Chapter 1: Meet the brothers
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 1: Meet the brothers

You know, many people complain about how hard their lives are and how they wish it could be easier. I’ll admit, I used to be one of them. That is, until a certain brother of mine ended up sending us to a completely different world full of magic and dragons and all sorts of crazy stuff that would make your head spin!

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll start from the beginning. I had just arrived home to my apartment from working at McDonalds. Yes, I know McDonalds isn’t exactly a dream job or anything, but it payed the bills. Walking up to my apartment door, I unlocked it and stepped inside. Just to be greeted by a hug from my brother Nicholas.

“Heya Raiden” Nicholas said while looking up at me “how was work today?”

I smiled and ruffled his curly hair. “It was alright, little man.” I stepped back and got a good look at what he was wearing. He had on a blue T-shirt with a skeleton head print on it. With blue jean shorts and sandels to match, I only had one question.

“Did you skip school today?” I asked with a tone of authority all the while kneeling to get on eye level with. Even though he is 12 years old to my 19, he is only a foot or two shorter than me.

“Ronin said I could.” He replied with an innocent grin on his face as he turned and pointed forwards the back room of the apartment. “He’s back there shining that sword of his.” He said with a bored expression on his face. He turned back to me and walked by me to sit down on the couch and watch the television.

“Of course he did.” I muttered as I walked towards Ronins bedroom, already thinking of a way to chew out my twin brother.

I knocked on the door. “Come in!” I heard a voice call from inside the room. I stepped in and got a good look of the room. It had weight lifting gear in its left corner, a bed in its right, and a sheath and a rack in the middle.

Ronin looked up at me. He was wearing a white tank top with blue jeans on. Both barely fit him, so it hugged his muscular frame. " Hello Raiden.” He said while placing his sword in the sheath. “Need something?”

I let out a sigh. “Yes, why did you let Nicholas stay home from school today? You know how his teachers are with kids who are absent all the time.”

He gave me a slightly shocked look. “You already know why I let him stay home” he stated.

“For the last time, Ronin, St. Patrick’s day is NOT a stay at home holiday!” I groaned as I face palmed. He simply shrugged and went back to polishing his sword. “Whatever, I going to go cook dinner, so be ready to eat in a hour or two.” I turned and walked out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ronin Perspective~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watched silently as Raiden walk out the door.He’s extra stressed today, must’ve been a rough day at work. I thought to myself. To be honest, I couldn’t remember the last time me or Raiden had had any time to relax. Providing for little Nicholas was a full time endeavor. And man, was it tiring!

It hadn’t always been this way, though. There had been a time when both of us were able to breathe easy and the welfare of Nicholas was safe in Mom and Dad’s hands. That was a year ago, before the drinking and fighting. You see, shortly after Raiden and I had moved out of the house, Dad had lost his job as a fireman. This stopped the flow of money from coming through. This angered our Mom who, in turn, resulted to drinking to hide the sorrows away. This went on for a couple of months until one day, Dad found a whole slew of empty bottles under the bed. This lead to a shouting match that people a block or two days over claimed to be able to hear. It got so bad that they actually went to blows about it, with Mom throwing a bottle at Dad. It missed him and ended up hitting Nicholas instead.

I think you can see what happened next from there. Raiden and I found out and took them to court. We were able to scratch by with a 7-5 ruling in our favor, and got custody of Nicholas. Mom and Dad ended up with jail time for child endangerment and disturbing the peace. Raiden and I pooled our reserve cash together to find a good place to live and a way to fund Nicholas’s education. And Voilà! Here we are back in the present.

Poor Nicholas, though. He was one of the most innocent kids I have ever seen. Not naive to how the world works or anything like that. Just always willing to go the extra mile for complete strangers. He had been hit the hardest by the whole situation. After getting custody of him, he was so traumatized by what happened, he didn’t speak for a month. After that, It took an extra two months to get him to go to school again.

