while playing some kind of board game that was placed on top of a barrel.

"Yeehaw! Ah just won again!" a gray earth pony whooped as he stood up enthusiastically, tumbling all the game pieces on the board.

"No fair, you were just lucky!" his partner, a chestnut-colored pegasus, retorted as he tried to pick up the game pieces that fell on the ground.

"You call it luck? Ah call it skill!" the earth pony replied in a mocking tone. "Now that you mention it, Ah reckon Ah am lucky! Ah mean, winnin' those blue ribbons in the Equestria Rodeo Competition was like dodgin' a bullet from a .22, but winnin' five games of Dice Town in a row, that's just sick!"

"Whatever man..." the chestnut pegasus rolled his eyes and sighed.

"And they have the accent too..." Cipher silently remarked, listening to the conversation intently.

He continued to walk down the street until he reached the busy part of the town. As he walked down the road looking at the buildings keenly, ponies around the place started to notice him.

"Wh-who is that pony...?" an apricot-colored earth pony with a top hat asked the pony next to her, very frightened to see an intimidating-looking pony walking in front of them.

"Ah... Ah don't know! He looks terrifyin'..." the earth pony next to the apricot pony replied, slightly shivering in fear.

It went on like this for a while. Ponies were murmuring about Cipher's presence in the town, hiding whenever the indigo unicorn turned to face them.

"What is that scar on his face?"

"Why does he have eyes with different colors?"

"Is he sick?"

"Is he also sufferin' from the Equine flu?"

"Why is his face like that?"

"His face is soooo scary!!!"

"What is that thing in the pouch he's carryin'?"

Cipher continued to walk. He heard everything that the ponies around him were mumbling about.

"At least they don't throw food at me..." Cipher cringed at that thought, remembering whenever he went to the local marketplace in the Badlands, the ponies just threw their goods at him whenever he wanted to buy something.

He just ignored all the murmurs and continued to walk. He surely knew that they were afraid of him at that point. It wasn't new to him though. He already experienced it before and he was used to it.

Ponies were often scared of him naturally because of his appearance and his usual stoic facial expression. It wasn't that he wanted to scare ponies off in purpose. His appearance was inexcusable for a lot of reasons. His facial expression, however, was a different case.

"GROOOWWLLLL!!!"

Cipher stopped on his hooves. He looked at the ponies that were around him who all looked at him in return. The awkward silence was broken by a loud scream.

"AAAHHHH!!!!"

Suddenly all the ponies screamed in fear. They panicked and ran to their respective homes and locking their doors.

Cipher just blinked in surprise. He wasn't sure how to react. The ponies in this town were so terrified of him.

A flash of bright light suddenly disrupted his field of view, completely blinding the indigo unicorn's vision. He shook his head, trying to get out of the blinding trance.

"Where did that flash of light come from?" Cipher, still breaking from the trance, shook his head for a second time only to see the street devoid of ponies.

The spine-chilling bellow that everyone freaked out about was his stomach growling. He hadn't eaten anything yet. He was so busy at walking and spacing out, he didn't even bring food with him when he was in the Badlands. The unicorn sighed and went to look for a place to eat.

Luckily, there was a Saloon Bar right next to where he was, which to his surprise was still open after the roar his stomach made. He went inside the bar and the atmosphere inside suddenly changed.

Ponies who were laughing suddenly became silent. The ponies who were on the stage stopped singing. All the ponies who were in the bar stopped doing their activities and turned their attention to the indigo unicorn who just stepped inside. A long awkward silence followed.

Cipher saw that he suddenly became the center of attention. He took a deep breath and continued walking inside. He was hungry and he needed to rest from all that walking. He didn't care what the ponies inside of the bar thought of him. All the ponies were intently looking at him, some were murmuring about his sudden presence.

"Now what the hay is wrong with that fellah?" one of the ponies in the bar asked the pony beside him.

"Ah don't know? Maybe he had one of those Equine flu, Ah heard it's contagious!" the pony beside him answered.

"And did you see his eyes? He had like different colors of them!"

"Ah reckon he does have the Equine flu!"

Cipher rolled his eyes and sighed. He already expected that ponies would either be terrified of him or question his appearance from having some kind of disease, but he didn't expect it to be this annoying. He's been bothered long enough already. Seriously, can't a homeless guy like him take a break? And what was this Equine flu that everypony was talking about? Was there some kind of pandemic happening in the place?

The 'infected' indigo unicorn reached the counter of the bar and tapped the bell in front. The ponies who were beside him suddenly moved apart from him. Cipher just ignored the gestures and sat on the chair that was far away from others.

The bartender pony arrived but stopped on his tracks when he saw the unicorn.

Cipher opened his mouth but hesitated to talk. He finds it very uncomfortable to talk to others and prefers to be alone all the time. He already gets bothered enough to be around in the presence of others, what more talking to them?

He took a deep breath and started to speak.

"What kind of stuff do you have in store?" Cipher asked in his usual stoic voice.

The bartender was visibly shaking. Cipher didn't know if it was either because it was cold or if he was afraid, but judging by the sweat that was pouring down his skin, he instantly knew that he was also terrified like the rest.

"Umm, umm, we, we, have, umm..." the bartender stammered through his words, trying to stay calm in front of the menacing customer.

Cipher knew that he had no choice but to improvise, otherwise he'd be waiting until midnight to pick an order. He looked around and saw a pony munching on a delicious piece of meat, who was also staring at him like the others.

"I'll have whatever that guy has." Cipher pointed on the pony eating the meat on a plate.

"Oh yes... the umm... our special Southern Smoked Steak!" the bartender stammered trying to make an effort to speak. "Am sorry but we-we're out of that already..."

"Seriously how scared can this guy be?" Cipher rolled his eyes and tried to talk in a way that hopefully won't freak out the frightened bartender.

"Hmm... then what do you guys have that isn't sold out?" Cipher calmly asked.

"Umm... h-here! You can umm... t-take a l-look at our menu!" the bartender handed the unicorn a menu card.

Cipher looked at the menu card trying to find something that would be enough for his stomach. He browsed the list of food and saw something that caught his eye.

"How about this... Dodge Junction's Special Supreme Truffle Milkshake?" Cipher asked, trying to avoid eye contact with the bartender to not scare him.

"Ah yes, we-we have that!" the bartender replied. "That'll b-be seven bits."

"Seven bits?" Cipher raised an eyebrow and realized that he didn't have money.

"Huh... I didn't bring money with me..." Cipher mumbled to himself, but it was loud enough for the bartender to hear.

"Umm... you know what? H-h-how about A-Ah just give it to y-you for fr-free, ey?" the bartender whispered, stuttering in his words.

Before Cipher was able to reply, the bartender ran to the back room and came back holding a tray with a glass of milkshake. He slid the tray over the counter, stopping in front of Cipher.

"There's your milkshake! Okay, thanks for comin'!" the bartender rushed back in the back room, locking the door in the process.

"Talk about that impressive tray slide..."

Cipher shook his head and quickly snapped from his thoughts.

"Wait! I can materialize—" Cipher's words were interrupted by a sudden screech.

"THIEF!" a mare shouted, alerting everypony in the bar.

"THERE'S A SCARY-LOOKIN' THIEF IN HERE!"

"RUN FOR YER LIVES!"

"AAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

The ponies panicked inside the bar and ran outside screaming. Cipher took a moment to process everything that just happened.

"I didn't even steal it, the dude just forcefully gave it to me..." Cipher sighed and proceeded to drink the milkshake that was in front of him. He was still very impressed by the slide that the bartender did. Not only did the bartender slid the tray holding the milkshake without spilling it, but he also prepared the milkshake quickly.

"I don't know if the bartender just rapidly pile all the ingredients together in this glass or he must have already prepared this drink," Cipher pondered as he sipped the contents of the beverage.

It was a rather enticing liquid refreshment. It was a huge glass of pure dessert delight. He could taste the sweet chocolate milk, the chunky hazelnut bits, the mouthwatering ice cream in three different flavors (chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla), and the flavorful chocolate truffles that filled the glass. It was really good, at least he knew that the beverage wasn't rushed.

A tranquil atmosphere filled the room as he was sitting down beside the counter, sipping the delectable drink. He did appreciate the silence, but the thought that it was because he was accused of being a thief didn't make the situation any better for him. He took the last sip of his drink and started to reflect on some details he observed from the town.

Cipher knew he couldn't stay in this place, not because the locals were afraid of him but it was because there weren't any spare lots for him to settle into. Even if there were, it would take time for the locals to get used to his presence, not that he'd care whether the locals treat him like a monster or not. Maybe it was because he doesn't completely know these ponies. How would they treat him after a while? Would they act like the locals in the Badlands or would they do something different?

It would be very logical for them to act differently. The locals in Dodge Junction are very different from those who live in the Badlands. They have a decent-looking town, they have a stable economy (judging by the number of stands and the buildings, Cipher at least knew that they know serious business), the locals seem healthy, and they have an organized community—convincing others to freak out by screaming seemed to work very effectively. They all seemed to be responsible and intelligent citizens and that could pose a threat to him.

In the Badlands, locals just scream and hide whenever they see Cipher. Some were too weak to do either of those so they just sit still and hope that the "Badlands Devil" (that's what he was called by the locals), won't hurt them—even though he never did.

Most of the locals die from sickness, hunger, or just becoming insane. They weren't intellectual and they all just focused on trying to survive. There were no leaders to convince the locals to go out or try to make the village a good place to live, a few have tried but all of them failed. They were too scared to change their way of living.

Cipher was lucky to leave that horrendous environment, but he wished that he could've done something more to the locals. He obviously didn't care about other ponies, much less making friends with them, but he wasn't heartless.

But now that he was able to escape, he stumbled across another town. It just so happens that this one is more stable and organized, and that was the problem. Cipher doesn't fully know how the locals think and do stuff, he could just assume by the way they acted recently—especially in his presence. Sure, they were all terrified of him at first but that could completely change. What if this fear they have for him turned into something entirely different?

Cipher isn't an idiot to believe that the locals in Dodge Junction would just fear him forever or as long as he's in there. There would be a time that the locals could stand against him and do something about this 'imaginary fear' they all felt for him.

Cipher's thoughts were interrupted by yet another zap in the head. He shook his head and snapped back from reality.

Most of the lights in the bar were already closed and the only one that was illuminated was the one directly above his chair. He sighed and stood up. He looked at the empty glass that he drank from and felt that maybe he could repay the bartender, he at least wanted to make a good impression even if his reputation was mistakenly ruined by the incident that happened with all the screaming.

A bright azure-blue glow covered his horn. He materialized eight bits with his magic and placed them on the counter. He knew that the drink only cost seven bits but he wanted to give a tip for the bartender. He felt bad for unintentionally scaring him but the gratitude was mostly because of the impressive tray slide move.

As he went outside the bar, the town was desolated of ponies. The town was empty and the only things that moved in the distance were tumbleweeds.

"That must have been from the screams they heard inside the bar," Cipher thought as he walked across the road.

Cipher walked with his usual stoic demeanor. He knew that finding a new home wouldn't just take a day and that he would obviously encounter obstacles along the way.

The town was certainly way more habitable than the remote village he used to live in and the locals seem to know a lot of things about living and stuff. They do live in a decent community and it wouldn't matter to him if he was treated differently. But from what he thought of so far changed his mind and having no spare lots or vacant houses were enough to convince him so.

It was getting late at night. If he couldn't find a new home to settle in for the day, then he would just wait for some other time to find one. But right now, he at least needed a place to sleep. Fortunately for him, he remembered seeing an inn nearby before entering the bar.

The inn was five stories tall. Of all the buildings around the town, it was the most visible one from over a long distance. The inn had a giant sign that read 'Dodge Junction Inn' and it was still open.

The indigo unicorn went inside the inn. The inside was brightly-illuminated, waiting chairs were on the left side of the wall, a fireplace was located on the right side of the wall keeping the warm temperature, and a service counter on the far end side of the moderately spacious room.

Cipher trotted at the counter and rang the bell, waiting for service. At that point, he assumed that the receptionist had heard of his presence in the town already and therefore could provide some issues with negotiation. Even so, he kept a straight look and prepared for a conversation that would hopefully not terrify the receptionist and leave him/her running and screaming.

"Howdy, and welcome to—" the receptionist wasn't able to finish what she was going to say as she stared at the pony in front of her.

Cipher sighed and prepared for the worst.

"Okay, look. Before you say anything, please let me talk to you for a while. I won't hurt you, so please don't run away or scream. I just want to talk, would that be okay?" Cipher stated as he tried to come up of words that he needed to say without scaring the pony in front of him.

The receptionist gulped and gave a small nod, indicating for the indigo unicorn to continue.

"Okay, thanks," Cipher sighed in relief. It would be very troublesome for the pony in front of him to scream and run away. Not just because that it was already late at night and her scream would probably alert everypony's attention and would cause a major panic in the town (his mere presence made a lot of ponies scream already), but it was also because that he needed to rest and stealing for a room would drastically destroy his already-ruined reputation in a town where everypony feared him.

"I would like to rent a room," Cipher uttered in a calm tone, trying not to scare the receptionist as he did with the bartender.

Cipher really tried his hardest to be as calm and as friendly as possible. He wasn't used to having a long conversation with ponies and he lacked experience in properly talking to others. He only talked to others when he absolutely needed to and even if he did try to talk, his voice and facial expressions lacked any emotion—as if the ponies were talking to a robot. So when it comes to having a 'friendly' conversation, Cipher can mess that up at any time.

"Oh... oh... umm... you see... well..." the earth pony stammered, visibly sweating and trying hard to make eye contact with the indigo unicorn.

"We do have one more room... but—"

"It's not in good condition, is it?" Cipher interrupted.

"Oh... uhh... yes, how'd you know?" the receptionist questioned, surprised by the unicorn's response.

"I noticed that this building had an uneven structure at the back, and judging by your reaction, I'm assuming that the worn-down spot I saw is the last room available," Cipher answered in a calm and collected tone.

"Oh, that's mighty observant of ya. But are you sure you want to rent that room, mister?" the earth pony queried.

"Well it's better than staying up all night walking..." the unicorn replied. "This is the only place I could think of that could at least provide me shelter for the night and this is the only inn in the town that I saw."

"Well this is the only inn in Dodge Junction," the receptionist showed a faint smile as she ran over some paperwork behind the desk.

"Ah suppose you have a point. Well Ah guess Ah won't force ya to go somewhere far just to get a place to stay..." the earth pony stated, slightly becoming calm from the conversation with the 'scary' pony.

"Usually a room costs sixty bits, but since you'll be staying in the work in progress room, hope we get it fixed soon, how about Ah cut the price in half?" the receptionist added as she placed the keys for his room along with a paper document for the reception.

"Well, I don't really care how much it would cost..." Cipher replied stoically as his horn glowed. Sixty bits (instead of thirty) suddenly materialized on the counter beside the receptionist.

Before the receptionist was able to say anything, Cipher grabbed the stamp on the desk with his magic and pushed it down on the paper document. He then quickly grabbed a quill that was also on the desk and signed important information on the paper.

"You can keep the extra change." Cipher waved his hoof as he trotted up the stairs, leaving a puzzled receptionist with her mouth open being too surprised to say anything.

Cipher laid the pouch he had with him on a desk. The room was indeed a work in progress and it was on the highest floor. It was a cramped room with curved walls, giant construction tapes ran across the big hole that consumed half of the front wall, a bed with springs popping up from the mattress, and leaks coming from the broken ceiling. The only things that weren't broken in the room were the floorboards and the illuminated lamp that was placed on the desk.

