I woke up feeling rejuvenated and looked at my sleeping partner. I hadn't even noticed the blood around his mouth when I went to sleep. I wonder what he was doing while I was gone, but that doesn't matter now anyway. Wolves can just be wolves. I got out of bed and went outside to practice my bare-handed fighting skills. A few days after I created my house, I turned my backyard into a training arena. When I activate a button in the middle of the arena, dummies come to life and try to fight me. I haven't lost once even on the new special nightmare difficulty I implemented. It honestly felt good to just let out my eagerness to fight and get stronger on imaginary wooden humans. Last night after making it back towards the castle, we reported to Celestia that the dragon was gone. What also happened, and to my surprise, as Twilight gave me a stink eye and was about to tell her about my battle, Fluttershy was quick to stop her. To be honest, even if Twilight did get the word out to Celestia, I don't think it would matter much. The princess would probably be 'disappointed' and move on or actually try to punish me for what I did. I may be a human who doesn't really give two shits about much, but I do repay favors. To repay said favor, I gave Fluttershy something I like to call the Medic Charm. It was a pony-sized ring made out of crystal that prevented any animal's situation from getting any worse. It stopped bleeding and also stopped infections, even going as far as to stop broken bones from being broken further by outside intervention. Perfect charm for a veterinarian don't you think? She was actually so happy to obtain such an item that she started gawking over it. It was actually one of the cutest things I've ever seen in my life. My thoughts were interrupted when the Canterlot sword alarm went off, meaning I was summoned to Canterlot. Didn't we just get done with a mission yesterday? What could possibly be the matter now? Fuck it, I have to go anyway if I want a steady income or training against creatures in this world.

It felt like my entire body was asleep when I activated the teleportation sequence. Not a good feeling in the slightest, and I had to stop my self from blacking out. It is my first time using teleportation to travel a long distance, so I guess I shouldn't really expect a smooth transition. A guard who was now guarding the pad looked to me.

"I have orders to escort you to the princess." He stated.

"Alright. By the way, did you notice that Canterlot is kind of fighting with each other?" He looked confused by the sudden subject change.

"What do you mean?" He asked. I told him to follow me. When we got to the gate, I pointed at the black line and flags. "I didn't even notice this. I usually work inside the palace."

"Well now you know. Don't worry about telling the princess, because I'm going to tell her when I meet her." I looked over the city and saw that there was now some damage on both sides. There must have been a fight last night. I really want to watch how it plays out in the future, but now isn't the time. I motioned to the guard to escort me and he nodded.

Opening the throne room doors, I made a comment.

"Can we not make you calling me on the daily a habit? I kind of got to train magically and physically sometimes." Despite the comment, Celestia smiled to me.

"I'm glad that you could make it." She definitely heard what I said earlier and fucking ignored it. I looked around and the same 6 fucking ponies were here.

"I assume that the Elements of Harmony protect this land more than the princesses?" That caught everyone in the room off-guard.

"That's not true!" Twilight was quick to say, completely offended by the comment.

"Yeah, the princesses do their best to protect this country too!" Applejack said. I guess insulting royalty would burst a bubble, now wouldn't it?

"Anyways, what is the situation this time?" I stretched my arms above my head. Celestia paused for dramatic effect, which I found adorable.

"King Sombra has returned for the third time." This would be one of the first times I've seen Celestia ever frown so deeply. Everyone gasped, but I was confused.

"Who the hell is that?" I asked. Twilight turned to me.

"He is a pony who used to rule the Crystal Empire with an iron hoof. That was until he was defeated and taken out of rule. He was defeated twice, the first being the princesses, the second being us." You're telling me that he managed to tank death twice? Hard to believe.

"I'm not going to question it anymore." I crossed my arms.

"What's wrong?" Celestia asked.

"You are telling me that someone escaped death twice. I think the fuck not. You just didn't kill him." I explained.

"That doesn't matter now. What matters is that you go to the Crystal Empire and stop him before it's too late."

"Yes princess." The other 6 ponies said at the same time, all in different ways.

"And Axel?" Celestia called on me and I turned to her. "If you can end this quickly, please do so."

"You shouldn't have to remind me." I said. We both smiled to each other and I walked off to catch up with the group.

Hell yeah, no more cold trips to places! My coat works like a fucking charm. I didn't even feel the outside weather, and that made me so fucking happy! I jumped for joy and that got a chuckle out of the group, except for Twilight who was more focused on hiding the cold weather from her face. Half way to our destination, a white pony with a mane that had different shades of blue met up with us.

"I have orders to escort you to the castle, and we need to get moving now. The empire isn't the only thing to return." I haven't used [Search] in a long time, but now it feels like a good time to use it, so I did. I chuckled when I saw that his name was Shining Armor. I don't want to know how it feels to have an adjective as a first name, but I know it can't feel good. We walked for a short while before we all stopped after hearing a low growl.