I sighed and put my sword back in its sheath. Oh well, everything happens for a reason.I thought to myself once more as I walked towards the kitchen table

~~~~~~~~~~Nicholas’s perspective ~~~~~~~~~

An hour later

“Dinner’s ready!” I heard Raiden call out. I jumped up and hurried for the table, just to be stopped by said chef with an outstretched arm.

“Now hold on a second” He said. “Did you clean yourself up before coming to sit at my table?” Knowing full well what would happen if I tried to lie, I turned around and slowly (and slightly Grumpily) walked towards the bathroom to wash my hands. As I finished, I ended up running into Ronin at the door.

“Let me guess, he told you to wash up too?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

He groaned loudly. “Tell me about it! Man is acting like Howie mandell over a couple of bowls of chili.” Snickering at that, I walked past him towards the dinner table and sat down.

Raiden brought a decently sized bowl of chili over. “Hope ya brought your appetite, because I cooked a bunch of that stuff today.” He said with the silliest grin on his face. For some reason, cooking always seemed to make my brother happy. Even if he had a rough day, making a pot of chili or grilling hamburgers was a surefire way to set his mood straight.

I dug in quickly. It also helped he was really good at cooking too. He never used too much or too little seasoning. And he always seemed to know exactly how much of an ingredient to put into a dish. Weirdly enough, he sucks at math though, so I have no idea how he pulls it off.

Ronin finally came to the table and dug into his bowl too. " Cookings-Mmmph-great as always, bro” he said in between bites. He then looked over to me. " Keep your chin up, bud. Your dipping granddad’s necklace into the bowl.”

I gasped and quickly pulled it out. Ya see, that necklace was all I had of our granddad after he passed on. I could still remember what he had told me a couple of years ago when he gave it to me.

”That necklace is a very rare thing, Laddie. Don’t ever lose it, or else the luck it brings cannae help ya when ya need it.” Grandpa Brim said with a smile, even though he was on his deathbed. He held out a necklace, a oddly shaped crystal attached to what looked like gold.

“What do you mean luck?” I asked while holding the necklace out.

He laughed softly, then hacked a bit. “I ain’t allowed to say. All I can tell ya is that it will help ya when you a need it most.”

I smiled at the memory, and continued to eat while my brothers argued again over whether or not St. Patrick’s day was a holiday.

" Im telling ya, its a holiday worth celebrating!” Ronin said strongly, all the while slamming his fist on the table in frustration.

“And I’m telling you, its nothing more than a recognition day, like Halloween and valentines day. You don’t see people getting breaks from school for those days, do ya?”

“Pffft, they totally should.” Ronin said while crossing his arms. He then nodded towards me. “Its not like he likes school anyway. Tell Raiden what ya told me today.”

Crap. I definitely did NOT want this to come to light at the dinner table of all places. Dang it, Ronin. Why’d you have to bring this up now? I thought, quite nervous about how this was about to turn out.

“What was said today, Nick?” Raiden said questioningly, Although I could feel the lecture coming on.

“Well.....” I started. " You see, the kids and teachers there don’t understand me at all. Every time I try to play or even talk to the kids, I get isolated for being different and not having quote on quote real parents.” I did a finger quote sign at this. " And the teachers aren’t much help either. They just let it slide! Its so not fair!!” I said the last part a bit loudly, starting to get emotional quick and finding my left hand tightly clenched around the necklace that, oddly, felt warm for some reason.

“Now now.” Raiden said softly. " I know your upset, but that isn’t a reason to raise your-” I never let him finish.

“NOOO!” I yelled. " You don’t know! Neither of you know what its like to go to school and be made fun off for both of your parents being in jail. At least when it happened, both of y’all were grown up. But I was stuck with the mean kids and condescending teachers! Its not fair at all, why doesn’t anyone like me?” I couldn’t hold the smiling charade anymore, and I started to sob.

“Whoa, kiddo.” Ronin said as he pulled me into a hug. " Its alright, kid. No matter what those naysayers say or do, we WILL be here for ya.” He said with a smile. Raiden walked over and joined in

“Yeah, Ronin is right, Nikky.” Raiden said, using my kid nickname he always calls me when something’s wrong. " We aren’t going anywhere. And besides, your one of the greatest kids I’ve ever met.”

“I know-*Sniffle* I know.” I get out between sobs. “I just wish there was a place we could go where we could belong and be happy.” I half-said half-cried.

Just as I said that, My left hand started burning. “OWWW!!” I yelped as I pulled off the necklace and threw it to the ground. " It burned me!”

“What do ya mean it burned-” but again, Raiden would be interrupted by a soft hum coming from the necklace as it rose up and flashed a white light that consumed everything in sight.

-------Canterlot Castle-------

It was night in equestria, princess Luna had just finished raising the moon and princess Celestia was currently retiring to her bedchambers. It had been an extra long day, with the noble ponies wanting answers to the rumors of changeling sightings happening across the country. They had been, for most of the meeting, hotheaded and extraordinarily pushy that the princess should put this issue first before others. However, cooler minds prevailed, and the noble ponies bloodlust was temporarily sated. It would not belong until they tried again to push this issue though.

The princess walked into her bedchamber, sighing at the though. Why they seemed so fixated on these rumors is beyond me. She sighed as she took off her regalia and walked out onto her balcony, the view of her wondrous kingdom doing little to call her nerves.

She turned around to retire for the night when she suddenly was hit with a massive aura surge of magic. She had always been able to sense powerful magic being used, but this was a new kind of magic altogether, and that thought alone scared her a bit.

Last time she had felt a surge that strong, it had been with nightmare moon. But Luna was safe and had recovered a while back with the help of the elements of harmony. If not her, though. Then who? She though as she looked on a crystal clear night sky.

Author's Note

Well, that was an interesting turn of events at the dinner table. Can't wait to get to writing out the next parts of this! This was not how I had originally planned it ending, but decided this was better. Hopefully this was a good start for a fan fiction first. Please comment on thoughts, bets on who's gonna get with who, and constructive criticism below and I will definitely try my hardest to answer and reply to each one that I can.

For now though: love and tolerate, my fic-crazy ponies.

Chapter 2: A shy welcome for Nicholas
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 2: A shy welcome for Nicholas

*******
Nicholas POV
*******

"Raiden!" I yelled as the light died down around me, only to find myself on a platform surrounded by...space?

What is this place? I thought to myself. getting a better look around, I saw stairs descending into a small temple. As I walked down them, I started getting my bearings. Although it was dark in most of the area, there was torches following the platform and the staircase.

I looked around the empty space I was in just in case I could make out something in the distance, but there was nothing but pitch black and the occasional star.

I stopped in front of the doors to the temple. They were those odd doors with the fancy symbols carved into them you only see in movies and stuff. On these, however, there was what looked like some cloaked man holding the moon in one hand and the sun in another with some kind of purple star on his chest. I reached for the door and pushed it open.

Inside was just as full as the outside, nothing except the same man with his backed turned and looking in a little pool of water.

wait.... what?

"Umm, excuse me Sir." I asked while taking a step towards him."Have you seen my brothers around here? one will look like an irish version of the Rock with hair, and the other will look like Gordon Ramsey on steroids."

The figure turned towards me and I gasped when I saw his hands. Unlike in the door picture, he had rotting skin and bone could be seen poking out of the wrists.

His lower face, the only part I could see due to the cloak, turned up into a sick grin.

A bender of magic returns to this forsaken place. He said. Only it sounded like it was coming from inside my head. Let us see if his light shines bright! With that, he outstreched his arm towards me. A warbly sound was made as a dark blob shot out of his hand at me.

"Noo!" I yelled as I raised my hand and closed my eyes, bracing for the inevitable pain.

It never hit me. I opened my eyes and saw that a red barrier surrounded me and had absorbed the blob. A bead of sweat poured down my face as I dropped my hand. The barrier disappeared and I collapsed, worn out all of a sudden.

The figure only smiled and put his hands togethor. You have much potential, spellweaver. He turned around and looked back at the pool of water.Regretfully, it is not my job to teach you. For now, you must wake up.

Wake up? I thought as I started to get drowsy. the last thing I saw before I fell asleep was that odd man point towards the star on his chest.

Seek the weilder of magic, and she will guide you.

********

"GAH!" I awoke with a start, only to hear a loud crash from somewhere to my left. I looked over to see a blanket trembling on the floor.

"S-Sorry if I scared you" I said to the pile. I only got a soft squeak in return. I looked around and noticed where i was.

It was what looked like a cottage of sorts, with all sorts of little tables and what looked like a... cage in the corner?

I looked in front of me and saw cookies and water on a mini table. Whoever this person is must've made these for me. I thought as I took a cookie and ate it. Man, those are good!

I turned back towards the shaking blanket pile."Uh, who are you?" I asked. The blanket slowly came off and when it did, my jaw hit the floor.

Of all things I was expecting to see, a little yellow horse was standing in front of me. Or would it be a pony, considering it was smaller than a horse. I then noticed it had wings. WINGS!!! ponies dont have wings!

I pulled up my own blanket in fright. This was NOT normal, and I'm not afraid to admit I was seconds off from passing out in fright.

The winged horse/pony thing must've seen I was scared or something, because she suddenly got way less timid and walked straight up to me.

"Oh you poor thing." She said. "You must be so scared."

Not trusting myself to speak, I simply nodded. Although I was still terrified, her motherly tone was helping my nerves calm down a bit.

"Your not from around here, are you?" she continued as she gave me the water. I took it quickly and drank it dry. Sitting the cup to the side, I answered her.

"I dont know..." I whispered. And I truly didn't have a clue about where I was. "Is this Destin?"

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at that. Oh no. She doesn't know what Destin is? I thought. that means this can't be the U.S

"I don't know if I have ever heard of a place called.... Destin." She said the last part slowly, almost as if it was a word she had never heard before. "Right now, your in ponyville."

It was my turn to be confused. What the heck is ponyville? "Where on Earth is that?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

She raised an eyebrow, but spoke even quieter. "Earth?... Umm...I've never heard of Earth before."

My hands were starting to shake. "W-whats the name of the planet we are on?" I asked, now super close to having a panic attack.

She noticed this and draped a wing around me. "The planet? I think its name is Equiis."

That's when i broke. I'm on a completely different planet than my home. I thought as i started to sob. What if I never see my brothers again?

Next thing I knew, I had both of the horse things wings draped around me in a close hug. It felt suprisingly nice and we just sat there like that while she slowly rocked me back and forth.

After a little while, she pulled her wings back and looked at me. She had this calming smile on her face. She then realized what she had just done, and jumped backwards quickly and hid from me in her mane.

"Umm...do you have a name?" I asked carefully, as to not scare the person....pony thing that had obviously been taking care of me while I was asleep.

"Its fluttershy." I barely heard her whisper. Thank goodness its so quiet in this cottage or else I would've completely missed it.

I gave her a half-smile. "Well, Im Nicholas. But you can call me Nick." With that, she finally looked at me again. I was never a big animal person at home, but man, she was adorable!

She flew over and sat next to me. I turned to face her. "Where did you find me?" I asked.

Suprisingly, she giggled at that. "Well, I didn't find you, three little adventurers did." This only confused me further.

"Adventurers?" I repeated and she nodded.

"Oh yes, three fillies that live here in ponyville. They are very... creative when it comes to their little crusades. They were on one when they found you passed out under a tree near my cottage. They came running to me claiming to have found a scaleless dragon and asked me to make sure you were ok." I laughed at that. Me! a dragon! wait till Ronin hears that one. Now that's a guy that needs to become a dragon.

"So you have been looking out for me for how long then?" I asked her. She looked up on thought for a second and then refaced me.

"For about 7 hours now." She said and I sighed in relief. 7 hours isn't so bad of a K.O time. Still, for her to drop everything she had been doing just to look after something she had never seen before touched me greatly.

I turned and pulled her into a big hug. She let out a big squeak at first but didn't pull away. After I finished hugging her I looked her in the eyes.

"Thank you, fluttershy." I told her. "That means a lot to hear that from someone."

She simply hid in her mane a bit and blushed slightly, clearly not used to getting compliments.

It was at that moment the door burst open and three more ponies ran into the cottage. However, these three were different from fluttershy. The three of them were half of her size. One had wings like hers, another had a horn. and the the last one didn't have either. Instead she had a little bow in her reddish hair.

As soon as they saw me, they all took a collective deep breath. I cringed up quickly. Being a kid myself, I figured out what was going to happen next.

2 ways to describe the question onslaught that occured: Loud and relentless.

"OMIGOSH YOUR AWAKE?"

"WHAT ARE YOU?"

"HOW'D YA GET HERE?"

"ARE YOU A FILLY OR A COLT?"

they kept it coming without giving me a chance to answer any of them until Fluttershy finally butted in and stopped them.

"Now girls, lets not crowd him. he woke up not too long ago and he's still recovering." The trio immediately stopped and hung their heads a bit.

Oddly enough, I laughed at this. "Hey, no hard feelings. I get it, I'm the newcomer to this place, and I'm geussing your the girls that found me?" They looked up excitedly.

"We sure did!" The orange one with wings said.

"You were near our clubhouse!" the pale one said.

"Whats your name?" the yellow one said.

"Well, my name is Nicholas, y'all can call me Nick" I looked at them. "You girls got names?"

The orange one spoke first. "Im Scootaloo!"

The horned one was next. " Im Sweetie Bell!"

Not to be outdone, the yellow one stood on her hindlegs and said proudly. " And A'hm Applebloom Apple!"

they said this next part togethor: "and we are...." They took a deep breath.

"THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!!"

That definitely made me go deaf for a second. But it left me with a question.

"Uh, what's a cutie mark." Which got me a gasp from the trio.

"Cutie marks represent your special talent." Sweetie Bell said matter-o-factly.

"Dont you have one?" Scootaloo asked

"No." I said. "Humans usually dont get things like that, we just choose what we are good at."

Applebloom spoke up. "Thats soooo weird. But cool at the same time!"

I found myself laughing again. I was really starting to enjoy hanging around these girls.

Fluttershy spoke up, yet still seemed to be a bit soft about it. "Why dont you girls come back in a hour or two. I need to make sure Nick is fully alright." I raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything.

The girls moaned a bit at that, but they left with a passive "Goodbye Nick!" From Applebloom.

"I can see what you meant by adventurous." I said with a smile. I turned to her. "So, what do you want to know?"

**********
2 hours later
**********

Fluttershy had asked me about just about everything with earth when it came to one subject: animals. I was right when I had saw the cage in her cottage. Turns out shes an animal enthusiast, and a BIG one at that. At the end of the conversation, however, I noticed she was staring at my teeth.

"Uh, is something wrong with my mouth?" I asked

She looked me in the face and answered. "D-D-Do you eat meat?" She slightly whimpered. She must've seen the canines.

Crap. I thought to myself. A sentient pony just asked if you eat meat. Oh well, no use lying.

"Yeah, us humans eat both fruits, veggies and meats." I said slowly, noticing the look of fear on her face returning.

She gulped audibly. "Do humans eat....ponies?"

My eyes went wide. "Definitely not! Well, a few might, but its almost unheard of when it comes to most people."

She relaxed at that but I continued. "Humans DO need meat to survive though. So what type of meat is available here?"

She paled a bit, then answered. "We dont sell meat in ponyville, but I could teach you how to fish.... if that's alright with you, that is." She said, once again hiding in her mane.

"Alright, that works. thanks." I said while streching back on the couch.

She got up and started walking towards the kitchen. "Good, now Nick, I've got to go feed the animals, will you be alright being in here alone for a bit?" I nodded in response. "Great!" She said with a smile. Then it went to a frown. "Do you remember what you were dreaming about earlier?"

A tad confused as to where this came from, I shoke my head. "Nope, I usually don't remember my dreams. Why?"

She shook her head. "Oh, nothing too crazy, just while you were asleep, you kept mumbling things. Only thing I could make out was when you said 'Raiden.' Is that the name of someone you care about?"

I nodded. "Yeah, he's one of my brothers." realization struck me like a car. "What if he got sent here too!"

She smiled at that. "That would be wonderful, then you could be reunited with him." She turned and walked into the kitchen, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I walked to the window and looked out it towards the sky. Dont worry Bros. I thought with newfound determination.Once I sort out what I'm doing here, I'm going to find you two.

Author's Note

Welp, Nicholas is now on ponyville, with fluttershy as his "guardian" for the time being. What of his brothers? and what of the dream he can't seem to remember? Questions to be sorted out in chapters to come, so stay tuned my fic-crazy ponies. And don't forget:

Love and tolerate!

Chapter 3: Raiden gets sunburn.
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 3: Raiden gets sunburn.

*As the title suggest, this chapter will be in Raiden's POV. just a heads up*

As the flash of light slowly faded, I found myself in some random bathtub. Great, just what today needed, a nice case of unexplained breaking and entering. I though as I pulled myself out of the tub. I wont lie, though. That was a really big bathtub. Looking around, I noticed everything had this really big and proper feel to it, as if someone rich and fancy lived here.

"Where the heck am I?" I said to no one in particular. I heard a door open behind me.

"You are in my bathroom." An almost regal feminine voice stated behind me. I froze in place and slowly turned around, expecting a very angry woman to be standing there.

What was standing there, however, was something that made my eyes go wide in a mix of surprise/slight fear. At first glance, it looked like your everyday horse. But when you start to notice the horn and wings, not to mention the flowing hair with the green/purple-ish/blue mix to it, you start to realize this might not be Kansas anymore.

"Um... did you just speak?" I asked while taking a step back. She looked at me with a stare that seemed more curious, than angry.

"Yes, I did. Is that not what two ponies conversating do?" She said, but I could swear there was a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

I streched my arms a bit and replied. " Yeah, I guess so. wait, did you say ponies?" I stopped smiling at that.

She nodded. "Indeed, in this world, we are known as ponies." She turned and walked out of the bathroom. Not to be left behind, I quickly followed to find her resting on a couch In what had to be her bedroom.

"In this world?" I questioned. Then it hit me. "Wait, this isn't earth?" She suddenly looked a bit more sad before she responded.

"No, this is not your homeworld. You now currently are on Equiss. As for the country, its name is Equestria."

I paled. I'm not even on Earth anymore?! I gulped, then realized something. "You know a lot about me, even though I'm an alien to this world." She looked straight at me with a warm smile.

"I know a lot about your kind, Human. But nothing about you personally. For now, lets just say your not the first human to live here." This surprised me greatly. Though, once again, she had this look of sadness on her face. But it vanished quickly as she continued. "You seem confused right now, would you like to know how you got to be in that bathroom?" She asked.

I nodded as I took as seat next to her. Several thoughts flowed through my head. How does she know what I am? And why does she look sad every time she mentions humans? I pushed these thoughts aside as she started.

"Before I start, I would like to introduce myself. My name is princess Celestia." With that, my eyes bugged out and I quickly kneeled in respect to her title. She simply laughed. "Now, now. There's no need for that while we are alone, human." she looked up in thought for a second. "What is your name?" she asked.

Way to go, Raiden. Break into a princess's private quarters and don't introduce yourself. REALLY smart move of you. I scolded myself. "My name is Raiden, your majesty." Although she cringed a bit at the 'majesty' part of the sentence, she continued to tell the story.

"Well, Raiden. I had just retired from doing my daily duties as a princess when I was hit with a surge of magic. It was nothing painful, but it did cause me to falter for a second. After a minute went by, I went in the bathroom to freshen up before bed, and found you passed out in the tub." She finished blushing slightly at the weirdness of the whole situation. I found myself laughing all the same.

"From what you say, it sounds like I had just partied for 3 days straight and passed out as a drunken mess in your bathroom." I got out between laughs. Celestia soon found herself laughing as well.

After the laughter died down, I looked Celestia In the eyes. "Princess, did you happen to find either a small boy or a bigger man anywhere?" She shook her head.

"No reports of any humans in the castle have been made, so they are somewhere else. I can sense 2 more of you in Equestria, though. So they are somewhere out there." She got up and motioned me to follow her as she walked out the door. " Since you will be here a while, let me give you a tour of the castle." I started walking beside her as we descended a staircase into a hallway. Every once in a while, we'd pass a guard or two. They would bow to the princess, then they would look at me with either surprise, fear, or with a threatening glare.

Celestia, picking up on my stiff movements, quickly stated. "Relax, Raiden. they will not hurt you as long as you are not a threat to me or anypony else." I relaxed at this, then asked her a question.

"What is there to eat around here?" I asked as my stomach growled. She smiled and turned down a hallway.

"Come, we can get breakfast in the dining hall." She said as 2 big doors swung open. Walking in, I was floored. The dining hall was beautiful. It had the same décor as the rest of the castle, but was way more spacious and open with a huge table lined with fancy chairs and silverware.

"Amazing!" I exclaimed as I took as seat next to Celestia. Man, if Ronin could see me now, He would be begging to switch places with me right now. If he's safe, that is. I shook the thought out of my mind as food was carted into the room by mini army of chefs. They placed down waffles, eggs, hashbrowns, cups with juice and milk by us, and fancy napkins next to our plates. "Thanks!" I said to the chefs as they left the room. I eyed the food greedily.

Celestia noticed this and smirked. "What are you waiting for, go ahead and eat to your hearts content. You are a guest, after all." I gave her a look of extreme happiness as I quickly grabbed a waffle and took a bite.

My eagerness faded instantly upon the bite. Being in a castle, I had expected top of the line food, yet the waffle was dry and thick. I quickly drank down some OJ in order to swallow it, then tried the other food as well. The eggs and the hashbrowns both had similar problems.

Celestia noticed this and stopped mid-bite to turn to me. "What's wrong?" She asked.

I looked at her, questioning whether or not to point out the food. I WAS a guest after all, and that might come off as rude. She didn't look too happy with the food either, though. I thought. I decided to tell her.

"Does this food seem a bit dry to you? Not to be offensive or anything, but it just seems rushed is all." Oddly enough, she smiled at this.

"Finally, someone else thinks so." She states rather bluntly. "I have asked my younger sister the same thing several times and she claims nothing is wrong with it EVERY time." She said the last part with quite an icy tone, something I found absolutely hilarious.

"Oh, man. don't even get me started in younger siblings, My twin brother can and WILL eat anything in front of him." I said with disgust. "I once dared him to eat a slice of pie we found sitting on a dumpster one day." Celestia's eyes widened at that.

"He didn't!?" She said, her face showing sign of extreme disgust. I leaned in and smiled.

"He did!" I yelled as I broke out laughing. She soon joined in and we found ourselves cracking up for 5 minutes straight! I stopped after a bit and looked at her, wiping a tear out of my eye. " For real, though. This food sucks. I could easily whip up something better anytime or anywhere." She looked at me with curiosity.

"Hmm... very well." She said as her horn started to glow. With a flash, I found myself in a kitchen. This one was way bigger though. Like if the one from ratatouille had been made to serve a queen, thats what it looked like. She turned towards me. "I want you to cook me a better breakfast, then. Since you believe you can do better than my staff." She wasn't angry, it seemed like she was trying to test me.

A test I shall pass easily! I thought as I cracked my knuckles. I turned towards her, giving her a nod. "Give me an hour, and I'll will have you drooling over your plate." She smiled and started walking out the door.

"Once you finish, ask the waiters to guide you back to the dining hall with the food." She said before she walked out. I turned around and looked at the staff. They looked at me with either looks of confusion or confidence.

"All right, boys and girls. Lets get to work." I said with a big grin on my face, recipes for southern-style waffles and grits popping into my head.

*********
1 hour later
*********

I won't lie, at first I struggled to get the staff to even listen to me. They were professionals, after all. And they didn't seem keen on taking advice from some random"monkey" as one staffer put it. However, after making a waffle and pretty much begging a waitress to try it, with her absolutely devouring it seconds later, we were able to get to work. The only real problem I had with them was that they tried to put hay in the waffles every time the batter was done. I get that they're ponies and all that, but there is NO way I'm eating hay. A man has his limits, after all. We almost didn't make the hour deadline because some idiot bumped the bowl holding the grits off the counter, so that had to be recooked. Thankfully, at about 58 minutes, we carted the food into the dining room.

The first thing I noticed was that there were now three ponies in the room. One was Celestia, but to her right sat a dark blue pony that was slightly smaller than her. She had a starry mane with what looked to be a moon on her rear. Now that I think about it, Celestia had some kind of sun on hers. I'll have to ask about that later. I thought. The other pony was pink with purple, pink and yellow lines in her hair. her mark looked like a crystal heary with yellow ribbon around it. I shrugged and outstretched my arms dramatically. "Hello esteemed residents of Equestria. I am your humble host/head chef, and I am proud to introduce you to a REAL breakfast!" Celestia smiled at my antics, while the blue pony faced palmed (Hoofed?) and the pink one looked on in excitement. " So, without further ado. I ask you to enjoy the food and Be. Our. Guest!" I put emphasis on those last words as the staff put the food on the table. Celestia quickly put a waffle on her plate and took a bite. Her eyes went wide as she stopped moving entirely.

The blue and pink ponies eyed her cautiously. " Is everything alright, Auntie?" the pink one asked, concern etched on her face. the blue one turned to me and glared. But before she could say anything Celestia spoke up.

"Raiden." she began. "these are the best waffles I have ever tasted!" She exclaimed as she dug into them rather... unladylike. The blue pony looked on in shock, while the pink one turned to me.

"Whatever you put in these must be amazing if she's eating it that fast." She then smiled. "I'm princess Cadence, and the grumpy one over there is princess Luna. pay her no mind, she's mad that Celestia let you change the waffle recipe." She giggled as Luna rolled her eyes.

"There was no reason to, as they were perfect as they were." She said as she took a bite of one. Her own eyes went wide, but she quickly hid it with a blank demeanor. "We suppose these will suffice." Cadence simply giggled at that, while I smirked with the mini-victory.

Probably the best I'm going to get out of her, I suppose. I thought as Celestia finished her 14th waffle. "Celestia, since I might be here for a while, I was wondering if I could work here as a chef. At least until I can find my brother." I asked.

She cleaned her face with a napkin, then answered me. "I was hoping you would say that, Raiden. And don't worry to much about your brothers. I have my best student on the lookout for anything resembling you where she lives. If she finds something, You'll be the first to know."

I sighed in relief as I sat down and took a bowl of grits. "Thank you, princess." I said as I looked at my food. Don't worry, guys. I'm going to find ya'll. Then we can figure out how to get home. I thought as I took a spoonful of food. I looked up at the 3 princesses. Celestia was arguing with Luna about whether or not the grits needed seasoning while Cadence was slowly sneaking waffles off Celestia and Lunas plates. I smiled to myself. For now, though. This isn't so bad.

Author's Note

With that, Raiden has became a chef in Canterlot. but what of Ronin? lets just say his chapter will have more holes in it than the other ones so far. don't forget to comment if you see something or just want to say something.

Love and tolerate, my fic-crazy ponies!

Chapter 4: Ronin gets holed up
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 4: Ronin gets holed up

*Thanks goes to thenodpony for giving me the name for the OC changeling that is introduced in this chapter! Also, just to state the obvious, this chapter is in Ronin's POV. Enjoy!

When the white light faded away, I found myself in the middle of some forest. Looking around, I couldn't find trace of either Raiden or Nicholas anywhere.

I cupped my hands to my mouth and yelled: "Raaaaadien! Niiiiiiiick!" However, all I got back in response was the sounds of birds chirping and bugs buzzing.

Where the hell could they be? I thought as I got a better look of my surroundings. There was multitudes of bushes and ferns along with the obvious note of trees. Yet the forest had this... depressed look to it. Like the forest knew it was scary and couldn't do anything about it.

My gaze stopped on a black and yellow colored handle poking out of a bush.

"No way!" I said as I walked over and pulled my sword out of the bush. I looked at it with glee as I decided to see if it was still sharp. I turned and slashed four times into the bush. It split four ways flawlessly.

"Hehehe, looks like all that training with grandpa Brim worked out." I chuckled as a distant memory resurfaced.

**********
10 years ago
**********

I fell on my knees drenched in sweat as the training sword I'd been holding fell beside me with an audible THUMP. Panting hard, I looked up at my grandfather as he laughed softly and held out his hand.

"Your getting better, my boy!" he exclaimed as he pulled me up and passed me my sword back. "You were able to hold your own against your wee old man for nearly 5 minutes that time! I cannae believe how much ye've grown!"

I looked at him in shock. "That was only five minutes!" I said as he nodded. I threw down the sword in frustration and sat down in the grass with my arms crossed. My grandfather smiled and came and sat next to me.

"Whats that look for, laddie?" He asked. I turned to him and huffed slightly.

"I'm never going to be as good as you, Grandpa Brim." I groaned as I looked at the training sword. "Why do you have me do this stuff anyway? It's cool and all, but I'm just no good at it."

He simply laughed and got up and beckoned me to follow him into the house. After walking into the living room he pulled an old chest out of his closet and ooened it up. Inside was a sheath decorated with yellow amd black markings. He turned around and showed me the blade inside of it.

"See this, laddie." he said as he pointed to the edge of the blade. It had an engraving on it that said Lang may yer lum reek. That is an oath to a long life. Ye shouldn't let little things like this keep ye down." He put the sword back. "Now, why don't we try again, huh?"

I looked up and smiled. "Ok, Grandpa." I ran off as he turned and looked out the window. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocketwatch with a sun emblem on it.

"Oh, how I wish ye could see how well these kids have grown, my shining sunrise." He said quietly with a tear to his eye.

**********
Present day
**********

I smiled at the memory. If he wouldn't had motivated me that day, I would have given up on blade wielding years ago.

I was torn from my thoughts as I heard a screech from deeper in the woods. What the hell? I thought as I ran towards the source of the screech. I came into a small clearing to see two of the weirdest things I have ever seen.

The first was some odd wolf, yet it seemed to be completely made out of wood. the second one was fully black coated. It had hooves, but its legs had holes in them. It also had wings with sharp edges to them. Its eyes were a full shade of yellow, and it had sharp teeth pointing out its mouth. Not to mention the weird horn sticking out of its head.

What is going on? I thought just as the wolf lunged towards the black thing.

"HEY!!!" I yelled at it. it stopped on a dime and turned to face me. The thing was waaay bigger up close. It decided to rush me immediately.

I sidestepped and slashed downwards on his neck area. with a whimper his head came clean off with a horrific SHLICK! sound. I turned torwards the weird animal thing.

"Hey, are you.....ok?" I asked slowly as it got up and looked at me, seemingly studying me as if he had never seen a human before. To be fair, I would've done the same if I was in his shoes.

"Why did you........ save me?" It asked. from its tone, I could tell it was a he. I also realized it was just a kid due to the squeaky way his voice went as he growled. "Nothing has ever cared enough to save our kind before."

I sat down next to it, placing my sword in the dirt next to me. "Your kind?" I asked. "You mean to tell me your species... whatever they are, aren't the main people around here?"

He looked up at me and shook his head. "No, for centuries, our kind has been humiliated and forced into hiding by the other sentient species in equestria. Especially ponies." He spat the last part venomously. This was starting to sound very similar to issues back home.

"Why?" I asked him. He looked up at me in suprise.

"Why do you care so much?" he responded. "Nothing cares about us changelings, ask any species that knows of us. They would have us squashed like the commen housefly." He stamped his hoof in anger. It was honestly heartbreaking to see a kid say things like that. I mean, he may not be the prettiest dude on the block, but no species should be targeted like that.

I put a hand on his shoulder. At first he tensed at the motion, then relaxed. "I care because nobody should have to grow up with such a cruel mindset. What does your kind do that's so bad anyway?"

He looked away as he responded. "Promise you won't judge me?" He asked, slight fear in his voice.

"I promise." I said with confidence. I mean, what's the worst they could do to something?

He took a deep breath and began. "Our kind has to get its nutrients from a source that no other species can get sustenance from. We feed off of emotion. Love is the strongest one for us." He looked at me, eyeing my face carefully.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you do in order to eat?" he nods. "Does it kill or injure them?" He shakes his head.

I had heard enough. I stood up and faced him. "Your telling me your entire species is isolated due to how you act and feed as individuals! Without it even being lethal to those you feed off of?" I growled. He took a step back, but nodded his head.

This only angered me more. I quckly grabbed my sword and cut up several bushes standing around me. each one now a perfect X shape. The changeling looked at me with a mixed expression of awe and fear.

"Who are you?" he said. I turned to face him and smiled.

"My names Ronin. what's yours" I said as I extended my free hand.

He looked at it for a second before reaching out and shaking it. "My name is Tak. might i ask what kind of species you are?"

They definitely don't have humans here, wherever here is. I thought with a bit of sorrow leaking into my mind. But I pushed it aside as I answered my new buddy.

"My kind are called humans. we are a soecies of great intellect, but great consequence as well." he raised a brow in confusion at that. I sighed, already prepared to answer the question coming.

"By great consequence? whatever do you mean by that?" He asked.

"My kind are a survivalist species. If some of our kind hogs land or resources, we fight for it. Hell, if they don't hog it, we tend to fight for it anyway. but we aren't all bad. We have used our creative mindsets to save millions of lives through medicene and other cures. We became top of the food chain for a reason after all." I said as his jaw slowly dropped to the floor.

"Your kind sounds so powerful... but I feel a lot of anger coming from you on this topic as well." he stated as I turned from him.

"Thing is, humans cant seem to agree with each other ever. For a long time, a group of us who thought they were better than us enslaved all those who simply had a different color skin tone or religious background. Lets just say I turned my back on humanity long ago."

He nodded sadly in understanding. "Thats why you have so much anger from hearing of our woes." I nodded.

He turned quickly and started walking. "Come, Ronin. I must take you to the queen. You might just be the boost we need in order to rally my people."

I walked alongside him, suddenly intrigued. "Your queen, huh? What she like?" I noticed he got very giddy about this topic, as the walk in his step seemed way more enthusiastic.

"The queen, mother of all changelings, is the one who will lead us to victory against our pony persecutors! She is the strongest and most capable of all of us." He said with a boatload of pride in his voice.

"Sounds like one dynamite gal." I said with a smirk. He looked at me with a confused face. "Sorry, line from a movie I saw once."

He looked like he wanted to say more on the topic, but shrugged it off with a question. "Wherever your from, you obviously aren't from around here. where is your home at?" he asked me.

"Well, Its obvious this isn't earth, so I think I'm from another planet." I said as he completely stopped.

"Would you ever want to return?" he asked.

"Honestly, no. I didn't really like it to begin with, especially after I lost my grandad. So there isnt much to return to. Any remaining family I have there is dead to me anyway." He looked away at that.

"It seems we are both outsiders of our homeworlds." He said with a sigh.

"Indeed we are, Tak. Indeed we are." I said as we came upon some kind of cave. Except this one had more exits on it. And it seemed vertical than the usual downward entrance to a cave. That, and there were guards outside it that looked like more changelings.

Tak looked at the place with a mix of pride and sorrow. "Welcome to the Haven, Tak. Welcome, to one of our only remaining hives."