"Honestly I thought it could be worse," Cipher commented at the room he was in. It surely was better than the one back home and the peaceful atmosphere certainly soothed his mood.

He looked at the pouch that he recently placed on the desk.

"Maybe some other time, I can focus on unlocking the secrets of this scroll..."

He really wanted to find more about what the scroll was trying to tell him. It lacked a lot of context and the contents it held felt more like a summary than a documentary of the real thing. He knew Ink Slinger liked making summaries of his discoveries and recorded pieces of evidence of past events. That's why he was convinced that there was more information about the manuscript that what was only stated in the scroll.

He knew that he had to find the secrets sooner or later but right now, he was tired. He needed to find a new town or at least a new place that can serve as his shelter. He also needed to do something about his head.

He switched off the lamp on the desk and his mind began to wander in his thoughts again. The thoughts that occurred to him when he was spacing out in the bar came back to him. Unanswered questions quickly filled his mind.

If what he thought about the ponies in Dodge Junction was correct, then would that mean that the other ponies in other civilizations would be the same too? Would the other ponies consider him as an actual threat rather than just a scary-looking monster that doesn't even bother anypony? What would they do to him if they thought that way?

Would he even find a home where he can live in peace? If the ponies were scared of him, then they wouldn't let him live with them, right? Then by that conclusion, would that mean that he won't be accepted in any place at all? Would he still be able to find a place to settle in? Or would he just eternally wander through the lands of Equestria, without a home and living in an abstract monstrous shell that others claim him to be—a terrifying no-good monster that will forever roam the vast lands.

His thoughts were interrupted by another jolt in the head.

"I really need to control myself whenever I space out..." Cipher shook his head, trying to regain himself from the painful shock. It wasn't the time to be thinking of those sorts of things. He knew he wouldn't be able to think straight in his current condition. He surrendered to his fatigue and walked straight to the spring-loaded bed.

He climbed on the broken bed and lied down, releasing a heavy sigh. He never felt so relaxed in his life. He stared at the giant hole that was on the wall. He saw the stars brightly shining on the sky. He felt the tranquil aura of the night breeze flowing in the room like soothing music. The silhouettes of the mountains loomed in the dark, relaxing the eyes from a hard day's work. He felt at peace. He felt the calmness of nature surrounding him in an appealing ambiance. It was silent.

He slowly closed his eyes as he wandered deep in his slumber.

For the first time in his life, he slept peacefully.

Author's Note

Sorry if it took me a long time to publish this chapter, having unstable connections can do that to ya. I originally planned to include more parts of the story in this chapter but, again, it felt kinda irrelevant. Being an untalented writer can really mess you up a lot.

Anyways I hope you do enjoy the story so far and let me know down below if you see any errors or mistakes.

A big thanks to 'Kujamih' for helping me proofread!

Chapter 4: Equestria's Most Wanted

Equestria's Most Wanted

Do you ever get that feeling where you're sleeping soundly on a bed?

Just peacefully resting your eyes as you wander deep inside your slumber without a care of the outside world?

That feeling where you're like flying in the sky, feeling the comfy breeze in the clouds as you soar through the heavens?

Ah, what a wonderful sensati—

"Attention scary stranger!"

Yeah, how wonderful indeed...

"Ah know you can hear me in there!"

What a thoughtful alarm clock.

"Look, we don't want any trouble, okay?"

Me neither.

"If you could kindly just show yourself, then maybe we could settle this peacefully!"

Well, I don't feel peaceful anymore.

"Please! Spare our town from your evil!"

Disrupting one's sleep is evil.

"Hello?"

...

"Ah know you can hear me!"

Ughhhh...

Cipher couldn't take another word from that annoying megaphone any longer and stood up from his bed. He felt displeased from having his sleep interrupted by a living alarm clock. He rubbed his eyes, feeling the itch from the dried rheum that formed in his corneas overnight. He looked over the bed that he slept on and sighed.

"What a great way to start the day..." Cipher trotted to the desk and grabbed the pouch that held the scroll holder. He walked to the giant hole on the wall to see the 'annoying alarm clock' outside, tapping the ground with his hooves.

"Huh. I assume that's the sheriff of this place..." Cipher observed the appearance of the pony. He wore a brown cowboy hat with a bronze-colored star at the center. He had a sepia-colored skin wearing a blue denim vest with a yellow scarf and had a bronze-colored star for a cutie mark.

"Let's get this over with," Cipher gave another sigh and trotted down the staircase. As he was walking downstairs, he noticed that the other rooms were silent.

"They must have known about my presence and immediately left the place," Cipher thought, carefully observing the rooms when he noticed a large brown poster on a wall that grabbed his attention.

"What the..."

It was a wanted poster with his face on the center of the paper. The name given to him was—

"The Milkshake Thief?"

The surprised unicorn read the written information that was on the poster.

WANTED: Dead or Alive

"Huh. I mean I don't care if they want me dead or not..." Cipher said as he rubbed his chin. "But what are they gonna do with me if I'm dead? What could they possibly want with me?"

Cipher shrugged off the possible ideas and continued to read the poster.

THE MILKSHAKE THIEF
Wanted for: Scaring the local ponies, roaring loudly at night, stealing valuables, and destroying local property

"I did none of those! What the hell?" Cipher exclaimed at the false claims about him that was stated on the poster. Cipher tried to recall the events that happened last night that could potentially prove or disprove the said accusations.

Scaring the local ponies

"I guess I did scare the locals, but that was unintentional!"

Roaring loudly at night

"Roaring? That was my stomach!"

Stealing valuables

"I didn't steal anything! The bartender just gave away that milkshake and ran away. He even told me that I could have it for free, and I PAID HIM AFTERWARDS! Besides, it was just one milkshake! I mean I know it was like the best one they had but it's not like they ran out of it."

Destroying local property

"Okay now that, I have no idea where they got that accusation from..."

Cipher narrowed his eyes at the specific claim for a while only to come up with a conclusion that—

"Okay, now that's just downright untrue! I didn't destroy that room!" Cipher was taken aback, thinking that they accused him of causing the damaged part of the inn—the room where he slept at. "That room was already in bad condition before I even went inside the inn!"

APPROACH WITH CAUTION:
Suspect's origin is unknown and based on what the locals have seen, it could pose a huge threat to anypony who stands in its way. Suspect's magical abilities are powerful and destructive. Please contact the authorities, preferably the royal guards or even Princess Celestia if the suspect is nearby. Do not attempt to engage.

REWARD: 10,000 Bits and a Lifetime Supply of Dodge Junction's Special Supreme Truffle Milkshake for Free!

Cipher stared at the poster, completely speechless. He didn't know how to react or what to say after reading the poster.

"Attention scary stranger, are you there?" a voice powered by a megaphone announced outside.

Cipher turned his head around to where the voice came from and then turned his head back to the poster. He carefully studied the contents of the poster when a sudden revelation came to his mind.

"I knew something was up with that bright light that flashed in my face when my stomach growled in the street. Somepony took a picture of me..." Cipher pondered at the surprising fact that his mind came up with after piecing the details together. "If my picture was taken and my face is on a wanted poster, that would only mean..."

He quickly ran through the corridors of the inn, only to be proven that what he thought about was correct.

"Heh. Now I'm actually impressed..."

Numerous posters had his face and having the same contents of the poster he first saw.

"Seriously though, how were they able to print a lot of these in a short time? I mean I was only here last night. And really? A lifetime supply of milkshakes? Who the hell came up with this dumb idea? And also, they could've at least put some effort into making all these. It all seemed like they just inserted a picture with me in it and lazily printed it along with the poster itself."

"Scary stranger Ah repeat, are you there?" the same voice outside called out to him, this time it was louder than the last one.

"This is the sheriff of Dodge Junction speakin'! If you won't come out there, then Am afraid Am gonna have to force you to get out!"

Cipher grumbled as he couldn't bear to hear that annoying voice from that megaphone any longer. And now, he was being forced to get out of the inn. Not that he had a choice anyway.

He took a deep breath and kept his stoic expression. He was kinda annoyed by everything that just happened—getting interrupted in his sleep, somepony repeatedly calling out to him with a very distorted megaphone, and now he was accused of several criminal acts.

It wasn't that it bothered him to the degree of flipping a table in rage or destroying glass bottles to let off some steam. He was known to be very calm and collected, and stoicism is one of his specialties.

But sometimes when it was just too much, he just gotta do something about it. His patience wasn't infinite and he still does get mad, like any other pony.

"This is the sheriff of Dodge Junction, Sheriff Bronzestar! And Am callin' your attenti—" the megaphone was cut off due to it instantly breaking to smithereens. It was done by a powerful spell—a spell that came from the unicorn who was now standing outside the inn, looking at him.

The ponies who were around the sheriff screamed and ran away to their homes.

The sheriff suddenly trembled in fear. Nopony had ever approached him that way. Being a sheriff of the town, he was highly respected and admired by the locals. But now, a pony who stole a glass of milkshake and managed to scare everypony by doing nothing at all destroyed his megaphone like it was paper.

"You were saying?" Cipher asked, raising a brow as he continued to stare at the trembling pony.

"A-A-Ah ain't scared of ya!" the sheriff said, shivering as he tried his best maintaining his posture.

"Uh-huh, sure you're not..." Cipher replied sarcastically.

He was still annoyed at him for disturbing him in his sleep, but he knew that scaring him off won't do any good. He was a wanted criminal and he could get arrested at some point. He was standing in front of the sheriff of the town face to face. Who's to say that the sheriff or his deputies won't try to arrest him even if they're afraid of him? And getting arrested is the last thing he wanted.

Cipher sighed and approached the trembling sheriff slowly.

"Look, officer. This is all just a big misunderstanding..." Cipher stated, slowly walking towards the sheriff.

"S-stay where you are, monster!" the sheriff warned, going back a few steps, still visibly trembling.

"Can you at least let me explain a few thing—"

"B-back off!"

The tension suddenly increased. Cipher stopped walking immediately when the sheriff pulled a revolver from his vest. The sheriff was now pointing a gun at him.

"A-Ah said back off!"

The indigo unicorn stood still. He didn't know what to do or how to react at that point. The sheriff, despite being extremely terrified, had a revolver on his hoof. Even if he had scared him, that wouldn't stop the sheriff from shooting him.

"A-Ah have a gun with me and Ah ain't afraid to use it!" the sheriff yelled, vigorously shaking while pointing the gun at the unicorn.

"With the way he's holding it though, he could miss..." Cipher thought as he analyzed the situation he was at. A lot of ideas ran through his head. He could run away and put on a defensive barrier around him. He could also try conjuring a quick light flash to temporarily blind the sheriff and retaliate. Or he could—

The sheriff tried to pull the trigger, but the trigger got stuck mid-way, producing a loud audible click. The sheriff tried to pull again, but the trigger wouldn't budge.

"I don't know if this is plot armor, extraordinary luck, or the sheriff just being plain stupid for having a jammed gun," Cipher mumbled to himself.

Cipher approached the sheriff to see what went wrong with his firearm, making the sheriff flinch and taking a few steps back.

"D-didn't you hear me? A-Ah said back off!" the sheriff warned, once again pulling the trigger, only to get it stuck from where it was again.

Cipher continued to walk while the sheriff continued to back off, pulling the trigger of his gun and getting it stuck mid-way in the trigger guard repeatedly.

"W-why isn't mah gun firin'?" the sheriff asked himself, trying to shake the gun he was holding. He was getting irritated by his gun being jammed at the worst possible time. He soon realized that the indigo unicorn was already in front of him.

"Did you check if the primers were placed correctly in each bullet case?" Cipher asked casually as if he wasn't terrified of being at point-blank range from the gun.

"T-the what?" the sheriff asked, suddenly surprised by the unexpected question from the unicorn.

"The primers, were they placed correctly in each case?"

"What are these primers you speak of?"

Cipher blinked his eyes in shock.

"You have a gun and you don't know what a primer is?"

"Are you just makin' up words so you can stall me from shootin' ya?"

Cipher blinked his eyes again. His mind suddenly went blank. He felt like his mind experienced a 404 error and it's desperately trying to reboot itself from the massive collateral damage it just took (in short, he got negative brain cells).

"Well, your petty tricks won't work on me!" the sheriff yelled, suddenly breaking Cipher from his confused trance.

The sheriff was about to pull the trigger when the unicorn suddenly grabbed the gun with his magic. Cipher opened the cylinder of the revolver and pushed the extractor rod, revealing a single bullet with its primer not pushed down completely inside the bullet case.

"I don't know if I should be glad that his gun didn't kill me or if I should be mad because this sheriff is a total idiot who doesn't check how his gun got jammed, better yet he doesn't even know what a primer is!" Cipher rolled his eyes, sighing from the sheriff's foolishness. He pushed the primer down properly in the bullet case and loaded it in the cylindrical chamber. "Also why is there only one bullet? Is he playing Russian Roulette but with another pony's head?

Cipher closed the cylinder of the revolver and gave it a spin. He then gave the loaded gun back to its owner.

"There, I fixed it for you," Cipher rolled his eyes and sighed.

The sheriff looked at the gun and then back at Cipher. He didn't know what to do when the menacing monster quickly grabbed the gun from him. The fact that the unicorn fixed his jammed gun, completely surprised him. He didn't expect for the unicorn to fix his gun for him and had the guts to even return it, despite him attempting to shoot the unicorn.

"Now if you'll let me explain," Cipher stated, still trying to recover from his previous trance. "First, I didn't mean to scare the locals, I had no intentions in doing so and they were mostly terrified of my appearance. I didn't try to purposely scare them away. Second, the roar I made was overly exaggerated. It was my stomach grumbling and it wasn't that loud! Okay, maybe it also did scare the ponies who heard it but that wasn't on purpose either! Third, I never stole anything. The milkshake in the bar was given to me by the bartender because he was scared of me. Again, I didn't scare him on purpose and I paid him afterward. Finally, the big hole on the top floor of the inn wasn't my doing. It was already like that before I even entered the inn. If you want, you can talk to the receptionist mare to prove my point."

"B-but the townsponies, t-they said—"

"I don't care what they said! You should be thankful nopony was actually harmed. As if I'd even harm anypony..."

"Ah-Ah don't buy it! How would Ah know if you're tellin' the truth? You could be lyin' to me!"

"Why the hell would I lie?"

"B-because a pony like you would lie just to get ponies to trust you! Ah've seen these kinds of tricks from ponies like you before and Ah ain't fallin' for it!"

"Ponies like me? How are there ponies like me? And what do you mean by 'these kinds of tricks?'"

The sheriff said nothing after hearing the question. He didn't know what to say because he just made all those stuff up. He had never actually seen ponies like him before because nopony was as intimidating as the pony in front of him, and by foolishly believing all the fake claims, he was terrified to tell him the truth.

Even if he believed that they were all fake claims, he wouldn't let this opportunity be taken away from him. This was his chance! He was finally going to catch a criminal!

He once tried to prove the townsponies that he would be a worthy sheriff and a good leader to all of them, but all he ever did was make stories of him catching bad guys and defeating evil and all those kinds of junk. He wanted the town to know that he was capable of doing great things.

But now that he was actually in front of a possible criminal—let alone the scariest criminal he had ever seen in his entire existence, he was put on the spot.

The citizens left him alone because they were scared, diminishing all the support he could have in facing an intimidating foe. And now this foe of his was questioning him as if he'd be dead on the spot if his opponent knew he was lying.