"What was that?" I asked. This would be the third creature aside ponies I've heard or seen. Shining looked behind us and went wide-eyed.

"Run!" He yelled, and immediately everyone looked behind us to see black smoke with green eyes. How the hell is that even a thing? I summoned a red tab and threw it at the monster. It went through him with ease, but not doing any damage. I guess I have to resort to magical-type attacks then. I turned around and followed the other ponies who were now running. At the rate we were going, we weren't going to make it in time. I stopped and turned back to the monster. He stopped and looked at me, confused at what I was. Before he could act, I trapped him within a barrier. The barrier wasn't strong, because I don't think it needs to be. That should hold him until we can kill him. I looked behind me and saw that everyone was panting, watching me subdue the creature. I turned around and ran for the castle, not wanting to be in the cold anymore than I have to.

Passing through the already-made barrier, I panted.

"Who are you?" Shining asked.

"My name is Axel." I responded, still catching my breath.

"Well, Axel, how long will that barrier stand?" When he asked that, the entire group looked back to see cracks on the barrier.

"That was supposed to last a good while. How strong is he?" In one fell swoop, the barrier I had around him shattered into pieces. Everyone else watched in awe, aside me who was on the ground with a bleeding head, on the verge of blacking out. The last things I heard were muffled panics and cries before going completely unconscious.

So that is one thing to note. Barriers are linked to my mind and body. That explains why my barriers can stop almost anything now. I keep my mind and body the sharpest they can be because of habits back on earth. It really boiled down to fuck being fat. I opened my eyes to see that I was in a bedroom. Due to the amount of crystal-based objects, it is safe to say that we are still at the crystal palace. After a minute of getting my surroundings, the door to the hallway opened to reveal the butter-yellow pegasus.

"What happe-" I didn't get a sentence out before she ran over and hugged me. I'm not going to lie, her fur was very fucking soft.

"We were so worried about you." She said in her same quiet manner. Someone? Worrying about me? This would be a first and I don't know how to feel about it.

"What happened?" I repeated again. Fluttershy looked up at me.

"From what Twilight says, when the shield you made was shattered, your mind was instantly strained, and your body couldn't take the sudden effect." All of my training of the mind and body and I still can't take it? Damn, I've got to work harder. I sat up only for Fluttershy to push me back down.

"Don't we have a mission to fulfill?" I asked, confused at the sudden action.

"Yes, but you need to rest. Your head still hasn't healed completely." I touched the side of my head to find a bandage. I used the crystal wall behind me as a mirror. No bleeding, must mean the charm is working.

"Nonsense. Give me about 20 seconds and I'll be perfectly fine." The yellow pony tilted her head to the side. I summoned a tab and it flashed green. Turning it towards myself, I stabbed my gut. Fluttershy watched the entire time and went wide eyed, trying her best to take the sword out. After the specified time, I made the tab disappear and took off the bandage. To her surprise, the wound was gone like it wasn't there in the first place. I got out of the bed and towards the door, stopping and turning back to Fluttershy. "We should be on our way, shall we?" I exited the door. Fluttershy, coming back to her senses, followed me out.

On the way to the throne, I talked to her about the spell I had used and also asked what events transpired while I was taking a quick nap. I learned that Cadence's magic was being strained by the barrier we went through to enter the palace, and that she hadn't slept much lately. Another detail was that this artifact that was named the 'crystal heart' was missing, and it was needed to keep the barrier in place. Our time is very limited because Cadence's magical barrier won't last forever. Nothing better than a one-sided game of Capture the Flag. As we walked into the crystalline doors, Twilight rushed up to me.

"Are you okay?" She said in a concerned voice. I waved her off.

"I'm fine, Twilight. I just underestimated his power, that's all." I said nonchalantly.

"That sudden strain could've put you in a coma you know." Twilight pointed out.

"I'll need to strengthen my mental fortitude." I walked past her, "I guess I'll do that when I have the time." I looked around to see everypony looking at me, but my mind was more focused on Cadence.

"What?" She said in a tired voice. Oops, forgot I was staring.

"I can help you with your problem if you want." Shining looked towards me.

"You can?" He asked. I nodded. "What are you going to do?" I walked over to Cadence.

"First, I need to assess something. If you could stand still for a second?" She obliged, but gasped when I grabbed the base of her wing. In an instant, Shining bucked me in the hip, causing me to shift in place by about an inch. When I tell you that pony wings are very sensitive, that is an understatement. As I shifted, Cadence screamed, the sudden jolt shifting through her body. That only made Mr. Dumbass look even angrier at me.

"Get your hands off my wife!" He yelled.