I looked at him with shock. His people were an endangered species by his own confession. And here he was, allowing some guy he'd met in one day straight to the final home for his people. It honestly brought a tear to my eye as I realized just how broken these guys must be to need to stoop to such levels.

"HALT!!!!" one of the guards screeched as he flew towards us, with at least 10 more close behind. "Step away from the prince immediately or die!" he said with a growl.

I simply growled back and put my hand on my sword when Tak suddenly jumped between us.

"Enough!" He yelled. "This man saved my life from a timberwolf while the guards you assigned to me deserted me on the spot, captain!" He spat in a rage. "He shall be treated as one of us and granted an audience with the queen immediately!"

The captain shrank back in fear as I looked at the boy in suprise. Prince, huh? I thought. Explains the attitude and emotion he had when he talked about his people. I stuck my tongue out at the captain as we were escorted in.

*********
12 minutes later
*********

It took a bit to get to the center of their....hive? that's what he said this was? Meh, It looks like a big old frat house to me. When we did reach the center, a changeling appeared and cleared his throat.

"Her majesty, Queen chrysalis, will now see you two." he said and left the room. I looked and got a good look at the queen.

Other than being a few heads taller than Tak and most of the others, her looks alone definitely sticked out. although she had the same black fur coat with holey legs and hooves, her hair came down almost all the way to the ground. her horn was bigger by a mile. And even the smallest parts of her body seemed more... sophisticated. She also sported a little crown on her head, although it seemed to offput the whole queen thing she had going on, making her look cuter than necessary.

She walked up to me and Tak slowly, Eyeing me up and down. I honestly felt fear right then and there, this being the first time I had felt like something, or someone rather, would actually eat me if necessary. Hell, even if she wanted to she could have me gutted and no one would ever know.

"Well, my son. what do we have here?" She said to Tak, yet here eyes never left me.

"Well, mother. This being is from another planet. And he saved my life while some of our own just happened to disappear." Tak said with a frown.

She looked extremely pissed at that. "THEY LEFT MY SON AND HEIR TO DIE OUT THERE ALONE!!!" She yelled. If there were windows, they would've broke by how loud it was. She recovered quickly from the outburst, though, and turned back to me.

"Another planet, you say?" She grinned at that. "Well, you saved my son, so by our law, that grants 1 favor of your choice." She said quite reluctantly. She obviously wasn't the type that liked to give away stuff, even if it was well deserved.

I thought about this for a minute. I could ask for a ton of things. food, weapons, this worlds currency. But then I looked at Tak and realized something. This guy was only a kid, and while we walked down here, I didnt see too many of his people in this place. These guys are in a rough spot, and honestly, I think I know how to help them.

I looked the queen in the eye. "You said that Tak was your heir, right." She nodded. "And your people have recently sucked in protecting him as well?" She nodded again, although this time she looked more bored.

"Get to the point, hairless ape" she growled.

Shrugging off the insult, I continued. "Then allow me to become your heirs bodyguard. In return for a place to stay while I serve him." She looked at Tak.

"It is your decision." She told him, though she clearly didn't like the idea.

"Mother, I trust him this man. I approve." He said with confidence. She simply rolled her eyes and turned around.

"Very well. for the time being, you shall work as Tak's personal bodyguard. Dismissed!" She ordered as Tak led me out of the room into a hallway.

"I cannot wait to teach you all about our kind! There is so much for you to learn..." He went on as my mind wandered off.

I'll start looking for you guys soon. I've just got to help a friend get out of a jam first. I thought as Tak rattled on. Heh, I could get used to this.

Author's Note

AHHH! super tired, but super excited ad well! With that, Ronin makes allies with the changelings! how will this affect things in the future, and will the brothers ever be reunited? also, will Chrysalis ever get around to being nice to Ronin? maybe not the last one, but the others might happen! who knows, my fic-crazy ponies (I mean, I do. But thats too bad because I dont crack under pressure. Unless its fluttershy interrogating me, but then WHO can resist her?)

Love and tolerate, y'all!

Chapter 6: Thieves, storytime, and cake addictions.
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 6: Thieves, storytime, and cake addictions.

*Raiden POV*

It was a Wednesday morning and I was cleaning up the kitchen when a maid walked in.

"Princess Celestia would like dessert delivered to her sleeping quarters." The maid said. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Let me geuss, a big o' slice of cake for the lady." I said with a smirk as the maid giggled.

"You betcha, Sir. Except this time she wants chocolate instead of vanilla." She said between giggles.

"Alright, I'll get right on it." I said turning towards the cabinet to pull out the flour. Ever since I had started working at the castle, the princess had been using me as her own personal chef. It was quite easy to cook for her, since she didn't usually ask for anything too crazy. But there were times, like today, when her sweet tooth got the better of her. Even at 9 in the morning.

*******

After making the cake, I put it on one of those wheeled things waiters use and pushed it to her room. An easy enough task, until you get to the stairs. Whoever decided to put the royal bedroom in one of the highest towers in the castle needs to have their brains checked, because carting a food trolley up those steps is absolutely dreadful!

I finally emerged at the top and carted it towards the door. The guard's noticed my approach and looked me dead in the eyes.

"Evenin' boys." I said with a smile. "Got Celestia's morning dessert right here." patting the cover over the cake, I lifted it up a bit and showed them the chocalate cake. They saw it and immediately went to open the doors when the doors flew open, sending all three of us to the ground. I looked up as a pony dressed in all black flew by, noticing his or her eyes were completey blue. No iris's or anything. Then I saw a necklace in its hoof.

"STOP!!" I yelled, giving chase after the thief. The guards recovered as the princess walked out of her room.

"Where did the intruder go?" She asked one of them.

"The bugger took off towards the courtyard, with your chef in pursuit." The guard said gruffly. Celestia's eyes narrowed as she teleported to the courtyard in order to cut him off.

Meanwhile, I was giving chase after the intruder. Even though he was flying, he wasn't moving that fast. It was as if he had almost no energy. It was still flying though, and I was being slowed down by maids, Nobleponies, and the occasional visitor that was wandering aimlessy through the halls. I turned a corner after him just to slam into a unicorn. This one, was different than most of them I had encountered before.

Unlike most unicorns, he was well built. He was alabaster like celestia, yet he had this mix of light and dark blue hair. He also had this sheild with a purple star in the middle as his cutie mark. I noticed he had armour on that looked different than most.

"Oooh, what the heck?" He said woozily as he got up. I stood up and hurriedly replied.

"Thank goodness! you look like someone important among the guard here. There's a thief running around and he just made off with some necklace from Celestia's room. We got to hurry and catch him, who knows what that thing could do?" I said as I continued my pursuit after the thief while The unicorn started barking orders at other guards to close off exits.

I ran pass an open door to stop in my tracks as i heard a noise inside. I walked in slowly, pulling a butchers knife off my side. Ever since I had started working here, I had decided to keep it with me at all times, just from simply not trusting everyone here just yet.

"I know your in here! So you might as well come out and face me." I said as I opened a closet. Nothing. I turned around towards the bed to see the thief looking at me with his head cocked sideways, almost as if it was recognizing me. I saw its mouth form a smile, fangs popping out of its mouth, and he lunged at me. I swung up my knife in defense only for it to be knocked aside by magic as he plowed into me. We landed in the hallway and started rolling around. I delivered a right hook to get him off me and jumped to my feet. He recovered fast and we started to circl each other.

"I don't know who the hell you are, but you are not leaving with that necklace." I said with a growl, bringing my fists up in a fighting stance.

The thing laughed and removed its cloak. I gasped at what I saw. It looked like a mutated pony, with the holes in its legs and the sharp wings. Even its horn seemed unnatural. Those same blue filled eyes stared at me in a cold, emotionless way. It was honestly one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen.

"It seems you aren't like him at all."The thing said. "I can feel the disgust coming off you." I snapped out of it and charged him, focused on not letting him get away. He laughed and charged foward as well, just to be stopped by a golden glow of magic, causing me to stop and beckpedal a bit in suprise.

"That won't be necessary, Raiden. I'll take over from here." Celestia said as she walked up, flanked by some guards and that unicorn from earlier. She turned to him. "Shining Armour, take him and put him in the dungeons for now, we will interrogate him later to find out why he stole that necklace." After ripping said necklace from the thief. The guards took the thief away, the whole time it looked me in the eyes and mouthed 3 words.

Hail the queen

I simply shrugged it off as the guard marched off. So that's that unicorns name, huh? I'll have to buy him a drink in thanks later for the assist. I turned towards Celestia.

"What was that thing?" I asked as she sighed.

"Walk with me, and I tell you their story." She said as we walked down the corridor. She put the necklace away somewhere in her regalia and turned her head to me, never losing step or pace.

"What you just saw was a changeling. They are a vile species that can change their shape and feed off of the love of those around them. Our country has been dealing with them for centuries. But until now, we haven't seen or heard any reports about them in the past 30 years." I thought about my encounter with the thing, and something stuck out about it all.

"Celestia." I started. "The changeling said that I wasn't like someone. It was like he recognized me. You don't think that he has seen one of my brothers, have you?" A chill went down my spine. What if they have Nicholas?

Celestia thought about this for a moment, then smiled. "I wouldn't worry too much about what the changeling said, their kind is known to lie to their adversaries to get the better of them. As for your brothers, I just recieved a letter from my student in ponyville saying that she has found a younger human living there." I let out a relieved sigh.

"So Nicholas is being taken care of." I said with of a smile. "Glad to know he's safe, but what of Ronin?" I asked as her smile disappeared instantly.

"I have tried to reach out with my magic to see if I could sense him, but every time I feel like I have found him, the connection is severed. Its almost as if he knows I'm searching for him yet he doesn't want to be found." I frowned at that. Ronin always was headstrong. And if he got wrapped up in something, he usually didn't want to involve me or Nick on the off chance we'd get hurt. Hopefully, he stays away from these changeling things.

"By the way, whats so special about that necklace?" I asked her. She suddenly stopped walking and looked out a window. I heard her sigh softly.

"The necklace..... belonged to my late husband. He died while protecting our city from the same threat you saw back there." She said with ice laced into her voice. I immediately regretted bringing it up.

"Im sorry, princess. I had no idea." I said softly. She just shook her head and turned back to me.

"Do not be, you could not have known. Come, let us return to my bedchambers. I would at least like to try some of that cake you made." She said with a smile that seemed forced. We turned and headed back the way we came.

***********

We arrived in her room, with me carting a new cake in tow. The last one had been knocked over in the fray, and from the looks of it, her room didn't fare much better.

There was junk scattered everywhere, singe marks in several places and glass broken around a pedestal with an spot for a necklace to be hung.

"Damn, this'll take hours for the maid to clean." I said, eyes wide at the mess.

Celestia smirked. "Not necessarily, Raiden. Watch." Her horn glowed again as a light shined across the whole room. When it dimmed, everything was clean again. No marks, no junk, and the pedestal was completely spotless. My jaw hit the floor at this.

"That magic stuff is insane." I said with a chuckle as I found myself a comfy spot on a couch to sit. She took a spot by the bed and uncovered the cake tray greedily.

"So how are we splitting that cake? 50-50?" I asked just before celestia took a knife and cut a fourth of it off and gave the small part to me. I took a look at the big chunk in her plate.

"One fourths it is!" I said with a laugh as I took a sugary bite. I wasnt the biggest fan of cake, but every once in a while wasn't so bad. I looked over to see crumbs where celestia's chunk had been and a very stuffed look on her face. My eyes widened.

"Your already done?!" I said in wonder. She had to cover her mouth to keep from spitting out cake from how hard she laughed at my reaction. She swallowed the cake and grinned.

"You have much to learn about my eating habits, Young one." She said as I finished off my own slice. I stretched a bit and stood up.

"Well, your higness, I better get back to the kitchen before the head chef has my neck." I said as Celestia nodded. I bowed and left the room.

*********

I was on my way to the kitchen as I passed by princess luna. I gave a quick bow as she stopped and turned to face me.

"Pray tell, what hath occured while we were out, Raiden?" She asked me. I smiled a bit at her speaking habits but answered nonetheless.

"Oh, just a break-in/robbery with a side of cake hoarding." I said as she looked at me with an eyebrow raised before narrowing her eyes. She walked up to me, face nearly inches from mine.

"We shall be watching thy actions, Raiden. We do not trust you, and we will not have you hurt our sister in any way at all. Understood?" I nodded as she backed off.

I took a step away and smiled. "You know, luna. I think I know whats bothering you." She raised an eyebrow at this.

"What, praytell, would that be?" She asked. My smile grew wider as I slowly inched towards the door.

"Your just jealous that your sister gets free cake whenever she pleases!" I said as I dived through the door, narrowly avoiding the spell blast that hit where I was once standing. As I bolted towards the kitchen, I could hear her yell out in a rage.

"COME BACK HERE AND FACE US, YOU HAIRLESS APE!!!"

I simply closed the kitchen door behind me, crying my eyes out with laughter at her reaction. The cooks and maids in the kitchen simply looked at me in fear.

One of the chefs I had grown to have as a friend spoke up. "Raiden, are you out of your mind, teasing the princess of the night like that?!" he asked/berated me.

I laughed and patted him on the back. "Relax, Gold spoon. She'll calm down after a while. I just got to avoid her until then.

Gold spoon looked at me and shook his head. "Your dancing with the devil, friend. But for now, we have to focus on the newest order that just came in." He walked over and picked up a list with his hoof. " Lets see, Princess Cadence has ordered... oh no." He trailed off as his face dawned a look of horror/weariness.

"What is it?" I asked as I looked at the order and nearly passed out from shock. "She wants FIVE 3 three layer cakes!?! What is she doing, hosting a party or something." Gold spoon shrugged as i huffed a bit.

"Apparently, she was just proposed to in marriage, so its a celebration cake. But five of them? Oy vey!" He sighed frustrated as he picked up the ingredients. "Lets get this over with, before the princess has our hide."

I nodded. "Yeah, but once were done, Im going on break for a weeeek!" I moaned as Gold spoon snickered a bit, almost dropping the cake batter in the process.

Author's Note

Welp, cakes as addicting as drugs among the royals. With Raiden meeting the changelings and having a glimpse into Celestia's past, will things start to heat up around here? or will luna kill Raiden before the week is done? Find out next time, My fic-crazy ponies! and remember: Love and Tolerate!!!

Chapter 7: Greetings, training, and a bloodthirsty changeling spider.
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 7: Greetings, training, and a bloodthirsty changeling spider.

*Ronin POV*

It's been about four days since I arrived at the "safe haven" as Tak liked to call it. After the meeting with the queen, I was given a tour of the hive, ending at Tak's room.

I wont lie, the kid's got a good spread, considering his dilemma. He has this cocoon thing in the middle of his room, along with several strewn items around. Hell, the kid has toys in the far corner of the room, although it looks like they haven't been touched in years.

As we walked in, Tak walked up to the cocoon and looked at me.

"Would you like me to have a servant make you a cocoon to sleep in as well?" He asked me. I gave him a quick shake of my head.

"No No, thats fine. I think I'd rather sleep in a bed or something." I said quickly. I was NOT sleeping like a caterpiller.

He shrugged. "You and mother are sooooo weird! She doesn't sleep in a cocoon either! Well, while we get you a bed, why don't you go to the barracks below? If you want to become my personal bodyguard, you might want to meet the lieutenants first. They know EVERYTHING about protecting the queen and her heirs to the throne!" He empathized that last part with pride.

"Aight then, see you later, kiddo." I said as I walked out. As soon as the door closed behind me, I realized something.

I don't know where the hell the barracks are.

Thankfully, a guard was walking by. "Hey, could you lead me to the barracks?" I asked him. He looked me up and down before hissing softly, but he motioned me to follow him.

**********

After a couple of minutes, we arrived at a room full of soldiers, or at least I think they were. They had weapons and armour that looked attached to them, but they honestly didn't strike me as organized fighters. The place was like a mess hall, long tables spread out in rows, with one circular table in the middle. The guard led me to the center table.

"I brought the one who the queen said needed to be trained." The guard said to three slightly bigger changelings at the table. Unlike the other soldiers here, these guys actually seemed intimidating. I sat down at the table as they each took a good look at me.

"Well, if it ain't the newbie! looks like another lamb to be slaughtered if you ask me!" A big guy to my left sneered. He had orange eyes and orange hair to match. He wore armour that looked like a mix of dark red and black. Although the red could have nothing to do with the armour design. He leaned in and studied me carefully. "What the fuck was the queen thinking, putting a half-pint like you in charge of the heirs defense unit?" I gave him a smirk of my own.

"Alright then, who was in charge of the last patrol?" I asked him. He grinned boastfully.

"Those soldiers were from my unit, and they were the best of the best!" He roared, and a table behind me followed suit. I rolled my eyes.

"Heh, no wonder they deserted him if they were trained by a jackass like you." I said as I stood up, he did the same and we were inches from each others face. "If you like," I began, gripping my sword by its handle. "I can show you exactly why I was chosen." He stared me down with a solid glare for a good minute as the whole room went silent.

He then caught me off guard me laughing. He pat me on the back hard, nearly sending me into the table. the table behind me cheered, apparently close with the big guy.

"HAHAHA, Where the hell did Tak find you, and where can we get more of ya, Cuz thats the first time any newcomer has had the balls to stand up to me!" He extended his hoof. "Names Tremor! lieutenant of the Rock-solid battalion!" He roared the last three words as the table behind me cheered again, this time even louder.

"If you two idiots are done comparing sizes, maybe we can get things done around here?" A female changeling to my right spoke up. Her eyes were silver, but her hair was an icy blue. Unlike the others, her wings looked stronger and had icicle tips.

She looked me dead in the eyes. "My name is Tundra, Lieutenant of the Cold North battalion." She pointed to a table behind her, and the mostly female group all eyed me down in return. "I am in charge of all aerial warfare, and making sure that idiot stays in line." She nodded towards Tremor, who grinned lewdly.

"Hehehe, you know you like keeping your eyes on me, doll" He said right as a icy blast hit him, freezing him solid. I looked at Tundra in shock.

She shrugged. "He'll be fine, its not the first time I've left him in the cold." She smirked as I visibly shuddered.Note: dont piss off Tundra.

The third changeling cleared his throat, causing me to finally look his way. He had green eyes, but had the basic hair color most changelings have. What made him stick out was that he had no legs. Instead, he floated at the table with a small cloud instead.

"Greetings, newcomer. My name is Monsoon. I lead the Low tide battalion, which is in charge of all conflict with magic weilders." He nods towards the table closest to us, and the changelings there either wave at me or don't notice me since they seemed far too invested in making clouds of rain assault the guys at the Rock-Solid table.

Monsoon looks back to me. "As you can tell, we are named after the element we've been blessed with. Tremor can weild magma and rocks, Tundra handles ice and wind, and I handle Water. There's also Volt, but he's not easy to... get through to." he said with a sigh. Then things got weird as the room suddenly got quiet, with everyone not moving.

I felt this odd feeling out of nowhere, it was like the static electricity in the room picked up by 100 volts. My hair was sticking up, and I looked around for the source. Monsoon sighed again and pointed up. I looked up and fell out of my chair in shock as "Volt" dropped from the ceiling.

Ok, I've seen a lot of weird crap since coming here. But this took the cake. He had fully black eyes and his teeth looked like they were covered in... blood. but that wasn't even the thinf that got me. Although he was a changeling, the thing had a spider body, with each leg crackling with electrical charge going through them. His fangs also were grown out like a spiders, and those too were drenched red. Monsoon gulped a bit before continuing.

"Newcomer, meet Volt. He is in charge of griffon and dragon combat. He is the co-lieutenant of the Rock-solid battalion and handles the... executions we have to have every once in a while." Volt looked at me with a sick grin.

"Hellllloooooo Neeeeewcooooommmer" He drew out his words, savoring each one like a dessert at a fine dining restaurant. "Hehehehehehehe, Sooooorry iiif I'm a tad messsssssy, I juuuuust finished plllllaaaaaying wiiiith thoooose 'deserters' yooooou mentioned earlier." He cackled loudly and hopped over me, scurrying out of the room. I got up and looked at Monsoon in fright.

"What the hell just happened!?" I whispered. He simply shrugged as Tremor finally thawed and turned to me.

"Alright, Newbie! lets get you to the training room!" He said as Monsoon's horn lit up teleported us to a large dirt room with weapons strewn about. He stepped out and turned to me. "I hope you weren't kidding about showing me what you got, boy. But before we start, why don't you introduce me and the others to the soon-to-be pile of bones on the floor." He grinned maliciously. I rolled my eyes.

"Names Ronin. Was a mercenary for 5 years after I lost someone important to me, now I'm protecting the queens kid." He snorted at this.

"Hell, we're all her children! Tak's special, is all." He said as he eyed my sword. "Hehe, cut anyone up with that stick?"

I narrowed my eyes and averted my gaze from his for a second. "A few too many" I got out. Monsoon spoke up.

"Hey, don't ever feel regret for doing your job. We can feel those things, as you know. You had to do what you needed to survive, nothing you you can do to change that. For now, focus on your current opponent." I looked back at Tremor, who was nearly shaking with excitement.

"HAHAHA! Lets gooooo!" He roared as he rushed me at a blinding speed, slamming into me and sending me flying across the room. I landed on the ground hard and looked up as Tremor was rushing again.

Ain't doing that twice. I thought as I sprang up and sidestepped the rushing behemoth. He turned quickly around to face me just to be met with a kick to the face from the left. He spun in the air a bit before landing with a loud OOOF. I smiled at that, but the grin left my face as he got back up fast.

"Hehe, nice one newbie. But lets see how you handle that sword." His horn lit up and a longsword appeared in the air. He grabbed it with bis hoof and rushed me, Swinging the blade hard to his right.

I drew my sword and parried the blow as I got knocked back an inch or two from the intensity of the blow. He smiled and started swinging away like a madman. I deflected hit after hit but was slowly being pressed against a wall.

*In the viewing stands by the fight*

"KICK HIS ASS, TREMOR!" Tundra screeched as Monsoon floated over to her.

"Well, your attitude changed fast." He stated as Tundra simply glared at him.

"Tremor knows not to call me out in public. When its just us though...." She grinned deeply at that while Monsoon simply coughed uncomfortably at the sentence just said.

"Yoooooou twooooo have always beeeen soooo cloose, huuuh?" Volt said as he landed behind them from above. Causing Tundra to jump a mile high and Monsoon to let out an thunder like sound in fright.

"DONT DO THAT, YOU MULTI LEGGED ASSHOLE!!" Tundra yelled as Volt just giggled like a madman. Monsoon had decided to just tune out the two ad he watched the fight progress.

*Fighting ground*

I was finally pushed against the wall by the last sword strike. Tremor laughed loudly.

"Time to break that silly stick of yours!" he roared as he swung is blade from above. In a desperate effort. I swung my blade up to meet it at top speed.

When the blades met, a loud clang burat from the room as Tremors sword shattered. Tremor, in the chaos of it all, was sent flying into a wall. Tundra quickly flew over to him as Monsoon floated over, with Volt scurrying close behind.

"How did you do that? Nothing has broken his sword before!" Monsoon asked while inspecting my blade. He showed it to Volt who gasped and took several steps back with a loud hiss.

"Keeeeeep thaaat awaaay from meeeee!" He screeched. "Thaaaaat isssss maaade from Adamantine!" Monsoon looked shocked.

"Where did you get this sword?" He asked. I gave him a confused look.

"My grandad gave it to me before he passed. Why?" He pondered this, then spoke up.

"Adamantine is a rare ore here in equestria and its surrounding countries. It hasn't been found in a mine in centuries! its also the only metal that can kill Volt here, so do be careful with it." Monsoon said as Volt scurried away from the room.

Tremor walked over and gave me another back-breaking pat. "HAHAHA, your tough as nails!" he stated as I looked at him, confused by his reaction.

"I didn't beat you though." I said as Tundra walked up to me, visibly angry.

"Honey, it takes an army to beat Tremor in hand to hand combat. Be lucky he switched to swordfighting to give you a chance." With that, she took flight and left the room. Tremor rolled his eyes.

"Don't let her get to you. She's upset you put me in a wall. But she'll get over it when I see her later tonight." He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows as I rolled my eyes and playfully punched his shoulder.

"Dude, your downright disgusting" I said with a laugh as a changeling flew into the room.

"The queen needs to see Ronin, Immediately!" It screeched and it sent a spell at me. Among contact with me, it teleported me to the throne room. I looked up and saw Chrysalis. I kneeled as she spoke up.

"I have decided to test you in order to see if your worthy of assisting us in our plans." She said all the while glaring daggers at me. "A changeling spy we sent to obtain a magical artifact has been captured by royal authority. I need you to break into Canterlot castle and retrieve the spy before they obtain highly confidential information from him."

I stood up and smiled. "Easy enough, though how much force is allowed to be used if discovered." I asked as her face contorted into a wicked grin.

"Why, the only force Necessary, LETHAL." She growled. "You will be assigned to this task with Monsoon. Under NO circumstances are you to fail me, or else!" She yelled loudly as she stood up from her throne.

I gave a quick salute and a "YES MA'AM" as I walked out the room towards the barracks.

So, I finally get to meet these pony scum. I thought, relishing in the idea of meting out some well-deserved bloodshed if need be.

Author's Note

With that, Ronin is off to canterlot! Will he succeed in breaking out the changeling? and what will happen if he runs into Raiden? All to be answered next time, my Fic-crazy ponies!

and remember, LOVE AND TOLERATE!!!!

*oh, and do comment on how y'all feel about the changeling lieutenants! I'd love to know which ones you love and which ones you hate

Chapter 8: First day of school and a new friend.
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 8: First day of school and a new friend.

*Nicholas POV*

It was thursday morning, about 5 days after I had arrived. And today was going to be bad. How would I know? It only takes one word: School.

After being told I was going to go to the school here in ponyville, I had started to panic and had tried to come up with several excuses as to why I couldn't go. Sadly, you can't trick a pony into thinking your sick when she takes care of animals for a living.

As sunlight shined through the window, I pulled the covers over my head. Fluttershy had given me her guest bedroom to use, and although it was nice, the window was directly in front of the bed. So that meant I was getting a rude awakening each day.

I rolled over just as the door opened. I heard the soft sound of hooves walking towards my bed. Then I was poked in the back softly.

"Nicholas... Its time to get up." Fluttershy softly said to me. I groaned in response and didn't move an inch.

"You don't want to be late for your first day, do you?" She said slightly louder. I rolled to face her and nodded my head, then rolled back over.

She let out a sigh. "You leave me no choice, then. Angel, could you wake up Nicholas for me?"

Angel? I thought as I heard a couple of soft thumps come up the stairs and into the room. I felt pressure on the edge of the bed as whatever angel was slowly came closer. I rolled over to look at the source to be met with a flyswatter to the face.

"OWWW!" I yelled, gripping my now-red face. The bunny smirked at me and hopped off the bed.

"Come here, you!" I growled, grabbing the flyswatter. The bunny's eyes widened as it fled the room. I sighed and dropped the swatter.

"What the heck was that, Fluttershy's guard bunny or something?" I said as I looked over and saw a package by the end of the bed with a note attached. I opened the note amd read it.

Dear Nicholas,

This package contains all the clothes I have made for you so far. There should be enough clothes in there to last you two weeks. And don't worry about paying me back, I wouldn't dream of charging a friend of my sisters cor their clothes. Enjoy, Darling!

Rarity

I opened the package and gasped at the clothes inside. There were shirts, jeans, shorts, and even underwear in there, each with their own design. I smiled as I changed into a new set of clothes. My old shirt was replaced with a new t-shirt with a Diamond on its center. The jeans I put on were way more comfortable than the original ones I had. I slipped on my shoes and walked downstairs and into the kitchen.

Fluttershy was just finishing up breakfest as I came down. She looked up at me. "Oh, thank goodness your awake. I was worried you wouldn't wake up in time." She said to me.

"Sorry about that, not much of a morning person." I said as I sat down at the table. She flew over and placed a pancake or two on my plate. I took a bite and nearly cried with joy at the food. It was absolutely amazing!! I finished quickly as Fluttershy left and came back with a backpack.

"I went out and got you this while you were asleep. I thought you would like to wear it, if you don't mind that is." She finished with a slight squeak.

I smiled at her. "Of course I would! Thanks Fluttershy!" I said as I hugged her, recieveing one back at the same time.

Then a loud set of knocking at the door. I went over and opened it to be met with the girls.

"What's up?" I said as the smiled at me.

"We decided we would walk with you to school today." Sweetie belle started.

"Since yer new 'ere and all" Applebloom seconded.

"So lets go already!!" Scootaloo finished. I laughed a bit and turned to Fluttershy.

"See you later, Fluttershy." I said as I walked out the door. She waved to me.

"Goodbye Nick, enjoy your first day at school." She called as the door closed. She turned around and noticed that, for the first time, the silence in her cottage was not too enjoyable anymore. She sighed and went to clean the kitchen.

***********

"Ah can't wait to show ya to the class!" Applebloom said as we approached the school. I was honestly tempted to turn tail and go back to Fluttershys, but something told me that she wouldn't be too happy about that, so I was going to have to tough it out.

"Are you ok, Nick?" Sweetie belle asked me. Before I could answer, a mare walked up to us. Sha was this maroon-ish color with a light and slighter darker shades of pink in her mane. She had 3 flowers as her cutie mark.

"So you must be Nicholas. Its a pleasure to meet you." She said with that smile teachers wear. "My name is Cherilee, and I will be your teacher while you go here." She turned to the girls. "Hello, girls. I take it your friends with Nicholas?"

"Yup, we meet him the day he arrived in ponyville!" Scootaloo said.

"Well thats wonderful. I'm glad to see you have made some friends in such a short time. Now, let's get to class. Im sure you will love it here, Nicholas." The teacher said and walked into the school, with us in tow behind her.

When we walked in, the whole class got quiet, all eyes on me as I stood in front of them. Cherilee cleared her throat.

"Now class, today we have a new student joining us. Nicholas, why don't you introduce yourself?" She said as the crusaders took seats with the rest of the class.

I gulped and took a deep breath. "H-hello everyone. As you heard, my name is Nicholas, but please, just call me Nick." I said as a kid up front raised his hoof eagerly.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes?" I asked as looked at me.

"What are you?" He asked. great, 10 seconds in and we have already started with questions. A smile came to my face though, realizing the potential fun that could be had here.

"Well, I'm called a human. and get this, I'm from another planet!" As i said this, all the kids (minus the crusaders) eyes went wide with shock. A filly with glasses near the back spoke up. She had a grey coat and silvery grey hair with a spoon with a heart in the edge of it as a cutie mark.

"What's your planet like?" She asked me. As I answered, I couldn't helo but notice the glare i was receiving from one girl. she was pink and had purple/white hair. I noticed she not only had a taira for a mark, but a matching one on her head as well.

"Its similar to this one, but way more dangerous. The people that live there are far more likely to hurt others than you ponies, and due to that, most kids can't walk to school anymore. Defenitely not with the freedom I could here." I said as several more questions came in at once. Thankfully, Cherilee stepped in.

"Now class, lets not get carried away." She turned to me. "Your seat is next to sweetie belle." She pointed to a sit down the third row. I went to sit in it as she continued. "Now, take out some paper for notes, because we are about to go into the wonderful life of Isaac Neighton!" She cheerfully exclaimed as the class groaned in unison.

I panicked slightly at that until I looked in my bookbag. It was full of paper and even had a pencil at the bottem. Thank you, Fluttershy! I thought as I took out the materials and prepared to take notes.

********

The lesson was about as fun as I had expected. So when we were dismissed to recess, I'm proud to say I was one of the first kids out the door. After waiting up for the girls, we decided to figure out what to do.

"Oooh, we should get the whole class to play freeze-tag!" Scootaloo said as Applebloom rolled her eyes.

"Freeze-tags boring! besides, no one catches ya because ya use yer scooter to cheat!" She said as Scootaloo narrowed her eyes a bit.

"It's not cheating! its called winning." She said as they started to argue. But just before they could start, they were interrupted.

"Looks like the blank flanks can't get along!" The pink pony from earlier said as her and the spoon pony walked up.

"Leave us alone, Diamond tiara!" Sweetie belle said. Diamond tiara just laughed.

So this is who the girls warned me about? I thought with a raised eyebrow. She honestly didn't seem like much of a problem. Spoiled? Defenitely, but not really a threat per say.

She noticed me looking at her funny and turned to me. "And what are you staring at? your more of a freak than they are!" She said this as the spoon girl laughed. Seems like they are buds.

I was about to retort when I noticed something odd. At the other end of the area, their was what looked like a colt sitting with his back against the wall of the school with his head down. I pushed past the two jerks and walked towards him.

"HEY!!! Are you even listening to me!? DON'T IGNORE ME WHEN IM TALKING TO YOU!" Diamond yelled after me while the crusaders were laughing at my antics.

I ignored it all as I reached the kid. He had this silvery hair and deep green eyes, almost as if they glowed. He had black fur and a horn. I noticed that he had no cutie mark. I cleared my throat.

"Are you alright?" I asked him as he looked at me, confused.

"I-I-I'm fine, just no one wanted to talk to me before you came. I arrived yesterday, and thanks to that Diamond girl, the other colts and fillies think I have some disease because my eyes glow slightly." He looked down at that.

I snorted. "Well, I think its awesome. I'm Nick, what's your name?" I asked, extending my hand. He looked at it and took it without hesitation, suprising me. He was the first pony to know what that meant right off the bat.

"My name is Cacoono" he said as he shook my hand. I sat next to him ad the trio came up to us.

"Hey, Nick. who's the new guy?" Scootaloo asked. I looked at her, slightly confused.

"His names Cacoono, bit didn't you all see him when y'all came here yesterday?" They shook their heads.

"We didn't come yesterday, because we spent the day cleaning up a mess we had made while crusading." Sweetiebelle said as the other two looked away sheepishly.

"What do you mean by.... crusading?" Cacoono asked. Their faces lit up.

"We are on a mission to get our cutie marks!" Scootaloo said. Cacoono looked at her with suprise.

"So, you all aren't going to wait for it to happen, your taking matters into your own hooves and shaping your own paths. that's so cool!" He said excitedly. Applebloom smiled.

"Well, thats ah fancy way of puttin' it." She said as she took a better look at Cacoono. "I've never seen you around ponyville before, are you new to town as well?

Cacoono nodded. "Me and my parents moved here from canterlot. It's such a nice change from that loud city." He said with a sigh.

I smiled at him. "I get the feeling, man. Before coming here, I lived in a place called Destin. It wasnt the biggest place, but it was still busy. I prefer this type of place anytime."

We continued to chat until Cherilee called us back inside to finish the school day. After that we walked home togethor, branching off as each of us went to our respective homes. Soon it was just me and Sweetiebelle.

"Ya know, school isn't so bad here." I said and Sweetiebelle grinned at me.

"Thats great to hear, Nick! I was worried at first when you told us about your other school. but then you just went through today without breaking a sweat! You even made a new friend as well." She finished as we approached Raritys house (I swear, shes just a unicorn rapunzel, with the way that house looks)

I turned to her. "Well, being able to spend the day with you and the others is what made it so bearable. Scoots is funny, Applebloom is creative, and honestly, your the easiest to talk to about stuff." I leaned in a tad. "Just don't tell the others that." She giggled at that, then turned towards the door.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Nick!" She called out eagerly, waving as I turned to leave.

"See ya, Belle." I said as I took off in a sprint towards Fluttershy's cottage, eager to tell her about my day.

**********

Sweetiebelle walked into the boutique and closed the door just as her sister walked up to her from behind.

"Well, looks like somepony enjoys their new friend." Rarity said with a knowing smirk. Sweetiebelle looked at her like she was crazy as she walked past her sister and went towards the stairs