Cipher didn't want to wait for a response. If the sheriff won't believe him then there was no point in further discussing anything. He walked away in the opposite direction. He needed to find shelter and this sheriff wasted so much of his time already.

As Cipher was walking away, he sensed a strange disturbance tingling in his horn. Before Cipher was able to identify what it was, a loud gunshot permeated through the air with its piercing noise in a loud bang. The two of them immediately stood still from their current positions and looked at each other with different reactions.

"Did you just try to shoot me?" Cipher asked as he raised a brow, showing no fear that he would've died on that point as if death meant nothing to him.

The sheriff widened his eyes and quickly went through his vest to grab more bullets. As if the unicorn read his mind, he quickly grabbed the revolver with his magic. The gun was now floating in his azure-blue magic, the muzzle pointing at the sheriff.

"And... he's a lousy shot," Cipher said to himself. "Why did he only load one bullet in his gun if he had more of them in his vest? Or did he forget to load the gun? Now I'm confused about how this guy became this town's sheriff."

Indeed he became even more confused. The town was very organized and civilized. The townsponies were certainly intelligent with how Cipher observed so far. Sure they're a scared bunch, but that didn't fully affect their intellect for one bit. From what he observed so far, everypony he met was as normal as a citizen can be and some were even impressive—he remembered the amazing tray slide that the bartender did despite being extremely terrified.

But now, he was looking at probably one of the dumbest beings he had seen so far. And that specific being is this town's sheriff—a position townsponies respected and adorned because of their good leadership and mental preparedness.

But this town's supposed leader was the exact opposite. Not only did this pony not know how his gun got jammed or what a primer is, despite wielding a firearm, but he couldn't even afford to shoot his target which happened to be only a few feet away from him.

Cipher slowly approached the stupid sheriff. The gun still levitated in his magic while pointing at him. The sheriff was already too scared to even move and remained motionless where he stood.

Cipher magically materialized a bullet and loaded it in the gun. He then pulled the trigger. The bullet, nearly hitting the officer, passed by him, hitting an empty can placed on a fence that was very far away from where they were.

"Tell the townsponies to learn how to recycle empty cans, they're all over the place. And as for you, tell your deputies to teach you the different parts of a gun," Cipher told the officer, grabbing his collar. "Then maybe after you learn how a gun works, tell them to teach you how to aim, capiche?"

The officer, who was now intensely shaking for being grabbed by the collar and by being too close to the pony who almost killed him, gulped and nodded. Cipher let go of his collar and resumed his walk.

He noticed that the road that led him out of the Badlands stretched even further. He also noticed the train station he saw yesterday the first time he got into this town.

"I could go for a train ride," Cipher considered the idea in his head. "But then again, I would most likely scare off more ponies and I think I already scared too much."

Cipher neglected the train ride idea. He certainly would frighten more ponies and he didn't want to materialize any more bits for his gain. He was also a wanted criminal and he had no idea how many ponies knew of his so-called malicious acts.

Somepony took a photo of him and probably had help from others in making the wanted posters. Who knows where they could have gone and who knows how many places they've been to, giving away the posters and warning ponies about him. He could very well be infamous at some point and it wasn't like nopony would try to track him down. Sure the sheriff wasn't able to subdue him but that would just make matters even worse.

If the ponies knew that he was an escapee, who managed to escape the town he was first wanted at (he was first seen in Dodge Junction), that would cause incredible amounts of problems. Ponies would be very scared and would even think of evacuating from their towns. Ponies would also try contacting for help. He could attract the attention of the royal guards as if he was their bounty. Oh wait, he was technically already a bounty. He could even attract the attention of—

"AGH!" his thoughts were interrupted again by one of his signature mind jolts. Cipher shook his head and tried to go for the alternate route—or rather the route he took to get out of the Badlands.

When Cipher left the town, the sheriff couldn't bear it any longer and passed out, collapsing on the ground.

A pink engine-powered train was passing through the railroads, heading south of its origin. Among the ponies who were boarded, five of them were looking down anxiously.

"I hope this lead doesn't turn out to be a dead end," Rainbow Dash said worriedly. "I don't want to go home empty-hooved after promising we'd find her."

"How do we explain this to her family?" Fluttershy asked her friends, hoping for a reassuring answer.

"I-I don't know..." Rarity replied in a distressing tone.

"Let's not be negative about this girls," Twilight assured her worried friends. "The pony in the stadium pointed us in this place and I trust her with it."

"Where are we heading again? Dodgeball... something?" Rainbow Dash asked, trying to remember the name of the place they were going to.

"It's Dodge Junction," Twilight sighed, thinking how Rainbow Dash immediately forgot the name of the place when she just told them where they were going to just a while ago.

"How long is the next stop? I don't know if I can hold it much longer!" Pinkie Pie shouted, trying her best to stay in place on the chair she was sitting on.

The train horn blared, indicating for the passengers that the train will stop to the next station. Luckily for them, it was the station they were heading to.

"Next stop, Dodge Junction!" the train conductor announced, notifying the passengers about the next station. The train stopped beside the Dodge Junction train station.

"This is it girls!" Twilight turned to her friends with a smile. As they were about to leave the train, Pinkie dashed out of the train door, looking for a restroom.

The four remaining mares chuckled at the silly gesture showed by their humorous pink friend as they stepped out of the train.

"Okay, let's fan out and find Applejack," Twilight spoke as she looked around the town they were in. It was a Western-style town similar to the town they visited once—Appleloosa. It had the same kind of houses that Appleloosa had with only one difference—there were no ponies.

"Is it just me or does this town look a little empty?" Rainbow Dash asked her friends while observing the town in front of them.

"A 'little' sounds like an understatement, Rainbow Dash. This town is desolated!" Rarity commented, surprised to see the town devoid of life.

"Oh dear, where are the townsponies? Are they okay?" Fluttershy asked in concern, getting a bit frightened by the silent atmosphere.

"I don't know..." Twilight replied in uncertainty. "Let's go find Applejack first, then maybe we could ask her about this."

As the four ponies walked in the quiet town, Pinkie Pie was able to find a restroom. She tried to turn the knob when a gamboge-colored earth pony suddenly pounced at her. The pink mare widened her eyes by the sudden attack when she realized who the pony was that pinned her down.

"A-Applejack?" Pinkie asked, fully recognizing her friend.

"P-Pinkie Pie?" the gamboge mare asked the pink mare below her. She was surprised to see one of her friends in the vicinity of the town.

"Umm... yeah... it's me, Pinkie..." Pinkie replied, unsure how to respond. "Could you umm... tell me why you pinned me down like this? I know I look attractive and all but I didn't know you'd want to do it with me..."

"Do what with you?" Applejack asked curiously. Her eyes suddenly widened after realizing what Pinkie meant. Her face instantly turned red in embarrassment after hearing Pinkie Pie's naughty statement.

"W-what?! N-no! That's not why Ah pinned—" Applejack quickly retorted as she tried to hide her embarrassment. "Ugh, never mind!"

Applejack got out of her 'awkward position with Pinkie' and quickly glanced at her surroundings.

"What are you looking around for?" Pinkie asked, slowly standing up from the ground.

"Shhh..." Applejack quickly put her hoof on Pinkie's mouth. "Be quiet and follow me!"

"Alright, but first I gotta tell everypony—" Pinkie immediately stopped talking when she realized that she had forgotten why she was there.

"GOTTA GO TO THE RESTROOM FIRST!" Pinkie yelped as she quickly opened the restroom door, slamming it shut.

"Shoot. They found out where Ah am. Ah gotta do something quickly before they—"

"Applejack!" Twilight called, interrupting Applejack in her thoughts. Applejack's eyes widened at the sudden mention of her name.

"Yep, too late..."

"I swear I think I just lost some of my brain cells every time I looked at him," Cipher cringed, remembering the dumb sheriff that failed to shoot him over a short distance. Sure, he was kinda glad that the shot missed, or else he'd be dead right on the spot. But of all the ponies that could've been the sheriff of a well-organized town, it had to be a pony who didn't even know how to use a gun.

He was disappointed at the town's officer and he couldn't bear another second looking at him. He was dumb, cowardly, and worst of all he couldn't even shoot him when he literally was like a few feet away from him. Heck, he even had the guts to disturb him in his sleep but when he confronted him face to face, he was whining like a complete idiot who thought they saw a monster under their bed.

The indigo unicorn shrugged off his thoughts about the sheriff and continued to walk on the road. After everything that happened to him, he was still determined to look for a new home. He just didn't how to react when ponies see him, considering a town would be the most likely place he'll live in.

He was very skeptical if he even wanted to live in a town. He could technically just find a random spot somewhere far away from civilization and just live there all by himself. He would be totally isolated—in a place where it is silent and far away from the disturbances of others. He could do whatever he wants and nopony would be there to scream at him, discriminate him, or annoy him.

That sounded too good to be true and he could just imagine happily living there. But as all imaginations come by, they are all just his imaginations. Even if he was alone by himself, that wouldn't guarantee that he was totally away from any disturbance.

He was no longer a foal who believed in fantasies and foal stories where characters are able to find their deepest desires and their wishes becoming true and now they live in some sort of paradise or a lovely home or stuff like those. Sure he could find a peaceful place to settle in, but how long would it stay that way?

As a citizen of the Badlands, it was common for him to be very skeptical and he always doubted the good side of things. He always believed that nopony can always get what they want and that bad things will always happen to anypony no matter who they are. As much as he wanted to live alone in peace, it all just came down to a simple answer—no place is ever peaceful.

He also remembered that he was now a criminal apparently. Sure, ponies were scared of him at first, but there would come a time where they would hunt him down. They wouldn't just let somepony like him be free, and given all the bad things that he was accused of, he certainly wasn't safe from whatever act of justice they have in store for him. Of course, being a pony who surely had rights, he could try to convince them that he didn't do those malicious acts on purpose. He had no intentions in doing anything bad and he never harmed anypony, even if he wanted to.

The problem was that he wasn't known by anypony. He was a complete stranger—not even the ponies in his old home knew who he was. That was the disadvantage of living alone—nopony trusts you because nopony knows you. They wouldn't just believe him even if he tried to show evidence. And trying to show evidence was hard enough because if he did try to convince them, it would already be too late and they would just get scared of him and not listen to what he would say.

As much as he had any choice though, all he could think for the moment was just to look for a place to live—he didn't care if it was in a town or somewhere else. He just needed a place to settle in, at least for a temporary time until he could find a better place to live in permanently.

Besides, he wouldn't be able to live properly with the injury in his head and the time he wished to spend on the things he wanted to do would most likely be interrupted every time. He desperately needed medical attention and if possible, maybe get help in restoring his memories.

He never thought of ever getting his memories back at all, but it was something he wanted for a long time now. He wanted to know more about himself and find out a lot of things about him. He wanted to know his past, his old life before the injury, and the families he once lived with—if he ever had any. In short, he needed a doctor and as far as he knew, there is a bigger chance you'd find one in civilizations.

He knew that curing for the injuries he had would be a long process and living alone and away from civilization would be a hassle for him for he would have to travel far just to get an appointment with a doctor. It would be very convenient to be living in a town. That way he could visit the doctor anytime with ease.

Cipher sighed in distressed and just began to think of a different topic while walking.

As he was walking, he couldn't help but think some of the things back in the town he was just at. Especially a certain name he remembered seeing at the wanted posters.

"Princess Celestia..." Cipher narrowed his eyes as he deeply focused on the thoughts he was having. "I have heard of that name before from some of the history books I read, but I haven't seen her personally. And the info about her that I got from the books I read were very vague."

Cipher remained focused in his thoughts (again), knowing it would be a bad idea and would probably cause another zapping interruption, but he didn't care because he needed to process a lot of things and it's not everyday he can get an opportunity like the one he had now to think these sorts of stuff.

He read some books about the founding of Equestria and other history-related stuff, but that's all he really knew. Topics about the present days of Equestria were rarely discussed in the books he read. He did know that there were two alicorns who ruled over Equestria and that they were the ones responsible for raising and lowering the sun and the moon, although he did find that information ridiculous.

He also discovered some information he read in some of the books were a bit unfathomable—some even contradict to itself, making it difficult to understand. Growing up with this information, he knew that not all of them were true and accurate, not that he blamed himself nor the books he read—it was hard to buy books in the Badlands due to their rarities and prices. But it's like he only learned how to read the alphabet up until now.

He wanted to find more answers, and the fact that he was holding a scroll that could lead to a possible ancient discovery didn't help him one bit. He was growing a bit impatient, and he still needed to find a home. Heck, he needed a doctor for his brain—

"And there it is..." Cipher shook his head from the sudden brain zap that occurred as if his mind told him that he needed to stop spacing out for a while.

He adjusted his bandana and continued to walk until he saw a small bridge across the nearby river. The road to the other side of the bridge led to a hilltop filled with tall rocks and boulders. He was about to cross when a certain structure caught his eye.

"Is that a castle?" Cipher asked, narrowing his eyes to see the odd-looking structure properly. Cipher made a detour around the forest to take a closer look. As he continued to walk deep in the forest, he began to feel a slight discomfort from the sudden unsettling atmosphere that the forest offered.

"I sense immense amounts of weird magic and energy coming from this forest..." Cipher pondered, internally feeling the weirdness of the forest. "Strange..."

He continued his walk until he finally came across the structure he saw a while back in full view. Cipher marveled at the astonishing sight. It was indeed a castle but in a very ravaged condition. It consisted of damaged towers, uneven wall structures, and a whole lot of moss covering the entire exterior.

"An old castle? I wonder what happened to it..." Cipher raised a brow, intently looking at the infrastructure. "I could go take a look..."

Cipher considered the idea of having a bit of an adventure of another possible ancient discovery and being the pony that he was, he would very much like to do it. He had another opportunity to learn something new, and this time he was doing it outside of his old home.

As much as he loved to go inside and explore the ancient wonders of the ravaged castle in front of him, he still had priorities to attend to. He needed to do those first before doing anything else. The unicorn sighed, feeling a bit saddened about the missed opportunity.

"I need to go look for a place to live first."

Cipher was about to return to the bridge when he thought of an idea. He looked to the ruined castle and used his magic. He planned to perform a spell that can let him remember a certain location by magically scanning the said location using a medium (in his case, he just used his horn), and inputting the exact coordinates in a form of a map that can be conveniently accessed with his mind anytime he wanted.

He knew how to perform the spell in one of the old spell books he learned and he had tried performing the spell more than once, but he mostly performed it on objects when he didn't want to forget where they were located. This was the first time he would use the spell on something large—castle-sized large.

He concentrated on the magic in his horn and began to perform the spell. He tried to outline the structure with his eyes and tried to receive the outline information quickly with his mind in a form of a memory input.

As he was performing the spell, he was having difficulties. The spell was doing fine outlining the structure but the process was very slow. Just right after he had outlined half of the place, his mind began to ache.

"Just a little longer..." Cipher gritted his teeth. His whole body was now trembling, some parts were beginning to spasm. His mind was in intense pain as sweat began to pour over his tired body.

"Just... a... little... longer!" Cipher shouted internally, determined to finish the fatigue-inducing spell as lethargy began to take over his body.

The invisible outline was finally done and the input was then processed into coordinates. His mind quickly received the information and a figure of a map appeared inside his head. The map revealed the location of the ruined castle—like what is seen in a radar showing a red dot.

The magic stopped its flow in the unicorn's horn, replacing the sensation with aggravating pain.