"You do know that buck would've seriously done damage if I moved any further right?" Now he looked confused. Aren't you a guard? I thought you would know about pressure points of certain creatures for advantage in combat.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Pegasi and alicorns have sensitive spots at the base of their wings. They are literally so sensitive that you could massage them in placement of sexual activity, so imagine how much Cadence felt when you bucked me while I was holding the entire base of her wing. I predict about an inch more and she would be out for the count." If you are wondering how I know this information, [Search] also tells me details about their body type as well. Shining looked to his wife with concern plain put on his face. I looked back to see what the other six ponies were doing. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were blushing, clearly knowing what I meant. Rarity was looking at the window curtains in amazement, too distracted by it to pay us any mind. Twilight and Applejack seemed way less friendly than usual, giving me a glare. They already didn't like me, so I guess I added to the pot. The last one of the bunch confused me a bit. Pinkie Pie was playing tic-tac-toe with herself. I don't mean it in the creepy way, I mean that she was literally, as in two places at once, playing against herself. The fuck? I thought earth ponies didn't have magic. This pony already makes me question reality, and this only adds to it.

"I'm so sorry." I turned back to see Shining looking at Cadence with a frown.

"Don't worry, Shining. It was only an accident." This was getting sentimental real quick and I didn't like it.

"If you two are done making up, I should do my job before our only barrier collapses." I said. They both blinked at me before nodding. I went back to grabbing the base of her wing, causing her to let out a light moan. Fucking hell did I feel dirty right now. I used [Life Link], a spell that seemed pretty useful for what was going on right now. I let go and looked to her. Everypony looked to me, expecting me to do something else.

"That's it?" Twilight asked. I nodded.

"I just used a spell that I call [Life Link]." I answered. Twilight must have never heard of that spell before, because she tilted her head to the side. Well I made it, so I guess I didn't expect much.

"What's that?" She finally asked.

"[Life Link] is basically a double-edged sword. Whatever happens to one person will happen to the other and vice versa. We can also transfer magic and thoughts at will, but don't worry if you think I'm trying to get into her head. She can block me out of doing such things." I'm not going to tell them that I could override it.

"Why would you use a spell like that?" Rainbow Dash said. I looked to her before walking to the throne room doors.

"Good night." I said, making my way out through the throne doors. As the door was closing, I looked back at them. Rainbow Dash and Rarity looked at me as if I called them bitches. Applejack and Pinkie Pie only glared at me. Fluttershy and Twilight, however, realized what I was doing as soon as I said good night. At least some of the ponies there are smart enough to get it. I'm not the type to say such a thing in the afternoon.

So, inside the room I woke up in, I activated the link and searched through Cadence's thoughts, making sure to conceal myself within her mind. It looks like she didn't notice me because there was no panic as I was reading memories. I guess it's time to get searching.

About an hour later, my task was done and I found out a lot of information. Some of the most important pieces however were how to fight Sombra. Apparently in his shadow form, he is immune to all physical attacks, but when it comes to magical attacks, his defense is the equivalent to a piece of paper fighting scissors. Although it's still scary to fight him due to sheer speed increase. Another point, that I don't really care about, is that looking at his eyes is a terrible idea. He has the ability to make anyone who stares at them look at their greatest fear and uses that power to strengthen himself. The reason I don't care about it much is because I have faced so much trauma in the past that my greatest fears don't really worry me. Since I'm no longer in the other world and I haven't been here long enough to develop a fear, I think his use of the ability is useless towards me. It's nice to know nonetheless though. In his actual pony form, his speed decreases, but not much to actually matter. Also in this form, his attacks are very good, but his defense is incredible. Slicing through his armor was one of the bigger problems that Celestia had the first time they fought him. The final point is that he owns a physical weapon and has a horn for magical attacks. The name of his physical weapon was 'The Scythe of Despair'. It was such a deadly weapon that if anyone fought with a sword that used standard-grade metal, the sword and the user would get sliced in half. Since my tabs are made out of mana-induced magma, I should be fine. I was about to read more into it before I was suddenly kicked out of her mind and the door slammed open. I looked to see who it was and saw Twilight panting at the door whilst glaring at me.

"Do you need something?" I said, pretending nothing happened.

"What were you doing in Cadence's mind?" That tone was too lethal.

"Just searching for Sombra tips. And Why does she know all of these things? The way she words things in her mind sound very ancient." I asked. Twilight blinked at me.

"It could be the fact that Celestia told her the story instead of her actually being there." She put on her best 'thinking' face, "Stay out of her mind!" Without being able to get another word in, she shut the door. Well, that happened. I guess I should get some sleep before our only shield collapses.

I woke up feeling the same before I slept, which isn't odd. I looked towards the wall to my left and saw that my hair was messed up. Due to my lack of hair-care products, I couldn't fix it anytime soon, so I decided to just brush it with my hand. After messing with it for a solid 20 minutes, I went back into the main throne room. As I got there, I only saw Shining and Cadence, both looking up to me.