"WHAT!! I don't like Nick like that! He's just really nice. And sweet. And smart. and...."
she continued as she walked upstairs as Rarity squealed.

"Oh, such young love. How sweet." She sighed as she went back to working on the new dress order she had gotten.

********

It had long gotten dark outside, and Fluttershy was turning off the rest of the lights in her cottage. After Nicholas had returned, he had happily told her about the school day he had, and how his worries were unfounded in school not being fun here. It made her all warm inside to see him like that. After they had ate dinner, he had went upstairs to go to bed, but not before asking Fluttershy if she could bring him a glass of water. So she made one for him and was going up the stairs to give it to him.

When she opened his door, she saw him asleep on his bed, covered up and everything. She placed the water by the bed and kissed him on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Nicholas." She whispered as she turned to leave, but stopped as he moved a bit in his sleep.

"mmmm....goodnight....mom" He said as he snored. Fluttershy smiled big at that, a tear or two of happiness going down her face as she went to her own room to sleep.

Author's Note

Well, that was sweet, huh? Of course, with such a nice chapter, you'd think the next one following would be nice as well, right? NOPE! Fresh warning, shit will start to hit the fan with the next chapter, So you've been warned!

Love and tolerate, My fic-crazy ponies!

Chapter 9: Reunited at last?
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 9: Reunited at last?

*Ronin POV*

I was in the room they had given me after the meeting with chrysalis yesterday. It was a decent spread, it had a simple bed in the corner, with what looked like a place to hang my sword next to it. What struck me as odd was that there was an armour stand in the middle of the room. I didn't have any armour myself, so that had to mean....

But my thoughts were interrupted as Monsoon came into the room with some ring floating next to him.

"For the mission tonight, your going to need this, since you don't have any powers." He said as he levitated the ring to me. I grabbed it and looked at it carefully. It was solid white, but had the queens crown as a symbol on the front of it.

"What's this going to do?" I asked as Monsoon was floating around the room. He stopped at the armour stand and turned to me.

"Put that ring on, and you will see." He said, grinning strongly at me. I rolled my eyes and slipped it on my right pointer finger.

Nothing.

I was about to tell him off when I noticed the ring glowing. Then, out of nowhere, green flames erupted on my body. I wanted to yell, but the flames didn't hurt, even though they were dancing on my skin. I started to notice a layer of black slowly encasing me. It went around my whole body, even up to my head. But when it got to my eyes, a visor appeared instead. When the transformation stopped, I looked into a mirror that was resting against a wall.

The ring had created a suit of armour around me. It was mostly black, but had white flames surrounding the chestplate. The knees and elbow parts had small spikes sticking out. And the helmet looked more like one a knight would wear, except the visor was made of a glass like substance that surrounded only my eyes. The visor itself was designed to look like changeling eyes, these ones being pure white. The only thing not covered was my mouth.

I turned to Monsoon with a grin. "How did you manage this?" I asked as he took in his creation.

"Well, in the fight with Tremor yesterday, you spilt some blood due to the rush attack he did. So, I took a sample and had this exo-suit made from a mix of your dna and our changeling venom." He stated as I looked at him, slack-jawed. So he had made some kind of power suit that only worked for me? Sweet!

"Damn, that's cool." I said as I flexed in the mirror. He rilled his eyes and laughed.

"Well, we should get ready to go, it should be dark out now. The perfect time dor a break-out." Monsoon said, smiling wickedly. I couldn't help but notice that I shared the same grin.

***********
*Raiden POV
***********

Well, today sucks.

I was supposed to be on break for a week so I could go see Nicholas, but apparently the changeling from the day before had told the guard it would only talk to me. So instead of taking the night train to ponyville (dumb name, btw) I was walking towards the dungeon with Shining Armour.

As we arrived at the door holding the prisoner, Shining turned to me.

"Let me do most of the talking. We have got to find out why he was stealing that necklace, and if there will be more attacks in the future." He said as I nodded. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to the damned thing.

We walked into the cell and Shining closed the door. There was a table in the middle of the room and the changeling was sitting at a stool next to it. Armour and I took a seat at the table, with the notice of how the changeling's eyes never left mine.

Shining cleared his throat. "Now, I brought Raiden. So talk!" He said as he glared at the changeling. The thing wasn't fazed though, and smiled before opening its mouth

"How long do you think you can hold me here?" It said as it leaned back and stretched, back popping while doing so.

Shining didnt let up. "We will keep you here until you answer my questions, so, why did you steal the necklace?" He huffed in anger. I honestly felt bad for the guy. Neither of us wanted to be doing this now. I had a brother to see (and another to find) and Shining had a wedding to plan. Yet here we are, playing good cop bad cop with a bug thing.

The changeling laughed loudly. "Hehehe, I shall only say one thing, and it will directed to the human here." Shinings eyes went wide as the thing smirked. "Oh yes, I know what he is, I'm connected to the hive after all, and from the chatter going on lets just say your not the only one who has a human working for royalty." He grinned as my jaw dropped.

CRASH!!!!

I jumped as a large lightning strike hit outside the castle. Shining looked up in confusion.

"hmm, thats odd." he said. "There's no storm forcasted for today." I turned bacl to the changeling.

"What do you know of my brother?" I asked him as he simply smiled and looked me in the eyes.

"Hehehehe, it doesn't matter. You'll see each other soon enough." He cackled as a guard rushed into the room.

"Captain, you need to see this. There's this changeling in the courtyard demanding to see the human." He said as he looked at me. Shinings stood up.

"What are we waiting for, lets go!" We ran towards the courtyard after locking the door. As we ran, though, the changelings words echoed through my mind

you'll see each other soon enough.

What did he mean by that? We stopped as we approached the courtyard.

There was a changeling out there, but ut was different. It was standing on its hind legs, and it had hands instead of hooves. Insteadof just plain black, its skin-like exterior had white flames around the chest and leg parts. The thing had white eyes and weirdly enough, no horn or wings.

Shining, along with several guards, approached it, unfazed by the pouring rain.

"What are you?" He asked. "And why do you want the human?" The thing took a step forward, undeterred by the guards around him.

It spoke in a dark voice. "Step out of the way, pony scum. I'm not here to draw blood. I'm here...." it reached for its head and slowly pulled it off! "For my brother."

It was a helmet, and when it took it off, Ronin was underneath.

Wait? RONIN!?

"Brother!" I yelled as I pushed through the guards and Shining to pull him into a hug. He returned it and we stayed there for a bit. I looked at him in the face, noticing his smile. "Where the hell have you been?"

The smile was gone in an instant. "I was with a species these ponies have shunned. They are called changelings, brother, and they need our help." I gave him an incredulous look.

"What? changelings are the bad guys here! One broke in and stole a necklace from the princess, for goodness sake." I said as he groaned and face-palmed.

"That changeling did that as an act of rebellion against a princess who's nothing but a lying, conniving Shit-eater." The guards surrounding us gasped and drew weapons and charged their horns.

"How dare he talk about the princess like that?" One yelled.

"He deserves to die, siding with the changelings like that!" Another called out.

This was getting out of hand, really really fast.

CRASH!!!

The storm was picking up. Didn't Shining say that no storm was supposed to happen today?

My brother shook his head. "Raiden, do you really side with these ponies?" he asked. I nodded and replied.

"These ponies have been nothing but kind and helpful since I've arrived. Yes, some of them don't trust me, but thats to be expected of when some alien drops on your doorstep. The only thing I've seen a changeling do is break their laws." I finished as some guards cheered.

He closed his eyes for a second. Am I getting through to him? I thought. after a bit, he opened them and replied.

"So, there's no way to change your mind?" he asked. I shook my head. he sighed.

"Then forgive me, Brother." He said as he kicked me in the stomach, HARD.

Now, we had sparred togethor before, but this was new. Either he had harnessed some new power while gone, or that suit was helping him, but that kick was waaay stronger than before. It sent me flying into a wall.

"Seize him!!!!" Shining yelled as his troops rushed Ronin.

Ronin laughed and drew his sword. he rushed forward just as a pegasus dive-bombed him. Using the wet ground as lubricant, he slid underneath the pony and sliced its left wing off. the guard screamed and crashed into a wall.

Several earth pony guards surrounded Ronin and drew swords and spears. He laughed and placed his helmet back on. "Lets even this out." He growled in that dark voice again and threw his sword straight up into the air, causing it to fly out of sight.

One guard swung at him with his sword, just to have Ronin duck under and deliver a nasty spinkick to the side of his face, causing the guard to slam into two others. One with a spear jabbed forward, but Ronin caught the spear by the pole part and snapped in two, using the pole part he got from it to deflect another sword and knock another pony out.

Shining ran up to me. "You need to go, I'll handle your brother." He turned as I got up.

"Please, just, don't kill him unless you absolutely have to." I said weakly as a scream let out from behind us. We turned to see Ronin holding the last guard standing by her horn.

"Please, no!" She begged, tears running down her face. Ronin tilted his head back and laughed. He looked her dead in the eye.

"Ya know, for a species blessed with magic and flying, y'all are a bunch of weak crybabies." He said as he snapped her horn off. She shrieked in pain before landing on the ground. Ronin turned towards us and did a slit throat motion towards Shining.

Shining glared at him. "Raiden, I think we're way past non-lethal force." He growled as he walked towards Ronin, horn shining. Quick as a gun. the horn shot a blast at Ronin. I closed my eyes, waiting for the scream of pain from him.

It never came...

The shot had deflected off him and hit a wall nearby. Ronin smiled and walked towards the captain.

"Is that all the fated prince-to-be can do?" He laughed as Shining rushed forward, causing him to rush as well.

CLANG!

Ronin sword met with one Shining summoned and caused them to get knocked back several feet. They recovered quickly and rushed Again.

CLANG! CRASH!

Mixed with the intense storm surrounding them, the fight almost looked like a movie. With each matching each others advances with parries and counters. Both had been scraped slightly by each others swords, after a while, both landed on the ground in a exhausted heap.

"Huff...Puff.....Not bad." Ronin said as the storm suddenly stopped. Like, it literally disappeared! No clouds were even in the sky. A flash of golden light to my left, and the princess was here.

"Celestia!" I said when she saw me. Her gaze became worried as she healed my ribs.

"What happened to you? she asked. I nodded towards the two in the center of the courtyard.

"My brother." I said shallowly as her gaze became narrow. she turned and walked out to the 2 guys just as Ronin was getting up.

"Ahhh, so your the princess who's been charming my brother." He said venomously. She didn't seem fazed and responded.

"And your the brother we couldn't find." She said as she took in the damage. there were about 12 guards lying either dead or knocked out around her. She looked up in a rage. "Why did you kill them!" She yelled out.

Ronin, suprising all of us, laughed. he kept going for a bit, while Celestia slowly got more angry. He finally stopped and looked her dead in the eyes.

"Because its what you deserve." He growled as a green flame started to surround him "Heh, looks like my ride's here. We shall meet again, princess." He said as he was engulfed. After it disappeared, there was nothing left where he was standing.

The princess turned and walked towards me as Shining recovered from his exhaustion. She stopped amd looked me in the eye.

"Raiden, as much as I hate to say this, when your brother is caught, he will have to pay for the crimes he committed here." She said as put my head into my hands.

"Ronin, what the hell have you done?" I said as a guard came running outside.

"Your majesty! The changeling prisoner has escaped!" He got out between breaths as Shining cursed under his breath.

"Damn!" he growled. "All of this was a diversion, just so the changeling could escape!" He said as Celestia shook her head.

"He would've needed help, I figured that storm wasn't natural. the question is, who made it?" She said as we slowly made our way into the castle.

*******
Ronin POV
*******

After the flames died down, I found myself in the throne room. Monsoon, Volt, Chrysalis, and some other changeling was there as well.

Monsoon floated towards me. "Well done, my friend. I saw the whole thing as I was rescuing our spy here." he nodded towards the changeling, who kneeled at my feet.

"I owe you my life, Thanatos." He said as I raised a brow in confusion.

Volt cut in. "Iiiiiiiit meeeeeaaans reeeeapeeer iiiin ouuuurr laaanguaaage." He gleefully growled. "A weeeell deserved title toooooo!"

Chrysalis walked up, flashing a fangy grin. "Now that you have proven your self, it is time." Monsoon and the others left immediately. I gave her a confused look.

"Time for what?" I asked.

She looked me in the eyes. "You have proven to be loyal to us, going as far as to draw blood for our cause. So I am giving you the choice to become a halfing. You will still retain your human form, but you will have our powers amd skills. But it is your decision." She stated as I thought about it.

If I accepted this, I would never be the same. Going to earth would be out of the picture, and I would be fully embracing this life. If I don't, I could easily still help them, but what if I come across that princess again. I could tell she was strong, and even a power suit wont help me against her. Besides, Raiden made his choice to help the ponies, so why shouldn't I have the same freedom. Mot to mention how cool it would be to have some powers.

I looked at her and kneeled. "I accept this honor, your majesty."

She looked at me and stepped closer. "You have a choice now, either become one of us the normal way through painful transformation, or change through....personal exhange of venom." She said that last part with a odd tone.

"I'd rather it not hurt, so what's the other way?" I said as she looked slightly embarrassed.

"You would have to choose a changeling female and have them bite you on the neck, then if you wish to finish it, you must use the venom coursing through you and bite her on her neck in return. It will bond you to that changeling and give you some of her powers." She finished as I stood still.

"So, to become a halfling, I have to pretty much get kinky with a changeling." I deadpanned as Chrysalis blushed slightly at the choice of words.

"Yes, but don't say it like that! Now, I shall bring several females from each battalion for you to choose from, and you can easily pick which one to bond with." She didn't notice I had slowly walked up to her, as she had turned mid-talk.

"I think I know who I wish to bond with." I said as I stopped behind her. She turned and found herself face to face with me. For a moment, she looked confused, then realization dawned on her face.

"You can't be serious!?" She yelled. "You can't bond with a queen! that's never even been heard o-MMMPH!" She was cut off as I grabbed her horn and pulled her into a kiss. It wasnt a crazy one or anything like that, but it sent the message.

For a second, she tried to pull away. But then she suprised me by pushing me onto the ground. After a second we broke apart, panting for breath. She glared at me.

"How dare you kiss me like that!" She growled deeply before kissing me again. "I am a queen and you will not treat me like thaaaat!" She yelped the last bit as I picked her up and slammed her into her throne with another kiss, this one way more passionate. I pulled back and looked into her mesmerizing green eyes.

"I will do whatever the hell I want." I growled as she slowly started to smile. "And right now, I want you to bite my fucking neck!" I roared the last part as she greedily sank her fangs into my neck. I let out a groan as I nipped hers with my own teeth. I soon felt myself get pulled into the air by magic as I was surrounded by a green glow.

"Come, we must finish your punishment in private!" She growled as she led me into her chambers and slammed the door shut.

*********
Nicholas POV
*********

I had woken up to the sound of talking downstairs, so I walked downstairs to find Twilight and Fluttershy sitting with a really big pony with wings and a horn. she was white as snow with flowing hair. I then noticed who was sitting next to her.

"RAIDEN!!" I yelled as I ran up and bear hugged my brother. He smiled down at me and ruffled my hair.

"Heya, nikky." He said, calling me that same old nickname again. It felt so good to see him. I looked up at him.

"Now we can go find Ronin!" I said happily. I then noticed the mood in the room plummet. Raiden looked at me with an upset expression.

"Little bro, we have a LOT to talk about."

Author's Note

Welp, there we go. The brothers are (partially) reunited at last. but with one of their own on the wrong side, what will become of their family bonds? We shall soon see, my fic-crazy ponies!

and never forget: LOVE AND TOLERATE!

Chapter 10: Call of the spellweaver
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 10: Call of the spellweaver

*Nicholas POV*

When I had went down those stairs to the sight of not only the princess of the kingdom, but my brother Raiden as well, I thought today was going to be amazing!

Not even close...

"WHAT!!! Ronin would never do that!" I yelled in shock as Raiden had told me what had happened last night. Raiden looked at me with a sigh as the princess was quietly conversing with twilight. Fluttershy had her wing around me in a soft embrace, calming my nerves.

"I mean, yeah, he can be stubborn sometimes." I continued, remembering all the times Ronin had argued with a stranger or teacher about menial things. "But he's not evil!" At this, princess Celestia looked towards me with a sad smile.

"It warms my heart to hear such faith in someone, but I believe I may know what would cause him to act this way." Everyone turned towards her.

"What would cause somepony to be so violent, princess?" Twilight asked her. Celestia suddenly dawned a more serious face.

"He is either under the queens control, or he has completely sided with them." She said as Twilight eyes widened. She had been sent a letter last night about the incident and had immediately came to Fluttershy's to meet up with the princess. And after learning that the other human had been able to match her brother in combat, even though he was captain of the royal gaurd, she was worried.

"But who would side with them, from what you told me, they seem to be a crude species that steals love and destroys countries." Raiden cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"It wasn't mind control. Nor was it an imposter. That man Shining battled was defenitely my brother." Raiden got up and walked to a window and sighed. "Looks like some things never change." He said softly. Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"He has done this before?" She asked. Raiden turned towards her and gave her a slow nod.

"Back when we were teenagers, our parents.... weren't the best of people, Dad especially. He really didn't like Ronin, said he had failed him when he started learning the art of swordfighting. You see, dad was one of those people you'd call a hippie, And he hated weapons. So when he learned his own son was learning how to do weild one, he went ballistic. He sent him to a friend of his that was meant to 'hippilize' him, as he called it." Raiden sighed and looked away from us. "But when we didn't hear from his friend, dad went to check on things, only to find his friend dead and his son gone." He finished.

Celestia's eyes were wide. Twilight honestly looked like she was terrified, and Fluttershy was pretty much using me as a shield to hide. Twilight spoke up.

"w-what happened?" She asked timidly. Ronin faced her and smiled, though it seemed hollow.

"We found him by grandpa Brims grave." When he said this, Celestia's face showed several emotions At once. First was suprise, then sadness. I raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything. I turned to Raiden instead.

"Your telling me he killed dad's friend?" I asked, not wanting to believe it. He clenched his fist slightly.

"There is some other things that went down as well, but yes. He did." Raiden said as time simply stopped for me.

I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. I turned to Fluttershy.

"I'm going for a walk." I said as I walked out the house.

"Nick, wait." Raiden said, but I was gone.

********
Raiden POV
********

I sighed as the door was closed. I probably shouldn't had told that story, but it had to be said. I turned to the yellow pegasus.

"I wish to thank you for taking care of my brother. It means a lot to me." As I said this, her body became more of a ball as she hid in her mane. How cute, she's a shy one. I thought as I smiled and turned to Celestia. "Princess, what are going to do about my brother?" She looked at me and sighed.

"For now, nothing. Even with the attack yesterday, my niece wishes for the wedding plans to continue." She said as me and twilight went bug-eyed.

"Wedding plans?" Twilight asked

"Even with the attack!" I said, suprised at the boldness.

She nodded her head and smiled at Twilight. "My niece is too stubborn not to have the wedding, even though I have tried to warn her. Although the captain did have a plan to stop any assault from happening." She said as Twilight looked suprised.

"My brother is helping out with the wedding?" She said as I laughed.

"Well, yeah. He's the groom, after all!" I got out before noticing the look on Twilights face. She had this look pure shock. "You didn't know that, did you?" I said before she exploded.

"MY BROTHER IS GETTING MARRIED!?" She yelled. Celestia smiled at her.

"Indeed, my little pony. He is marrying my niece, Mi Amor Cadenza, or as you know her, Cadence." Celestia said.

"Wait, she knowd Cadence?" I asked as Twilight turned to me, suddenly giddy.

"She was my babysitter when I was younger! She was the nicest babysitter I ever had. And now I'll get to call her sister!" Twilight started jumping around us yelling 'YES!' over and over. Celestia and I shared a smirk at her actions before getting back to the topic at hand.

"Celestia, What was that stuff my brother was wearing?" I asked. her eyebrows furrowed as she asnwered.

"That would be an old enhancement changeling mages used in the past, it gave beings that were not changelings some of their powers. Usually, it was reserved for those who would become..." She trailed off with a look of fear as I raised an eyebrow.

"Become what?" I asked, worry starting to take place.

"I fear your brother has been chosen my the queen to become one of them." She said as my blood went cold. Would Ronin become a changeling? Thinking about the power behind his attacks yesterday, the answer was obvious.

"Why would Ronin wish to become a changeling?" Twilight asked as she recovered from her burst of joy. Celestia simply turned from her.

"Not a changeling, a halfing. And with the raw power and skill Ronin has, he may become one of the powerful threats to the kingdom. Especially if Chrysalis has him as a part if her unit." She said the last part with ice in her tone. Something told me that those two have a history.

"Celestia, is there way to counter that power?" I asked. She turned to me and nodded, albeit hesitantly.

"For where there is darkness, there is light. In this case, we need to follow example." She said as twilight raised an eyebrow.

"You mean, like create our own enchanted armour?" Twilight asked, but Celestia shook her head.

"Its not so simple, we would first need to obtain a blood sample of an ancient species that has strong power behind their blood. Then we would have to have the magical device for the suit forged. Of course, we would also need somepony to wear it, but the strain of the armour is high, and we would need a strong-willed being to wear it." She finished as I nodded at her.

"I'll wear it." I said as they looked at me in suprise. "What? If we are going to make a suit of armour capable of battling my brother, then it should be me who wears it. After all, He's my brother." Celestia nodded at this, but Twilight frowned.

"How are we going to obtain the resources to do this? What species could we use?" She questioned as we all sat there in silence. A quiet cough pierced the silence as Fluttershy, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

"What about dragon blood, if you don't mind me asking." She timidly said. Celestia's eyes widened with a smile forming her face.

"That would be perfect, Fluttershy!" She exlaimed as the little pegasus shrank a bit due to the attention.

"But where would we get a dragon from?" I asked as Twilight smirked.

"I know just where and who to go to." She said proudly.

*************
Nicholas POV
*************

Well, today sucks. I thought as I sat beneath an apple tree. I had walked a decent bit and decided to park it under one of the many apple trees around here so I could think. Today was such a rush of emotion! I had learned that both of my brothers were alive and kicking, which was good. but that one of them had defected to some evil queens side, which was bad. And from how they were talking about Ronin, it made me wonder just what would happen to him if he got caught. They could throw him in jail for the rest of his life! or worse....

I shook my head. No, Ronin was too tough to be caught. and even if he was, Raiden wouldn't let them kill him, right? I yawned softly. This apple tree was sooo comfy. I soon drifted off to sleep, no knowledge of the dark aura that had surrounded the tree I was sleeping under.

************
???
************

WAKE UP!! A loud, yet oddly familiar voice, called to me.

I awoke in some temple thing. Why do I feel like I have been here before? I thought as I turned towards the origin of the voice. It was a man in a cloak, and that mark on his chest...

You do not remember me because I wiped your memory. Let me fix that... he said as a purple light surrounded me.

The memories flowed back quickly. I stared at him.

"Why did you wipe my memories?" I asked. He simply laughed as he removed his hood.

He was absolutely disgusting! Although his head was a sharp bald, his face was rotted on the left side of his face, with the eye missing entirely. The right was almost too normal. Sharp blue eyes, and a smile that looked normal on a tiger hunting prey.

How do I look? not bad for a guy who was slain by your grandfather. He cackled as my eyes widened in suprised.

"Wait, you knew my grandfather? and what do you mean slain?" I asked him as he picked up two orbs, one blue and one yellow.

Sit, spellweaver. And I'll tell you my story. A chair appeared behind me, so I sat in it. The man started pacing the room, the two orbs now floating around him.

Your grandfather and I were best friends back on your planet. But due to a necklace he found one fateful day, we were brought to this one. We quickly were found by the two princesses of this land. After a while, we became close with them. Callobrim became close with Celestia, being her personal knight. And I appealed to princess luna as her right-hand sage. He looked away at that. Ah, those were the good days. Alas, it was not meant to be. For princess luna soon started harboring resentment towards her sister. Meanwhile, I had noticed that Callobrim started getting better treatment by the others in the castle. One fateful night, we broke into an argument. It got so bad that we ended up fighting. Unbeknownst to us, the sisters were fighting nearby. After a long battle, we both were exhausted. So old Brim thought it would be good to check on Celestia. When he turned his back, I fired one last shot of magic at him. My eyes widened.

"What happened?" I asked, slowly getting worried for some reason. The man sighed and had a angry look on his face.

Your grandfather somehow knew the spell was coming! he ducked under it and threw his sword straight at me. And with a sickening thud, it hit me square in the chest. He turned and left. Leaving me for dead. He looked at me and smiled. But now your here, so maybe things can go as planned after all.

I gulped and started backing up, not liking what he said at all. "You tried to kill my grandfather, so why would I even think about helping you?" I said with anger rising in my voice.

He laughed again and frowned. I see that even though your not him, you still cling to the same basic ideals and beliefs that caused nightmare moon to kill him. Its funny really, he could've let Celestia die that day to the spell I had set on the elements of harmony, but he HAD to ruin it by touching them first. I looked at him in a rage.

"What did you do?" I growled. he waved his hand as if to blow off the question.

I had cursed the elements so if someone touched them, they would be weakened. However, Callobrim knew of this, and grabbed them first, causing the spell to weaken him instead. And once that happened, Moon cut him to bits with a single spell. Of course, his spirit was returned to Earth after this, But I was forced to stay here in this forsaken place! I raised an eyebrow.

"What is this place, anyway?" I asked, but he was done with questions.

ENOUGH!!! You have stalled long enough, and since you will not listen to reason, then you must PERISH! With that, he shot several beams at me.

Remembering what I did last time, I concentrated and put up a red shield. The beams were deflected, but I was pushed almost into a wall in the process. He growled again and shot a much bigger beam at me. Knowing I couldn't block this one, I jumped out of the way and turned towards him.

THERE IS NO ESCAPE, SPELLWEAVER!!! just as he said that, I started to feel fuzzy again. His eyes went wide. NOOOO!!!! Someone is waking you up! Not now!!!! but it was too late, I had already fell into a deep sleep.

********

"WAKE UP!!!!!" was the first thing I heard as I sat up quickly, drenched in sweat. I looked over and saw Applebloom staring at me. "Dang, Nick. I thought ya nevah wake up." she said but let off a small yelp as I gave her a brisk hug.

I released her and look her in the eyes. "Thank you so much, Bloom! If you wouldn't have done that, I would've been dead meat." She gave me a confused look as there was some pink on her cheeks from the hug. I laughed a bit and smiled at her. "I geuss I should fill you in, huh?"

*********

After a bit of explaining to her, Appleblooms eyes were wide. "So, some evil feller is attacking ya in yer dreams?!" She exlaimed as I nodded. "Well, that's just terrible! How are ya gonna sleep now?" I thought about this and snapped my fingers on realization.

"Lets go to twilight, I'll bet she's got something!" Applebloom nodded as we took off towards the library. Yet in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but be worried about whats to come.

Author's Note

And with that, the race to build the dragon Armour begins! With the wedding day slowly approaching, and The sage's threats looming, what will become of the Blazehearts? Well, dont you worry, my fic-crazy ponies! because all shall be answered in due time. and remember: LOVE AND TOLERATE!

*Side note: The canterlot wedding scene, as you probably guessed, will not have the same ending as the show due to the presence od new characters(the humans, changeling lieutenants, and the sage.) It will still hold the basics from it though, such as the whole Chrysalis pretends to be cadence thing and all that.

Chapter 11: Family matters pt.1
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 11: Family matters pt.1

*Ronin POV*

I woke up with a nasty headache. And I'm not saying the drunken kind, more like the kind that you get after going through an insane blood transfusion/Lucky night with the queen of a shapeshifting bug species. Weirdest thing of it all, I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Now dont get me wrong, it wasn't the easiest conclusion to come to. I mean, she's a whole 'nother species and all that. But honestly, I had never met a woman on earth who flip my switch like that. Her attitude, the way she carries herself, and the way she hides the fact that, in the end, she cares for her people. So end the end I was able to push past the species barrier (Not giving a damn about what others might think of me) and took the plunge. And now, I find myself in a queen sized bed wondering what happens now.

I yawnes and looked around the room. It was actually pretty normal, considering who was sleeping in it. There was a closet to the side of the room, probably filled with who knows what. cabinets and drawers lined the other wall. And in the middle, the bed.

I yawned and went to move, just to remember who was on top of me. I look at the sleeping queen with a smile. Is this what love feels like? this warm, sappy feeling I have as I stare at her? I went to nudge her awake with my right hand when I got a good look at it.

The hand was completely shelled up by some sort of exoskeleton. Deciding that I needed to see what else was new, I carefully rolled Chrysalis off me and went towards a drawer that had a full body mirror on it, and my jaw dropped at the result.

The suit I had wore before was now a part of my skin, covering the soft interior with a hard exterior. It only seemed to be one certain parts of my body, though. My right shoudler and the arm and hand connected were all black and holed, with the fingertips slightly jagged. The hand could be moved, as well as the arm, so not a problem. My left eye was glowing green, and I noticed that I now had fangs. Looking down, I had black greaves on my legs, once again with holes. I was torn away from the mirror whem i heard a yawn from behind me.

"Taking in your new looks, are we?" Chrysalis said as she walked over with a sly smile on her face. "Any questions, love?" I turned to the mirror and responded.

"A couple, like what am I capable now, drawbacks of this new power, and why you went along with it last night, to name a few." I said as Chrysalis huffed slightly.

"Your lucky your special, Ronin. Or you would be punished for questioning my actions." She said with a smirk. "You will now have enhanced senses, as well as being able to sense emotions like us, but you wont be able to feed on it. The drawback is simple, you are a part of the hive mind, so you might hear a voice or two in your head when we are near each other. As for why I allowed you to do what you did, the answer is easy. " She leaned close to my ear. "You spend your life scaring ponies and dominating, then some new guy waltz up and not only is unaffected by said dominating tactics. but also pulls some of his own in showing affection. It's QUITE the turn on, you know." She breathed as I shuddered a tad. Before she could move, I turned quickly and gave her a passionate kiss. Catching her off guard, She didn't return it for a second before tackling me to the ground.

"Exactly my point." She said as a changeling walked in. She looked up at him and snarled. "What is it? Can't you see I am busy right now?" The changeling jumped in fear at her tone before answering.

"Sorry, my queen. But we just got the report from Tak and the two lieutenants you sent with him. thwy have started their plans to learn of were the elements of harmony are located." As the changeling finished, Chrysalis's smile grew wider.

"Excellent, now leave and gather our finest units. I will be leaving dor canterlot shortly." The changeling left as I looked at her, confused.

"Leaving so soon?" I teased as she smiled at me.

"As much as I would love to stay and show you how a queen treats her consorts, I muat prepare for tje invasion, and to do that, I need to be in canterlot." She finished as I frowned.

"I still don't like it, even if your going to be pretending to be his wife to be. No one should sleep with you except me." I said with a growl, starting to feel protective of my newfound lover. This was either part of the change I went through, or I'm a protective boyfriend. (hivemate?)

She giggled, yes, giggled at that. "Your already feeling dominative over me? Choosing you was defenitely a good choice on my part. But I swear if you ruin this invasion with your lovesick attitude, I will send you to tartarus myself." She threatened as I smirked at her.

"Ok, just as long as you know if I find out you left me for some captain of the royal guard, there won't be a single thing that will stop me from finding you and ripping you to shreds." I finished as we looked into each others eyes and kissed again. She pulled back and responded to me.

"Maybe my subjects could wait an hour or two before we leave. I have pressing matters here I must attend to... Immediately." She said as she locked her door.

*********
Raiden POV.
*********

I was standing outside Twilights tree-house thing as Celestia was getting into the chariot that had arrived for her.

"Celestia, are you sure you don't need me there to help you make the armour?" I asked her as she shook her head.

"Relax, Raiden. When Luna and I create the armour, we will come back and have the blood magically transfused into it, then it will be complete. For now, I am putting you on leave from your duties as my personal chef so you can catch up with your younger brother." She finished as the chariot took off. Twilight came outside and looked to me.

"Do you know where you are going to stay?" She asked me. I simply shook my head. "Well, you can stay here. I have a spare bedroom upstairs if you want it."

I turned to her and smiled. "Thanks, Twilight. I'll take you up on that offer." I said as Nick came running up with an earth pony in tow.

"GUYS GUYS! GEUSS WHAT!!" He yelled in happiness. I smirked at him and responded.

"What, bro?" I asked as he put his left hand out, a red barrier enveloping him. Twilights jaw dropped at the sight as my eyes widened.

"Whoa!" I said as Twilight recovered from the shock.

"Whoa? WHOA? this is more than a 'Whoa' moment! If Nicholas can use magic, than so could you, Raiden!" She thought for a minute before her eyes widened in fear. "and.....so could Ronin." She said with a slight gulp.

I took a worried breath. It was bad enough the guy was already becoming this worlds samson. but adding magic to that.... It would not be pretty. The idea of me using magic however, seemed way easier on the mind.

I turned to Nick. "When did this start?" I asked him. He looked to Applebloom, who shared a worried glance with him, then he turned back to me.

"Can we go inside and talk, Raiden. It's not something I want to say in the open. Woth that, Twilight led us inside the treehouse.

**********
Ronin POV
**********

After Chrysalis and I said our "goodbye" in the bedroom. She had left for Canterlot with a small unit of 70 changelings. Meanwhile, I had been teleported to what was known as the everfree forest. As I walked through the forest, I remembered what Chrysalis had told me.

Your job is to check up on Tak, Tremor, and Tundra. They have already set up a base of operations in ponyville. This town is where the elements of harmony live at. After rendezvousing with them, you must find and capture the elements. If they refuse to give you the information we need, kill them. After all, there are six of them. Plenty to interrogate, plenty to give us answers. I smiled at that as I came to a clearing some cut bushes off to the side.

This had been where I had woken up in this world. To think that so much has happened in the two weeks since I had arrived. I shook my head. I need to focus on the task at hand. I thought as I heard something in the brush nearby.

I snuck over quietly and peered behind a tree. It was three young fillies, a colt, and.... Nicholas!?!

*********
Nicholas POV.
*********

After Applebloom and I told Twilight about my magic, she told me she would teach me how to use it properly. We left shortly after that and met up with Scoots, Belle, and Cacoono. The girls had decided to try zip lining as their cutie marks (to put it in their own words: Cutie Mark Zipeliners!!) I thought it was adorable and funny, while Cacoono looked at them (mostly Scoots) in admiration. He had told us he wasn't ablr to play with othwr kids due to his parents traveling, and he seemed very excited to due so.

So here we are, in the middle of a forest we shouldn't even be in, all because Scoots was told she couldn't do it by Diamond Tiara.

"I don't know why you let her get to you, Scoots." I said as we finally found a tree worthy of our time. Scoots looked at me with a disgusted face.

"I just hate it when she runs her mouth like that. You don't see her trying to zipline with us!" Scoots said as she started climbing the tree.