"AGHH!" Cipher grunted, holding his head with his hoof. He had never felt that much pain, not since that large blow he received from one of the bull-serpent creatures that raided his house. He felt very exhausted.

"Okay, let's not do this again, not until I find a doctor," Cipher panted. "At least I know where this place is and I could just visit this anytime I want to."

Cipher silently nodded as he trotted back in the forest. He reached the bridge that he originally intended to go to and trotted forward.

"Hope I don't get more interruptions..." Cipher sighed, trotting towards the rocky ridge.

As if luck despised his existence, multiple pairs of eyes loomed behind the shadows, silently stalking their new unsuspecting prey.

"Hehehe," one of the eyes looked at the others, cackling at their new target. "What do you think boys?"

"What do I think?" one of them answered. "I think somepony's gonna get lost!"

"Or better yet, what's inside that pouch his holding is gonna get lost!"

"Oooohhh... what could be inside that thing?"

"Well, what else could be inside? A heck ton of GEMS!"

"GEMS!!!" all of them said dreamily, imagining the good things they can do with the amount of gems they will soon have.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? That white pony may have fooled us last time, but this time, we won't get tricked easily!"

"YEAH!"

The stalkers cackled maniacally, hiding their eyes behind the rocks.

"Applejack, thank heavens you're alright!" Rarity exclaimed, happy to see that one of her friends was okay.

"We're so glad you're safe!" Fluttershy followed.

"Oh, umm... yeah of course! Why wouldn't Ah be?" Applejack nervously replied, rapidly looking sideways.

"Oh, well, it's just... you didn't come back after the rodeo. We all waited for you but you didn't return. We received your letter about sending the money but it also stated there that you won't be coming back." Twilight answered, a bit saddened when her friend didn't arrive in Ponyville. "Good thing there was a pony who knew where you went after the rodeo and pointed us here. Speaking of which, why are you here?"

Before she could reply, a pink mare busted through the restroom and began to hop towards her friends.

"Hey, everypony! I found Applejac—" she stopped when she saw that her friends were already with Applejack. "Oh nevermind..."

"Applejack?" a Southern-accented voice was suddenly heard by the six mares, coming from a pale yellow mare with a curly crimson mane and a brown mole on her face, wearing a pink ribbon scarf around her neck. The yellow mare looked at Applejack and turned to the other ponies around her who she assumed were her friends.

"Oh howdy there! You must be Applejack's Ponyville friends!" the pale yellow mare beamed at them.

"Psst!" Applejack suddenly called the yellow mare's attention, lowering her eyebrows and gesturing the yellow pony for them to come inside.

"Oh my, Ah almost forgot," the yellow mare gestured the mares to come to her house. "Come inside, it's dangerous out here. We'll discuss further in mah house."

The five mares looked at each other in surprise and followed the stranger to her house. Applejack, who was already at the door, was suddenly approached by the pale yellow mare.

"Why didn't you tell me that you're friends we're goin' to visit?" the pale yellow mare whispered to Applejack.

"A-Ah didn't know that they were goin' to visit," Applejack whispered back, looking at her friends.

"You didn't? Well that explains that," the yellow mare replied, quickly changing the subject. "W-wait... were you spotted by—"

"No, Ah wasn't. Ah promise," Applejack quickly interrupted, smiling sincerely to her worried friend.

"Well okay, if you say so. Anyways, let's come inside. We don't want your friends to be in danger now, do we?" the yellow mare stated, looking at Applejack's friends who were now looking at them strangely for leaving them out with their whispering.

"O-oh... right..." Applejack replied, nervously glancing at her friends. "Come on in everypony!"

The four mares looked at each other, confused at what the two were whispering about. They also found it odd that the yellow mare mentioned that it was 'dangerous' to be outside.

Rainbow Dash, who wasn't paying attention to what Applejack said, saw something that caught her eye. She flew towards it and took a look. It was a brown wanted poster. Her interest was suddenly piqued and she decided to read its contents.

WANTED: Dead or Alive

THE MILKSHAKE THIEF

[Photo of Cipher Emblem is located here, I didn't want to use the same photo in Chapter One so I apologize that I don't have a photo in here (maybe I'll have one soon)]

Wanted for: Scaring the local ponies, roaring loudly at night, stealing valuables, and destroying local property

APPROACH WITH CAUTION:
Suspect's origin is unknown and based on what the locals have seen, it could pose a huge threat to anypony who stands in its way. Suspect's magical abilities are powerful and destructive. Please contact the authorities, preferably the royal guards or even Princess Celestia if the suspect is nearby. Do not attempt to engage.

REWARD: 10,000 Bits and a Lifetime Supply of Dodge Junction's Special Supreme Truffle Milkshake for Free!

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened like silver plates. She felt a bit of fear and a bit of excitement within her. She was officially staring at a wanted poster of a possibly dangerous criminal—or rather a villain! For some reason, despite having a bit of fear, she wanted to catch the criminal.

"The dude looks intimidating!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Hell yeah I'd capture this menacing no-good thief! For doing all those bad things, he deserves to be punished! Seriously though, for a dude that looks like a terrifying monster in a horror movie, they could've at least given him a cool name."

"I mean 'MILKSHAKE THIEF?' Seriously? They made it sound like this punk's a joke, but clearly, he isn't! I mean look at that scar! It looked like something literally struck across his face. And dang, those eyes! Why are they in different colors? And why is he wearing a bandana? It was even written here that they should preferably call the royal guards. Hell, even Princess Celestia? Seriously, what did this punk do in this town, besides making it look like a ghost town?"

She glanced around to see the town empty and devoid of any forms of life. She looked around to see if the 'criminal' was nearby. She was very eager to capture him. Heck, if she did, not only would she receive the honor of capturing a high-level threat criminal by herself and possibly saving Equestria from the threatening pony, but she would also be rich thanks to the reward money. And who wouldn't say no to—

"A lifetime supply of Dodge Junction's Special Supreme Truffle Milkshake for Free!?" Rainbow Dash gasped. "FOR FREE?! HELL YEAH I WANT A LIFETIME SUPPLY FOR FREE!"

Rainbow Dash could already feel the glory of apprehending a dangerous monster and saving everypony from its evil wrath. She could see herself standing up in an awesome posture facing against the milkshake thief who was staring at her, ready to attack. She could feel the intense pressure of the wind and the piercing gaze of her opponent as he charged at her at full force. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash already knew he would charge at her and kept on a savage smirk on her face while uttering the words: "Omae wa mou Shindeiru!"

Then her opponent replied with a big "NANI!" Then suddenly, faster than a blink of an eye, Rainbow Dash goes 'ultra instinct' and teleports at his back and does a 'Falcon Punch' move on him, completely killin—I mean completely erasing her opponent out of existence.

Then she'll use her 'Infinity Gauntlet' and rewind time with the 'Time Stone' and do it again, just because she thought it would be cool. Then right after that, everypony who saw the mind-blowing event will have their mouths agape in shock. Then, everypony will cheer for her name as her friends lift her in victory shouting her name in joy: "RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH!" The princesses will then arrive and praise her for her courage and strength in defeating the evil thief.

(the last three paragraphs make no sense, I know...)

While Rainbow Dash was busy fantasizing, the other ponies went inside the pale yellow mare's house.

Applejack motioned her friends to sit down.

"Thanks for inviting us to your house Miss..."

"Oh, Am Cherry Jubilee!" the pale yellow mare replied at Twilight's remark. "Am the boss of Cherry Hill Ranch. It's a pleasure to meet ya'll!"

"The pleasure is ours, Miss Jubilee!" Rarity said smiling.

"Applejack told me a lot about ya'll!" Cherry Jubilee chirped. "Oh, that reminds me! Ya'll shoulda seen Applejack compete in the Equestria Rodeo! Never seen anypony win so many ribbons in all mah life."

"Aw shucks Miss Jubilee, you don't have to go in all that," Applejack smiled at the compliment.

"Oh, you're so modest Applejack!" Cherry Jubilee grinned, giving out a soft chuckle. "Anyway, when Ah was askin' for some help from the ponies in the stadium, Applejack was the first to approach me. Ah needed a pony who could do well with heavy work. At first, Ah wanted to make sure if she was up to the task but she kept on insistin' me anyway."

"Wait, she accepted what heavy work?" Twilight asked, her curiosity was piqued after hearing Cherry Jubilee's remark.

"Oh, Ah was lookin' for ponies who would like to volunteer to work in mah ranch temporarily," Cherry Jubilee replied. "Only for a temporary time because mah workers are on vacation this week. Ah was surprised that Applejack immediately accepted to volunteer. Ah never even explained to her yet what she will be workin' on but she told me that she was perfectly capable for whatever job it was. Ah asked her why but all she told me was that she needed a change of scenery."

Cherry Jubilee was about to say something when she remembered something important.

"Oh my, how rude of me to not even prepare ya'll some treats!" Cherry Jubilee gasped. "Am so sorry, Ah'll head to mah kitchen right now to see what I could serve ya'll. You are mah guests after all! Oh, and Applejack! Ah'll let ya catch up with your friends!"

Cherry Jubilee trotted out of the living room, leaving a nervous Applejack with her friends.

"A change of scenery?" Rarity asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah... Ah thought that maybe Ah could work with somethin' else for a change," Applejack answered, wearing her best poker face.

"What?" Pinkie Pie asked in surprise. "But we thought you were going to return to Ponyville in a week. Wait, it already has been a week, right?"

"But Applejack, we traveled all over Equestria looking for you," Rarity said with a concerned tone. "We were really worried about you and we promised your family that we will come find you."

"Well, you found me. That doesn't mean Ah have to come with you," Applejack replied in a somewhat cold tone. "Although Ah appreciate your concerns about me but ya'll have nothin' to worry about. If it makes you feel better, ya'll can tell mah family that Am doin' okay. But Am not goin' back to Ponyville."

"But Applejack, can you at least tell us—"

"But nothin'! There's nothin' else to tell you and Am not goin' back to Ponyville!" Applejack retorted, interrupting Twilight. "Now if ya'll excuse me, Ah have some work to do!

Applejack hurriedly rushed out of the living room, leaving her friends extremely bewildered.

"That... was... unexpected..." Pinkie Pie commented as she turned over to her friends.

"Yeah... the way she instantly changed her expression," Rarity concurred at Pinkie's comment. "It's like she felt mad and not at the same time..."

"Hmm... and the whole 'change of scenery' excuse..." Twilight noted as she rubbed her chin. "I don't know about you guys but I think Applejack's not telling us something!"

"Ooohhh... Are we going to solve some kind of mystery?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "I love solving mysteries!"

"Hey guys!" Rainbow Dash yelled, suddenly slamming the door open. "Look what I found!"

"R-Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked, confused about the sudden appearance of her friend. "But h-how... what? I thought you were already inside with us?"

"Oh... no, I was outside," Rainbow Dash replied. "Anyways, look what I found! Apparently, there's this some sort of criminal in this town!"

"A criminal?" the four mares asked in unison.

"Yeah! And from what I've read, this guy did some pretty nasty stuff!" Rainbow Dash said, showing the poster she was holding to her friends.

The four mares read the wanted poster, each having a different reaction after reading what was written.

"What?" was all the words that came out of Rarity.

"A-a-a c-criminal?" Fluttershy stuttered. "Oh no, the poor ponies! How could he do such mean things?"

"Milkshake Thief?" Pinkie Pie asked, suppressing a laugh. "That has to be the funniest criminal title I've ever heard!"

"I know right?" Rainbow Dash concurred, also suppressing a laugh. "From all the bad things he did, they could've at least given him a name that would suit him. I mean just look at him!"

"Pinkie Pie! Rainbow Dash!" Rarity declared, calling their attention. "This isn't something to laugh about! This is a serious matter and having a loose criminal in a town like this isn't a joke. Although I do admit that 'Milkshake Thief' is a very ridiculous title for somepony who did all these horrible things."

"Wait, did it just say that they want him dead or alive?" Pinkie Pie asked. "That's a bit weird. And why did they just put the photo of the criminal on the poster, shouldn't the face of the criminal hand-drawn or something? They must've felt really lazy in making these..."

"Eh, I think that's just how wanted posters work," Rainbow Dash replied. "I mean this kinda reminds me of one of those cowboy movies I used to watch where there's this wanted criminal and the sheriff challenges him to a standoff or something like that."

"OMG! The reward is ten thousand bits and a lifetime supply of Dodge Junction's Special Supreme Truffle Milkshake for Free!" Pinkie Pie squealed in delight. "I WANT A LIFETIME SUPPLY OF MILKSHAKES!"

"A lifetime supply?" Fluttershy asked. "Isn't that a bit too much?"

"Ohhh... Fluttershy..." Pinkie Pie said, stroking Fluttershy's mane. "If only you knew the joy of having tons of milkshakes for a lifetime!"

"Yeah... and who would say no to ten thousand bits?" Rainbow Dash asked, crossing her hooves. "That's a whole lot of money that you could buy almost anything you want!"

"That is a lot of money..." Rarity said as she began to daydream the things she could do with all that money at her disposal.

"Rarity are you daydreaming again?" Pinkie Pie asked, noticing the weird look that Rarity was giving her.

"Huh? What?" Rarity asked, snapping back to reality at the mention of her name. "What was that, dear?"

"Yep... you were definitely daydreaming..." Pinkie Pie remarked.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself," Rarity replied, scratching her mane with a hoof.

Twilight, who remained silent, carefully studied the wanted poster that Rainbow Dash showed them. There were some very interesting details from the poster that she noticed.

"Hmmm..." Twilight pondered, rubbing her chin as she analyzed the poster. "It's a good thing that they used an actual photo instead of a drawing. It makes it more detailed."

"Now that I think about it, I remembered Miss Jubilee saying that it was dangerous for us to be outside. Is this the reason why?" Rarity asked.

"It could be!" Fluttershy gasped in shock, suddenly becoming terrified. "I mean that would explain why there were no ponies in this town the moment we got here!"

"You're right!" Pinkie Pie agreed. "But wait, the criminal managed to scare all of them to the point that there are no ponies left in the town?"

"Well... Miss Jubilee is still here," Rarity answered. "So is Applejack, but I think she just got here or I could be wrong..."

"Maybe we could ask Miss Jubilee about it," Fluttershy suggested.

"Ask me about what?" Cherry Jubilee asked as she made her way to the living room; holding a tray that consisted of six glasses of juice, a stack of paper plates, and a large pie on a plate.

"Miss Jubilee! Didn't see you there..." Rarity blinked in surprise.

"Oh, s-sorry Ah hope Ah didn't scare ya," Cherry Jubilee smiled sheepishly. "Well here ya go fellas! Ah hope ya'll like some cherry juice and our signature cherry pie."

"Oooooohhhhh! Cherry pie, I love cherry pie!" Pinkie Pie shouted with joy.

"Well, ya'll can go grab a slice!" Cherry Jubilee said as she placed the tray at the table. "Anyway, what were you gonna ask me about?"

"Oh, it's about this wanted poster that—"

"W-where did you get that?!" Cherry Jubilee asked in a panicked tone, interrupting Rarity while pointing at the poster that Twilight was holding. "How did you get that? Why do you have that?"

"Oh... I got it from the—"

"WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT?!" Cherry Jubilee shouted in fear. "Did you go outside? Why did you go outside? Did he see you? Were you spotted? Didn't Ah tell ya'll that it's dangerous outside?"

The mares widened their eyes in surprise after seeing the mare panic frantically.

"Woah woah woah!" Rainbow Dash approached the hyperventilating mare, trying to calm her down. "Calm down... Miss?"