"Hey Axel." Cadence said in a slightly cheery tone. I waved to her.

"Sup, how is the spell doing?" I asked, noticing that the results must be positive as she seemed a lot livelier than when we first got here.

"I'm going to need you to teach me that spell. You don't know how useful that can be at the best of times." She seemed a lot less groggy than last time as well.

"I'm glad to hear that the results are working just fine for you both." I said. If it weren't for the fact that my magic can aid in my energy, I would probably look like I went days without sleep. I'm glad it didn't backfire there. Shining looked at me as if I poisoned his wife. "You okay there Shining?" I tried to get his attention, but he kept on staring.

"Shining?" Cadence asked. No answer. We both looked on with confusion until he actually spoke.

"Why?" I was confused by the question.

"Why what?" I replied.

"Twilight and Cadence both tell me that you are very powerful, almost as much as Celestia. We know you have all of this power, so much in fact that even Applejack could feel your magic, and Earthponies cannot feel magical presence even from Discord, who is known to be the most powerful entity in the world. You have all of this power, yet you sit idly by as Sombra tries to enter the city. Why won't you stop him?" I see what this is about now. He is wondering why I'm not fighting Sombra at the moment. To be fair, he is more than correct. I could wipe out Sombra pretty easily, and probably in one 'light' blow. However....

"If it gains me no benefits, then I don't see a reason to do it." Cadence and Shining looked to me as if I've gone crazy. I was more focused on the presence this room had, like someone had understood what I said. I sighed and looked up. "Discord, can you make yourself known for once instead of hiding wherever you go?" I must have startled him, but he got the memo. I watched as chocolate milk fell into a Discord-shaped cookie cutter and was put in an oven. The result was Discord himself, giving me a surprised look.

"How did you know I was even there?" He asked.

"I felt you." That answer seemed to have disturb him deeply. He thought about it for a second before laughing.

"No way you are stronger than me. That body of yours doesn't look strong in the slightest."

"Call me a glass cannon." Everyone held confused expressions. Oh, forgot that this wasn't my world. "A glass cannon is someone with little to no defensive capability but an intense and overwhelming offense." Shining wasn't buying it.

"Then how did you manage to beat Twilight if all she has to do is hit you once?" He asked.

"She can't hit me if there is a barrier."

"Then how are you a 'glass cannon' if you have defensive capability?"

"One shot, I'm out. I bet if I hit Twilight with the same blast she used, she would probably live it." The topic ended there.

"Okay, back on track, why does it have to benefit you? Can't you do it out of the kindness of your heart?" I looked to Shining like he was stupid.

"Oh yeah, let me go and defeat King Sombra and save about,"

"15,000."

"15,000 lives. Lets also see if he has anything up his sleeves he can use to kill me and lets not forget about his unique ability to use his shadow form at will. All of that time, effort, and sweat for a medal and a thank you." I said sarcastically. He looked at me angrily.

"What do you want?" Shining looked to his wife, and I did the same. "What do you think is fair enough for you to go and kill him?" I put a hand to my chin as Shining was arguing against this proposal. To be honest, I did that for dramatic effect. I only have one goal and that is to never lose a battle by getting as strong as possible.

"I'll tell you what." I starting, grabbing the entire room's attention. I pointed towards Discord. "I can spar with him." The entire room went wide-eyed.

"I don't think you are that powerful." Shining, I'm going to change it a little.

"Then I spar you first."

"Alright then. If I win then you get to show me spells and I choose from the assortment." I nodded. "What do you want if you win?" He asked.

"I get to borrow Cadence and Twilight." I said. Shining must have misunderstood that for something else, but I'm just going to play along. He looked to his wife and back to me.

"You can't have them." He said angrily.

"That's just one more reason not to lose then, right?" I said. He went silent after that. Discord chuckled.

"Your arrogance holds no bounds, now does it? You do know who I am right?" He asked.

"The only power you have is bending reality. It can't be that hard." He continued chuckling before magically disappearing.

"I'll look forward to our match." A voice above said before I felt his presence go away. I looked back to the married couple.

"I'll make my way towards him, goodbye!" I waved before vanishing out of the room, using [Teleport] to send me outside of the barrier.

I looked at the emo-colored pony and he looked back to me. I pulled out my tabs and got ready to fight. He looked at me, chuckling at my stance.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you."

Author's Note

I came back from the dead. No, I'm not one of those content-creating fuckers who go on hiatus forever. This story will have its finishes. If you are wondering why I haven't been around, well its a long story.

To keep it short, however, I was writing more plot and abilities. This story still flows in its own direction, but I just thought of some things that could prove useful to the story. Anyways, I'm going to announce that school has started for me, so chapters may release a lot slower than I want them to be. This story will still go on anyway. I think that's everything. See you in the next chapter!

Have a nice day!