"Yeah, but aren't we as guilty if she does make us do stuff like this?" Belle said as Cacoono started looking around in suprise.

"What's up with him?" Bloom asked me. I shrugged and walked up to him and put a hand in his shoulder.

"Whats the matter, Bro?" I asked him, but he looked at me in fear, his glowing eyes seeming more... glowy than usual.

"We need to go, now!!" He said as Bloom looked at him in shock.

"Go? we jus' got here, and ya wanna leave?" She went to say more, but a shadow soon loomed over us. We turned around and Sweetiebelle screamed.

The shadow was being cast by this large guy in black armour with white flamea on it. It had this blade with it that seemed familiar.

"Who are you?!" I demanded as I took a step foward, pushing the girls behind me and Cacoono (who looked like he was torn between running and staying. couldn't blame him, this thing looked scary!)

The thing slowly raised his hands and removed his helmet, revealing his face to us. I took a good look and gasped.

It was my brother, Ronin. But he was...different. He had a glowing green eye on his left, instead of the ocean blue they are supposed to be. And some of his armour looked like it was a part of his body instead of being pure metal.

He knelt down and looked me in the eye. "Little bro...is that really you?" He asked me. That's when I couldn't hold back anymore. I ran forward and hugged him really hard. He picked me up and spun me around, laughing all the while.

"RONIN!" I yelled happily as he put me down. "I was so worried, with Raiden telling me you had became a bad guy and being a queens slave or something. But here you are! With your awesome skill, we can defeat those bug things together!" As I finished, I noticed he was eyeing Cacoono strangely, while Cacoono shriviled in his gaze.

"Oh, these are my friends. The earth pony is Applebloom" She nodded slightly at Ronin. "The unicorn is Sweetiebelle." She looked at him and smiled. "And the pegasus is Scootaloo." She proudly lifted her head. "Oh! and this unicorn is Cacoono!" Said unicorn was now completely behind me. "Don't worry, he's shy." Ronin looked at all of us for a bit before turning back to me.

"Little bro, I need you to answer me something, ok?" I nodded, eager to help. "Do you know who the elements of harmony are?" At this, the crusaders smiled.

"Oh, ya mean our sistahs?" Applebloom asked. He nodded. "They live in ponyville. Mah sister is at the barn, Sweetiebelle's is at the boutique of hers." She nodded to Scootaloo. "Rainbow isn't her sistah, but she's her idol." Scootaloo cut in.

"Yeah, Rainbow dash is the best!!! but why do you want to know where they are?" Ronin simply smiled, yet the smile seemed weirdly aggresive.

"Easy, I have a business proposition for them, and I don't think they would like for this opportunity to pass by." He said as he started walking towards town.

Even though I was happy to see him, I couldn't help but shudder at the way he said that. As we followed him, I prayed that we hadn't just made a huge mistake.

Author's Note

Here we go, with ronin on a warpath for the elements, will Nicholas realize his brother has changed, and will they be able to stop Ronin from whatever he is planning? Stay tuned, my fic-crazy ponies! and remember: LOVE AND TOLERATE!!

Chapter 12: Family matters pt.2
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 12: Family matters pt.2

Author's Note

If you read the last chapter when it had its old name, I changed it. This fits the situation far better.

NOTICE: When you see this appear-MUSIC BUTTON- thats means a serious fight is going down, and I have supplied bops with lyrics that represent the bad guy or good guy's ideals. In this case, its the villian. DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the music used in this chapter, credit goes to the YouTuber and the game it comes from.

Chapter 12: Family matters pt.2

*Nicholas POV*

As we were about to walk into town, Ronin stopped. He turned to us and smiled.

"Better clean myself up, huh." He said as green flames surrounded him suddenly, causing the girls to yell out in suprise.

"He caught fire!" Scoots yelled as the fire dimmed and I gasped.

He looked liked he did before we left earth, except that his normal black/brown hair was now stark white and his left eye was still green. He wore a black jumpsuit and still beared the sword. He looked at us and smiled.

"Now that I look presentable, you kids better run along now. I have adult matters to talk with your siblings and friends with. And it wouldn't do to have y'all making it awkward for either party." He said the last part with a bit of ice in his tone. As much as I didn't want to have Ronin out of sight, I had to tell Raiden about him being here. I turned towards the girls, back to Ronin.

"Lets go, guys." I said as the girls and Cacoono looked at me in suprise. I winked at them before turning back around. "See you later, Bro." He gave a quick hug before walking towards the cakes residence. I turned to crew quickly.

"Girls, come with me. I need y'all to help me warn twilight and the others about Ronin. Cacoono, I saw how you looked at him, if you want to, you can go back home. I don't want you getting hurt. " He nodded quickly.

"Y-Yeah. See you guys later." He said as he vanished with a poof. Funny, I dont recall him being able teleport before. No matter, we had bigger things to worry about. We quickly ran towards the library, hopefully to get help quick before someone (or somepony more likely) got hurt.

***********
Ronin POV
***********

As I walked through town, I noticed that the ponies were looking at me strangely. I guess since they had seen my brothers, fear wouldn't really be on their minds. Instead, I got curious looks instead. I ignored them as I approached my destination.

I walked into the sweet shop and looked around. It was empty save a completely pink earth pony playing with a baby unicorn and pegasus. I walked up and she turned around faster than lightning. She looked at me and gasped.

"HI, IM PINKIE PIE! ARE YOU ANOTHER HUMAN!?" She happily yelled as I flinched from the sudden outburst. The foals seemed unfazed by this, however, and simply giggled.

What the hell is she on? I thought as I recovered. I cleared my throat and replied.

"Ok, Please don't yell at me like that again, aight." She nodded and quickly replied.

"Sorry, I just get soooooo excited when I see somepony new in town, or someone in your case since your a human. *Le Gasp* Do you know Nick? I bet you know Nick! You must be his brother! but Raiden came by earlier and he didn't look anything like you. but he did say to watch out for a guy with a......sword." She had started talking fast, but stopped with a whisper as she realized who I was.

So it seems my brother and that princess have these home-town heroes on the lookout for me. Good. Real good. I liked that. why? simple, it makes the fear in their eyes soooo much easier to appear. I took a step towards her as she backed up, putting the foals behind her.

"Why don't you put those foals to bed and we can continue this conversation without the presence of children." I said as her went wide. She turned and picked up the foals and, trembling the whole way, took them upstairs to their rooms. I followed her up and waited for her out the door. She came out and looked at me with fear. I leaned in a tad, an idea coming to mind.

"Relax, Pinkie Pie. I don't want to hurt you. You see, you have been terribly misinformed about what I have done. I don't want to hurt ponies." I said with an innocent smile as one slowly came to hers.

"You don't?" She said slowly as I laughed.

"Of course not, you see, I simply wanted to throw a huge party for the princess and the queen. But the Captain and my brother stopped me because they were jealous." She gasped loudly.

"They stopped a party!" She exclaimed. I sadly nodded. "Those meanies!!!" She nearly yelled. I smiled at her.

"That is why I came to the party pony herself, the ELEMENT of laughter. If anyone can help me, its you." Her grin grew impossibly wide.

"I'd LOVE to help you create this party!!! When is it?" She asked as I smiled at her.

"In a couple of days or so. Bu I must ask of you something, where are elements of harmony located? We want to use them as props for party games." I said as she started hopping around.

"PARTY GAMES!!!! that's easy, they are in the largest tower at canterlot castle." My eyes went wide. Of course they would be there, that makes this so much easier. I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her bouncing.

"Thank you, party queen. I shall come by later with better plans for the party. You've been a GREAT help." I said as I teleported away with green flames.

*********
Nicholas POV
*********
As we ran through town towards the library, we came to a stop at a weird sight in front of us.

Cacoono was standing in the middle of the street talking to a mare with icy blue hair and silver eyes. It wasn't until Sweetiebelle spoke up that I realized something wasn't right.

"Um...Nick?" She asked. I looked to her and raised an eyebrow. "Why are there holes in her legs?"

Sure enough, the mare had several holes in her legs, yet no blood was coming out. That means.....

"Crap, she's one of those monsters Raiden told me about. She's going to hurt Cacoono!" I said as I rushed forward.

"Nicholas, wait!!!" Applebloom called but I had already started running towards them. As I got closer, I could tell that the thing was cornering Cacoono. With a yell, I focused into my hand and did a throwing motion, praying it worked.

thankfully, it did. A ball of red light shot forward and sent the thing flying with a screech into a wall. Cacoono looked towards me as relief washed over his face.

"Nick!! Oh, thank goodness. That lady was trying to kill me!" He said quickly, but he wouldn't look at me all the way.

"Ok, What are you hiding?" I asked as the girls caught up. He looked at me with suprise.

"I-I....fine. Geuss I should be honest, huh?" He said as a yellow flash surrounded him. In his place was a black thing with complete yellow eyes. He shared the same hole problem as the blue lady. The girls let out a gasp at the reveal, while I simply stared him down.

"How long have you known?" Cacoono asked. I smirked and put my hands on my hips like Raiden does when he thinks he's smarter than everyone.

"Since Ronin appeared. Raiden said he was with the changelings, so when you started freaking out internally whenever he would stare at you, I realized you must've been worried he knew something. Then you teleported with ease even though your just a colt. From what Twilight says, that takes practice. And from a species born for war, that's PLENTY of practice." I finished as he looked down in shame.

"Why go tah all the trouble, though?" Applebloom said. "Why lie tah us an' everything." He looked up with a sad face.

"My mother sent me here with two others to find and kill the elements of harmony, but I honestly couldn't kill anything if I tried. I've always been better at healing magic anyway. But the other two wouldn't give up, so I've been lying to them to keep your families safe. I couldn't betray you guys after being so nice to me. I'm sorry." Cacoono finished as tears went down his face.

I suddenly felt bad for the guy. He wasn't a fighter, but was born into a war he didn't want to take part in. Scootaloo walked up to him.

"Listen dude, you may have lied to us. but in the end you did what was right. I don't know about the others, but that makes you alright in my book." She said as Cacoono hugged her suddenly. She let out a soft squeak but didn't pull away. When he finally let go she stepped back, blushing hard. I stepped forward, extending my hand.

"Lets start over then. Hello, My name is Nicholas. What's yours?" He looked at my hand, pondering for a second, then he shook it.

"My name is Tak." he said with a smile. But then, that lady appeared in front of us.

"OK, BOY!!!! I DONT CARE IF YOUR RELATED TO RONIN OR WHAT! BUT YOUR HEAD IS GOING ON A SPIKE!!!" She yelled as she rushed us. I put up my hands in defense.

CLANG!!!!!

I looked past my hands to see Ronin blocking her with his sword. He pushed hard and sent her back a couple of yards. He turned to us.

"You alright, bro?" he said as I hugged him.

"You saved us!!!" I said as I looked up at him.

"Of course, can't have an icy bitch hurting my bro and his friends. Especially not my girlfriends kid." He said as he patted Tak on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Ronin... wait, What do you mean GIRLFRIEND?" But then The lady roared.

"MY NAME IS TUNDRA STORMWEATHER!!! I WAS TOP OF THE CHARTS AT THE WONDERBOLTS ACADEMY BEFORE I BECAME A CHANGELING! I HAVE BUTCHERED COUNTLESS PONIES, GRIFFONS, AND MINOTAURS!!! AND I WILL NOT BE IGNORED!!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Ronin turned towards her after smiling at me.

"Why dont you sit back and watch the show, Y'all. I've got a snowmare to melt." He said as he drew his blade.

(badass fight music here:MUSIC BUTTON)

the two slowly circled each other before Tundra shot up into the air and started glowing. Out of nowhere, a blizzard hit the town, freezing over several buildings( and ponies) immediately. I put a shield over us to block the cold.

"Let us see if you can handle the cold heart of a lady." Tundra sneered at Ronin as she dive bombed him. He dodged left and swung at her wings, but she tilted right to catch an updraft from the hailstorm to avoid the blow. After circling around, she started swinging her hooves in a circular motion, causing shards of ice to be shot at Ronin. He smiled and started cutting down the ice shards. A couple grazed his knees and arms though, causing him to groan in pain.

"Aww... Am I hurting the little boy with the toy sword?" She mocked as she dive bombed again, this time covered in glacier-thick ice as a sheild. Ronin ran at her and grabbed her wings as she connected with him. Grunting loudly, he threw her into a flower stand that had been left behind by fleeing ponies. She got up quick and her horn sparked brightly out into the storm.

Three snow soldiers resembling ponies came to life from the hail that was falling. Bearing swords of their own, they attacked. The first one swinging hard in a downward motion at Ronin, who simply sidestepped it and sliced the thing in half. the second and third one teamed up strike in succesion, causing Ronin to backpedal quite a bit.

"We have to help him!" Tak yelled over the storm. I nodded and thought for a second, then Sweetiebelle spoke up.

"Nick, see if you can enchant his sword. I remember reading about that when I was at Twilights library once." She said as my eyes widened.

"Your a genius, Belle!" I yelled as I focused my magic on his sword, not noticing the intense blush she had on her face. I dropped a hole in the shield long enough to send a red orb at the sword. It connected and caused it to turn red.

Ronin looked at the blade in shock, then sliced the snowponies. They melted instantly! He looked to me and gave me a thumbs up, just before getting slammed by Tundra, causing him to slide back across the icy ground.

He recovered and glared at tundra. She frowned at him.

"WE FINISH THIS NOW!!!" She roared louder than ever as she rushed forward with an icy sword of her own. Ronin did the same, letting off his own battle cry.

*SHING!*

Both had swung past each other and were several feet past where one of their swords connected. For a second, No one moved. Then Ronin started swaying as Tundra turned around.

"I have won the day, Ape!" She said....as she fell over. Ronin recovered and walked over to her and plunged the still red-hot sword into her chest. After an unearthly screech, she melted to nothing. The hailstorm died instantly, with all frozen buildings and ponies thawing out without side effects or anything. I lowered the sheild and ran up to Ronin.

(End music of you wish)

"Ronin that was awesome!" I said as the girls and Tak caught up.

"I knew you were strong, but to vanquish that icy demon..." Tak said with wonder laced into his words.

"Your as tough as Rainbow Dash!!" Scootaloo said as Applebloom looked at her with shock.

"Scootaloo, I ain't evah see Rainbow Dash beat a snowpony before, so in mah book, he's way tougher than her." She said as I saw light glowing from the puddle that was Tundra. A blue light shined from it as it floated towards the sky.

"Thank you for freeing me from that prison." It said softly

hold up

"Did that light just speak to us?" Sweetiebelle said. Ronin shushed her and stepped forward.

"What happened to you?" He said. The light seemed to dim in response, as if it was sad.

"I had met a being like you and that child, but it was full of malice. He cursed me and my three closest friends to become darker versions of ourselves." It said as it floated higher. "Forget me, you must....save.....the others..." It faded away.

Ronin sheathed his sword and turned to us. "If the lieutenants are revolting and going after Tak and Chrysalis, we may be in big trouble." He said as we all shared a worried glance. I turned towards the direction of Canterlot.

What's going to happen to us? to this world? these were thoughts that couldn't help but plague my mind as we made our way towards the tree house, hoping Twilight was there.

Chapter 13: Family matters pt.3
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 13: Family matters pt.3

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 14: Family matters pt.4
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 14: Family matters pt.4

*Ronin POV*

After teleporting away, I found myself in the middle of the room at the top of the tower. As my eyed adjusted to the room's dim lighting, I couldn't help but be shocked at the sight.

I had found the princess, but in quite possibly the worst situation I had ever seen. She was cacooned in the center of the wall on the side, but had these spider webs surrounding the cacoon. Each web string had some kind of odd dew on it that looked like it was made from the same stuff as the cacoon.

"What the hell?" I said as I carefully maneuvered my way to the Celestia (That's what her name was, right?) As I made it to her, I noticed her face was contorted in some kind of rage/fearful expression.

Swiftly, I made an upwards cut through the cacoon, careful not to hurt the captive, and immediately got flattened by the falling princess. She regained consciousness quickly and looked straight down at me.

"You're Raidens...But why did you save me?" She asked as she looked straight into my eyes. I couldn't help but notice we were literally inches from each others faces, yet I couldn't tear myself from her purple eyes. I smirked and responded.

"Well, sunbutt. While you were napping, the lieutenants of chrysalis's army have been causing a revolt against both sides. It's honestly confusing me to no end." She gave me a confused look.

"Confusing? what do you mean by that? She asked as the room creaked a little, as if someone was crawling on the ceiling

"Its just, Chrysalis and Tak told me that Equines have been attacking changelings for centuries without proper reason, but with all the ponies I've seen, none of you have fit that description. Yet at the same time, changelings ARE suffering." I slowly sat up as she plopped down next to me in some sort of ponyloaf. "I want to help them so bad, but it feels like I'm not hearing the whole story." I say, noticing a sad gaze from Celestia.

"I never took you to be one with patriotism, Ronin. I had purely thought you to be a merciless killer in our lands." As she said that, I glared at her.

"I don't kill without reason!" I spat. "Those guards that day drew their blades among their captains orders to subdue and kill me. Is it really fair to judge me for your own militaries lack of ability to protect themselves from threats?" She closed her eyes in thought before answering.

"I can see where your coming from, but our country is a land of peace. We do not stand for violence or war at all." She sighed as she turned to me again. "However, I see that ignoring those things will only make us weaker. But let me ask you, how would you go about training those who don't have the art of war?" She finished as I thought carefully. An idea sparked in my mind.

"I would set up a military training base in each populated area, a place where one can train those soldiers in special ways such as covert ops or explosive warfare." I said as she nodded to show she was listening. "Since your kind have three types of ponies, you would need at least nine camps, three for each species type. You would also be wise to have other species among those ranks, like having dragons train with pegasi, minotaurs train with earth ponies, and changelings with unicorns. If these species could learn from one another, your country and your world would benefit better from it." I finished as her eyes were wide from the information as she digested it all.

"I have never thought of that before. but how would we even start something like that?" She asked me as I stood up.

"Its easy, just make a petition and have a officer in each camp that can specialize in each area." I said as she stood up as well, looking towards me with a smile. "For now, though, lets go kick some ass." She chuckled at this before we heard a maniacal laugh from above us. We looked up and barely had time to jump (or in Celestia's case, teleport) out of the way of the falling Arachnid.

"Weeeeeeelll weeeeeelll, if it isn't our little puppet! Fiiiiiinally starting to realizzzzzze you've beeeeen had?" Volt choked out false sadness. My eyes narrowed with rage.

"What do you mean, Volt?! How have I been tricked?" I asked as Celestia appeared next to me in golden armour and a helmet with her symbol on it. Volt laughed again.

"HEHEHE, Itssss sooo sad. The knight wiiiith a buuuuurning passion to prooootect those he cares about, beeeing told a soooob story byyy a little boy." He scurried straight up to me, suddenly talking way more normal and in a way deeper tone as his eyes started glowing red. "You've been lied to, boy! Changelings may have fought ponies, but ponies didn't bring their fall, they did that to themselves!!" He cackled as I started to shake with rage. Celestia took a step forward and summoned a mace with her magic.

"Your kind are truly monsters, lying to a lost being like that!" She said in a deep tone as Volt cackled again, though this time he seemed more angry.

"MY KIND?! I am not a changeling, princess scum. I am a Antiarachnid! We were powerful beings that went to war with the griffons of the west, yet I found refuge pretending to be a changeling stuck in this form." He said as my eyes widened.

"Wait, that means your not one of the lieutenants?" I asked as he smiled.

"Oh, I'm a big boy alright! but unlike the other three, I didn't need that fools mind control to do bad things, I feed on Equines for FUN!!!!!!" He roared as I drew my blade.

"So, your telling me that not only have I been lied to by the two changelings I trusted the most, but I also have been targeting the wrong species as well!!!" I yelled at him. Oddly enough, he stopped cackling and looked at me with regret.

"You know, out of all the lieutenants, I was the one that pittied you the most. You were new in this world, and didn't need to be a part of this. but that's how fate works, I suppose." He started crackling with lightning. "Now, let me cure you of your pain and heartache with the sweet embrace of DEATH!" he roared as an electric wave shot towards me.

(Battle music:MUSIC BUTTON)

Celestia teleported next to me and put up a sheild around us, nullifying the shockwave. Volt frowned as his legs extended at us, one piercing the sheild and slamming me into a wall, a second one latched onto me and sent lightning through my body.

"AGGGGHH!!!" I yelled as my head titled back in agony. I heard a swift chop as Celestia had cut off the arm. With a screech, Volt fell backwards and crashed through the wall, falling out the tower. Celestia looked to me, worry in her eyes.

"Ronin, can you stand?" She asked me as I slowly made my way to my feet. The armour I wore slowly fading. I looked at it in shock.

"Why is my armour disappearing?" I asked as she looked at it, but before she could reply, a loud laugh came from outside. We ran to the hole in the wall to see volt flying around the tower with wings on his back. Celestia turned to me.

"Get on." She said, motioning her backside. I hesitantly got on as we took off after the maniac. He saw us coming and started shooting bolts at us. I patted her back as I stood up. feeling her magic support me.

"Keep flying, I'll deflect the bolts!" I yelled over the sounds of thunder as Bolts started coming my way. I spun by blade around in an almost windmill motion as the shots were sent into the ground or nearby towers. Celestia finally caught up as Volt turned around and sent an extended leg at me. Celestia horn glowed as she chunked me onto the leg. But instead of falling, my feet stuck to the leg.

"Go!" She ordered. I gave a 2 finger salute and ran down the leg at Volt, who shot some black gunk at me, I ducked underneath it, hearing it splat nearby, and went for his other legs.

"W-wait PLEASE NOT THAT SWORD!!" he screamed, but I ignored it as I made it to his body and started cutting limbs, each one producing a loud yell from Volt. I quickly spun around and plunged my sword into his back and drug it down his backside, eliciting a loud scream of pain from him. He looked to me in a mix of rage/glee.

"You may kill me, but I'm taking that princess with me!" He roared as one last leg shot out and shot through celestia wings, shredding them. She let out a scream before plummeting faster than Volt.

"Shit! Celestia!!" I yelled as I jumped off Volt and dove towards her. As I neared her I noticed her horn was black. That gunk from before! I said as the ground ground was quickly approaching. I noticed Celestia looking at me with fear.

That's when I felt this odd feeling in my gut. It was that feeling you get when you feel like you must do something. I took a deep breath and focused my body, not noticing the black aura surrounding my back. Celestia did though, and let off a gasp.

FWOOM! (end music if ya want.)

Black wings with icy blue edges protruded from my back. I felt a rush of energy leave me as they slowed our descent to a safe speed as we landed in the courtyard. We landed in a two person/pony pile on the ground. For a minute, neither of us moved, until I started laughing. Soon Celestia joined in and we just were cracking up until Volts dead corpse landed not even ten feet from us. We looked at the corpse, reminded of what we needed to do.

Celestia got off me as I stood up, testing my wings. They were cool looking, and seemed to work. I turned to her motioned to Volts body.

"What hell was that!" I yelled. She looked him in disgust before answering.

"He was an Antiarachnid, a species similar to changelings in form change, but only to amplify their spider bodies to kill prey. I would have never thought one was still alive after all these years." She said as she saw I had no armour on anymore, just the black jeans and shoes I had wore when I had arrived. "Let me fix you up a bit." She said as her horned glowed. A golden light surrounded me as I felt a tickling sensation. I looked down and gasped.

I now had a silver chestplate on with dark blue on its edges, the visor I used to wear now replaced with a Spartan like helmet that was the same style as the plate. My jeans were now adorned with light blue shards that almost looked like ice. I noticed the chestplate had Celestia's mark on it. I gave her a smirk.

"You already branding me as your personal soldier?" I asked with a wink as her face became red. she recovered quickly and walked by, bumping me with her flank.

"Careful now, Ronin. Never give the enemy any ideas." She said with a purr as she walked towards the castle. Unable to tell if she was joking or not, I simply shrugged and followed her in.

**********
Raiden POV
**********

After handling Tremor, I had been running through the castle towards the throne room when I heard a loud crash outside the castle. I turned on a dime and went to the source of the sound to see Celestia and Ronin walking into the castle, except Ronin was wearing armour with Celestia's mark on it. then I sae the wings and my jaw dropped. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What happened to you?" I asked as he smiled at me.

"Welp, saved the princess. Then we killed a super spider. Now I'm her husband!" He said, earning a whack to the back of his head by Celestia's hoof.

"I said nothing of the sort, Ronin!" She growled, yet I saw a slight blush on her face. I saw her wings were torn and gulped a bit.

"Are you going to be ok?" I asked her, motioning the wings. She looked at them and smiled before her horn glowed. The wings slowly came back together as if they were being sowned.

"I'll live. but we need to get to the throne room, its time for all of this to come to and end." Celestia said as we nodded and ran towards the throne room, ready to take on anything that stood before us.

Author's Note

Well, we are slowly aporoaching the conclusion of this story Arc. However, the story itself is FAR from over. With Celestias aid, can the brothers fight their way to the throne room to assist Nicholas and the others? Find out next time, my fic-crazy ponies! and remember: LOVE AND TOLERATE!!!!

Chapter 15: Family matters pt.5
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 15: Family matters pt.5

*Nicholas POV*

We ran into the throne room to find it completely trashed. There was wedding decorations everywhere and a bunch of cacoons lining the walls. At the center of the room was a changeling that seemed to be balancing on a cloud. To the things left, there is a big cloud just sitting there.
Twilight ran up to him immediately.

"What have you done with my brother and friends?" She demands. The guy chuckles and motions the cloud to his left to disappear. As it vanishes, Everyone lets put a gasp.

All of twilights friends, a unicorn dressed fancy (probably Twilights brother) and a tall changeling appear. That must be Chrysalis. I thought to myself. I noticed that all of their eyes were completely black, as if their souls were completely missing.

Cadence stepped towards him, shaking with rage. "Who are you, and what have you done to them?" The thing smiles at her, rubbing the necklace around his neck.

"Well, My changeling name is Monsoon. But when this necklace finally finishes feeding on the souls of your friends, I shall become what I once was LOOONG ago!" He tilts his head back and cackles madly as Twilights face pales.

"T-their souls?" She asks as he nods.

"Oh yes. you see, to bring back a vessel from Tartarus, one must give up nine souls. Eight must be magic filled, and one must have raw dark power. I have the magic vessels here, I'm just waiting for the dark one to arrive." He finishes as I step forward, motioning for the crusaders and Tak to sneak around to the cacoons and start freeing ponies.

"Who's the dark one?" I ask him. He stares at me for a moment before sighing.

"You haven't put it together, have you? There are only two possible candidates for that title. One that has fallen to darkness and one blessed with its power." As he finishes, Twilight starts to ponder what he said, before freezing up in realization.

"That would mean you'd either need nightmare moon or..." She doesn't finish as a loud crash happens outside the castle. Monsoon turns to the window and sighs.

"It seems Volt had the unlucky pull of fighting Ronin, or he wouldn't have died so fast." A smile forms on his face. "But now all the pieces are falling into place." He says as it all hits me.

Ronin's the ninth vessel! I think as Cadence charges her horn, clearly had enough of Monsoon.

"Enough! How dare you attack on MY wedding day!" She yells as she sends a beam at Monsoon. The beam, however, gets sucked into the necklace he's wearing. He simply laughs.

"Is that all you can do?" He says as the doors behind us open and Raiden, Ronin, and Celestia barge in, the middle one with new wings. Ronin looks at Monsoon and takes several steps towards him.

"Ronin NOOO!!!" I yell, but its too late. A black energy comes out of the necklace and hits Ronin, circling his body. He falls to his knees and lets out a yell of pain as his eyes start to go black. Several yells from the other's that are soulless can be heard as Twilight and Cadence runs up to them. Every black eyed person except Ronin collapses.

Monsoon laughs. "Now, the process can be complete!" His body becomes mist as it flies into the darkness surrounding Ronin. Ronin lets out a louder yell as we all get pushed back a bit ny the raw power in the room.

"Hurry, we must stop the ritual before he comes back!" Celestia yells over all the noise. Without question, Raiden runs up to the black ball surrounding Ronin and starts to hack at it with his axes. Yet it doesn't even leave a scratch. He takes a step back and frowns.

"What do we do now?" He says, turning to Celestia. "That's MY brother in there!" They proceed to argue about what to do, but are interrupted by a loud laugh as the black ball disappears, leaving behind....the guy from my dreams.

He looks up at us and laughs. "Hello Equestria!!! Dadiolus is back!!!!!" He spins around happily, before turning to face Celestia. "You may have to others back." He sneers with a snap of his fingers as the others get their normal eyes back, each one slowly recovering from the ordeal.

Raiden looks at Dadiolus with rage. "What the hell did you do to my brother?" He growls as Dadiolus laughs before answering.

"Oh, Ronin's soul is lost forever. I didnt even try to salvage it!" He says as he lets out a cackle. "I'd be worried about you lot a taaad more than him. At least he won't be in everlasting pain forever!" He yells as he sends a bolt of black lightning at us. I quickly throw up a sheild to block it, but as soon as it hits, I'm put to one knee. Celestia takes a step forward as she looks at me.

"Little one, go help your friends save those innocent ponies, let Raiden and I stop this fiend." She commands. I nod and run over to the crusaders and Tak, who are struggling to get some ponies free from the goop.

***********
Raiden POV
***********

I find myself facing down the man who has been the source of all crap in the first place. Celestai stands beside me, ready to fight for her home. Dadiolus looks at us with a bored smile.

"Let us see if you are strong enough to defy destiny!" He growls as I rush him, axes in hand. He ducks underneath a leftward swing by me and teleports behind Celestia, hitting her with a beam of magic that putsbher in a wall. She recovers and lets loose a beam if her own, except when he goes to teleport out of way this time, my axe is there waiting for him. I cut straight through his shoulder and sever his left arm from his body.

He yells out and jumps away, patching up the hole in his body with a spell, then pulls a scythe out with his remaining hand. He charges forward and clashes with me halfway, the recoil sending us both back several feet. As he rushes forward again, he is hit by a green beam from the side, sending him to the ground. I look over and see Chrysalis standing there, though she is being supported by Tak.

"Why are you helping?" I ask as she walks over to me. Celestia teleports over and gives her a raised eyebrow as she answers.

"Two reasons. One, this fiend has taken the body of my recent consort and I would like it back as soon as possible. Second, I need to ask him something." She growls as she steps towards Dadiolus. "Where the hell are my children at?! I cannot sense any of them at all!" She yells at him.

Dadiolus smiles at her. "Oh, to charge up this amulet I had to sever your link to the hive mind, which in turn caused all of your children to go into shock." Chrysalis's eyes widen as he starts to laugh. "I think you have realized what has happened, yes?"

She is now shaking with rage. "You killed ALL of them!!!!" she yells out. Tak gasps and Celestia dawns a look of hatred on her face as Dadiolus laughs.

"Yes, it was truly the best option, after all. See now no one has to worry abou-GAAH!!" Dadiolus is cut off as Chrysalis rears back and impales him with her horn.

Deciding to finish the job, I run forward. "Chrysalis, duck!" I yell, throwing my axe. She teleports out of the way as the axe cuts his head straight off. The body is immediately covered in darkness as the body faded to dust. A loud peircing yell is heard as a black light shines out od the darkness.

You may have defeated me, but your brother Ronin shall never be the same again! It yells before being hit by a beam from Celestia. the shadows dissapate and Ronin is left in their wake, though something is wrong.

"Brother?" I call out as he gets up. Chrysalis takes a step towards him.

"Ronin, are you.." She doesnt get to finish her sentence as he draws his blade and points it at her. his eyes are still black, and a frown is on his face.

"What do you care if I'm alright, Queenie?" Ronin growls, his voice gravely and garbled. "You lied to me about the war, and you lied to me about the ponies. Hell! what we had was probably a lie as well." He says that last part as a tear goes fown his left eye.

"What happened to him?" I ask Celestia, barely believing my eyes. She turns to me with a sorrow filled expression.

"That monster of a man took all the love out of your brother to use his body, and now only pain and anger remain in him." She says as Nicholas walked over. He stopped at what she said and ran straight to me.

"Raiden, Ronin will be ok, right?" He asked, but before I could answer, Chrysalis been knocked backwards by a kick from Ronin. She looked at him with a mix if anger and sorrow.

"Yes! I admit that I had originally planned to use you, Ronin. But as the days went by, I found myself enjoying your company. I had seen the way Tak got around you, so lifelike and full of energy, that I slowly realized that I loved you. SO DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO TELL ME THAT I DON'T LOVE YOU, YOU IDIOT!!" She screeched out the last part, tears starting to stream from her eyes. Ronin's face went dark with emotionless rage.

"Enough!!! its time I ended the pain this pain for good! NO ONE WILL HURT ME AGAIN!!!" he roared as he charged Chrysalis, ready to eviscerate her upon reach. She charged her horn and charged forward.

"Chrysalis, Wait!" Nicholas yelled as a flash of green light blinded everyone for a second. When it dimmed, Ronin was being hugged by chrysalis, who had teleported herself into his arms, forcing him to drop the blade.

"I don't care what you do to me after, but your going to listen to me!" She yelled at him, still hugging him. He stopped moving, letteing her say her piece. "Today, I have lost almost everything. Most of my people are dead, and no doubt the hive was destroyed by Monsoon after we left, since all of the unborn changelings are gone as well. But I WILL NOT LOSE YOU AS WELL!!!!" The next part came out as a low whisper. "Please Ronin, come back to me..." She lost all composure and started cyring right there. Ronin sat there, unmoving.

"Damn it!" I growl, tears in my eyes. I feel a wing on my back. I turn to see Celestia smiling.

"Look closely, Raiden." She said, nodding towards the two. I look and see Ronins arms slowly go around Chrysalis in a hug. She stops crying immediately and looks at his face. His eyes slowly start to go back to normal as he smiles at Chrysalis.

"Heh, guess you got tired of that Maleficent routine, huh?" He smirks as Chrysalis, who although doesn't know who maleficent is, does know he's pulling her leg, Immediately teleports put of his grasp and reappears a couple of feet away from him.

"Ronin, you asshole!" She yells as she tackles him with, kissing him passionately. Tak lets out a cheer as he runs up and tackles his mother. Ronin gets up and walks right up to us.

I pull him into a big hug. "Welcome back brother!" I tell him, close to tears myself. He hugs me back hard and turns to Celestia. To my, and her suprise, he kneels.

"Your majesty, I have wronged not only you but everyone else in this country as well. I will take any punishment necessary." Celestia looks at him with a smirk.

"Well, since your begging to be punished, then I have one job for you." She says as Ronin looks up. "You must work off your debt to us helping our military grow. We were heavily unprepared for this attack, and with your help, I think we can keep this from happening again." Ronin looks up happily.

"Celestia...thank you." He says as he pulls her into a hug. Although suprised, she doesn't pull away.

A throat being cleared behind them causes them to seperate. I turn to see Cadence and Shining standing there, the latter eyeing Ronin. Cadence smiles weakly at Celestia.

"Aunty, I think it would be best if we postponed the wedding for a week, just so we could get everything fixed and set up." She says as Celestia nods in agreement. Shining walks up to Ronin and stares at him. The two gaze at each other for what seems like hours, neither blinking. Then Ronin puts put his hand.

"Your that unicorn that almost kicked my butt a couple of weeks ago, right? nice to finally meet ya." Shining looks at the hand, before smiling and taking it.

"Likewise, but I overheard Celestia talking to you about our military. does that mean you'll be assisting us in our training?" He says as Celestia butts in.

"More like he will be a part of it altogethor, For he shall be our second captain of the guard." All of us go wide-eyed at this, especially Ronin.

"What!!!! Where the hell will I be living at?" He asks, but Celestia puts a hoof up.

"We shall speak of this later, for now. let us celebrate the victory." She said as a pinkie pie, who like her friends had fully recovered from the soul spell, overheard her and started corraling people out towards the courtyard. I rolled my eyes and followed, sure that the pony was planning some sort of party to celebrate.

Author's Note

With that, Dadiolus has been defeated! In the next chapter, expect a whole lot partying, for that's what pinkie does best!

*Note: If ya noticed, the title and descpription have changed on this fic. I have decided NOT to do a book format for this. This story is far from over, though, and if I need to do a sequel, I shall.