"Jubilee. Miss Jubilee," Rarity answered, putting a hoof on her face. "Honestly Rainbow Dash, how do you easily forget names?"

"Hey, it's not my fault I forget stuff!" Rainbow Dash defended, crossing her hooves. "Besides, I didn't even know her name, I just knew it after you told me."

"But I literally just... never mind," Rarity sighed, putting a hoof on her face.

"Anyways, Miss Jubilee..." Rainbow Dash said, emphasizing the mare's name. "You don't need to worry about anything. I found the poster before I even went in here. And no, I didn't see the criminal nor did he see me, I think..."

"A-are you sure?" Cherry Jubilee asked, trembling in fear.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Rainbow Dash answered. "Or else he would've stopped me from entering your house and tell all of you about this poster I found. I assure you that nothing bad happened to me."

"Ah suppose you're right..." Cherry Jubilee said, trying to calm down. "Am sorry about all that. Ah didn't mean to get really paranoid. Ah usually don't panic on these sorts of things. Ah guess Ah got a bit carried away there."

"Oh, it's fine Miss Jubilee," Fluttershy reassured. "I mean I got scared too after reading the poster and learning the mean things that this criminal did."

"Speaking of that, that's what we wanted to ask you about, Miss Jubilee," Rarity followed. "We already read this poster and learned about this so-called criminal that did all these terrible things in your town. But we want to know how all of it really happened and since you live in this town, we were wondering if you could tell us what you know if that's okay with you."

"Well, Ah guess that would be fine..." Cherry Jubilee replied. "But why would you want to know?"

Twilight, who was too busy analyzing the poster, finally spoke. "Because we want to know if the claims that were written here are all true and accurate. I did find some pretty interesting details just by looking at the photo and from what I and my friends observed so far when we got here."

"And also because we're very curious about how it all happened..." Rarity followed. "I do want to solve a good mystery! A crime scene even!"

"Heh, I've always wanted to capture a criminal!" Rainbow Dash said with a determined look. "Dang, I feel like I'm in one of those cowboy movies now! And that reward money though."

"Don't forget that if we captured him, we'll get a lifetime supply of those delicious milkshakes!" Pinkie Pie giggled, taking a bite of the pie on her plate. "I mean who would say 'no' to all those milkshakes?"

"Yeah, but first we have to know everything there is to know about this criminal if we want to know how to capture him," Rarity stated. "That's why we need all the information we can get. And having an eyewitness is very helpful for providing us important details."

"Well... Ah suppose Ah could tell you what Ah know..." Cherry Jubilee said, rubbing her chin. "The problem is, Ah actually haven't seen him personally."

"Wait what?" Rarity asked, blinking in surprise. "So you're not an eyewitness then?"

"No Am not, sorry..." Cherry Jubilee replied.

"Well... so much for 'convincing evidence'," Rainbow Dash remarked. "Wait, how is it that you never saw him?"

"Ah don't know, Ah just never saw him," Cherry Jubilee shrugged. "Ah only heard stories from mah neighbors about this thief and some of the things he did. Ah wasn't there when the criminal showed up, in fact, Ah only just heard about him a while ago."

"That's because the criminal showed up late at night," Twilight stated.

"Y-yeah, that's what mah neighbors told me!" Cherry Jubilee widened her eyes in surprise. "How'd you know?"

"Well, if you look at the photo carefully, the bright light that's around the pony is actually just the flash that came from the camera of the pony who took the picture," Twilight responded. "I figured it was night time because of the moon on the right side of the photo. It is very small from our perspective though, but you can kinda see it from here."

"Wow, you got all that just by looking at the photo?" Rainbow Dash asked, raising a brow.

"I didn't just look at it, I analyzed it," Twilight replied. "So I'm assuming that you were already asleep the time that the criminal showed up, that's why you only knew him a while ago, correct?"

"Uhh... yes, Ah told Applejack that she needed to rest early if she was goin' to work in the ranch," Cherry Jubilee concurred.

Rarity pondered as she tried to come up with something in her mind. "And since you said that you never met him, that would mean—"

"He already left this town..." Twilight interjected.

The four mares, including Cherry Jubilee, turned their attention to Twilight after hearing her fascinating statement.

"What do you mean he left?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah? I mean he could still be in this town, hiding somewhere, I think..." Pinkie Pie followed.

"Highly unlikely..." Twilight replied, narrowing her eyes. "I doubt that he'd just hide somewhere in this town, at least that's the most appropriate conclusion I can think of."

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, think about it. If the thief is still hiding there, the sheriff would've already caught him." Twilight replied. "It sure wouldn't take the sheriff and his officers that long for them to find a criminal around this small town. They would definitely look out for every corner around the town and it would be an easy task for them, considering that they know every spot in the town very well."

"But we're not sure about that..." Rainbow Dash objected. "I mean, there are no ponies around the town."

"Exactly! There are no ponies around town because they know that the criminal could still be out there," Twilight remarked. "That means that nopony caught him yet, and if he did get caught already, the sheriff would've notified the townsponies about it."

"Ohhh... that makes a lot of sense!" Rarity replied. "If the sheriff caught this criminal then the townsponies would know it. But since he hasn't been caught yet, the locals are probably still hiding in their homes. Wait, are the townsponies really hiding?"

"Yes, we all are," Cherry Jubilee responded. "That was the sheriff's announcement this mornin'. He told us to stay in our homes until they are able to arrest the wanted criminal."

"Yeah if so, then that means that the sheriff and his officers could still be scouting around town, looking for the guy," Rainbow Dash stated.

"Well, the sheriff did confront him," Cherry Jubilee said as she tried to remember something. "But..."

"But?" Pinkie Pie asked, waiting for Cherry Jubilee to finish her statement.

"From what Ah heard from mah neighbors, it didn't go well," Cherry Jubilee continued.

"They weren't able to capture him because he escaped?" Fluttershy asked.

"No... the sheriff was found unconscious on the ground..." Cherry Jubilee answered.

The five mares widened their eyes in shock.

"H-he killed the sheriff?" Pinkie Pie asked as she devoured the pie on her plate. "Mmm! By the way, this pie is really good! You guys should try some."

"What? No, the sheriff didn't die," Cherry Jubilee replied. "He was just found unconscious, but the local medics already took care of him in a safe place. Don't worry he's safe. Mah neighbors told me that he was actually unharmed."

"Unharmed? Then how did he become unconscious?" Rarity asked.

"Ah don't know, Ah wasn't there," Cherry Jubilee shrugged. "Ah just listened to everything mah neighbors told me."

"So Twilight's right, he hasn't been caught yet," Rainbow Dash said as she narrowed her eyes.

"And a smart thief wouldn't just stay in one place if somepony already tried to confront him," Rarity followed. "Huh. Guess Twilight's right all along. The thief had already left the town. That's the most logical answer to it."

"Yeah but still, we don't exactly know how this criminal did all these things," Twilight commented. "We do know that he scared the townsponies away and now they are forced into hiding. At least we know that the townsponies are safe, I think? But what about these other claims? Miss Jubilee, I know that you aren't an eyewitness and that you haven't seen how this criminal did all these things in action, but I'm sure your neighbors must have told you something about these claims. Can you tell us what they told you?"

"Well, Ah can try. Let's see." Cherry Jubilee tried to recall the things that her neighbors told her. "Ah guess you don't have to know when he showed up since you already know that."

"Yes, we do," Rarity concurred.

"Hmmm... Well, they told me that the criminal managed to scare a lot of ponies. Ah don't how or why but they mentioned something about a frightening roar..."

"The second claim," Twilight thought out loud. "Roaring loudly..."

"Ooh ooh ooh! How did he roar?" Pinkie Pie asked, taking a sip of cherry juice. "Was it a like a lion's roar or like a dragon one?"

"Ah don't know..." Cherry Jubilee shrugged. "They just told me that it was a very scary roar."

"What about the 'stealing valuables?'" Rarity asked. "Don't tell me that all he ever stole was some glasses of milkshakes..."

The five mares suppressed their laughter, trying so hard not to make fun of the title that the town gave to the suspecting criminal.

"Ah do admit that Ah also—" Cherry Jubilee also suppressed a laugh, but failed, letting out a small giggle. "Find the title hilarious!"

"MILKSHAKE THIEF?!" Pinkie Pie gave away to laughter. "Sorry, I just can't! It's too much!"

"I know right?" Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Of all the names you could think off, it had to be something as ridiculous as 'Milkshake Thief.'"

"I do admit that it's very funny," Fluttershy laughed softly. "But is there anything else he stole?"

"Not that Ah know of," Cherry Jubilee replied. "Mah neighbors don't even know what he stole exactly. But since he's the 'Milkshake Thief,' Ah could only guess that what he stole were milkshakes."

"How about the 'destroying local property?'" Twilight asked.

"That, mah neighbors don't know about," Cherry Jubilee answered. "Ah far as Ah know, Ah don't think anypony knew what the criminal destroyed. You could try askin' Applejack if she saw somethin' that looks destroyed around town. Ah mean, she did wander around the town a while ago."

"Wait, she wandered around town? But I thought you said it was dangerous to be outside?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Ah didn't know back then," Cherry Jubilee replied, scratching her mane. "Ah only knew when Ah noticed that there were no ponies outside and Ah came to ask mah neighbors what was goin' on. Then Ah only knew the reasons why, and Ah was too late to warn Applejack because Ah wasn't able to catch up to her."

"Then why the heck don't we ask Applejack?" Rainbow Dash asked her friends.

"Yeah... about that..." Pinkie Pie said.

"Oh yeah... where is Applejack?" Cherry Jubilee asked. "Ah didn't even notice that she isn't here? Where did she go?"

"She told us that she had work to do..." Fluttershy replied.

"Wait, Applejack isn't here?" Rainbow Dash asked, realizing that her friend Applejack wasn't in the room with them.

"Work?" Cherry Jubilee asked when she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Ah almost forgot! Ah still have to tell Applejack how to operate the conveyor. Excuse me girls, but Ah have to go. If you need me, just head to the back of the ranch."

Cherry Jubilee rushed out of the room.

"Oh yeah, we forgot about Applejack!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"We were so caught up learning about this criminal that we forgot the main reason we came here," Twilight followed. "We still have to know why Applejack is here and what she is not telling us."

"Wait, Applejack's not telling you something?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Sorry, I don't know what's going on, did something happen to Applejack?"

"It's a long story," Twilight replied.

"Yeah, it's really long! Actually no it's not that long," Pinkie Pie said as she came over to the large plate of pie, grabbing another slice. "Oh yeah, are you guys gonna eat or what? Miss Jubilee's cherry pie is really good!"

"May I please talk to your captain, this is really important!" a brown unicorn pleaded at the guardsponies who were patrolling outside the castle gate.

"We're sorry, but the captain is very busy right now," one of the guardspony stated. "Did you somehow schedule an appointment with him?"

"Well... err... no... I didn't," the brown unicorn replied sheepishly.

"Then if you have no appointment, we cannot let you speak with him," the guardspony remarked. "The captain is not to be disturbed. If you wish to speak to him, you will have to wait for another time."

"But I need to talk to him about something!" the unicorn implored. "It's really important!"

"Talk to me about what?" asked a voice that came above the castle gate. It was the captain of the royal guards, wearing his usual violet battle armor.

The guarsponies raised their hooves in a formal salute after seeing their captain. "My captain! We apologize for the disturbance but this unicorn wanted to speak with you about something important."

"Yes, please!" the unicorn pleaded.

"Let him in!" the captain announced, gesturing the guardsponies to open the castle gate. The unicorn entered the castle grounds to meet up with the captain of the royal guard.

"Y-y-you are the captain of the royal guard! This is a great honor, sir!" the unicorn said as he bowed to show respect.

"Okay then, no need to be incredibly formal," the captain smiled at the unicorn's respectful gesture. "You wanted to speak to me about something important?"

"Y-yes! I do!" the unicorn answered. "I came here to ask for your help!"

"My help?" the captain asked. "For what?"

The brown unicorn opened the bag that he was carrying and took out the stack of papers that were inside.

"Are these... wanted posters?" the captain asked.

"Y-yes they are!" the brown unicorn nodded. "I came from Dodge Junction and the sheriff told me to distribute these posters all around Equestria! I already distributed some in other towns and villages and now I arrived here in Canterlot to distribute some of these as well. I came to warn you about this criminal..."

The captain grabbed one of the posters from the stack with his magic and read its contents.

"So... you came from Dodge Junction, right?" the captain asked, turning to the brown unicorn.

"Y-yes!" the brown unicorn responded. "Since I'm now in Canterlot, I thought that it would be wise to seek help from the royal guards or the royal princesses!"

"I understand, but why should it concern the princesses?" the captain asked, raising a brow. "It's only one petty thief that did some bad things but it's not like what he did are that alarming for it to be the princesses' concern. These are some very common claims for a criminal."

"B-but he isn't just any ordinary criminal!" the unicorn exclaimed. "He is very powerful in using magic! Here, I have evidence to prove it to you. I was too scared to confront the criminal myself but I took photos of some of the things he did with my camera."

The brown unicorn gave the camera that he was wearing over his neck to the captain and showed numerous photos of the criminal doing destructive things with his magic and scaring ponies. The captain widened his eyes in surprise after seeing the destruction caused by the unicorn.

"What the..." the captain stared at the photos, completely shocked. "H-he did all of these? That's crazy! I've never seen anypony, much less a thief, that's this powerful before..."

"T-that's why we need your help," the unicorn said in a worried tone. "The townsponies were too scared that they hid in their homes and nopony was strong enough to take him on. Not even the sheriff and our deputies were able to apprehend him. That's why when I got here to Canterlot, I thought that maybe I could tell you about this and maybe seek help from you and the royal guards."

"Well... okay then. I'll see what I can do," the captain sighed. "Thanks for telling me this and also for taking the risk to get evidence about this thief. You have no idea how much lives you will be able to save because of this."

"T-thank you sir..." the unicorn said as he came over to grab the stack of papers when he was halted by the captain.

"We'll take care of distributing the posters for you. It's the least I can do for giving us valuable information," the captain said as he levitated the stack of papers with his magic. "I'll tell the guardsponies to distribute this around Equestria so that we can warn the ponies from other places about this criminal. And we'll make sure that everypony is safe. But I will have to talk with the other officers and maybe I could tell the princesses in regards to this matter."

"O-oh, that's fine, yeah... we do need all the help can get," the unicorn concurred. "Oh, and you can have my camera if you'd like to review my recording of the thief."

"Wait, are you sure?" the captain replied in uncertainty. "You might need this camera."

"Nah, it's fine. Presenting this evidence is much more important than any of the things I could do with it," the unicorn replied. "Besides I have more than one of these. Well, I guess I better get going then. I don't want to further disturb you from what you are doing."

"Oh no, it's fine!" the captain reassured. "In fact, I'm glad you even talked to me about this. Don't worry, we'll take care of this."

The brown unicorn nodded as he went out of the castle gate.

"W-wait, is your sheriff..." the captain trailed off after realizing that the brown unicorn was nowhere to be seen.

"I didn't even get to ask if something bad happened to their sheriff and his deputies. Were they really not able to apprehend the criminal? And why did they gave him the title 'Milkshake Thief?'"

The captain suppressed a laugh from the silly name as he went inside the castle.

Meanwhile, in a place far away from civilization, a brown unicorn magically appeared behind a rock.