Stay awesome, my fic-crazy ponies! and remember: LOVE AND TOLERATE!!!!

Chapter 16: Party of a lifetime!
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 16: Party of a lifetime!

*Nicholas POV*

I yawned as I woke up, finding myself on some sort of couch, and started taking in my surroundings.

The courtyard was littered with sleeping ponies and party decorations. I looked at where I had been sleeping and raised an eyebrow as I found I couldn't get up because Sweetiebelle was attached to one leg and Applebloom was attached to my left arm. I chuckled as I noticed Cadence walking through the yard, looking for someone. I waved her down and she came over. Since I couldn't bow, I simply did that two finger salute Ronin always does.

"Hello princess, what happened out here?" I asked as she starting giggling. Her horn lit up as she teleported me out of the hoofs of the girls and next to her.

"Well, Turns out Pinkie Pie pulled all the stops for this party, but I can't seem to find Aunty anywhere." She says as she picks up a bottle of cider. "I hope she didn't get too tipsy last night." She sighs as she looks to me. "I wasn't at the party for long, but I do know that Pinkie was the last one up last night." She said while pointing at a dunk tank, which Pinkie was fast asleep in.

"Ok, thanks!" I said as I ran towards the dunk tank, passing by a passed out Tak who was using a konked out Scootaloo as a pillow. I made it to the tank and tapped the glass.

"AHH!!!! The cupcakes are revolting!!!" She yelled out before falling into the water. I couldn't help but laugh as she pulled herself out of the tank.

"Hey, Pinkie. What happened last night?" I asked as she put a hoof to her chin in thought. After a second, she grinned really big and grabbed my shoulders.

"OH!!!! I remember! We threw a victory party for saving Equestria, then Applejack brought out the cider, and you and the girls went to play and we partied till the sun came up." She finished as I smiled kinda forcefully.

"Could you repeat that, but slower." I ask her. She looks at me and smiles.

"Of course, silly. Now where to begin..."

**************
Party flashback/Raiden POV
**************

When everyone came outside, Pinkie Pie had just finished setting up what she called the "Victory party" It was big, if anything else, with a huge dance floor in the middle, a really big food and drink table off to the side, and several party games surrounding the area. I smiled and made my way towards the punch bowl. After pouring a glass, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to face Ronin.

"Hey, brother. How are you feeling after all this?" I ask I start to watch Pinkie try to form a conga line with Nicholas and the crusaders leading. Of course, Nicholas is all for it, and Applebloom and Sweetiebelle are quick to agree, though I notice that they gave each other a slight glare before joining the conga line.

"Well, I feel ok. Still kinda hurts around the chest area, but I'll live." Ronin says with a laugh as the the conga line goes by with more ponies in it. I make eye contact with Twilight and her eyes widen.

"I didn't take you to be a partier, Twilight!" I say with a smirk as she congas by with a grimace. She turns her head back and responds.

"IM NOT!! Pinkie glued my hoofs to her back so I have to stay in the line!!!" She yells back as I burst out laughing. I turn to Ronin.

"I better go help her, see you later, man." I say as I join the conga line, making sure to wedge in behind Twilight.

*********
Ronin POV
*********

I laugh as Raiden attempts to free Twilight from the conga line that had even more ponies in it. I felt a poke at my ribs, so I turned and was met with a kiss from my girl. She turns and starts walking into the castle, so I walk up next to her.

"Howdy, Chrysi." I say as she raises an eyebrow.

"Chrysi? Have you lost brain cells from the incident earlier?" She remarks as I laugh.

"Nah, just a nickname I came up with. Now, whats up?" I ask as her face becomes a slight frown.

"Celestia wants to talk to us about 'the future' and what we plan to do after today." She says as I sigh loudly.

"Lets not keep her waiting, right?" I say as we walk into the throne room. We walk in and Celestia is currently talking with some chef at a table.

"Yes, Goldspoon, you may take leave and go see your family in ponyville." She says as the chef smiles and bows deeply, only to run straight out of the room in joy. She turns to us as we sit at the table.

"You called, Sunbutt?" I say as Chrysalis rolls her eyes and Celestia chuckles.

"Yes, I want to ask you what you plan to after tonight." She says as I ponder that same question.

"Well, It depends on where your going to have my training regimen stationed at. If Im going to train soldiers, I'll need a barracks." I say as She smiles at me.

"We have a small training base of operations being built in Ponyville as we speak, so that will be where your stationed." She motions for the a maid to bring us drinks, and said waiter does so. I take a look at the bottle.

"Pinot Noir? y'all have wine in this world?" I ask as Celestia and Chrysalis get theirs poured first, then as mine is getting poured, Celestia responds.

"Of course, sometimes said drink is necessary to pull through long hours of paperwork." She says as she slams the glass with her head tilted back slightly. I look at her in shock as Chrysalis laughs loudly, doing the same herself

Celestia notices this and stares down Chrysalis, before magicing up another full glass and downing it just as fast. Chrysalis repeats, but with two glasses. Not to be left out, I get two more glasses and downed all three.

"Lets make this a competition, then!" I yell as we start scrambling for wine and glasses. The waiters off to the side start to slowly sneak out of the room, not wanting to be here when the wine takes its toll.

*********
Raiden POV
*********

After escaping the conga line of death, Twilight and I decided to relax by an apple bobbing game. We were currently watching Nicholas and Applebloom compete to see who can get the most in a short time.

"Alright, y'all. first one tah get tah five apples wins!" Applejack says as she pours about ten apples into the large container. She raises her hoof as Nick and applebloom get ready.

"Your going down, sweet farmers child!" Nicholas says as I roll my eyes at the line from a certain country song. Applebloom grins widely at Nicholas.

"Wanna bet, Nick? If ah win, ya gotta carry me on your back for the rest of the night!" She said as Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo got big grins on their faces.

Of course, Nicholas doesn't think that a kid raised on a APPLE farm would be hard to beat in a bobbing for apples game, so he responds.

"Alright, but if I win, you have to wear a dress for a week when we get back to ponyville!" He says as Applebloom pales a bit, but agrees all the same. Applejack clears her throat.

"Alrighty then, on yer marks, git set, GO!" She drops her hoof and the two kids faces hit the water, splashing water everywhere.

Twilight jumps back from the water and frowns. "Nick knows he going to lose, right?" She asks as I smile and turn to walk off, she follows next to me.

"I think he does, but he's the type that plays games for the fun, not the glory." I say with a laugh as Applebloom finishes with her five before Nick can get even three. "Besides, I think he's got a crush on one or more of those girls, so he's going to do all he can to enjoy being around them." Twilight look to me with a raised eyebrow.

"What about you? any mares caught your eye yet?" She asks me as I shake my head.

"I haven't thought about that yet, to be honest. That does bring up a question that's been in my mind." I say as we walk past Rarity, who is currently trying to converse with some of the fancier ponies here, only to have Rainbow Dash dive bomb her at random to mess any chance of that happening up.

"Whats the question?" She asks me as we look to the dancefloor to see Pinkie Pie pulling random ponies into the mix. I turn to Twilight, who looks kind off nervous for some reason.

"Why are there so many mares, but so little stallions?" I ask her as she sighs in...relief?

"Oooh, that's your question! Well, the mare to stallion average her really big, about 6 six to one to be exact. So usually this leads to herds and other sorts of relationships." She finishes as my jaw drops.

"Wait, herds are a thing here?" I ask as she smiles sheepishly. "Wow thats... actually not that suprising." I say as Pinkie comes over.

"Hey Raiden, you and Twilight should come and dance!" She says as I smile at the idea, but Twilight takes a step back.

"Im not a good dancer, so I'll sit this one ouaaaaah!" She yelps as I pick her up and take her to the center of the dance floor. I plop her in front of me and smile as she frowns, her cheeks puffed a bit.

"Sorry, Twi. But I need a dance partner, and I don't have the energy for Pinkie." I say as she rolls her eyes.

"Fine, ONE dance. but that's it!" She states as I laugh. The music stops as a familiar voice comes over a mic.

"Ladies and- oh wait, forgot your ponies- Mares and GentleStallions! This next song is for all those lovebirds out there, so pick yer partner and get to slow dancing!"

Nicholas, you Ass. I think as I turn towards the dj booth, which has been commandeered by the crusaders and my brother (who still had Applebloom on his back) as he put a slow song on. I turn to Twilight, who looks like she is about to pass out and extend my hand.

"May I have this dance?" I say as she gulps.

"I've never slowdanced before with somepony." She says as I grab her forehooves and guide them up to my chest, causing her to stand on her back hooves.

"Then follow my lead." I say as I slowly step in tune to the music. After a few missteps (and a couple of hooves to my feet, thank goodness Rarity made me shoes) she started getting the hang of it. Getting comfortable enough to rest her head on my chest as we swayed back and forth.

As we dance, my mind reaches back to what she told me earlier. What was I going to do? There weren't any human girls here, so how would relationships work with the ponies? Ronin is with that Queen, but she's a bug thing, so that's not the same.

But as I look at Twilight, who is now humming to the music, I can't help but smile. Maybe things can work out. I think, believing in my heart that nothing could ruin this moment. Then something plows into us, sending Twilight and me to the ground.

*********
Nicholas POV
*********

"I told ya they would be cute together." Applebloom says matter-o-factly. I just roll my eyes as Sweetiebelle turns to Applebloom.

"Applebloom, can I get a turn on Nick, please!" She gives her the puppy dog eyes.

Applebloom smiles and rolls her eyes. "Alright then, ah was getting tired of being carried around anyway." She gets off as Sweetiebelle Squeals before glomping me from behind. After adjusting my stance a bit, we leave the DJ booth and attempt to find Scootaloo.

"Where do ya think she went?" Applebloom says as Sweetiebelle uses her extended height to look over the crowd. She points to the Corn hole set.

"There she is, she's hanging out with Tak!" She says as I grab her legs. Sweetiebelle looks down at me with a confused look.

"What are you doing?" She asks as I ready myself to sprint across the courtyard at top speed. Applebloom sees me doing this and gets out of the way quickly.

"Im about to bull rush you across the courtyard, so hang on." I say as bend low.

"Oh, ok." She says, satisfied. Then her eyes widen. "wait a secoooNIIIIIIICK!" She yells as I sprint towards them, making sure to knock Raiden and Twilight off balance, which causes Twilight to fall on top of Raiden in a VERY interesting position. I laugh as we approach Tak and Scoots, but slow down so they don't see us coming up. I set down Sweetiebelle and motion for her to sneak up on them.

After ducking behind a table, we listen in on them while they play corn hole.

"Dang it, why is this so hard!" Scootaloo says as she tried to throw the beanbag into the hole, just to miss it by several inches. Tak chuckles a tad before answering.

"Well, you've got to guide it into the hole. You just can't throw it willy nilly, let me help you." He grabs a beanbag, hands it to Scoots, and starts positioning her body so that she can throw the beanbag easily. He puts his hoof underneath hers.

"Now, rear your front leg back." He says while guiding her leg back. "And... Release!" He yells as she swings it forward, causing the bag to go straight into the hole.

"Yes!!! I did it! That was so awesome!" Scoots yells as she pulls Tak into a big hug, before releasing him with a massive blush on her face. "Please don't tell the others I did that." She says as Tak smiles.

"Your secret is safe with me, Sctootaloo." He says with a wink. That's when my inner troll decides to be fed once again. I sneak up behind the two and clear my throat.

"What secret?" I say loudly as Scootaloo yells loudly and falls into Tak, sending then both to the ground. Sweetiebelle and Applebloom, who had finally caught up with us, starting busting a gut laughing. The two in the pile joined in, and we found ourselves enjoying the rest of the night together.

***********
Ronin POV
***********

"Yeah! fifty-five shots, baby!" I yell as I watched Celestia and Chrysalis continue to down glasses of wine, yet they were waaay slower than when they started. I had only had three myself, but I had pretended to drink with them to see how much they would down. And man, I was not disappointed!

Chrysalis downed her fifty-sixth glass and turned to Celestia. "Give-hic-up yet?" She slurs as she wobbles a tad. Celestia lets out a loud snort as she downs hers as well.

"Never, Chrysalis. I will not-hic- be out drank by a little splotch of black goo!" She mumbles before slamming her head into the table, breaking her side of the table in half.

That was it for me. As soon as I saw that, I fell out of my chair with how much I was laughing. I looked up as Chrysalis walked over to Celestia.

"Get-hic-up, you pasty pony!" She half yelled half mumbled, lightly poking Celestia in the face. "Ronin is laughing at you and me!"

Celestia sat up immediately. "Who dares insult me!" Snickering, Chrysalis points to me, which causes Celestia to glare at me.

But in a flash, that glare turns into a half-lidded stare. "Chrysalis, have we-hic- talked about the alliance with changelings, yet?" Chrysalis shakes her head, but gives me bedroom eyes all the same. "Because I think I know a way to punish our dear friend and salvage peace at the same time." Celestia said in a sultry voice as the two royals approached me.

Realizing I done fucked up, I slowly started scooting away until I hit a wall. Realizing I was stuck, I just gave up and rolled with it. I stood up and grabbed them both by the horns (after nearly impaling myself on Celestias) and pulled them to the hallway. "Which way to your bedroom, Sunbutt?" I asked. Chrysalis giggled like a madman chanting 'breed! breed! breed!' under her breath as Celestia answered me by teleporting us to her bed. I turned to the girls and smiled.

"Works for me."

***********
Raiden POV
***********

After being knocked to the ground, I found Twilight on top of me in a very compromising position. Twilight looked at me for a second, before realizing what we looked like, and jumped up very quickly.

"Oh my gosh, Raiden I'm so sorry! I have no idea how we got like that an-" I put a finger in her muzzle and laughed.

"Relax, Twi. my brother is the one who knocked us over, so it's no big deal." I said as Rainbow came flying over.

"Hey, Twilight and Raiden! come on, pinkie pie wants to play a game with everyone." She points to the castle as she flies inside. I turn to Twilight and shrug as we walked inside to see Rainbow dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy waiting on us.

"Man, you two are slow!" Rianbow quips but gets a hoof to the head by Applejack.

"Will ya stop that? Pinkie said to meet her in the throne room, so we better git there before she gets...pinkie about it" Applejack says as she walks towards the throne room with us right behind her.

"Now what could Pinkie possibly be thinking about doing in the throne room?" Rarity asks as we walk gasp.

The throne room is an absolute mess! There are overturned chairs and mountains of shot glasses littered around the place. And the table in the center of the room is split in half at the end.

"Oh my! what happened here?" Rarity says as she steps around the mess. I walk over to a sword sticking out of one of the chairs.

"Whatever happened, Ronin was a part of it." I say as Pinkie drops from the ceiling with an empty bottle, causing Fluttershy to squeak out before shrinking into a ball.

Pinkie looks at us with excitement. "Who's ready to play spin the bottle?"

Author's Note

Spin the bottle?! we all know how this'll turn out! This chapter (and the next one) were really fun to write and I honestly wasn't expecting it to be soooo long! meh, its fine!

See ya next time, my fic-crazy ponies! and remember: LOVE AND TOLERATE!!!

Chapter 17: After party
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 17: After party

*Raiden POV/party flashback*

"So, any special rules?" I asked with a smirk. Twilight and her friends had set up a mini circle in front of a demolished table in the castle, and after Applejack had pulled out some cider, we had decided to get into the party spirit one way or another.

"Well, the only difference in how we is play is if the bottle doesn't land on you, then you take a shot of cider." Twilight said, although she seemed reluctant to play herself. Rainbow turns to me and smiles, her eyes lit up.

"Raiden, you should go get your brother Ronin!" Rainbow said excitedly. Applejack looked at her with a raised brow.

"Why? ya wanna kiss the guy?" Applejack asks as Rainbow dash's face goes red, yet brushes it off with a wave of her hoof. Rarity clears her throat.

"Can we get started already? It's starting to get late, and we don't need another gala incident on our hooves." Rarity says as she leans in and spins the bottle. It spins around for a while before landing on Pinkie Pie, who immediately tackles Rarity and kisses her, then gets up and casually walks back to her seat in the circle.

I smile and turn to Fluttershy. "Is she like that everytime she plays this?" Fluttershy shoulders down a bit before answering.

"Pinkie always gets like that for spin the bottle." She says timidly as Applejack take her turn.

**********
an hour or two of fun later.
**********

After continuing to play spin the bottle and everyone taking about 7 shots each, we ended up playing truth or dare next. Now, truth or dare is defenitely my kind of game, so I was really happy when Pinkie said I could go first.

I turned to Rarity and smiled. "Truth or dare?"

She thought on it for a second before answering. "I'll pick truth, darling." She said as Rainbow groaned, earning a glare from Applejack.

"You got your eye on anypony?" I asked her, causing her to go red in the face.

"Well, there is one pony I've seen around ponyville, but he lives here in the castle. Oh! if only he wasn't so far away!" Rarity sighs as she fall backwards...onto a couch from who knows where.

"Quit with the goofin off, Rarity" Applejack says as she bucks the couch out the window, knocking Rarity off it onto the floor. "hehe, whoops" Applejack says as she gets a glare from the seamstress.

Pinkie turns to Twilight, even though she looks well past her. "Truth or dare?" She asks.

Twilight, who wasn't into the games until she had a drink or seven, was now wide awake and ready to play. "Dare." she says as Pinkie laughs.

"Well, since you looked so dissapointed when Fluttershy got to kiss Raiden, I dare you to kiss Raiden for 10 seconds or more!" Pinkie says as my eyes widen. Rainbow laughs and Fluttershy hides in her mane as Twilight, drunk as ever, looks towards me and smiles lustfully.

"Ya know, if you don't want to you dont have to-mmmph!" I get cut off as Twilight bowls me over with a passionate kiss. Usually, I don't jump into things like this, but the cider was starting to kick in, and I couldn't care less right now. So I kissed her back with equal passion. After a bit, we break apart to see the girls staring at us with suprise on most of their faces (Pinkie just looked the same giggly way she always does.)

"Well, ah geuss its mah turn, huh?" AJ says as we continue to play throughout the night.

**************
Nicholas POV
**************

Me, The crusaders, and Tak were inches from passing out from exhaustion. We had spent the last 3 hours playing pranks, goofing off, and dancing. After an argument between Applebloom and Sweetiebelle, we had decided it would be best if no one else rode on my back (especially when I 'accidently' dropped Belle into the apple bobbing tank.)

"Where the heck are we *yawn* going to crash at?" Tak said as we pretty much stumbled around the courtyard. Scootaloo, who had the most energy out of all of us usually, face planted into the concrete before waking up and rubbing her face.

"I have no clue, But we better find a spot before-APPLEBLOOM LOOK OUT!!" I yelled as I pulled her back from a couch that came flying out of a castle window. It landed upright and faced us.

"Where the hay did that come from?" Applebloom says as we approach it.

"Dunno, but it kinda looks like one of my sisters fainting couches." She says as I jump onto it.

"Meh, who cares about that, its a place to sleep!" I say as I spread out and get comfortable. Tak smiles and turns towards the food table.

"Hey, Scootaloo, I'm going to go get one last bite of those fritters Appleblooms sister brought, wanna come with?" Scootaloo nods her head and they walk off.

As I stretch out, I feel Sweetiebelle get on the couch and lay across my legs like a dog, and Applebloom spreads out on my chest. I would've complained about the body heat, but I was too tired, so I simply conked out.

************
Present time/same POV
************

I looked at Pinkie in confusion. "Wait, if you played Truth or dare inside, then how'd you get out here?" She smiled at me.

"That's easy, silly. I was out here as well!" She said as I got a headache from thinking about it.

"Ya know, your a real mystery, Pinkie Pie." I sayed as she giggled.

"Okie dokie loki" She says, hopping away to probably cause some more brain damage elsewhere. I shake my head as I hear wings behind me, I turn to see a dark blue pony with night sky hair.

"Little human, has thou seen my sister anywhere?" I shrug and point to the castle. She nods and walks towards the castle, mumbling several thing under her breath as she steps over conked out ponies.

***********
Raiden POV
***********

I wake up to a hoof to the stomach. Not a hard one, but hard enough to hurt a bit. I groan and open my eyes to see luna staring me down.

"Um, morning Luna." I say as she narrow her eyes at me.

"What does thou think thou are doing on the throne?" She says as I realize Im not only on the throne, but upside down as well. I laugh sheepishly and righten myself.

"oops, geuss Truth or dare got a tad crazy last night, with all the drinking that happened last night." I say just as a headache catches on. great timing, brain. I think as Luna snickers.

"We can see that. now where is our sister? She must be informed of the changeling threat and-" I cut her off by raising my hand.

"She knows." I say as her face contorts in confusion.

"How could she possibly have learned of it already?" Luna asks. I sigh and stretch as I stand up, noticing a lavender pony attached to my legs.

"We were attacked while you were gone, but its all good now, Celestia is planning peace with the Queen." I say as I grab Twilight and sit her on the throne. She mumbles something among the lines of 'mr.smartypants' before she conks out again. Luna giggles a bit at that before walking towards a staircase.

"Well, we still need to find her, for day court will be starting shortly." She said as I follwed her, eager to see where she had ended up after the party.

After a bit of stair-climbing and hearing Luna complain about her sisters 'disappearance'. We made it to the entrance to Celestias private quarters. I extend my hand and bow slightly.

"Ladies, first." I say as Luna rolls her eyes and knocks on the door.

"Sister, it is time to get up!" She says with a bit of force in her voice. A groan of irritation followed by a loud THUMP of a body hitting the ground (with a swear or two being shouted as a result.) The door opened.

"Finally, We were wondering if thou would ever awake-" Luna stops short as she realizes its Ronin at the door, not Celestia. Ronin groans, rubbing his eyes, and glares at Luna.

"What the hell are you doing, knocking on doors and yelling at seven in the morning! People are trying to get over their hangovers here!" He half shouts-half groans at Luna, who is trying to peer into the room.

"Where is our sister, Human?" She demands. Another groan comes from inside the room before Celestia, who looked like hell gave birth, came to the door.

"Sister, must you be so loud? I heard enough loud voices last night, and I'm not in the mood for it." Celestia says, glaring at luna. Ronin looks at her with a smirk before turning back into the room quickly. After a second, he turns to face is again as Luna speaks up.

"Sister, if we didn't know better, It seems that you and the human here stayed in the same bed last night." She says while glaring at Ronin, who smiled at her.

"Oh, it wasn't just us." He said as Lunas eyes widened and I raised an eyebrow.

"Who else was.... no way." I say as I hear giggling from behind Ronin, then Chrysalis head pops out from between Ronins legs.

Ronin looks at her for a second, then turns to Celestia. "Uh, why is she still intoxicated?" He says as Celestia sighs.

"Changelings can't digest Achohol like ponies can, so it takes longer for it to wear off." She finishes as Chrysalis is now laying on the floor, looking up at Ronin. Ronins eyes widen before he groans.

"You mean I have to deal with this." he points to Chrysalis, who starts nibbling at the oustretched finger. "For the rest of the day." Celestia nods. Ronin sighs and steps over Chrysalis, who teleports herself to a standing position and points at celestia, slowly bringing her hood to her face.

Ronin turns to me. "So, you get lucky last night?" my eyes widen as I shake my head. He laughs and turns to Luna. "And where the heck were you yesterday?"

Luna thinks about it before answering. "I was looking into the threat on equestria, but I did not realize it had already arrived, or I would've never left." She says while trying to not laugh at Chrysalis, who is currently poking Celestia in the face. Celestia glares at her every time she does, but it only makes Chrysalis burst into a fit of giggles. Ronin rolls his eyes before grabbing her by the horn and pulling her away.

"Alright you, no more achohol for a while." He tells her in a mock parenting voice. She looks up at him and glares slightly.

"But it helps me peeeeeeee!" She drags out as she is pulled around a corner by a grumbling Ronin. As soon as they leave the area we burst out laughing.

"Oh, man!" I say between laughs. "That used to be one of the biggest threats to Equestria?" Luna snorts even louder at this as Celestia, who is still with a hangover headache, Stifles her giggled to keep a straight face. Luna turns to Celestia.

"Tia, what were those two doing in your room?" Luna asks as a blush comes to Celestias face.

"We were negotiating a peace treaty between the two species." She says as she teleports away. Luna turns to me, eyebrows raised and I simply laugh as I walk back to the throne room.

************
Nicholas POV.
************

Leaving the girls asleep outside, I walked into the throne room just as Ronin was dragging Chrysalis out by her horn. I turned to Ronin as he walked past me.

"What are you doing?" I ask as he looks at me and sighs.

"Brother, when you get older, keep Tak from the liquor, they can't hold anything." He says as Chrysalis looks up at him.

"Ronin, geuss what your jobs going to be since the hive is gone." She asks as Ronin looks down at her with a look of confusion.

"What would that be?" He says as she gets this big smile on her face.

"Your going to help me replace each and every changeling we lost, and it has to be done by tomorrow!" She says as she breaks into a fit of giggles while a look of horror spreads over Ronins face.

I laugh and walk inside, eager to get back to ponyville and continue our lives there. As I walk in, I see the crusaders and Tak at the teleport door.

"Hurry Nick! the doors magic is going to wear off soon, everyone else already went through!" Tak says as he and Scootaloo go through. Applebloom winks at me as she walks through, and Sweetiebelle rolls her eyes before pulling me through the door with her.

***********
Ponyville/ same POV
***********

I go through the portal to find Twilight and Raiden, as well as my friends, in the library.

"Where is everyone else at?" I ask as Twilight begins to undo the spell she put on the door. Sweetiebelle turns to me.

"Well, everyone else went home except us, although I have no clue where Tak is sleeping at." She says as a crackle of green magic appears above us before Chrysalis and Ronin land on the ground in a heap.

"Don't ever do magic while drunk again, please!" He says as he gets up, while Chrysalis starts giggling as she stands up herself. Suddenly she stops giggling as she stops in place and raises a hoof to her head.

"Oooh, where am I?" She asks as Ronin smirks before stretching a bit.

"Your in Ponyville, and it looks like the achohol just wore off." Ronin says as Twilight finishes with the door, allowing Ronin to walk out. Chrysalis, who now sports a huge headache, follows him outside. Tak stands up and turns to leave.

"Well, I better go with them to see what the new hive will look like. But I'll see you guys tomorrow at school right?" We nod and wave him goodbye as he leaves. Then my eyes widen as I realize something.

"Girls, we have a problem!" I say as they look at me with confused faces. "We have a test tomorrow, and since we were saving the day this weekend, we didn't study!" They groan at this as Raiden and Twilight share a laugh at our misfortune.

Author's Note

Now that the party is over, the crew can start to live there lives in the sweet normal town of ponyville! (who am I kidding? It ponyville!) Now that Ronin and Chrysalis live there, things are bound to be crazier around there from here on out. Stay tuned my fic-crazy ponies! And remember: LOVE AND TOLERATE!

Chapter 18: Adjusting to society
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 18: Adjusting to society

*Ronin Pov*

After leaving the purple pony's library, Chrysi and I started walking through town, getting a decent amount of terrified stares from the ponies on the streets. We laughed as several ran at the sight of us.

"And here I was thinking this town would be boring." Chrysalis said as a certain pink pony came galloping up to us.

"Hey Ronin! Hiya Chrysalis! How do you like ponyville so far? Are you planning on staying? Ooo, do you two live in that new building down the road?" Pinkie rapid fired questions at us, causing Chrysalis to groan in agitation while I caught the last sentence she said.

"What new building?" I asked as she gasped and grabbed my hand and pulled me through the streets. Chrysalis, who was agitated a second ago, now was following close behind snickering at my predicament.

We came to a stop in front of a two story house that looked brand stinking new. It was grey on the outside with those basic windows on the walls. We even had a basic mailbox next to the road. I looked at the house and grimaced.

"Dang, Sunbutt could've at least hired a decorator that wasn't drunk as balls." I said as Chrysalis caught up and stared at the house. She turned to me and smirked.

"You dont like how it looks, do you?" She asked me.

"Nope." I replied simply. She started walking to the door.

"Then we are going to have to transform this garbage heap into a hive fit for a queen!" She proclaimed while spreading her forehooves out towards the sky. I rolled my eyes and walked up next to her, wrapped my arms around her neck and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"And how's my kingdom-conquering girlfriend gonna do that?" I asked as she turned her head to me and kissed me before teleporting away, then reappearing through one of the windows.

"Your queen shall need sustenance for the task, so get up here and get to it!" She demanded. I rolled my eyes as Pinkie started getting excited for some reason.

"Ooo ooo, can I help you feed Chrysalis?" She asked as I did a double take. I turned to her with eyes wide and a slack jaw.

"Maybe next time, party queen." I said before running into the house and locking the door. Pinkie stood outside and shrugged before seeing Raiden walk by with a mini suitcase in tow.

"HIYA RAIDEN!!!" She yelled at him with excitement in every fiber of her body.

**********
Raiden POV
**********

Shortly after Ronin left, I had decided that I needed clothes. The dragon Armour was good and all, but I really just wanted to chill out in some basic clothes rather than metal. So, after getting directions from Twilight, I found myself at the boutique.

I walked in to a room full of mannequins (ponnequins?) and saw Rarity walk out of the kitchen.

"Hey, Rarity. Are you busy right now?" I asked as she turned to me and smiled.

"Not at all, darling. What do you need?" She asked me while I took a seat on a stool.

"Well, Since I no longer have to worry about the whole 'war in equestria' thing, I realized that I have a short supply of clothes on me right now, and I was wondering if you could help with that." I said as her expression slowly got more giddy.

"Why Raiden, of course I can." She turned and pulled out what looked like a mini suitcase. "Your brother Nicholas already had me make clothes for you." I raised an eyebrow.

"How did... oooh, he told you the sizes, huh?" I said as she nodded. I took the suitcase and smiled. "Well, this helps a lot. Thanks Rarity!" I said as I walked out the door.

"Your welcome dearie!" I heard her call out as the door closed. Man, I have got to pay her back somehow. I thought as I dragged the suitcase along. I heard a door slam shut quickly and turned to the source to see Pinkie Pie staring me down.

"HIYA RAIDEN!" She yelled, way too hyper of a greeting. She galloped over and pulled a cupcake out of her hair. "wanna cupcake?"

I looked at her in shock, but took the cupcake. After making sure there was no hair on it, I took a big bite.

And proceeded to fan my mouth at the heat that scorched my mouth.

"Pinkie-cough-what was in that?!" I asked as she grinned.

"Oh, it was a new recipe I came up with! I call them Jalapeno cakes! do you like them?" She looked at me with a shine in her eyes. I recovered from the heat and forced a smile.

"Yeah, next time...chill out with the spicy foods, aight?" I told her as she nodded before gasping.

"Oh my gosh, that reminds me! I have to set up a 'welcome to ponyville party for you and Ronin! Twilight wouldn't let me do one for Nicholas, but you two are adults, so it should be fine!" She bolted off before I could interject.

I sighed and shook my head before continuing my walk back to Twilights. "That mare is insane."

***********
Nicholas POV
***********

After everyone had left, the crusaders each had to go back to their respective homes, I still had a question burning in my mind. I turned to Twilight as she came from downstairs with a lizard behind her.

"Hey Twilight, can I ask you-whoa who are you?" I said to the little guy as he walked up to me. He was about a two to three feet below my height.

"Im Spike, Twilights number one assistant!" He proclaimed with pride in his voice. Twilight rolled her eyes as she walked past him.

"Spike is a dragon, I hatched him a while ago when I was just a filly for a test of mine." Twilight said while smiling at the memory. I stuck out my hand and grinned as he shook it, then it hit me.

"You must be the guy we got the blood from to make Raidens armour, huh." I said while Spike nodded. "Well, I'm Nicholas, and I must personally thank you for doing that. Your blood saved all of our bacons at the castle."

Spike started to turn red at the sudden attention. "Aww, its no problem Nick. I'd do anything for Twilight and her friends. Besides, you seem pretty cool." He said as he walked into the kitchen. I turned to Twilight and smiled.

"A dragon, huh? that's awesome." I said as she giggled at my reaction to Spike. "Hey Twilight, do you have any books on history before Nightmare Moon?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I should, but why?" Twilight said as I walked towards the closest bookshelf.

"Well, after the incident with Dadiolus, I wanted to find out what my grandfather was doing here, and what would possess Dadiolus to turn evil in the first place." I said as Twilight thought for a moment.

"I'll look for something like that today while I'm organizing the bookshelves. Meanwhile, why don't you go to Fluttershy's? she's been worried sick about you." Twilight said as my eyes widened in shock.

"Ok! Thanks!" I say as I run out of the library and make a beeline for the cottage.

************

After making it to the cottage, and catching my breath, I walk inside and notice there is no lights on. A pat on my leg causes me to look down and see Angel bunny looking up at me with a sad expression.

"Where is Fluttershy?" I ask and he points upstairs. Must be upstairs in her room. I thought as I walk up the stairs. I make it to her door as I start ti hear a faint sound. I put my ears to the door as I finally make out what it sounds like:

crying.

I open the door and walk in. Fluttershy turns to me as I walk in and I see her tear stricken face. It almost breaks my heart right then and there and I can already feel tears in my eyes. I take a deep breath before speaking.

"Fluttershy, whats wrong?" I ask shakily. She sniffles a bit before getting up and walking towards me. There's almost no warning as she pulls me into a powerful hug and cries again.

"Oh, Nick! I thought that *sniff* since your brothers were found, you would leave me here by myself. And I didn't want you to leave. I know their your brothers and they love you and all but-" She takes a moment to grab a tissue from a box nearbt and blow her nose."-Ever since you came here, I've felt so...happy and warm inside. It's like even though I was surrounded by animal friends of mine, I never realized I had been so..."

"Alone" I finish as my dams break as I embrace her hug and cry tears of my own. "Fluttershy, I know that ever since I've been here, you've always taken care of me and made sure I had everything I need. Yes, Ronin and Raiden are my brothers, and I love those goofballs to death. But here, in this cottage, I feel the most at peace. When I'm here with you, I feel safe and loved like any child should. I havent felt like this in years!" I proclaimed as Fluttershy looked me in the eyes, both of us still shedding tears.

"What I'm trying to say is, I wouldn't dream of living anywhere else, and if your ok with it, I wanted to know if I could call you...Mom?" I said with a smile as shock came over Fluttershy's face. A smile slowly came over her face and, if she wasn't already crying, that definitely would've done it for her. She pulled me into a intimate winged embrace.

"I would love you to do that...Son." She said as new tears went down her face. This time,though, they were tears of joy.

************
Raiden POV
************

I walked back into Twilights house and took the suitcase upstairs to my geust room to get a better look at it. I opened it and gasped slightly. There were shirts, underwear, and jeans inside. There was even a set of socks with each pair of underwear! I smiled and started putting on a set if clothes. I turned to a mirror and smiled.

"I had a green shirt on that had a picture of a four leaf clover on it. My jeans were slim-fit and hugged my waist perfectly. the socks were white and super clean. I grinned and flexed a bit in the mirror, perhaps not as big as Ronin, but pretty good myself. I walked downstairs as Twilight was organizing her books. She looked at me and smiled.

"Looks like somepony went to Raritys today." She said as she levitated one last book on the shelf. "Phew, finished." I walked overand ruffled her mane a bit.

"Looks good, Twilight. Although I notice you left a book out." I said while pointing to one book that was sitting on the floor. She smiled before levitating it to me.

I grabbed it as she responded. "Nicholas asked me to find a history book so he can learn more about your grandfather and Dadiolus." She said as I frowned and put the book on a stool nearby before walking back out the door. "Wait, where are you going?" She asked but I didn't reply as I walked out.

*********
Ronin POV
*********

I closed the door as I walked out of the house, tired and hungry as hell. I looked back up at the window Chrysalis had been in hours ago. That lady is going to be the death of me. I thought to myself as I saw Raiden walk by, his face frowning as he muttered to himself. I walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Dude, whats wrong?" I asked as he turned to me, anger in his eyes evident. "Did someone piss you off? Where are they? I'll give em something to fear!" I said while cracking my knuckles. This got a smile out of him while he shook his head.

"No one did it, man. But... can I ask you something?" He said while motioning for me to follow him. I did and we walked the town under the moonlit sky. "How do you feel about...all of this?" He said while swinging his arms in an outward motion.

I smiled at him. "You mean being teleported to some weird world and being dropped into a war neither of us understood?" He nodded. "It's a lot, to be honest." I admit as he stops to stare at me, shock evident in his eyes.

"Wait, what? But you've been rocking and rolling since you got here. Hell, your dating a queen for goodness sake! how are you not one hundred percent with all this?" He asked as I looked towards the sky.

"Well, the whole time I was in the old hive, I was worried you and Nick had been killed or eaten by something. Then I find you just to learn you had joined the 'enemy' of my allies. Then we find out some old coon from grandfathers double life here has had it in for us. Hell, the old joker tried to POSSESS me! its been insane!" I said as I kicked a mailbox, sending it across town to who knows where. "The only thing keeping me going is the fact that, as crazy as this mess is, I've never felt more at home than when I arrived here. And you saw the way Nicholas is around those kids. He loves it here, and whens the last time you saw that kid truly smile?" I said as he looked at him with smile of his own.

"Your right, thanks man. I needed that." Raiden said as I turned around. "Well, we better be getting back. Don't want to lose any sleep." he said as he grinned at me.

"I don't know about you buddy, but from Chrysalis's mood earlier, I probably won't be sleeping either way." I said as he punched me in the shoulder.

"Dude that's gross." he laughed as I ran forward.

"Don't knock it till ya try it, Raiden!" I yelled as I ran off. Raiden smiled and walked back towards Twilights.

maybe he's right. I could get used to living here.

Author's Note

With that, Nick and Fluttershy are officially adorable. Ronin and Raiden are now coming to terms with the fact that their lives are never going to be the same again, and how thats probably a good thing. What of their past though? Did Dadiolus really die that day? and what was he trying to accomplish with the collection of 9 souls? All questions shall be answered when I can create answers for them! for now though, stay tuned my fic-crazy ponies and remember:LOVE AND TOLERATE!!!!

Chapter 19: Human tasting, jokes, and disastrous consequences.
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 19: Human tasting, jokes, and disastrous consequences.

*Ronin POV*

Ya know, when your girlfriend used to be an evil overlord for a living, life was easy enough. She would torture her enemies and command troops to destroy kingdoms. As of yesterday, she has decided to be an interior decorater for our house. Except in order for her to use her magic, she needs love instead of food.

And geuss who's that power source? it's ya boi, Ronin.

Not that I can complain much. If giving her a ten minute snuggle fest is what it takes to start making the house look more like a house than a prision, then snuggles away! But a guy has his limits, and after three hours of non-stop cuddling, I was done for the day.

I walked out of our new house to let Chrysalis do her thing and was hit with sudden realization.

What the heck am I gonna do today? Until we got word from Celestia about the barracks being set up, I was kinda stagnant on what to do. I honestly had nothing planned, and I knew for a fact I was going to need money (or bits, as they call it) before long. As I was walking along, I was blinded by a pink fluff.

"Hiya Ronin! What are you up to today?" Pinkie asked me while balancing on my head. I rolled my eyes and grabbed her and sat her down in front of me.

"I'm in need of a job, party queen. Any ideas?" I asked as her eyes went wide with joy.

"*Gasp* You should work at the bakery! I could teach you how to cook sweets! It would be so much fun! we could do so many things together and-mmmph!" I put a hand over her mouth, just for her to lick it.

I pulled back my hand in disgust. "Why the hell did you just lick me?" I said while Pinkie giggled.

"That's easy, I wanted to know what you tasted like! If Chrysalis likes to kiss you all the time, then I figured you must taste great!" She said with a grin as we started walking through town. We started to pass by Raritys when we saw her standing outside, and not looking to happy about it.

Pink zipped up to her. "Whats wrong, Rarity?" She asker her. Rarity looked at us and made a face that looked like a childs when they don't get what they want.

"Darling its terrible! I was leaving my store to check my mailbox as per usual, but when I arrived, It was gone!" She pointed to a stick jutting out of the ground that looked like it had been broken off...

or kicked.

It took all my self control to not burst out laughing at the realization that I had done that yesterday while having a talk with Raiden. Rarity saw my reaction and huffed.

"Well, I see that someone finds my problem amusing." She said as I cleared my throat.

"Sorry, its just that you don't see this type of stuff often back where I used to live." I said as several ponies started running by. I stopped one of them, a neon blue unicorn.

"Whats going on?" I asked her. She turned to me, looked suprised for a second, but answered nonetheless.

"Something damaged the schoolhouse roof, and some group of kids went to fix it, only now one of them might be hurt!" She said before running off. I heard a gasp from behind me and saw Rarity freaking out.

"Sweetiebelle goes to that school! What if she's the one who got hurt!" She said before running off in the direction the rest of those ponies went. I sat there for a second before something hit me. I turned to Pinkie

"Party Queen, does Nick go to that school?" I asked and she nodded, before her eyes went wide as she finally realized that someone might be hurt.

"Omigosh, we need to save them!" Pinkie yelled as she picked me up and zipped after Rarity, ignoring my yells to let me down.

***********
Nicholas POV/ about 20 minutes earlier.
***********

What was supposed to be a basic school morning had been completely thrown out the window when I arrived at school to see the whole class and Cherilee standing outside. I walked up to the crusaders amd Tak.

"Whats everyone staring at?" I asked Applebloom. She pointed up at the roof, where a mailbox was sticking out of it with broken up tiles surrounding it.

"How the heck did a mailbox get up there?" Scootaloo said as the whole class erupted into scattered discussion for a minute before Cherilee took over the situation.

"Now class, due to the damage done by the mailbox, the roof is unstable and the classroom is a safety hazard for us to work in. So we will be having class outside today." Cherliee said as a pony raised his hand. "Yes, Snails?" She said.

"Whats a hazard?" He asked. Cherliee, eager to make a teaching moment out of the question, started lecturing the class on safety. While I got a poke in the ribs by Tak.

"Hey, why don't we get the mailbox out of the roof? That way we can avoid this lecture." Tak whispered as he motioned for the girls and I to follow him. We snuck around the group of kids surrounding Cherilee and made it behind the school. Tak turned to us and grinned.

"Alright, here's the plan. I will teleport Sweetiebelle and Nick up to the roof so you two can dislodge the box. Thwn when you do, throw it down here so me, Scoots, and Applebloom can catch it." He said as I nodded, Scootaloo and Applebloom looked pumped, and Sweetiebelle looked very nervous.

"Why do I have to go up there?" She asked as I smiled and put a hand on her shoulder as she looked to me.

"Applebloom and Scoots are the strongest of the three of you girls, and I might need your magic up there to help remove the mailbox." I said as she gulped, but nodded and turned to Tak.

"Alright then, lets do it!" She said, a bit more into it now. Tak's horn started to shine yellow as Sweetiebelle and I were overtaken by its light. In a flash, we found ourselves on the roof by the mailbox. Sweetiebelle was shaking slightly, but I nodded to her and started slowly moving towards the mailbox, careful not to fall.

Just before I could reach it, a voice yelled out from below.

"EVERYPONY LOOK, NICHOLAS IS ON THE ROOF!!!" The snarky voice of Diamond Tiara rang out as the entire class turned towards the roof and gasped (some screamed). Cherliee got a look of anger and took a step forward.

"Nicholas! get down this instant! that whole roof is unstable and could collapse at any moment!" She yelled up to me. I froze for a second before shaking my head.

"Its alright, Ma'am. I'll only be a second." I said as I took one last step towards the mailbox before the whole roof shook. Sweetiebelle screamed in suprise and unwittingly let off a beam of magic towards me. I ducked under it but it shot past me and hit the side of the roof we had appeared on. This caused the whole building to start to shake as the roof collapsed inwards.

"NIIIICK!!!!" Sweetiebelle yelled as she started to fall. I jumped forward and grabbed her just as the roof gave way beneath us.

************
Ronin POV/Present
************

"EVERYPONY LOOK! NICHOLAS IS ON THE ROOF!" Was the first thing I heard as Pinkie finally arrived at the schoolhouse. She put me down as I saw a mare take a step forward.

"Nicholas! get down this instant! that whole roof is unstable and could collapse at any moment!" She yelled up to him. I could see him now and started walking towards him. He replied, but I couldn't make it out as I stepped through scared foals. I made it to the mare.

"Why the hell is my brother on your roof?" I growled as she turned to me in suprise.

"I have no idea, but somepony has to stop him before-" We heard a scream and watched as a beam blew the side of the roof to bits. Thats when the whole roof decided to fall into the building.

"NIIIIICK!" Was all I heard as I shot forward. Feeling that same rush I had felt when I dove after Celestia, I pushed forward, not realizing I had left the ground entirely. Using the newfound power, I slammed through the wall and caught both Nicholas and that unicorn girl he hangs out with.

"Nicholas, teleport NOW!!!" I yelled as the whole room room went red. Just as we teleported, I felt something heavy crash into my back and everything went dark.

***********
Nicholas POV
***********

After the red light vanished, we were back on the ground outside. I sighed in relief as Sweetiebelle gave me a bone-crushing hug.

"Nick! you saved me!!!" She squealed into my ears as I hugged her back, slightly shaken by what just occured. Then I remembered...

"Ronin!" I said as I turned to see my brother passed out on the ground, blood seeping from wings on his back. Cherilee came over and nearly fainted at the sight before running towards the crowd that had appeared yelling for someone to get help.

**********
Raiden POV/ 5 minutes ago
**********

After waking up, I had spent the morning cooking breakfast. I knew Spike usually did that, but since I was a guest living here for the time being, I had decided to start doing things around the treehouse to pay for the hospitality I'd been shown. I had just finished with the scrambled eggs when I heard a tired yawn from behind me. I turned to see Twilight appear at the table. I could tell she was half-asleep due to the fact she mumbling something about a friendship letter under breath with droopy eyes.

I smiled and dropped a plate of eggs in front of her. "Morning Twilight!" I said cheerfully. She mumbled a greeting before face-planting into some red-hot eggs.

She sat upright immediately and yelped out before teleporting away. I laughed silently and put out another plate as Spike came from upstairs yawning as well. He took one look at the food before his eyes opened wide and he rushed over to devour the food. I watched him in shock as he pretty much ate the whole plate of eggs in nothing short of two bites. He looked up at me and lifted his plate.

"Wow, Raiden! these are amazing! can I get more?" He asked as I laughed and took his plate.

"Glad you enjoyed it, bud. Say, what kept Twilight up last night?" I asked him as he groaned.

"Twilight was getting overly worked up about her friendship reports to the princess... again." He said as we both laughed at that just as Twilight came back downstairs, looking way more refreshed and slightly angry.

"Har de har. Very funny, you two." She said as she sat at the table and started eating.

Unable to resist another gag, I responded. "I'm glad you cleaned yourself up, Twilight. For a minute there, I could've swore you had egg on your face." I said.

Twilight nodded. "Im sorry about that, I guess I did stay up a-" She realized a tad too late what I said as Spike, who had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing, busted a gut on the spot as Twilight groaned.

"Sorry, Sparkles. I couldn't resist." I said as I took a seat and dug into my own plate of eggs. For a while, it was nothing but peaceful egg eating until Pinkie Pie came flying through kitchen window, knocking over several pans.

"Pinkie! what are you-" she stopped as she saw Pinkie Pie standing there with an extremely sad look on her face. "Whats wrong?" She asked as Pinkie turned to me, on the verge of tears.

"Raiden, something really bad happened to Ronin at the schoolhouse." She said as I dropped everything and sat there, frozen in shock.

"What do you mean really bad?" Spike said, almost afraid of the answer he might get.

Pinkie sniffled a tad before answering. "He got hurt trying to save Nick and Sweetiebelle from the roof of the Schoolhouse as it collapsed, he was transfered to Ponyville hospital for intensive treatment." She said as tears started to fall from her eyes.

Twilight gasped as I recovered from my shock. I turned to Twilight. "We need to go, now!" I said as we got up and ran out the house and towards the library.

Ronin, please be ok. I thought as we rushed to the hospital, tears burning at my face. Please, hang in there. I'm coming as fast as I can.

Author's Note

Things are looking bad with Ronin hospitalized due to Nicholas and his friends rash decision. What will happen now? will Ronin recover? Find out next time, my fic-crazy ponies and remember: LOVE AND TOLERATE!

Chapter 20: A trip to the hospital
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 20: A trip to the hospital

*Raiden POV*

We had made it to the hospital quickly and my mind was already creating worst-case scenerios.

Chill out! I told myself. Ronin is one of the toughest guys you know, and that was before he got powers. He'll be fine. As we walked in an yellow earth pony with a mane of a mix of light and dark blue came up to us.

"You must be the older brother Nurse Redhearts patient, right?" She asked me. I raised an eyebrow but nodded.

"Yeah, I'm Raiden. How is he?" I asked her as she motioned us to follow her down a hallway. We soon came to a room with the door open. She turned to me.

"You'll have to ask his nurse for the details, but I think he is unconscious right now." She said as I sighed.

"Thank you, miss..." I trailed off, not knowing her name.

"Oh, I'm Nurse Snowheart. Now, go check on your Brother." With that she walked off as we walked into the room. When we got sight of Ronin, several things happened.

I was quick to take notice that the wings he had were bandaged extremely, but you could see a huge amount of blood on the bandages. For some reason, there was a bandage wrap over his eyes as well. I gripped the side of the bed as I took in the sight of Ronin passed out and injured. A flash of light shone through the room as I heard Pinkie starting to cry again and turned to her.

"Hey, why are you crying? Ronin's not gonna die or anything, he's too tough for that" I told her, but she shook her head as she sniffled.

"But, I took him to the school in the first place, if I wouldn't have done that, he would be ok." She said as she cried again. I sighed before hearing voices from outside the room.

"The patient is NOT to be disturbed!" I heard a strict female voice say. Probably Nurse Redheart. I thought.

"But its our fault he's hurt in the first place, we have to make sure he's all right." Odd, that sounded like Scootaloo.

"Besides, that's my brother! I'm not about to have some pony I don't know keep me from seeing family!" Defenitely Nicholas.

"Please, Nurse Redheart? just let us see him fer a second. We feel just awful bout what happened!" Applebloom said as they turned into the room. It was the Crusaders and my brother alright, with oddly no sign of Tak. There was a white earth mare with them. She had a pink mane and tail and a cutie mark that had a cross with hearts in its corners.

She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "And you are?" She asked me.

"My name is Raiden, Ronin's other brother. Seems you met my brother Nicholas and his riot squad." I turned to them and frowned. "What did you girls mean by 'its our fault he was hurt'?" I asked as all four of them flinched at my tone.

Nicholas took a step forward and explained what happened. By the time it was done, Pinkie was sitting there shocked, Both the nurse and I looked extremely ticked off, and Twilight was...

"Where did Twilight go?" I asked Pinkie. She looked around the room before answering.

"Huh. She's gone. I have no idea." She said, but I almost missed it because her deflated mane was blocking her face. I sighed again and turned to Nicholas.

"So, let me get this straight. You thought it would be a good idea to go on a damaged ROOF and pull out the source of the damage? Without help?!" I pretty much yelled. The crusaders flinched and sunk to the ground, the gravity of what happened finally sinking into their brains. Nicholas stood there with a poker face as I continued.

"And now look at what has happened! Ronin sitting in a bed with who knows what kind of injuries and who knows how long that will take to heal!" I finished as I rubbes my eyes, getting a headache from the stress. When I opened them, Nicholas rushed forward and pulled me into a big hug, bawling his eyes out. After a minute or two passed by, we heard the nurse clear her throat.

"As much as I would hate to break this up, I must inform you of his injuries and what treatment he is getting." she said and I nodded, allowing her to proceed. She stepped over to Ronin and pointed at his wings.

"The patient has suffered extreme damage to the area on his back that connects his wings to his shoulder blades. He was mostly injured in the area that connects to his central nervous system, therefore, not only will he be able to feel anything for a couple of days, he will also be sensitive to light and other things as well, hence the blindfold for when he wakes up." She finished as I spoke up.

"But he was wearing an exo-suit. Shouldn't that had protected him?" I asked as she shook her head.

"We noticed the exoskeleton when we were examining him. However, the skeleton formed around his body everywhere except the wings, so that means he got the wings after the exoskeleton was formed. Which causes the wings, and that area on his back, to be unprotected." She said as Nicholas hugged me tighter.

A cough came from the bed. "Well, that explains why I feel like crap." Ronin roughly croaked out.

Nicholas immediately went to hug him before being stopped by the nurse. "He is in no position to be getting hugs right now." She said as Ronin started laughing before coughing hard.

"Hey, Raiden or Nick? y'all there?" He asked.

"Yeah, we are both here with the crusaders and Nurse Redheart." I said as he smiled that cocky grin he always wears.

"Well, whoever that nurse is, tell her to ease up. I can't deal with that level of strictness this early in the morning." He said as Redheart sighed.

"Sir, I'd advise not talking so much, your likely to cause pain by doing so." She said but Ronins grin got wider.

"Don't worry about me, nurse! I'm tough as nails." He said with a smirk and Redheart face hoofed. He turned his head slightly. "Hey, Raiden. Send Nick over here." I pushed Nicholas over to Ronin, who raised a hand into the air towards us.

Nicholas took Ronins hand and squeezed it. Ronin smile disappeared. "Hey, don't go beating yourself up over what happened. You couldn't have known how bad it was and you had good intentions in mind." He said but Sweetiebelle butted in.

"But you got hurt!" She said and the crusaders agreed, tears going down their faces. Ronin got a frown on his face.

"Now, that's enough of that. I'm not dead, right? Then its no big deal. Now, your families must be worried sick about y'all after the accident, so do me a favor and go home and rest." He said and the girls nodded sadly. Ronin turned to Nicholas.

"Now, your not getting off the hook so easily. But for now, escort those three home." He smiled and Nicholas nodded as he and the crusaders left the room as Twilight entered.

"Oy, who just walked in?" Ronin said as Twilight stopped cold. I turned to him in shock.

"How did you know someone walked into the room?" I asked as Ronin snorted.

"I sensed new emotions coming into the room. Whoever it is does not like the sight of blood or gore, considering the levels of disgust I am getting from them." I turned to Twilight who had a sheepish look on her face.

"That's why I left earlier. I don't really do blood that well." She said as I rolled my eyes before turning to Redheart, who was currently looking at Ronin with a look of curiousity.

"You said he would be treated, how?" I asked her as she turned to me and dawned a serious face.

"We will be giving him a healing elixer every three hours until the bone structure in his wings can heal fully. This process might take a few days to complete, so he will be here for a while." As she finished that, Ronin groaned.

"I've got to stay here for several days! Nurse, you better be a fun pony to talk to." He said as I laughed at the remark while Redheart rolled her eyes again, this time smiling.

Before anything else could be said, Nurse Snowheart came galloping into the room. She turned and looked straight at Redheart. "Redheart, we need you three rooms down, there is a mare producing triplets and the docter got knocked out when the mother accidently bucked him!" She left quickly as Redheart sighed and turned to me.

"Well, duty calls. I would advise you and Twilight to allow Ronin to rest. I will contact Twilight or you if something happens." I nodded and said thanks as she ran out of the room. I turned to Ronin.

"Rest easy, bug boy." I said, getting a snort in response as we left the room. As we walked outside, I was knocked over by a black blur. I got up slowly with help from Twilight.

"What the heck was that?" I asked. Twilight looked towards the doors with slight unease.

"That was Chrysalis, and boy did she look mad." Twilight said as I dusted myself off. "That reminds me, how was Ronin able to sense my emotions? I thought that was something only changelings could do." She asked as I smiled.

"Well, you must be one oblivious mare, because Ronin and Chrysalis have been dating for a while now. And they are painfully obvious about it." I said with a shudder. "And during that process, she decided to make him a halfing." As I said that, her eyes went wide.

"He's a halfing!?" She exclaimed loudly, earning some stares. "That raises so many questions! Like why his DNA is compatible with Changeling DNA, or why Chrysalis would choose him...why did He decide to date Chrysalis anyway?" She finished with a question.

I shrugged and started walking back to the treehouse. "I have no clue, Sparkles, I have no clue." I looked around for a second and turned back to Twilight. "Wait a sec, wheres Pinkie Pie?"

************
Ronin POV
************

Ok, having a building fall on you sucks.

I mean, I'm in some random hospital in this silly little town with no vision, a back that feels like a jackhammer playing hopscotch, and a nurse with a dont mess with my patient attitude. The only thing that would make this worse would be an overeaction from-

"WHERE IS RONIN!?!" A loud voice commands from the hallway.

Here we go... I silently mutter as I sense Chrysalis walk into the room, with Nurse Red behind her, just as angry as she is.

"I don't care if your the queen of whatever you are, you will not disturb the patient while he is resting!" Nurse Red said as Chrysalis snorts in anger.

"No half-flank doctor is going to keep me from my mate. Especially if he has been injured." I hear her step up to the bed. "Ronin, who did this to you? Just give me name and I'll go find them right now!"

"Chrysi...." I groaned

"I'm serious! Once I find who did this to you, I shall dice them to bits and send them to tartarus as I feed on their fear!"

"Chrysi!!" I groaned louder, but to no avail.

"I mean it! No one hurts my mate and lives to tell the tale!"

"CHRYSALIS!!!!" I yell loudly, then get hit with an immediate coughing fit. I sense immediatr anger from Nurse Red and a mix of sadness and hurt from Chrysalis. "No one did this to me but my own self. I saved my brother and his obvious fillyfriend from a falling roof, and the dang thing collapsed on me!" I pause to recieve another coughing fit. "Tak was there, by the way, and he didn't come by earlier, so who knows what's going on in his head!" I say as finish through the hacking fit. I immediately feel hoofs wrap around me, to Nurse Reds ignored complaints. Chrysalis leans in and whispers in my ear.

"I'm sorry, Ronin. I've never had someone in my life that cares so much about me and others before. And when Tak told me you were hurt, I rushed over without another thought. I don't know what's gotten into me. I've never felt such a need to protect something before, not even my own hive holds this much influence on me." She finished as I felt a lone tear drop onto my cheek.

Doing the best I could with a blindfold, I grasped her cheek and pulled her into a kiss. Nothing serious, just a simple kiss to show affection. After pulling apart, I smiled.

"That means you care, Chrysi. And if you've never felt that before, then Im proud to be your first." I said with a smirk. I heard her groan and get up.

"Your sitting there injured and you still crack jokes like an idiot. Your lucky I love you, Ronin." She said as I heard her teleport. I heard Nurse Red sigh in relief.

"Finally, I can give you this, open up." She said as I complied, feeling the elixer go down my throat. It was sticky, like cough syrup, but tasted like berries.

"Thanks Nurse!" I say as I hear her leave the room. For a moment it's peaceful silence with no noise...

Until I hear a closet door swing open and a plop sound of a pony falling out of said closet. I hear slow clop sounds reach my bed. Even though I can't see anything, I can defenitely smell the intruder, and the pony smells like:

cupcakes... of course its her.

"Hey Ronin" I hear Pinkie whisper. "I know your probably asleep and all that, but I just wanted to apologize to you about the incident." Not wanting to give anything away, I slow my breathing and pretend I'm sleeping. "I just felt so bad about it, and I couldn't stand to see you get hurt." I hear a slight sniffle before she continues. "You see, your the first guy to ever treat me like a normal pony. I mean, my friends treat me normally, but even they sometimes keep their distance. But you never even bat an eye at any of my antics. You even call me party queen, and no one has ever said that to me before." I feel her get closer to my face. "I know your sleeping, but I just wanted to tell you I think your an amazing guy." I feel her kiss me on the lips slightly, just enough to taste the sweetness of her lips, then I hear her leave the room.

I sat there, her taste still on my lips, confused and sleepy and weirdly happy all at the same time. I groan slightly and stretch a bit.

I am so confused.

Author's Note

Now Ronin is stuck in the hospital! and with pinkies confession, what will Ronin do now? And how has Nicholas and the crew been affected by this whole ordeal? answers next time, my fic-crazy ponies, and remember: LOVE AND TOLERATE!!!

Chapter 21: A romantic rivalry and a renewed purpose
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 21: A romantic rivalry and a renewed purpose

*Nicholas POV*

Well, this sucks. Was the first thought to come to me as I stared at the inside of the very dirty barn. Yesterday, when my brother told me to "escort" the girls home, he knew that there families would ask questions. That lead to punishments being given out like free candy. So I quickly found myself with the task of cleaning up the barn with Applebloom.

"Now, you two have got a lot ta clean, so git to it!" Applejack stated as she put some buckets with sponges in them by us before walking off to do her own chores for the day. I sighed and turned to Applebloom.

"Welp, this sucks." I stated and she groaned before walking in and scrubbing the left side of the barn wall. I grabbed a sponge and started cleaning the right wall.

"Ah know, but it coulda been worse, Nick. Be lucky that we ain't got the same punishment Sweetiebelle does. She has tah help Rarity all day instead of playin." She said and I snickered at that.

"Oh man, that's bad. I'd take barn scrubbing with you over being a mannequin for Rarity anyday." I said as Applebloom giggled in response.

For a while, there was nothing but the silence of hard work and the occasional splash of a sponge being resoaked. After a bit, though, Applebloom spoke up.

"Hey Nick." She called out. I stopped scrubbing and turned to face her.

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked her while placing my sponge in the bucket near me.

"Did ya really mean what you said earlier?" She asked me. Confused, I raised an eyebrow.

"Mean what?" I asked, unsure as to where this was going.

"When you said you'd rather stay here and help me than go to Raritys?" She asked me, though she didn't look me in the eyes.

"Well, of course I did. I don't really enjoy going to Raritys that much. Heck, the only reason I do is go there is because Sweetiebelle is there. But I honestly love coming out here to this farm. Its got some sort of feel to it that makes you feel welcome. That, and its home to one of the coolest girls I know." I said while turning back to the wall, not seeing her face turn scarlet from a blush.

She turned back to her own wall, suddenly in a way better mood and ready to clean it all the way down to the last speck.

A couple of hours later, we had finally finished cleaning the barn. Applejack decided we were off the hook "fer now" as she put it. We decided to check up on everyone else. Walking through town, we came across Sweetiebelle trying poorly to fix the mailbox from before.

"What in tarnation are ya doin?" Applebloom said as we approached. Sweetiebelle groaned as she turned to face us.

"The mailbox from yesterday was my sister's, and she wants me to put it back up." She said as I shook my head.

"How did your sisters mailbox even get into the roof of the schoolhouse?" I asked as they shrugged. Applebloom then looked like she got an idea.

"Hey Nick, I'll help Sweetiebelle with the mailbox, why don't you go and see if Tak is alright. We haven't seen him since the roof collapse." She asked me and I nodded and took off towards Ronins place.

***********
No Pov
***********

"Bye Nick!" Sweetiebelle said kinda loudly as Nicholas ran off. Applebloom turned to Sweetiebelle with a frown.

"Ya like him, don't ya?" She asks as Sweetiebelle's eyes go wide and her jaw drops.

"w-what? No I don't! We're just friends is all." She said as Applebloom stared at her, unconvinced. Sweetiebelle stood there for a while before caving. "Fine! I admit it! I think he's cute, ok! He's one of the nicest colts I've ever met! I don't care if he's not a pony, I like him for who he his." Sweetiebelle erupted as Applebloom was quick to calm him down.

"Ok, Ok! I git it! Besides, ah couldn't judge ya for liking him, cuz then ah'd be a hypocrite." Applebloom said as Sweetiebelle gasped.

"You like him too!" Sweetiebelle said excitedly, then frowned as she put two and two together. "How are we going to settle this?" They thought on that before Applebloom groaned.

"There's only one way tah settle this." She said as Sweetiebelle grinned.

"Fight to the death for his affection?" She asked and Applebloom looked at her like she was nuts.

"Are ya crazy? No!" She thought about that for a second. "We might have tah compete normally though for his love." Applebloom stated as Sweetiebelle nodded, reaching out her hoof.

"Then it's decided. You and I shall compete to see who can make Nicholas fall in love with them! The winner shall get his love for eternity!" Sweetiebelle said as Applebloom shook her hoof before leaning in with a sly smile.

"Hope ya know that ah will be usin' every trick in the apple family book to win him over." She said as she walked off, leaving a irritated Sweetiebelle.

"Please, Appebloom. My sister is a walking book about romance. I've got this in the bag!" She said as she turned to continue working on the mailbox.

**********
Nicholas POV
**********

I stood in front of the now black building with some shards sticking out of it. That queen really is building a hive here. I thought as I knocked on the door. The door opened with a tired Chrysalis appearing from it.

She looked down at me and frowned. "Oh, its midget Ronin. what do you want?" She said as she yawned. I smiled and responded.

"Well, I wanted to see Tak since we haven't seen him since the roof day." I said as she sighed, suddenly looking a bit sad.

"He is upstairs on the left, but I doubt he will talk to you. He blames himself for the accident yesterday, and I wasn't exactly the best example of consoling his fears in that regard." She said as she turned and walked into the building. I followed her in and went upstairs to find a hallway with ten doors. I went to the first one on the left and knocked.

A muffled "Go away!" came from the door. I sighed and turned the knob, finding it unlocked. I walked in to see Taks back to me balled up in a cacoon in the middle of the room.

That explains the fake name 'Cacoono' I thought as I stepped towards him. "Hey Tak. I came over to see how you are doing since we haven't seen ya since yesterday and all." I stopped moving as Tak turned to face me, a sad expression on his face.

"Nick...Yesterday, I put you and Sweetiebelle in danger by teleporting you guys onto that roof. And now Ronin, the guy who saved me a month back and has been there for me and mother all this time, is hospitalized due to my mistake!" He said as tears went down his face. "I hurt the man who is pretty much a father figure for me and almost hurt two of the beings that consider me a friend at the same time. I don't deserve to be among ponies." He finished and turned away from me, sobbing quietly. I walked up to him and pulled him into a hug.

"Listen, man. Sure you told us to go on the roof, but it's not like you forced us onto the roof or anything. We all made the choice to try and remove the mailbox, so we are all equally to blame. No one hates you for what happened, the girls miss having ya around and with the craziness that comes with this town, Ima need my brother from another mother by my side." I turned him to face me. "Ronin doesn't hate you. Heck, from what I heard, he was more upset at himself more than anything. But can I ask you something?" I finished as he nodded and wiped his eyes.

"Why did you want to remove the mailbox in the first place? It was a hazard, I get that. But why not wait until professionals arrived?" I asked as he took a deep breath and asnwered.

"I...I wanted to prove to the other ponies that changelings can be good. I've seen how some ponies react to Mom and Ronin. They think it's hilarious, but I personally am saddened every time somepony runs from us. I want what is best for my people, but its hard to do that when no one trusts you." He said as he hugged me. "That's why I take our friendship so seriously. You and the girls wanted to stay friends with me even after I showed you my true form." He finished as he let go of me and jumped off the cacoon, suddenly full of energy.

"I get it. You want to show the world that your not the monster that legends depict you as. And as long as the crusaders and I are here, we will fight that fight with you." I said as I put my fist out. He looked at it, smiled, and hoof-bumped it happily. He turned towards the door and smiled at me.

"Lets go seize the day, friend." He said and we walked out the room, the conversation (and the emotions following) not forgotten, purely cast aside for now.

**********
Ronin POV
**********

"Nurse, that stuff taste like you whizzed in it and deep fried it, I'm not drinking that again." I said as Nurse Redheart groaned angrily before arguing.

"Ronin, if you don't drink the elixer, I will show you what deep fried urine tastes like." She stated as she put the elixer up to my mouth. With no other option, I drank the disgusting liquid. After what happened yesterday with Chrysalis, Nurse Redheart decided to change my prescription to a "healthier" potion of sorts. And like all healthy based foods, it was absolutely disgusting.

After finishing the drink, I made a face and turned my head in the direction her voice was coming from. "Your a real turd, ya know that?" I said as I heard her snort in laughter and smiled. "So, how long until my blindfold comes off?" I ask as I hear her walk up to the bed.

"Well, its been over 24 hours, so lets see." She said as she removed the cloth from my eyes. I immediately hiss and scrunch my eyes closed at the exposure to light. But after a minute or two of exposure, I slowly start to see again.

I look around the room. Sure enough, there is a closet in the corner, definitely where Pinkie hid yesterday. The bed is a full size at most. considering my feet are dangling off it. My eyes then fall on the pony in the room.

She was a white coated earth mare with pink hair and a cross with hearts around it on her flank. her eyes were a dazzling sapphire blue that shined in the dimly lit room. She also is wearing a hat with the same mark on her flank printed on the hat.

"Well, helloooo nurse!" I say with a smirk. "I guess you must be the lady who has been taking care of me?" I ask as she smiles, blushing slightly.

"Yes, I was assigned to you after you were brought here by Snowheart. And I must say you are the second most frustrating patient I have had yet." She says as I frown.

"Who the heck is more stubborn than me?" I ask as she groans and strikes a mock superman pose.

"Rainbow-bucking-dash, thats who." She gets down from her hindlegged superman pose and laughs a bit before frowning. "She was in here for a broken wing a couple of months back, and she not only was stubborn while she was here, but she broke INTO the hospital to get a book she claimed to have never read or ever will read." She finished as I started cracking up with laughter.

"Oh, man thats rough. Makes my snarky comments seem like its Fluttershy in here instead of me." I say as Redheart laughs, before grabbing a clipboard.

"Now, I'm supposed to do a checklist with you to make sure your eyesight us alright. So please bear with me, Ronin." She said as I sighed.

"Always hated paperwork. Lets get this over with." I said as she started asking questions about my range of sight and giving me those exams you get if you wear glasses. After a bit, she was finished and put the clipboard away.

"See, that wasn't so bad, huh?" She said as I rolled my eyes. A question popped into my head though.

"Hey Nurse, mind if I bounce some things off ya that have been on my mind?" I asked. She nodded and took a seat in a chair near the closet.

"So, you know I'm dating Chrysalis right?" I said as she nodded with a groan.

"With what happened yesterday, I'm suprised you two aren't a married couple." She said as my eyes widened.

"Definitely not doing that soon. No need to rush into that can of worms. But what if someone is dating somebody, but there's another girl he may like at the same time. How would that person or pony handle that situation?" I ask as she smiles at me.

"Well, that's easy enough. Just start herding with them." She said like it was commen knowledge. I raised an eyebrow.

"What is herding?" I ask as her jaw drops.

"You don't know what herding is?" I shake my head. "Well, when a stallion likes more than one mare, they can start a herd by dating more than one female. But said stallion can only have up to five girls in one herd." She said while it was my turn to be shocked.

"Ok, then. That's defenitely new. But it sounds like it happens a lot around here." I said as she nodded.

"The male to female ratio here is pretty lopsided, about five to one in the females favor. So we kind of need herding to survive." She said as I shook my head in amazement.

"That's actaully kind of cool. Where we come from, our ratio is even. So we dont condone things like that there." Looking back, this place does have an unhealthy amount of females in it. I yawned slightly, and Redheart stood up.

"That must be the elixer kicking in. I will check in on you tonight to make sure your not recieving backlash from the eyesight being returned." She said as she left. I smiled and leaned back into the bed.

I have a whole lot of thinking to do. I thought as my mind returned to what occured yesterday with Pinkie. I wonder how Chrysalis would feel about a herd.

Author's Note

War has been declared between Applebloom and Sweetiebelle! Tak is showing more of his emotionally crippled side to Nicholas, and Ronin is daydreaming. Where shall this lead to? stay tuned, my fic-crazy ponies and remember:LOVE AND TOLERATE!!

*Oh, while you wait for my story to be updated, why don't you check out this story from my friend SkarletIce is currently writing: Antithesis (Click on title to go to the story)

Chapter 22: A prophecy and a very determined Pinkie Pie
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 22: A prophecy and a very determined Pinkie Pie

*Canterlot Castle, No Pov*

The moon had just been raised and most of the castles daytime guards, maids, and other workponies were asleep and replaced by nightime counterparts. But one princess was still awake on her bed, and she was currently reading through a book that originally been hidden in her room.

As Celestia looked through the old diary of her lover of long ago, she couldn't help but think about the similarities between him and the brothers that had arrived. Ronin defenitely had his swordplay and his confidence, if not also his stubborness. Raiden could cook just as good, if not better than him, while sharing his kind heart. And little Nicholas seems to have the loyalty and honor that motivated him.

Celestia sighed as she turned another page and gasped. She had never looked in the back of the book before, the pain of who it belonged to was too great. but when she turned the page, there was a single paragraph in her lovers handwriting.

To my shining sun,