"That was harder than I thought!" the brown unicorn thought as he clenched his teeth. "Convincing the captain required me to use my magic! Well, at least the illusion magic worked on him, otherwise, he'd realized that the photos were actually blank."

The brown unicorn wiped his forehead as he gave an exasperated sigh.

"Well at least I did it... I already used too much of my power already. I don't know how long I can keep up this form."

The aura around the brown unicorn suddenly darkened, a wide grin formed in his face.

"Now I'll just have to wait a little longer. I'll let you off by yourself for now!"

Author's Note

Yeah I did say that the story will take place mid-way of season 2 in the series and it will continue up until the end of the series I guess? (I'm not sure yet but I do plan for it to be like that). Also even if Cipher's story will coincide with the story of the show, there will be a lot of rewritten context and there will be a lot of changes I will make, so don't expect the whole story to follow the one on the show. Also I won't include all the episodes, I might skip some for the sake of 'good' progression (idk I just won't include all of 'em).

A big thanks to 'Kujamih' for helping me proofread!

Chapter 5: A Strange Feeling

A Strange Feeling

"Those are some very odd rock formations..." Cipher silently commented as he trotted through the rocky mountain range.

It had only been a few minutes when he first entered the place and he was already feeling a weird sensation that he was being watched. He wasn't sure if anyone (I used 'one' because Cipher doesn't know if it's a pony or not) was stalking him. He took a quick glance around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

There weren't any animals around and the place was awfully silent, making it seem odd for anyone to have a strange feeling of being watched. But if his senses were telling him that something was wrong, then he wouldn't hesitate to believe that something was indeed wrong.

Cipher continued to walk on the road while carefully observing his surroundings. He still hadn't seen anything unusual but he remained vigilant.

As Cipher trotted through the ridge, small disturbances lurked behind the rocks. Three pairs of predatory eyes gleamed behind the shadows, carefully eyeing their prey.

"Hehehehe... I can't wait to take that pouch from that pony!" cackled one of the stalkers.

"Wait a minute... we don't even know what's inside that thing. What if there aren't any gems in there?"

"Of course there are gems in there!"

"How are you so sure?"

"Because he's carrying a pouch! Why else would he have it if he's not carrying something precious with him?"

"Uhhh..."

"Who cares? We take what we think is valuable to us!"

"Okay then, I'm convinced! Let's take the pony's pouch."

"W-wait! Wait! Should we have like a plan first?"

"A plan?"

"Mmmm... yes a plan. So we won't fail like last time!"

"What's the plan then?"

"Uhhh... yeah Rover... what's the plan?"

"Hehehe... follow me!"

As the stalkers made their way to their victim, the indigo unicorn stopped on his tracks.

"Hmmm... I thought I heard something..."

Cipher quickly glanced around. He was getting suspicious of the place. He hasn't seen anything so far, but the unsettling atmosphere was making him skeptical. It wasn't that he was feeling paranoid, he just knew that something was not right. And if he was being watched, he wanted to know why.

As he was looking around, he saw something quickly moving behind the rocks. Cipher only saw blurry silhouettes, but he knew that whoever or whatever they were, they were the ones who were spying on him.

"They're not really good at sneaking around, are they?"

At least Cipher knew that he was being watched. The only thing is that he didn't know why. For all he could quickly think for that moment is that he was being observed by a group who volunteered to capture him—it was the only logical conclusion he could come up with. They could also be the royal guards who probably have heard of his 'crimes' and were there to carefully observe him and subdue him when they have the chance.

Cipher considered confronting the stalkers, but he quickly disregarded it for a lot of reasons. If he was being observed, confronting them alone would be a bad idea. He wasn't sure how many they were, but he wanted to play safe and assume that they were at least more than one.

If they were the royal guards, then that would be way worse. Besides, he caused way too much trouble already. Even if he was able to take them down, that would further ruin his already-destroyed reputation. And it wasn't that he had the time to confront them anyway.

Cipher thought of the best option and simply continued to walk. He had more important things to do and if they were going to subdue him at some point, best let them come at him than go for the offensive. He was pretty good at escaping.

Cipher ignored the strange noises from behind the rocks and continued to follow the road. He assumed that the noises were coming from the 'stalkers' devising some kind of plan to capture him.

Meanwhile, from behind the rocks, the stalkers continued to watch their victim.

"Alright! You boys ready?"

"Hehehehe... yes we are!"

"Then get to your positions!"

Two of the stalkers sneaked out from the rock they were hiding from. One went to the left while the other went to the right. Their distances were a few feet apart but not too far to be able to hear each other.

"In the count of three, we strike him down!"

"One"

"Two"

"THREE!"

Just as the stalkers jump out from where they were hiding, Cipher (on instinct) conjured a magical beam of energy directly on one of the attackers. The recoil of the blast enabled him to evade one of the attackers that was on his left.

"So... you freaks gonna tell me why you're trying to steal my pouch? I thought you diamond dogs only steal gems..." Cipher said in a stoic tone.

"Grrr... how'd you know we were going to steal it from you, pony?!" one of the diamond dogs asked, upset that their prey knew their intention.

"You guys suck at being stealthy, you know that?" Cipher replied, keeping his collected tone. "But if you wanna know, let's just say this isn't the first time I smelled that disgusting scent before. And you weren't really whispering to each other when you counted down to three."

"Uhh... Rover, what do we do now?" asked one of the diamond dogs. "He already knows that we're after his pouch."

"It doesn't matter! That pouch will belong to us! Grab the pouch from the pony!"

Cipher conjured another blast on one of the diamond dogs and ran away.

"Great... just what I need. Some filthy dogs trying to steal what they think is a pouch full of gems. Well, this certainly isn't the first time, but I was expecting being chased by an angry mob of ponies."

Cipher continued to run away. He turned around to see if the diamond dogs were still chasing him, only to notice that they were no longer in sight. This however didn't convince him that he was in the clear. It didn't take long for him to realize what was going on.

"So that's how it's gonna be..."

Cipher stopped in his tracks and stared at the ground below him. He can feel slight vibrations underneath.

"Guess they're no different from the ones back home."

Cipher stood still from where he was standing. He continued observing the ground and saw a moving dirt trail coming towards him. Before it was able to reach him, the unicorn blasted the surface of the ground with his magic, knocking out the burrowing creature. Cipher quickly noticed that there was also something approaching him from behind and conjured the same spell, knocking out the creature that tried to ambush him.

"GAHHHH!"

The unicorn heard a distant cry that was getting louder. It came from one of the diamond dogs—the one he blasted earlier before the other two chased him.

"GIVE US THAT POUCH PONY!"

The diamond dog tried to pounce at him, but the unicorn was too quick for the attack. He threw the pouch he was carrying in the air as he sidestepped the incoming assault.

Before the dog realized that the unicorn evaded his attack, Cipher quickly conjured a bright flash that temporarily blinded the dog. Cipher delivered a low spinning sweep kick, making the dog tumble down the ground, completely knocking him out. Cipher then raised his hoof and caught the pouch that he recently threw.

(The last two paragraphs would've been a lot cooler if I knew how to draw a comic strip for it)

"Where's the pouch? And why is the sky spinning?"

"Ughhhh... my head..."

"Ow ow ow..."

Cipher watched as the three diamond dogs recover from their trance.

"Grrrr... you ponies always depend on your magic!"

"Yeah! You ponies always use magic to do stuff!"

"I bet if you don't have magic, you wouldn't be so tough!"

Cipher rolled his eyes and sighed.

"I don't have time for thi—"

The ground Cipher was standing on suddenly collapsed, making him fall underground. The opening he fell into was deep and the impact knocked him out completely.

"Hey now, don't you go too far, okay?"

...

"What?"

...

"But mom, I wanna visit the playground!"

...

"Wha—what is this?"

...

"Oh, honey, nopony's going to accompany you there."

...

"These voices..."

...

"But mom, I thought you were going to..."

...

"Do I know them?"

...

"I'm... sorry sweetie but mommy will be attending an important meeting tonight..."

...

"What about daddy?"

...

...

...

"GO BACK TO BED YOU USELESS SCUM!"

"AHH!" shouted a pony who woke up. He was lying underneath a pile of rocks and he was badly injured. He carefully opened his eyes and realized that he was in a dark place.

"Wh-where am I?"

He got out of his sleepy trance and analyzed the situation he was at. He was definitely confused but he somehow knew that something was wrong. It finally hit him when he realized where he was and how he was there.

"That fall must've knocked me out..."

The unicorn shook his head and placed a hoof over it.

"It's not surprising that my head hurts in total agony right now... I need to get out of here."

Cipher tried to move but his whole body was stuck underneath a big pile of rocks. He tried to struggle to get out but he was completely locked in place from where he was. And the more he tried to move his body, the more painful it was to struggle in between the rocks.

Cipher was getting tired of struggling. He was already in pain after the fall, and now he was receiving more from all the flailing he did. He was panting from exhaustion and his head felt like it was about to explode. Cipher thought of using his magic but when he tried to conjure something, his horn just gave a few sparks. He was running out of ideas.

As he was getting desperate, he thought of a possible solution that might just get him out of the situation. The problem was that he was too weak to do it.

"I don't know if I have enough energy to pull it off, but it's the only shot I have..."

Cipher closed his eyes and focused on channeling the energy he had left in his horn. His horn started to glow in a faint bluish aura that was releasing a series of sparks as it emanated. Cipher continued the channeling process and tried to transfer the output similar to the process he did before when he fought the Ophiotaurus.

As he continued to transfer the remaining energy, his head started to ache furiously, interrupting his concentration of the spell he was performing.

Cipher felt like his head was just shot by a bullet, quickly placing a hoof over his head to try to ease the pain. The glow on his horn was slowly fading as a series of agonizing jolts took over his head. This was the most painful headache he'd ever experienced in his whole life.

He wanted the pain to stop but he was so desperate of trying to finish the 'damage conversion' spell that he kept on conjuring it, despite the pain he was experiencing while he was doing it.

"Can't... give... up... now...."

The pain was too much to bear that he started to breathe heavily. His senses were blacking out and he began to feel lightheaded. He was losing consciousness and his vision was fading. With what little energy he had left, his mind suddenly began to play tricks with him and he started seeing blurred images.

He couldn't quite see those images but he could point out what they were portraying. The first image was more vivid than the others, resembling three diamond dogs chasing him over a hill. They captured him and stole the pouch he was carrying.

The image seemed to have affected Cipher in an odd way, something that he never experienced before. He didn't know what this new feeling was but he was sure of one thing—he DIDN'T like it at all.

Another image filled his mind and this time, he was in Dodge Junction. He was tied up to a wall and he saw a familiar-looking pony in front of him. It was the sheriff, and he was pointing a revolver at him. He pulled the trigger and the bullet missed its intended target. The sheriff tried to shoot him again, but the trigger got stuck midway.

The second image also affected him like the one from the previous image, but this time, the force was a lot stronger than before. He gritted his teeth and his horn subconsciously glowed in an intense crimson aura.

Another image popped up in his mind and now he saw himself back in his old abode in the Badlands. He freaked out when he realized that he was back at where he used to live. He rushed for the front door but was interrupted when a giant Maulwurf crashed into his house. A group of Ophiotaurus also crashed in his house and began to charge at him. He tried to move away but his body felt like it was frozen in place. The raiders relentlessly attacked him and destroyed everything in his house.

Cipher clenched his teeth even harder as a new uncontrollable force started to take over his body. As he felt this 'powerful force' within him, he started to hear whispers and voices as if they were there.

"Ewww... look at that disgusting thing!"

"What is that thing?!"

"He looks like a freak!"

"Is that guy suffering from some kind of disease?"

"Why does he look like that?"

"Is that even a pony?"

"Stay away from us you monster!"

"Dang, nature must have been very rude to that thing, I mean have you seen his scar?"

"Monster!!!"

"STAY AWAY FROM US YOU FREAK!"

As the voices became louder, the force that was building up inside of him was getting stronger.

"Ah reckon he does have the Equine Flu!"

"Why are his eyes like that?"

"Excuse me sir, but what are you?"

"Stay away from that freak, he's gonna kill you all!"

"Grrr... get... out... of... my... head..." the unicorn grunted as he tried to shake his thoughts off from the haunting voices he was receiving.

"GO BACK TO BED YOU USELESS SCUM!"

The final shout completely broke him. Cipher could no longer hold this strange new feeling he was having and completely succumbed to its mind-bending force. He screamed at the top of his lungs, letting go all of the pent-up energy from within his body.

A sudden violent force that was waiting to be released burst out of control, creating a large crimson energy field that erupted a large portion of the surface of the ground he was under. The force was so powerful that it completely shattered the ground above and below him that also affected the nearby trees and rocks.

"I can't believe you avoided going home just to make up for the money you weren't able to win from the rodeo, Applejack..." Twilight said as she boarded on the train. "But really, we're proud of you Applejack. No matter what place you end up in any contest, you're still our friend and we're always here to support you."

"Aww shucks... thanks guys!" Applejack chirped. "I feel better now. Sorry for tryin' to run away from ya'll."

"Oh it's fine, darling!" Rarity replied. "We're just glad that you're finally coming home with us!"

"And we can finally have that super duper awesome party we were supposed to have a few days ago!" Pinkie Pie shouted in delight.

"Yeah... I'm just glad that everything turned out fine..." Rainbow Dash said as she slouched against the passenger seat.

The six ponies all sat on their seats and the train piped its horn, indicating that the train will leave the station. Everypony was silently minding their own business when Rainbow Dash remembered something.

"Oh I almost forgot!"

"Forgot what, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, surprised by Rainbow's sudden yell. "You forgot something back at the ranch?"

"What, no, not that," Rainbow replied. "It's about that milkshake thief we were talking about with Miss Jubilee."

"Oh yeah, that!" Pinkie Pie said as she pulled a plate of cherry pie that seemingly came out of nowhere and began devouring it. "We were supposed to ask you about that, Applejack. But we were so busy making you spill the beans that we forgot to do it."

"Oh yeah, what do you know about that thief Applejack?" Rarity asked. "And have you seen him in any parts of the town?"

"Oh... the Milkshake... T-thief?" Applejack stated as she tried to suppress her laughter.

The other five ponies giggled alongside her, remembering the hilarious title that the town gave the scary-looking bandit.

"Well... Ah don't know much about him either, and no Ah never saw him around town," Applejack answered, still trying to suppress her laughter.

"Oh, that's a shame," Rarity replied. "The lack of evidence is making me a bit doubtful about this ruffian."

"We don't totally lack evidence, Rarity," Rainbow Dash responded. "I mean he was the main reason why the town was silent."

"Yes, but we need more than just that to prove the claims he did that were stated on those wanted posters," Rarity replied. "To be honest, if it wasn't for that photo, I would've never believed that he was able to frighten the whole town. Although he did look very... uhhh... what's the word?"

"Menacing?" asked Twilight.

"Yes, menacing," Rarity noted. "It's not that I don't believe Miss Jubilee, but the proofs she stated weren't really justified. And she did say that she just got all that information from her friends, so even she isn't sure exactly what the thief did in her town."

"That's what Ah thought too at first," Applejack remarked.

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

"When Ah first came to Dodge Junction, the town was as normal as it was," Applejack said as she faced her friends to tell them her experience while she was in the town. "Miss Jubilee gave me a tour of the town and even introduced me to some of her friends. Then, she finally brought me to her ranch and explained everything about the job she was going to give me. We ate supper and we slept. The next day, however, things instantly change."

"Let me guess, there were no ponies outside of town and that their doors and windows were barricaded," Rainbow Dash stated.

"Yes, and it was surprisingly quiet. When Ah woke up, Ah prepared breakfast for me and Miss Jubilee and she told me to deliver some of her cherry pies to the neighbors. Once Ah went outside, there was nothin' but total silence." Applejack continued. "At first Ah thought it was some kind of thing they practice but when Ah tried knockin' on one of the neighbors' doors, nopony answered. Ah only heard somepony inside whimperin' and sayin' somethin' about a monster and that he wanted the monster to go away."

"How awful!" Fluttershy replied in distress. "The poor pony must have been so scared from whatever the thief did to the town."

"Ah also saw a lot of wanted posters around town, they were almost everywhere. After checkin' them out Ah knew somethin' was wrong so Ah tried to reach out to the scared pony to find out what was goin' on." Applejack stated. "It took a while to convince him that Ah mean no harm, but eventually he agreed to let me come in his house. And he told me a lot of things about this wanted criminal he kept ramblin' about."

"Tell us everything he said. The more information, the better," Twilight stated.

"If Ah can remember everything he said," Applejack said as she rubbed her chin. "The first thing he told me was that the reason why he boarded up his house was that there was an ugly-lookin' monster that scared everypony in town."

"Was he able to see the thief in person?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, he told me that he saw the thief walkin' around town," Applejack nodded. "He told me that this criminal was the scariest thing he ever saw in his life."

"Well there's your evidence, Rarity," Rainbow Dash turned to look at her unicorn friend.

"What Applejack said isn't enough, we need something more convincing," Rarity shook her head. "Applejack, did this pony see what the criminal did? Or rather, did he say anything about the criminal doing any of the claims that were written in the wanted posters?"

"Am not exactly sure... but he did mention a couple of bad things that the criminal did," Applejack replied. "Let's see... he said somethin' about scarin' the local townsponies. He was so scared that he quickly ran to his house and locked his door. He peeked out of the window to see what was goin' on outside. He saw that the ponies outside were also runnin' away screamin'."

"The locals must have really hated ponies with big scars..." Pinkie Pie commented as she slurped the drink she was holding.

"Umm... Pinkie, where'd you get that?" Rainbow Dash asked, curious about how her unpredictable friend was getting random food out of nowhere.

"I don't know..." Pinkie Pie shrugged as she finished her drink. "I guess I just had them the whole time..."

"Right..." Rainbow narrowed her eyes.

"As I was sayin'," Applejack coughed. "He was very terrified. Ah asked when did this all happen and he told me that it happened the night before. Ah couldn't believe it when he said that the thief affected the town so much in a short time, but Ah didn't object cause Ah must have been asleep when the criminal showed up in town."

"So you believed everything he told you?" Rarity asked.

"Ah wouldn't say that Ah completely believe everythin' he said, but based on what he was feelin' that time and the town being completely silent was convincin' enough for me," Applejack answered.

"But what about the other claims?" Twilight asked. "We're all very sure about the criminal scaring the local townsponies of Dodge Junction, but the other claims still need proof. We can't just pinpoint specific accusations to somepony without convincing evidence."

"Was there anything else he told you?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well... Ah also asked him about the other claims that were on the poster because Ah wanted to make sure if the poster was true or not." Applejack replied. "He said that he heard a really loud roar and that made him even more scared which made him stop peekin' on his window and just slept through the night, hopin' that the monster won't attack him in his sleep. To make sure of that, he barricaded his entire house. But even with those, he had a hard time sleepin'.

"I can't imagine how terrifying it was being in his situation with this 'scary' thief," Fluttershy remarked. "I feel so awful for the townsponies not being able to sleep just because they're scared of this thief roaming in their town."

"Then what?" Rainbow Dash asked, waiting for Applejack to continue.

"Then... he fell asleep on the floor," Applejack replied. "The scared pony. The scared pony I was interrogatin' fell asleep on the floor."

"What?" the five mares asked in unison.

"Ah tried to wake him up but when he started snorin' Ah didn't continue," Applejack responded. "Ah guess he really needed that sleep. Wouldn't blame him for havin' a monster wanderin' around his town. After that Ah just left the pie on his table and carried him to his bed. Ah went outside and went to the other houses to deliver the other pies."

"And you didn't immediately go back to the ranch, why?" Rarity asked.

"Well... Ah wanted to finish the errand quickly so that Ah can focus on the main work when Ah get back to the ranch," Applejack replied. "Ah know that the thief could probably be nearby but Ah didn't let it get into me."

"Even if you know that you might get attacked at any moment?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Eh, Ah haven't seen him yet and Ah never did," Applejack shrugged. "Sure he's scary, and the things the locals told me made me feel a bit uncomfortable. But Ah won't let some thief ruin what Ah was doin'. Ah promised Miss Jubilee that Ah will work for her and Ah intend to keep that promise."

"Heh, that's our Applejack!" Rainbow Dash smiled at her brave friend. "I knew that you won't get easily scared by some scary thief."

"Hehe... yeah Ah guess..." Applejack beamed. "But Ah still stayed vigilant, just in case Ah encounter him while Ah was outside."

"Ooohh... so when you saw me, you thought that I was the 'Milkshake Thief'," Pinkie Pie commented. "That's why you pinned me down. I thought it was becaus—"

"Yes, Pinkie that's why I uhh... pounce—Ah mean pinned you down..." Applejack interjected as she quickly placed a hoof over the pink mare's mouth. She didn't want anypony else to know about that awkward thing she did.

"But what about the other claims? Have you tried talking to the other locals as you deliver the pies?" Rarity asked.

"Hmmm..." Applejack rubbed her chin. "One mare told me that she saw the thief steal a glass of milkshake in the saloon bar. She also told me that the thief scared away the bartender and everypony else inside the bar."

"Guess that's where they got the title..." Twilight remarked.

"I still think that the title they gave him was very hilarious for somepony who managed to frighten the whole town," Rainbow Dash said as she gave a light chuckle. "They could've at least given him a more appropriate name."

"Ah guess they value their milkshakes that much," Applejack pointed out. "He did steal one of their signature milkshakes."

"Anything else?" Twilight asked.

"Most of the ponies Ah delivered pies to just told me to leave the pies on their front doors," Applejack replied. "Some told me a few things but they all said the same thing about scarin' the ponies, that very loud roar, and stealin' a glass of milkshake."

"Rarity, are those proofs convincing enough for ya?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'll need more solid pieces of evidence. Giving me more photos, taking me to the scene of the crime, or giving some sample could fully convince me," Rarity answered. "Applejack, I'm not saying that I don't believe the locals you talked to, but the information you gave us is very similar to what Miss Jubilee told us. It was all just gathered from the locals who might or might have not seen the whole scene. But if you think that this so-called thief is actually out there, scaring ponies away for whatever reason, then I won't argue against your conviction."

"Yeah, me too!" Pinkie Pie squealed.

The other three ponies nodded in agreement.

"With all the given information Applejack provided us, there's still something missing..." Twilight stated. "The fourth claim."

"Oh yeah, there was another claim... what was it again?" Rarity asked.

"The 'destruction to local property' one," Twilight answered. "Applejack, did you see anything ruined or destroyed while you were walking around town?"

"Uhh, now that you mention it, Ah did find the top floor of the local inn with a giant hole," Applejack replied.

"He destroyed a part of the inn?" Twilight asked in surprise.

"Am not sure... Ah only saw a big hole and anypony I asked about had different answers." Applejack shrugged. "Some claimed that the top floor of the inn already a big hole even before the criminal showed up while some said that the criminal used his powerful magic. Don't know who's tellin' the truth because they were all really scared which made it difficult for me to read their expressions."

"Oh, at least we now know something about the fourth claim," Rarity remarked. "Although, there are conflicting details which will make it even more difficult to prove."

"Wait... why are ya'll so curious to know about this thief anyway?" Applejack asked.

"Because if his actions heavily affected Dodge Junction to the point that whatever this pony did, made them cower in fear and boarding their homes, then it's our duty to help them and put an end to his criminal acts," Twilight replied. "And since the thief is probably out there, scaring other ponies, then who's to say he won't do the same things in Ponyville? Even if we weren't fully sure of what he did to the townsponies of Dodge Junction, we know for a fact that the townsponies have a common knowledge of what this thief has done to them."

The other five ponies looked at each other and gave Twilight an approving nod.

"Twilight's right! We have to make sure that the same thing won't happen to other towns," Rainbow Dash said in a determined tone. "We won't let some intimidating criminal scare everypony else in Equestria. And we certainly won't let him steal any more milkshakes!"

"Umm... Rainbow Dash, I think there are far more important valuables than milkshakes," Rarity commented.

"Milkshakes aren't important?!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "Rarity! What you said was completely unacceptable. Why would you think milkshakes are not valuable? That's just wrong!"

"Pinkie Pie... you... never mind..." Rarity sighed, putting a hoof on her face. "But you're right, we won't let this ruffian steal from other ponies. Stealing is unethical and rude!"

The conversation of the six ponies was interrupted by a loud piercing noise.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The six mares widened their eyes from the sudden shriek. Everypony in the train heard the unexpected screech.

"What was that?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Yes! I think we all did," Rarity said as she turned over to her friends. "It sounded like a yell."

"A reaaallllyyy loud yell!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Where did it come from?" Applejack asked.

"I-I don't know..." Fluttershy replied. "But it sounded really scary... and yes it was really loud."

"And I don't think that whoever made that yell is nearby," Twilight deduced.

"Who would've shouted that loud?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I know I can get very loud during parties or when I'm doing something fun but not even I can scream that loud."

"Well, whatever it was, it certainly wasn't a normal scream," Twilight said as she narrowed her eyes. "And I'm starting to think that whoever is the source of that shriek, isn't normal either."

"What makes you say that, Twilight?" Applejack asked.

"I-I'm not sure..." Twilight pondered. "But somehow I just know that the scream isn't normal. Like there's something else to that loud vocal shriek. Something strange..."

"Strange? How—"

Rarity's statement was interrupted by a loud explosion. From outside the window, a large bright red circle appeared on the horizon. The giant ball was large enough to be seen up in the sky while continuously expanding in size.

Everypony in the train stared at the large ball in awe as it gradually increased in size. Different expressions were seen from different passengers of the train.

"If I have to guess, whoever made that scream is also responsible for that bright explosion," Twilight stated as she observed the giant ball expand in the skies.

"W-w-what is that?!" Rainbow Dash asked. "Was that an explosion?"

"Yes Rainbow Dash, it was," Rarity replied.

"It's appeared so quickly and unexpectedly!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "And it's huuugeee!"

"And it's still growing," Fluttershy remarked. "An-and, I feel something weird about it."

"You feel that weird sensation too?" Rarity asked. "Huh, I thought I was the only one."

"Yeah m-me too," Applejack followed. "Am not sure what it is, but Ah definitely feel somethin' off about it."

"Me too! Me too!" Pinkie Pie squealed. "I'm not sure how to describe it but it makes my tummy feel all weird!"

"I-I-I can feel it too!" Twilight said in surprise. "It's weird, like I can't describe what I'm feeling right now!"

"I know right?" Rainbow Dash concurred. "It must be because of that red light!"

"It's crimson, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity retorted.

"What's the difference?" Rainbow Dash asked. "They're both red!"

"Crimson has a darker tone and it mostly inclines to purple while red is more vibrant," Rarity replied. "Honestly Rainbow Dash, how could you not see the difference?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and ignored her fussy friend's statement. She sometimes couldn't bear her friend paying too much attention to the smallest details.

"Whatever that light is, there's something very wrong about it..." Twilight stated as she narrowed her eyes. "I just can't point out what it is..."

As Twilight continued to stare deeply at the mesmerizing light, she widened her eyes in utter shock as a faint image of a crying pony appeared before her eyes. She quickly shook her head and fell from where she was sitting.

"Twilight!" the five mares cried in unison as they quickly approached their friend.

"Twilight are you alright?" Applejack asked.

"What happened?" Rainbow Dash followed.

They noticed that something was wrong with their friend. She was panting heavily, furiously sweating, and her face looked like it had seen a ghost.

"Twilight, are you okay? You're sweatin' a lot," Applejack asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, and you look very... scared..." Rainbow Dash said with a worried look.

"Did something happen?" Fluttershy asked. "Tell us what's wrong."

"I-I-I..." Twilight said as she kept panting. "I... saw... something..."

"Saw something?" Pinkie Pie asked. "You mean the red—I mean crimson light?"

Twilight nodded softly.

"But didn't we all see it?" Rainbow Dash asked, raising a brow. "In fact, it's still there. Now why—"

"N-no! I... saw... something else... in the light..." Twilight interjected. "Something... weird..."

"Something weird?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Like what?"

"I-I-I... I don't remember..." Twilight stammered. "B-but I know that I saw something! Through that light! There was something else in it... I... I just don't know what it was..."

Applejack didn't know if Twilight really did see something else in the light but seeing her expression convinced her that whatever Twilight saw, it was bad.

"O-okay now... why don't we just set this whole thing aside and relax for a while," Applejack said, trying to reassure her friends. "We're all stressed out today so it's understandable that we might be feelin' a little off. We all should just loosen up a bit and maybe if we're all feelin' alright, we can talk about this matter at hoof."

"I'm okay with that," Rainbow Dash concurred.

"Me too!" Pinkie Pie followed.

Applejack helped Twilight stand up from the floor.

"Thanks, Applejack! I feel a lot better now," Twilight smiled.

"It's nothin'," Applejack responded. "But really though, did you see somethin' else in that red—Ah mean crimson light?"

"Yes, I did. I just don't remember what it was," Twilight rubbed her chin. "But you're right, maybe I was just stressed out. Maybe I was just seeing things."

"Alright then, well Am gonna go talk to Rainbow Dash," Applejack said as she patted Twilight on the back. "She told me she needed help with somethin. You sure you're gonna be alright by yourself?"

"Oh, yes I'll be alright," Twilight smiled. "I'll just take a nap or something, I do feel tired... hehe..."

"Okay then," Applejack said as she trotted towards Rainbow Dash.

Twilight went back to her seat and sat down. She rested her head on the window and looked outside. The bright light was already gone, replacing it with an even more spectacular view—a sunset.

Twilight smiled as she marveled at Celestia's sun setting on the horizon. The warmth that came from the majestic view made her sleepy. She carefully closed her eyes and succumbed to her slumber.

As she dozed off in her sleep, a vague image appeared in her mind. It was indescribable and it was mostly abstract. She didn't know if she was already dreaming or just seeing things again, but she was sure of one thing.

Whatever she was seeing gave her the same sensation she felt when she saw the crimson light.

A strange feeling.

Author's Note

A big thanks to 'Kujamih' for helping me proofread!

Chapter 1: Moving Out

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”

– Albert Schweitzer

Moving Out

"OWW... my head! Again with these stupid brain zaps!" a unicorn complained, putting his hoof on his head.

The young unicorn trotted beside a canyon. He had an indigo-colored skin. He had spiky layered dark red and goldenrod mane and tail, and his horn consisted of goldenrod stripes. He had heterochromatic eyes. His left eye was azure blue and his right eye was crimson red. He also wore a red bandana on his head.

Of all his physical attributes, the one that stood up the most was his cross-like pale red scar that ran across his right eye. His cutie mark consisted of a light blue double star-shaped sigil-like symbol within a light blue circle, surrounded by six small bright yellow stars and a red diamond on the center.

[What he looks like:]

Speaking of where he lived, he can barely call it a home. It's located in one of the most ridiculous locations in Equestria—the Badlands.

The Badlands was famous for its hostile environment and aggressive monsters that nopony dared to even roam the place.

The thought of this idea made the young unicorn confused as he had no idea why there was even a village there or why he was there in the first place.

The unicorn went by the name Cipher Emblem—the only thing he fully knew about himself. He was never sure of his condition or why he was living in a very dangerous settlement. He barely knew his parents and his memories of the past were foggy due to the recent accident he had—if he even remembered how it happened, or at least that's what he assumed anyway.

He did know that the accident did lead to an injury in his brain and that he wore a red bandana on his head to act as a bandage. To his dismay, this didn't stop the sudden brain zaps that sometimes occur. He also does not remember how he got his scar nor how he got heterochromatic eyes.

The most painful part was that he did not know how he got his cutie mark. He didn't know the reason why he got it or what he did to earn it.

Cipher took a look at his cutie mark and sighed. He did know the nature of cutie marks and how a pony earns one. He just wished he knew the story behind his like anypony did. He assumed that he must have done something related to magic, like creating a new spell since his cutie mark resembled something that could be found in arcane circles or witchcraft. But with so many possibilities, he was never sure.

For all he knew at this moment in time, he'd been living in this hell-of-a-place for as long as he can remember. He had instances where he can only recall certain events of his life, but anything that occurred way before he even remembered the first time he saw himself in the Badlands was impossible.

His thoughts were then interrupted when he felt a hard object on his leg that made him trip over.

"Ow..." Cipher gave a rather monotonous expression as he tried to pick himself up from the fall.

He looked down at the object that made him trip and pulled it off from the ground using his magic. It was a brown-colored cylindrical holder for a scroll, caps on both ends resemble the head of a dragon and ancient runic symbols were carved in the center. He was surprised to see an odd-looking scroll holder just lying buried in the ground.

He levitated the scroll holder with him in his azure-colored magic and went back to his abode.

After walking for hours, he finally reached his home. The sun had already set and the stars began to fill the night sky. The house appeared to be in very bad shape and loose cracks were surprisingly abundant both on the outside and the inside of the house. As he opened the door, the hinges that were barely holding on finally gave away, breaking the door in the process. Cipher gave a heavy sigh and thought about fixing it after dinner.

After eating what seemed to be what's left in his kitchen, he focused his attention on the scroll holder he found in the canyon. He didn't check it yet if there was a scroll inside, but judging by the audible noise it made when being held in his magic was proof enough that there was indeed something inside. He opened the cap and took out what appeared to be a worn-down scroll.

"Judging by the appearance of the scroll and the runic symbols from its holder, I assume that this scroll existed long ago," Cipher thought to himself as he tried to open the contents of the scroll.

After opening the scroll, he was marveled by its contents. The writings were written in some sort of ancient code.

For a normal pony, one would just probably go ask a professional for translation, but Cipher isn't a normal pony. He's a unicorn with a number of spells in his arsenal, and he would not pass up this opportunity of learning something new especially something ancient just because it's written in a code that existed eons ago. He always loved learning new things and studying ancient remnants of the past—basically anything that would educate him.

He concentrated his magic on his horn and a bright azure blue-colored light began to emanate. He closed his eyes and focused on deciphering the ancient writings and translated it (a very impressive feat for somepony who has amnesia). After a few minutes, his horn stopped glowing. He took a look at the scroll and to his relief, the words were translated. He started reading the translated text from the very top.

Long before Equestria was founded, tyranny ruled the lands. Every creature succumbed to the infectious force of chaos and conflict, which led to destructive wars and endless battles between different races. Each race was led by a lord, lords who happen to be megalomaniac dictators who would do everything to raise power beyond others. They didn't treat their subjects fairly. They would always lead them to wage war against other races, resulting in collateral damage and irreversible losses. They continued to reign supreme for a very long time. That is until—

Cipher's reading was cut off due to the torn section which led him to the bottom part of the parchment.

"What?! A portion of the scroll is torn off!" Cipher complained, disappointed by getting cut off by the missing torn-off piece of the paper.

His curiosity grew even more and having a cliffhanger from a fascinating read just like that would very well upset anypony. He grew impatient and thought that maybe he can find the torn-off piece of the scroll somewhere near the spot where he found the scroll holder.

He also concluded that if he did find the torn-off piece, the information from the scroll won't be enough to fully tell him of the events that took place. He put the scroll back in the holder.

"The scroll stated that there were ancient evil lords that ruled the lands even before Equestria was founded! I know that the information provided from the scroll was very vague, and there are no pieces of evidence of the so-called lords that ruled before existed. There are no verifications that what was written in the scroll was true but there are no proofs either that would go against what was stated," Cipher pondered for a moment and deeply focused his attention on the overwhelming information in his head.

Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted him in his thoughts. He came to look for the source of the noise when suddenly an odd-looking creature crashed through his house. The creature revealed to be an Ophiotaurus, a creature with the head of a bull and a body of a snake. Cipher quickly jumped out from his position when another Ophiotaurus crashed in his house.

"Oh greaattt... I have visitors again," Cipher voiced out in a dull tone as if the whole thing wasn't new to him anymore.

Cipher prepared to concentrate his magic in his horn. Just before he was able to conjure a powerful magical blast, another Ophiotaurus crashed from behind him making him tumble to the floor. He quickly got up and conjured a weak but quick blast directly on one of the monsters. The monster that was hit stumbled over a short distance. This provoked the other two and came on charging on the unicorn.

Cipher was quick to react and performed a backflip blast on one of the monsters charging at him. The recoil of the blast, however, made him vulnerable to the Ophiotaurus that was behind him and was heavily struck to the back by its horns.

"AGHH!" Cipher cried in pain. As he tried to stand up properly, the three odd-looking monsters were already charging at him.

"Heh... can't believe I have to do this again," Cipher smirked at the incoming stampede.

For Cipher it only meant one thing—he will have to perform the same spell he used to fend off the Maulwurf that recently attacked him a few days ago. He didn't want to do the spell as it completely drains him afterward.

He had the ability to convert all the damages that were inflicted upon him into a magical energy output—or at least that's what he theorized, he doesn't exactly know how he could do that but it was something he concluded logically. He can then add that magical energy into his own natural magic to strengthen the force of any kind of spell he will conjure. In this case, he will use the energy output from all the damages he received that day to strengthen a normal shock wave spell.

He performed the 'damage conversion' using his magic and transferred the energy output to the shock wave spell that was waiting to be released. His horn glowed in a crimson hue, instead of his usual azure blue magic.

He finally released a powerful bright crimson-colored shock wave, destroying everything that came in contact with it.

The amount of energy he gave away to perform that powerful spell depleted his strength completely making him collapse to the ground.

"Wha—what happened?" Cipher opened his eyes, only to see the blazing light that was shining upon him.

"Ow... my head!" Cipher exclaimed, having another one of those brain zaps. He looked to see that he was out in the open, the sun shining directly above him. He realized that he wasn't in his house and that he must've fallen asleep on the ground. He tried to remember the events that happened last night only to come to the conclusion that—

"I destroyed my house, huh..." Cipher said aloud to himself.

Indeed his house was destroyed. He noticed the remains of his house: floorboards, wooden planks, and the remains of his things were scattered around the ground.

"Oh no! The scroll!" Cipher panicked over the thought that the spell he conjured last night must have destroyed the scroll. He ran across the scattered objects to search for the scroll. After minutes of searching, he finally found the scroll holder. He opened the cap, relieved that the scroll was still there.

"Good thing I put the scroll back in here," Cipher thought to himself. "The blast destroyed my house, my things, and probably those Ophiotaurus last night. But this scroll holder looks undamaged. Seriously, what's this thing made of?"

He put that thought aside and changed his attention to where he was standing.

"Okay, now that I destroyed my house... where the heck do I go?" Cipher asked himself. "Should I ask if one of the nearby locals have a house to spare?"

Cipher directed his view to the houses that were a few miles away from where he was. The houses were far apart from each other. He carefully studied the possible consequences of this idea.

"Welp that's a no. The houses look the same as the one I destroyed and the locals here still see me as a weirdo, so they probably won't let me live in any of the spare houses. That is if there even is a spare house."

Cipher sighed. He never really did like this place. He always complained about the monsters that suddenly raid him and the locals being afraid of him (probably because of his physical appearance—the scar making a bad impression and the locals think that he had some kind of infectious disease because of the heterochromatic eyes), that's why he never received any help from them, not that he needed any.

The one thing that he liked about the place is that it's mostly quiet during the day and that his house was far away from the locals. He never really liked being around ponies that much and he certainly wasn't interested in making friends. He thinks that friends are just obstacles in life and that he always believed that he can live life just the way it is without making friends.

After thinking for a while, he finally decided that it was time for him to look for a new place to live.

"I guess it's time for me to find a new place where I can settle in. Hopefully someplace where monsters aren't the main topic of the local news and where I can study in peace." Cipher looked ahead with determination.

He quickly created a small pouch out of the torn rags that were under the remains of the things with his magic and placed the scroll holder in it. He thought to himself that he was lucky to still be able to do magic despite the sudden brain zaps that occur. Cipher started walking away from what remained of his old home.

"Now that I think about it, where the heck do I go? I don't know any places in Equestria and I doubt that the locals can help me with directions," Cipher said to himself, thinking of a solution to his predicament.

He looked to the ground and noticed a large road that ran across the hills.

"Or I could simply just follow this road," Cipher commented at the most practical solution he thought of at that point.

Being an inhabitant of the Badlands, he always doubted the place of being anywhere near helpful. He always thought that there was some kind of catch for every good thing that happened in his life. But being in his situation, what's there to lose?

"And maybe while I'm at it, I can look for the torn-off piece of the scroll," Cipher thought, hoping he can find it lying around near the canyons.

He continued to follow the road and made a little detour at the canyons that he wandered around the day before. He tried to remember where he found the scroll holder and to his luck, he found a small dug-off part of the ground—the exact spot where he took the scroll holder from. He went near it and saw something that was hidden below a pile of dirt.

He took the object out and it revealed to be a torn-off piece of paper. He connected the piece to the scroll using a simple paper-binding spell and deciphered the remaining code.

—the day when all the lords came together. A powerful magical blast suddenly took place where they were. The blast was so powerful that it destroyed the nearby towers and mountains and the shock wave that came after produced earthquakes and tsunamis. After that astonishing event, the evil lords were no more, never to be seen or heard from ever again.

Cipher couldn't believe what he just read. There were so many things going on in his mind that prevented him from processing the information on the scroll. He tried to re-read again, but he stopped when he saw a signature at the bottom.

Ink Slinger

"Ink Slinger? As in the legendary journalist? The Ink Slinger? That dude was a legend!" Cipher blinked in surprise.

Cipher took another look at the signature to make sure it wasn't fake. He used a special forgery detection spell with his magic to confirm the nature of the signature and it appeared to be real and legit, leaving Cipher surprised.

"Okay so the signature is legit and it's Ink Slinger who wrote this scroll describing something that happened years ago before the founding of Equestria. Then that confirms that the scroll is real and that these evil lords did exist long ago. This changes everythi—OW!" Cipher yelped, having another one of his signature brain zaps.

"Agh! I hate when this happens!" Cipher sighed, putting the complete parchment in its holder and placing it in the pouch. "Well, I really want to process everything I just read, but these zaps in the head are preventing me from doing so."

Cipher gave another sigh. "I need to find a place to settle in first. Then maybe I can try to find out more about these evil lords." The information from the scroll greatly piqued Cipher's curiosity.

He was now eager to know more about this historical remnant about the evil lords and he wanted to find answers. But first, he needed a place where he can live—a place outside the Badlands.

He never really left the Badlands his whole life. He knew before that there was a road stretching across the place but a stranger once told him that if he didn't know where to go, he could end up in the Forbidden Jungle—which the stranger claimed to be a place even more dangerous than the Badlands.

The stranger also claimed that the other side of the road does go to other civilizations but giant Maulwurfs are commonly found on the edge of the Badlands. Of course, he never believed the stranger completely but when he tried to go there himself, he was indeed attacked by giant Maulwurfs.

Sure he can fend off one Maulwurf, but being around a bunch is downright suicide. So after the assault from a bunch of those mole freaks, he learned his lesson to never go outside of the Badlands.

The thought of having to face a group of Maulwurfs again sent shivers down his spine. He knew that he would have to face them eventually, and having a new home at stake, he had no choice. He continued to trot down the road until he heard a familiar roar.

"And here they are, great timing too..." Cipher smirked. He knew that roar very well. As he prepared for the worst, a giant Maulwurf appeared below the ground followed by four other Maulwurfs that came with it.

"Ah, here we go again..." Cipher sighed heavily. He carefully analyzed the situation he was at. He knew to himself that fighting them off would be a terrible idea, but running towards them wouldn't be wise either. So he deduced a brilliant plan.

He closed his eyes and quickly conjured a massive flash of light with his magic, blinding everyone whose eyes were open. He then opened his eyes and quickly ran through the stunned Maulwurfs.

However, as he was about to pass through the edge of the Badlands, the Maulwurf that was near the edge got out of its trance from the flash and tried to smash the incoming unicorn with its arms.

Cipher was very quick to react and was able to dodge the raging mole's arms. He blasted the Maulwurf with his magic and jumped over its head, doing a series of hardcore parkour over the stones that were reachable above the mole's head. He then finally jumped over the steep rock that marked the edge of the Badlands. The Maulwurfs, however, were out of their trance and started climbing the steep rock where Cipher was.

"Dang, these freaks are persistent!" Cipher growled, starting to get annoyed by the monsters. He then saw a conveniently-placed boulder that was just beside him.

"Well, I ain't complaining about this." Cipher said as he trotted behind the boulder.

He used his magic to create a pushing force at the boulder, slowly moving it to the edge. Just as one of the Maulwurfs was about to reach the top, the boulder was already on the tip of the edge of the rock causing it to fall. The boulder dropped from the steep rock and pushed all the Maulwurfs down with it.

"Take that you nasty little—AGH!" Cipher's words were interrupted by a shocking pain in his head. "I'm gonna need to remind myself to visit a doctor after settling in."

Author's Note

Where does Cipher Emblem get food you might ask? Well, there is a local market in the remote village selling all kinds of goods. The problem was there was no variety. Since the Badlands don't have fertile soil, the locals have a hard time growing different crops so the only plants that they could sustain are cacti, blackberries, and figs (I researched for some edible fruits that can grow in the desert). And the monsters mostly destroy the crops. Water is also scarce since the only sources of water are from rain showers or cacti (the juice inside at least). There are good kinds of stuff that are being sold in the marketplace such as metal, old books, weapons, tools, and other kinds of stuff. But summarizing all the bad stuff that happens in the Badlands, you might question yourself: "How if life even possible there?" or "How are there ponies living in this hostile environment?"

Well, I don't know the answers to the questions. Let's just say that the land of Equestria is so magical that living in another planet could be possible there without the need for oxygen, unlike in ours. Yeah, let's go with that.

Other questions about how Cipher Emblem ended up living on the Badlands or why he was there in the first place will be answered on the later chapters (or possibly in the sequel that I prepared for this story). Just keep reading.

This is my first fanfic so if it's terrible then I apologize xD. Also if you notice some errors then do comment below. I would appreciate it and I will correct that error as quickly as I can.

EDIT1: The art was made by a friend of mine (Hope you liked his work! He was also the one who made my profile pic in this site!)

EDIT2: A big thanks to 'Kujamih' for helping me proofread!