I was dreaming last night when I saw something unimaginable! Your sister had became something terrifying. And to make things worse, my dear friend Dadiolus was standing beside her, fueling whatever darkness had a grip on her. However, I saw a way for the light to overcome the dark. A time will come when six champions of humble beginnings will rise. These six heroes must ally themselves with the three heralds of balance. One will represent happiness and peace, One will represent death and sorrow, and one shall represent hope and the future. These three heralds will not be of this world, for they were not ponies, but humans like me. I can only hope that they arrive before Luna becomes shrouded in darkness again, not after. By the time you read this, I will have either succeded in altering fate, or died at the hands of Dadiolus. If I fail, it will be up to you to align the six champions with the prophesied heralds. Stay strong, my love. For the time will come when we are reunited.

Your dear captain, Sir Callobrim Blazeheart.

Celestia closed the diary, face tear stricken and breaths shallow. He knew that he might die that day?!" She thought as she thought about what it said. "Three heralds...that couldn't mean those brothers, could it?" She mumbled as she thought of something.

Out of the three, Raiden seemed the most intelligent, maybe he could help in figuring out this diary entry. Celestia thought as the door to her room slammed open. She turned to her intruder with a glare.

"Who dares come into my room unnanoun-Luna?" Celestia said as Luna looked at her with slight worry. "What is wrong, sister?" she asked her, noticing the look of fear on her sister face.

"Dear sister, we were watching over the dreams as per usual. But as we came across one particular dream that belonged to that human male you were with a couple of days ago, we found we could not enter it." Luna said as Celestia frowned.

"Why wouldn't you be able to enter it?" She asked as Lunas face suddenly went a bit pale.

"When we tried to enter it, we were surrounded by a green light and hundreds of voices assaulted our mind! It was like they were eating away at my thoughts!" Luna cried as she walked up and hugged her sister.

Celestia hugged back, mind full of worry and curiosity. "It seems we must pay a visit to our human friends. There is much we must discuss with them."

*************
Raiden POV
*************

After spending a day figuring our where I was to work, I had finally found the perfect place. Although it meant being instructed by Pinkie Pie, I was glad to be in a kitchen again.

"Alright, Raiden! we have an order for four breakfast muffins!" Pinkie called out in her usual high octane energy. How that girl has all that energy at ten in the morning confuses me greatly. Oh well, its better than nothing.

I poured the batter into the muffin shaped holders and put them into the oven. After about thirty seconds, a timer went off and they were ready to be pulled out. How food cooks here so fast is an even greater mystery, but one I'd rather not look into for the risk of a headache.

"Order up!" I yelled to the front as Mrs. Cake took the muffins and brought them to their respective customer. This continued for a few hours until Pinkie came to the back.

"Your shift is done, Raiden! the Cakes want you to have this!" She cheerfully said as she threw a bag at me. I opened it and saw those bits that they use as currency in them. The bag was labeled with a thirty.

"Dang, thirty bits a day? thats awesome!" I said as Pinkie grinned.

"You were working extra hard today, and you helped us get through the morning rush. So you earned a decent pay. Now that our shifts are over, what are you going to do?" Pinkie asked as as I thought for a bit before answering.

"I think I might ask Twilight to explain the currency here to me. I'd rather not pay too much for something on accident." I said as Pinkie grinned even wider.

"oooo, good idea! I'm going to the hospital, I have a special food package to deliver to a patient up there!" She said as she pulled a literal food package from her...hair?

"Who's it for?" I asked as Pinkie suddenly blushed slightly before answering.

"Its for someone special, but no spoilers! after all, the author hates spoilers!" Pinkie said as she jumped through a window, with a scream of suprise coming from outside, probably some wandering pony not expecting Pinkie to jump out a window.

Ok? I thought as I shoke off the weirdness that Pinkie Pie seems to attract to any situation. I walked out the bakery and went straight to Twilights home. As I walked in, I saw a blue pegasus with rainbow hair chilling on the floor reading something.

She looked up at me and smiled. "So, your one of those humans, right? Names Rainbow Dash, fastest pony in Equestria. Whats your name?" She said as I smiled. So this is the mare Nicholas said was a showoff. Aight, I can play this game. I thought as I smiled back.

"Well hello Rainbow Dash. My name is Raiden, but I couldn't possibly believe you are the fastest pony here. Sorry, but you just don't look the part." As soon as I said that, I got Rainbow Dash in my face.

"Excuse me! I am the fastest pony in ponyville, and I can prove it!" She smirked as she eyed me up and down. "Wanna race, smart mouth?" She asked as I smirked back.

"Maybe later, Skittles. I need to talk to Twilight about the currency here, do you know where she is?" As I finished my sentence, Twilight came downstairs from whatever she had been doing and noticed us.

"Raiden, Rainbow dash! What are you two doing?" She said, noticing the proximity we were from each other. We immediately backed up and I turned to Twilight.

"I was just talking to Rainbow, but I need your help with something, if your not to busy." I said and Twilight grinned.

"I'm not busy right now, so whats up?" Twilight said as Rainbow returned to reading her book. I took a seat and pulled out the bit filled bag from earlier and handed them to her.

"I just received a paycheck, and I have no clue how the economy works here." I said as Twilight pulled out a copper and silver bit from the bag.

"Im glad you asked about this, Raiden. Last thing we need is for you to be haggled or overpay in the marketplace." She lifted up the copper bit. "This color bit represents a number value of one." She said as I smiled.

"Earth has something like that, except ours is a dollar bill." I said as she got a bit giddy at new information about earth. She lifted up the silver one next.

"This one has a numerical value of ten." She said and I nodded at this worlds version of ten bucks. She put it down and her horn glowed, causing a golden bit to appear in front of us. "This bit has a face value of one hundred." She said as my jaw dropped.

"Wait, that little boy is worth a hundred in Your currency!" I said as she nodded. "That's so cool and crazy at the same time." I put the silver and copper bit in my bag and Twilight made the gold one disappear. I stood up and stretched.

"I think I might go take a nap, working with Pinkie is exhausting!" I said. Twilight giggled at that and nodded.

"She can be a handful at times." She said as I walked upstairs and into my guest room, plopping onto the bed with a tired yawn. I didn't even change my clothes before passing out.

***********
Ronin POV
***********

Once again, I was being fed the elixer. This time, it would be the last one I would get, since I was able to feel my body again. Once I finished drinking it, I passed it off to Nurse Redheart. She put it aside and looked at me.

"Do you want to try and walk now?" She asked and I nodded as I slowly got off the bed. With support from Redheart, I stood there for a second to catch my balance, then took a step forward.

It was a wobbly one at first, but as I continued to walk around, the steps got more confident and I found myself perfectly able to walk again with no assistance. I smiled and turned to a mirror while removing my hospital robe, just to have the smile wiped off my face.

The exoskeleton I had was damaged...bad. There were cracks all along it and I could tell the epicenter of it all was the back area which was unprotected. Heck, as I turned, I noticed there wasnt even any skeleton back there anymore, the roof had done away with my whole backpiece.

Redheart stepped up to me. "Ronin, the exoskeleton you wore has been severly damaged. But if it wouldn't had been there, you would've been sent to a morgue rather than a hospital." She said as I sighed. Chrysalis was going to be mad.

"At least I'm alive." I said and Redheart agreed. I turned to the door and staryed stretching my arms and legs, both stiff after being stuck in a bed for days. "So, Im able to leave anytime, right?" I said and Redheart nodded, albeit a tad sadly. I picked up on the slight sorrow and smiled.

"Hey, why don't I treat ya to lunch tomorrow, so I can get to know my new friend better." I said as she visibly (and internally) brightened at the idea.

"I would love that, Ronin. I have a day off tomorrow, so it will work out perfectly. But where to?" She said as I smirked.

"I think I know exactly where to go." I said as I started walking out the door. "meet me at sugercube corner tomorrow at eleven, ok?" I Said as she waved to me.

"I will, see you there!" She called back as I left the room and hospital. After walking around a bit, I finally made it back to my house, or at least what was my house.

When I had told Chrysalis to change the house, she might've went overboard. she not only changed it, but now it looked similar to how the old hive looked. Except that it still had the outward frame of a house, just with hive design instead of bricks. That, and a few spikes jutting from the roof and sides. I barely put my hand on the doorknob when, in a flash of green light, I found myself on a bed with Chrysalis on top of me.

"Chrysi? What are ya doing?" I asled as she hungrily looked down on me.

"My mate has been locked in a hospital for three days straight with...a damaged exoskeleton." She said slightly mad as she licked her lips and fangs. "No matter, your dear queen has been starving! Now, do your queen a favor and feed her, will you?" She literally purred as she magically locked all doors and shut all windows. She went to kiss me but was interrupted by a loud voice outside.

"Chrysalis, I know Ronin is in there, now let me see him!" A loud voice yelled through. I got up and opened a window to see Pinkie standing outside with a megaphone in one hoof while holding a package in another. She looked up towards me and smiled...wide.

"There you are!" She said as she lowered the megaphone. "Whether your busy or not, I have been looking for you all day, Ronin! And you will get this package!" She yelled up as she dove through a window downstairs.

Oh, boy. I thought as turned to the door, ready for whatever Pink was ready to do.

Author's Note

What happens when you have a Pinkie Pie that is absolutely determined to hunt you down at all costs? And what of the note found in Callobrims diary? are the three brothers really the heralds of balance? (what even is a herald of balance?) All this and more next time, my fic-crazy ponies. and remember:LOVE AND TOLERATE!

Chapter 23: Confessions and confetti
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 23: Confessions and confetti

*Ronin Pov*

As I turned to the door awaiting Pinkies entrance, Chrysalis turned to me.

"What just happened out there?" She asked as I sighed, hearing several doors being opened and shut quickly.

"Pinkie dove through a window and is hunting me down right now." I said as Pinkie finally found our door and slammed it open, looking very tired and very determined.

"Finally!! this house has too many doors! But now that I found you I can give you your package!" She said while holding up a box and walking towards me, only to be cut off by Chrysalis midway.

"What do you think you are doing?" Chrysalis spat with venom laced in her words. Pinkie smiled at her, although it seemed a bit forced.

"Silly, I just said that. I'm giving Ronin this gift I made for him." She said, but Chrysalis wasn't done.

"If that is all, then why can I feel love seeping from you every time you look at Ronin?" She said as Pinkies eyes widened, caught red-handed. Chrysalis took a deep breath and growled, leaning close into Pinkies face

"Listen well, you little earth pony. You may be friends with Ronin, but you shall never be his mare. That role has been filled by me, and me only! Now buzz off before crush you under my hoofs!" She said, but Pinkie was not about to give in. She got straight up in Chrysalis's face and frowned.

"Listen here, you big meanie. A guy like Ronin doesn't need a jerk like you clinging to him just to feed off him. So why don't you leave him alone before I throw you a party you wont walk away from!" Pinkie growled as the two butted heads.

Fed up with the arguing, I took a deep breath before speaking.

"ENOUGH!!!!" I yelled, causing both of them to jump back from me in suprise. I turned to Pinkie first. "First of all, don't you dare insinuate that Chrysalis is using me! We have already had that problem figured out, and I can assure you that we do love each other!" Chrysalis smirked at Pinkie, but the look became one of fear when I turned to her, not even realizing my eyes were glowing green again.

"And you!!! How dare you threaten Pinkie like that? She is a close friend of mine and yes, I am attracted to her too. That doesn't mean that you immediately threaten every girl that comes near me!" I said as Chrysalis shrunk down a tad, looking extremely vunerable.

I took another breath and calmed down, my eyes slowly returning to their normal blue. "Listen, this ain't going to be easy for me to say, but it has to be said. I love you Chrysalis, but I also am extremely attracted to Pinkie Pie. There is a solution to this, but you must hear me out." I said as Chrysalis stood back up and Pinkie smiled again.

I cleared my throat and sighed. "Do either of you know what a herd is?" I said as Chrysalis groaned and Pinkie looked confused.

"What's a herd?" came the obvious question from Pinkie Pie. Chrysalis turned to her frowned.

"It means that he wishes to date both of us." She said and Pinkies eyes lit up.

"Really!" She said as I nodded before saying more.

"But its a tad more complicated then that. Heck, I'm not a hundred percent in the know about this, but I am willing to give it a try. The question is, are you two willing to try this?" I said as they turned back to each other, a bit of heat in both of their stares yet also consent at the same time.

"If this pink fluff truly means that much to you, then I am willing to allow her to herd with us. But, if we are going to herd, it will be done the changeling way." Chrysalis said as Pinkie arched an eyebrow.

"There's more than one way to herd?" She asked, just as in the dark as I was.

"Whats the changeling way?" I asked Chrysalis as she smiled at us, bearing her fangs.

"If Pinkie truly does love you, then she will have to have the same process you went through done to her." She said as my eyes widened before I frowned, immediately against the idea, meanwhile Pinkie looked confused.

"Hold up, We are not forcing her to become a halfing just so she can date me. Thats wrong as hell." Chrysalis rolled her eyes but consented to my reasoning. I rubbed my eyes in frustration before continuing. "Although I do believe that if this becomes serious between us, Pinkie will need to learn more about the changeling way." I said as I turned to Pinkie and knelt to her level.

"Im going to be honest with ya, Party queen. Out of any male you could've picked to crush on, ya picked the one with the most complications. If ya do agree to do this, you must know that you will become a part of this hive if you choose to date me. And once you choose to embrace the hive life, you become a part of the hive. With that in mind, do you wish to continue trying to date me?" I stated as she sat there for a good moment with a look of seriousness on her face I had never seen on her before. After a while, she smiled and looked at me.

"Ronin, I may be knoen as being goofy or childish at times compared to my friends. But this is one decision that I am fully taking seriously. So yes, I do want to herd with you and Chrysalis, knowing that it means my life may be different from here on." She thought on that for a bit before her eyes went wide. "Wait, I can still work at the bakery, right?" She asked as I laughed and pulled her into a hug.

"Don't worry, Pink. You will still be able to work at the bakery. The only thing changing now is the fact you can sleep here instead of above your job." I said as we felt a third set of hooves hug us from behind.

"I wont lie, I still hold some worries about this herding prospect, but I can feel the love emanating from you two, and I am willing to give this a try." Chrysalis said as we sat there in the warm embrace for a minute, before Pinkie jumped up and gasped.

"Omigosh, This calls for a party! I need to get to work on it immediately! I can call it 'Happy herding party' and mmph-" Pinkie was cut off my Chrysalis melding her mouth shut with magic while glaring at her, but a smile on her face at the goofiness of Pinkies antics.

"We are not throwing a party for this occasion, especially with that title. However, going out for lunch doesn't seem like a bad idea, wouldn't you agree Ronin?" She asked as I nodded and Pinkie muffled a agreement. After removing the spell from Pinkie, we got up before Chrysalis saw my back in its full messed up glory.

"That exoskeleton truly is messed up, huh? the lunch out will have to wait, we need to fix this." She said as Pinkie titled her head to the side in confusion.

"How do we do that?" She asked as Chrysalis turned to me and grinned hungrily.

"It seems like your first lesson in the way of the hive comes early today, Pinkie Pie." She said as she locked the door again and magically threw me on the bed. "Lesson one: How to extract the most love from your mate!"

*************
Nicholas POV
*************

I was standing on a pedestal posing for Raritys newest line of clothes. Why? because I made the idiotic decision to go and attempt to bail Sweetiebelle out of her punishment. She got off it, of course. But I took her place as Raritys live mannequin.

"Darling, you look absolutely stunning in that suit!" Rarity said as Sweetiebelle giggled at my expense. She was sitting on a chair nearby soaking in the situation.

"How many more of these suits do I have to try on?" I asked Rarity as she smiled at me.

"Only about twelve more, dearie." She said as I took off the tux and groaned inwardly. The door opened and Rarity turned to the customer.

"Oh, Raiden! you've come at a good time! young Nicholas was just helping me with my measurements for tuxedos, but I need a older stallion to dress in these next couple of suits." She said as Raiden sighed and smiled.

"I was just coming by to check on Nicholas, but sure, I'll help." He said as I jumped off the pedestal and changed into my normal shirt and jeans quickly. I turned to Sweetiebelle and smiled.

"Come with me if you want to live" I said in a deep voice while grabbing her hoof, causing her to giggle as I pulled her out of the shop.

"Why did you say that sentence with a deep voice?" She asked me as I started looking around fir our friends.

"Its a line from a movie I watched a while ago. Why? you didn't like it?" I said while not facing her during my search.

She smiled dreamily. "Oh, I liked it. It just suprised me at how deep your voice can go." She cleared her throat as I turned to face her. "Look, its Scootaloo and Tak!" She pointed behind me.

Sure enough, they were there alright, but they were looking at Ronins house. We walked over and greeted them.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I asked as Tak and Scootaloo turned to face us, Tak looked confused and Scootaloo looked bored.

"Tak said he felt something weird coming from his house with his changeling powers, but nothing is happening!" Scootaloo said as she huffed a bit. Tak looked more focused on the house.

"Well, I could've swore I felt more than one love exchange happening up there, but I could be wrong." He said just before the sound of a cannon going off came from inside the house, followed by the weirdest thing.

All the windows on the second floor where the bedroom is located broke apart by a massive wave of confetti flowing out them. There was so much, we had to back up almost to the carousel just to get out of the way.

For a moment, the huge pile of confetti didn't move, then Pinkie Pies head popped out.

"WOW!!! My cannons have never fired this much confetti before! You were right Chrysalis, that felt sooooooo good!" She said as Chrysalis popped her head from the confetti wave, but on the other side of the pile, looking at Pinkie with a mix of fear and respect.

"I dont know where or how you managed to obtain such arcane power, but I loved every second of it! How about you, Ronin?" She looked around and noticed Ronin wasn't anywhere to be seen. "He was right here a second ago, where is he?"

Ronin finally popped up between the two. "Right here!" He said with a yawn. "Next time we do that, remember to reinforce the windows!" He said before passing out face first into the pile of confetti.

Raiden and Rarity came outside and joined us and the crowd. "What the heck did he do this time?" Raiden asked as Rarity looked on in shock. I laughed and shrugged.

"I have no idea, brother. But man, this is amazing." I said as a purple flash appeared near us and Twilight was standing by Rarity.

"I saw a crowd form over here, what happened?" She said as she turned to the pile and stopped cold. "Why are Chrysalis, Pinkie Pie, and Ronin in a confetti pile the size of the road?"

Raiden leaned over and answered her. "I have no clue, but I hope the story behind this is a good one, beacuse this is absolutely hilarious." Raiden said while laughing. Chrysalis got up and charged a spell. In a flash, the confetti was gone.

Ronin woke up immediately as he face planted with the ground. "Oooh" he groaned as he stood up. "Man, we really need to do that in a safer environment next time." He said as Raiden walked up to him.

"Dude, what did you do? I haven't seen something as funny as that since you kicked that mailbox across town four days ago." He said as Rarity gasped before her eyes narrowed.

"Your the one that damaged my mailbox!" She half-yelled half-screeched as Ronins eyes went wide and he scrambled away with Rarity in pursuit.

"Chill Chill Chill! It was an accident I swear! OW!!!" He said as a small beam of magic hit him on is butt. "Lady, you need chill out!" He said while running.

"GET BACK HERE YOU FILTHY VANDELIZER!" Rarity yelled as she chased him across town. Chrysalis and Pinkie were leaning against each other for support because they were laughing so hard. The girls and Tak were almost crying with laughter as I chuckled and Twilight face-hoofed. Raiden rolled his eyes and walked off, hiding his goofy smile he had from the events of today.

Author's Note

Welp, Ronin's in trouble. With Pinkie Pie now joining with Ronin and Chrysalis, who knows what chaotic mess will happen? What of Raiden? does he share any feelings for anypony he has met? And will Nicholas ever catch on to the two girls pining for his attention? All this and more next time, my fic-crazy ponies and remember:LOVE AND TOLERATE!!!!

Chapter 24: Party hats and a old home
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 24: Party hats and a old home

*Nicholas POV*

After Ronin ran off to avoid the wrath of a very angry unicorn, I turned to Sweetiebelle and smiled.

"Hey, I got to get back to Fluttershys and help her with some of the rabbit burrows, so I'll catch up with you later, aight?" I told her and she smiled big at me as I jogged off and responded.

"Ok, Nick! See you later!" She called out. After I was out of sight, Scootaloo snuck up behind Scootaloo and poked her in the back.

"Well, looks like somepony has a crush." She said as Sweetiebelle jumped in the on shock. Tak came over and laughed at the sight.

"Well, you wouldn't be the only one. Applebloom likes him too. Heck, last time we saw her, she was pestering her sister about courting ideas at their foodstand." He said as Sweetiebelle groaned.

"We decided to compete to see who could win him over, but my sister is too busy chasing Ronin to help me out!" Sweetiebelle said as she huffed and walked off, eager to find a way to win over Nicholas.

Scootaloo and Tak shared a knowing smile before laughing. "Think we should tell Nick about this?" He asked Scootaloo as she shook her head.

"Nope, let them have their fun. It's going to be fun to watch what they pull to try and win Nick over." She said and they started following Sweetiebelle, making sure to stay out of her sight.

***********
Raiden POV
***********

I have the most idiotic brother. Not only does the guy cause a confetti tsunami in his own home (I dont even want to know how Pinkie relates to that) but the guy also manages to cause one of this worlds 'heroes' mad at him. To be fair, me spilling those beans about the mailbox wasn't fair to him, but oh well.

I was pulled from these thoughts as I was tackled to the ground by a skydiving pegasus. I groaned loudly and looked at my attacker.

It was a grey mare with a yellow mane and tail with bubbles as her cutie mark. I found myself looking at two moderate gamboge colored eyes, though one was looking in a completely different direction than the other.

"I'm so sorry! I kinda lost control there while delivering this letter to..." She picks up a letter with her wing and looks at it, still on me. "A stallion or mare named Raiden. Do you know who that is, because I can't find their home address anywhere." She said as she finally got off me and I stood up and stretched.

"Well, I'm Raiden. And if you get more mail for me, swing by Twilights. Thats where I'm living for the time being." I said and she gave me the letter. It was closed with a royal seal, so it had to be from Celestia. "What would your name be?" I ask as she points to herself, one eye focused on me, the other on the clouds.

"Me? Im Ditzy, but most people call me Derpy because I'm a bit clumsy." She said as she smiled at me. Honestly, I was finding her absolutely adorable.

"Well, I think I'll call you Ditzy. It fits a cute pegasus like you." I waved goodbye as I walked past her. "Nice meeting you, Ditzy." I said as she turned and waved back, though I didn't see the blush on her face.

*************
Ronin POV
*************

I was currently bunkered between the sugercube bakery and some other building next to it. I had lost Rarity for the time being but had a lunch date with the girls to get to. One problem, we had never decided on a place.

Hopefully, Pinkie brings Chrysalis to sugercube corner. I thought as I realized the two might get into an argument or two without me being there. I sighed and walked into the store and took a seat at a booth. Mrs.Cake came up to me almost immediately.

"Oh, you must be Ronin! Pinkie Pie just won't stop talking about you, you know. Now, what would you like?" She asked me as I thought about what I wanted.

"Just a simple cinnamon cupcake, please." I said as she nodded and walked into the kitchen. I stretched out and relaxed as I saw a lizard walk into the bakery. We made eye contact and he ran up to me with a smile on his face.

"Finally! I found you! I have a letter from Celestia for you, and Twilight said to look around town until I saw a scary looking human, so you must be Ronin." He said as he handed me a letter with a royal seal on it. I opened it and raised an eyebrow at the contents.

Inside were several gold and silver looking bits and a note that said something about Celestia coming to town later today. I turned to the lizard and smiled.

"Thanks..." I trailed off as he realized he hadn't introduced himself.

"Oh! my name is Spike, Twilights number one dragon assistant!" He said with pride as Mrs.Cake came back with the cupcake. Figuring the bits were the money for this world, I gave her a silver one and her eyes widened. She gave me a quick thank you and left as Spikes jaw dropped.

"Dude, you just payed ten bits for a two bit cupcake!" He said as I froze mid bite of said cupcake. I turned to him and pulled out a silver and gold bitpiece.

"Ok, then. What do these count for here?" I asked as he smiled, ready to help.

"Silver bits are worth ten bits, and gold are worth one hundred. you don't have any copper ones, but those are worth one bit." He said as I grinned.

"Thanks Spike, you aint so bad for a little dragon." I said. He smiled and wandered off as the door to the place swung open with Pinkie Pie came through with Chrysalis in tow wearing a...party hat?

She sighted me and dragged Chrysalis over to sit in the booth, Pinkie on my right and Chrysalis on my left. I turned to Chrysalis and smirked.

"Have fun?" I asked her as she narrowed her eyes and growled. But, before she could retort, Pinkie answered for her.

"I gave Chrysalis a tour of ponyville while looking for you! Since you fled from Rarity, we looked all over town for where you would want to eat at, then Chrysalis said you would probably be here, so we came here as soon as we could!" She said as I rolled my eyes, smiling.

"What about the hat?" I asked Pinkie, pointing to the hat balanced on her horn.

"That's her behaviour hat! Chrysalis can't remove it with her magic and I won't remove it until she learns to behave!" She answered as I started laughing.

Chrysalis was not amused. "I haven't threatened anything for an hour, get this hat off of me!" She said as Pinkie smiled and lifted it off her head. As soon as it was off, Chrysalis hit it with a magic beam, burning it to ashes.

"Hah! The behavior hat is no more!" She gladly proclaimed...

*pop*

...just as another party hat, this one even bigger and sillier, landed on her horn. Chrysalis yelled and tried to magic it off, but the hat seemed magic proof and made confetti shoot out of it every time Chrysalis used a spell. Chrysalis shortly gave up afterwards and face planted on the table.

I was in tears at this point. After a bit of laughing, I turned to Chrysalis and booped her nose. Her tongue poked out the side of her mouth almost instantly before she sat up and stared at me.

"What do you want?" She asked, still slightly aggravated about the hat on her head. I smiled and kissed her on the cheek before answering.

"So, how long till my armour gets fixed?" I asked her as she looked me over before frowning in deep thought.

"Well, before it only took an hour due to it being just us. But with Pinkie Pie added to the mix, who knows how long it will take or what the exoskeleton will look like. Your greaves and helmet might even change as well." She said as Pinkie attached herself to my back with a hug.

"Besides, I kinda like you without the armour on your chest! Your soooo muscular it feels like I'm hugging a bear!" She said as she nuzzled my neck. I turned and gave her a quick peck on the lips before a thought came to mind.

"Hey, Chrysi? What happened to the old hive?" I asked her as she suddenly looked far more down than before. She took a deep breath before asnwering.

"I'm not sure, but I can't feel any of my kin from that place. Its like that Dadiolus freak said, he killed them all." She said as I pulled her into a deep hug. After a moment, she pulled away and I looked her in the watery eyes.

"We should still go check out the place. Who knows what that maniac left behind." I said as Pinkie pulled the hat off Chrysalis's head.

"Well, lets go! If there are any of your friends there, then we can help them!" She said as Chrysalis looked at her in shock.

"You would help my people, even after we attacked canterlot a week ago?" She asked as Pinkie Pie smiled big at her.

"Sure, you guys were meanies in the past, but no one deserves to be left all alone or die. Besides, the sooner we find them, the sooner I can throw a welcome to ponyville party for them!" She said as Chrysalis rolled her eyes, bit smiled nonetheless.

"Very well, let us go immediately." Chrysalis said as green light enveloped the three of us.

**********
After the light died down, we found ourselves staring at the remains of the hive. It was torn apart and left in ashes, with singe marks in random spots that looked like they came from lightning bolts. There were changeling bodies strewn all about the place with several wounds and gashes.

Pinkie gasped as tears went to her eyes at the sight. Chrysalis remained still as a statue as her face was one of pure disbelief. I walked forward and leaned down on one of the changeling bodies. It had bite marks on its neck that oddly resembled something I had seen before, but couldn't place it.

"What happened here?" Pinkie whispered in a sob as I walked into the ruins with Chrysalis barely behind me, still not saying a word. We made it to the center of the hive as we saw even more bodies, these ones far more mutilated...and covered in webs.

Hold up....webs?

That set off alarms on my head the second I realized the webs were made recently. I turned to Chrysalis and Pinkie.

"We need to go, NOW!" I yelled as a shadow loomed over us and maniacal laughter filled the room.

***********
Raiden POV
***********

I made back to the library to see a white chariot in the front lawn area. I walked inside to see Celestia and Twilight sitting together drinking tea. Celestia turned to me and smiled.

"Ah, Raiden. It's great to see you again. We have much to discuss, but we must wait for your brothers. Do you know where they are?" She asked as I sat down next to Twilight, who was in a ponyloaf across from Celestia.

"Well, Nicholas should be with Fluttershy, and who knows where Ronin is after Rarity chased him across town." I said as Twilight giggled, remembering the incident. Celestia raised an eyebrow as I smirked at the memory.

"Yeah, after we came back from canterlot. Ronin and I were having a heart to heart, and he decided to kick a mailbox across town. Said mailbox was Raritys, and we found that out after a rather...odd event that led to that." I said, remembering the wave of confetti Pinkie had somehow summoned after doing who knows what in Ronins place.

Celestia chuckled and smiled at me. "That defenitely sounds like your brother. Reckless, headstrong. and sooo strong as well." I barely heard the last part, but Twilight definitely did.

"Princess, do you like Ronin?" She asked as a small blush adorned the princess's face. I laughed and stretched.

"Wouldnt suprise me, he did save Celestia." I said as Celestia cleared her throat.

"Be as that may, it is nothing more than a simple crush. I doubt Chrysalis would even think about herding with anypony anyway." She said with a touch of sadness in her tone, Yet I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Princess, I believe he has already formed a herd, considering that Pinkie was not only at Ronins place, but the fact that I saw her in town giving Chrysalis a private tour of ponyville." I said as Twilight gasped.

"Pinkie Pie is dating Ronin!" She yelled as Celestia and I flinched at her sudden outburst before Celestia smiled again.

"It would appear so, my student." She said as Princess Luna came barging into the room looking extremely worried. "What is the matter, sister?" She asked her.

Luna turned to Celestia and frowned. "I just recieved word that the Antiarachnid corpse from the courtyard was a fake! the real menace is still alive and was last seen near the town!" She said as we all got to our feet and hooves quickly. She turned to me and her frown deepened. "Your brother, Pinkie Pie, and Chrysalis are trying to stop him. But he is on a warpath for the town. If he gets here..." She finished as I turned to Celestia.

"We need to prepare for a fight, Now!" I said as she nodded and teleported away. Twilight turned to me quickly, worry laced on her face.

"We have to warn the townsponies!" She said as I nodded before running outside, praying that we had enough time before the lieutenant was on our doorstep.

Author's Note

Hmm...Somehow, Volt is still alive. And boy is he mad! Can ronin and his crew stop his lust for carnage? Or will ponyville be attacked by another being driven with rage? Find out next time, my fic-crazy ponies and remember:LOVE AND TOLERATE!

Chapter 25: Where's the bug spray when ya need it?
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 25: Where's the bug spray when ya need it?

*Ronin Pov*

I took a step back as Volt emerged from the shadows laughing that same wicked laugh he always does. Pinkie looked on in a mix of shock and fear and Chrysalis just looked mad as hell.

"Volt? But I killed you in the courtyard!" I exclaimed as he leered at me menacingly, his teeth glowed with green blood.

"Hehehehe, that wassssss but a puppet created by Dadiolus to distract the princess. I was tasssssked with the destruction of this hive and ALL of its inhabitants!" He screeched as Chrysalis took a step forward.

"You mean that all of my children, all of my kin and our only home were destroyed by you?!" She yelled as she fired off a spell at Volt.

The Antiarachnid laughed and jumped over the spell and landed nearby Pinkie and looked her in the eyes.

"Well well well well, who is this?" He asked as he sniffed her fur, causing her to jump back in shock and face him with a frown. "I smell your presence on her, Ronin. Is she one of your mates?" He asked as he suddenly went serious. "No matter, I'm not here to play with you, Thanatos. No, I am here to hunt down the spellweaver and end his existence." He said as he jumped through the ruins and fled the scene, leaving me to wonder who he meant.

"Umm...that guy was kinda scary, but who's the spellweaver?" Pinkie said as I thought for a second.

Spellweaver? isn't that what Nicholas said Dadiolus called him? Crap, that means...

"We need to go, he's after my brother!" I yelled as we gave chase after him, not noticing a blue alicorn flying off towards ponyville after viewing the events.

**********
Nicholas POV
**********

Turns out, making a rabbit burrow is really difficult to do from scratch. The first couple of ones I helped make looked like glorified holes in the ground. After a few hours of help from Fluttershy, I was finally starting to get the hang of it.

"There you go, little ones." Fluttershy said in a motherly tone to a group of rabbits settling into one of the newest burrows she had created. She turned to me and smiled. "That should be the last one, Nicholas. We should head back before it gets dark." She said as she looked to the setting sun. I nodded as we started walking back to the cottage.

As we were walking, I turned to Fluttershy. "You know, something has been bothering me." I said as she turned her head to me with a confused look. "Your super nice, have a great job as an animal caretaker, and are pretty cute as well. How do you not have a boyfriend or husband?" I asked her as she blushed slightly.

"I-I could never see myself getting the courage to ask somepony out." She said with a touch of sadness in her tone. I frowned at the before asnwering.

"Well, that's not right. Your an incredible pony and you totally deserve one." I said as Fluttershy stopped cold. I stopped and raised an eyebrow at the look of fear on her face. "Umm....did I say something wrong?" I asked as she shook her head and raised her hoof to my mouth.

"Shhh, listen." She quietly told me. I obeyed and stood there, listening to the silence of the trail.

"There's nothing around here but us." I whispered as she started to tremble slightly before looking at me in the eyes.

"Nicholas, this trail is always full of the sounds of my bird friends. But now its absolutely quiet." She whispered back as a branch broke in the brush to the right.

We both turned to the sound and saw the bushes start to shake as whatever was in them got closer. Fluttershy pulled me behind her while she took a step forward, still shaking, and called out.

"W-Whose out there?" She said shakily as the shaking neared the bush closest to the trail and Pinkie Pies head popped out.

Fluttershy and I relaxed quickly. "Oh, its just you, Pinkie. We thought you were something scary." Fluttershy said as she started walking towards her.

"Scary? Don't be silly! I was looking for Nicholas anyway! There's this big spider thingy after him and we need to get him to safety now!" She said as she motioned behind her with her head. "Follow me, Ronin has a safe spot up ahead with Chrysalis." Fluttershy started to enter the brush with her before I pulled her back.

Something about all of this seemed...off. I looked to Fluttershy, who was staring at me with confusion, and shook my head before turning to Pinkie. "Ronin sent you to find me instead of Chrysalis or himself?" I asked her as she nodded quickly with that big smile she always had, yet unlike most times where that smile dang near drove me mad with irritation, this time it kinda scared me for some reason.

"Yep!" She said, but impatiance laced her words. "Now come on, we dont want to leave him waiting, do we?" She asked me as an idea popped into my head.

I took a step forward and smiled. "A question first, then we'll go." I said as she rolled her eyes but nodded. "What's the first thing you wanted to do when you realized I was new in town?" I asked as Fluttershy and Pinkie both raised eyebrows at the question before the latter snorted a bit with laughter.

"That's easy, silly! I wanted to show you around town to see everypony." She said as I smirked. Checkmate

"So, you wouldn't throw any...parties for me?" I asked as Pinkie shook her head.

"Of course not! that would scare any newcomer off! what silly eilly throws a party for somepony they never have met before?" She said as Fluttershy immediately jumped back in a miz of suprise and fear as she realized the now obvious situation.

"Your not Pinkie Pie!" She said as I took another step forward.

"Nope, she's a fake. And you almost had us fooled, but you obviously have no clue who your impersonating." I said as the fake Pinkie Pie started laughing wickedly, tilting her head backwards. Things took a rather twisted turn from there.

The Pinkies head started turning in a three-sixty degree angle around her head several times before stopping facing me suddenly. Her eyes then rolled to the back of her head as the sockets turned black and her whole body started convulsing violently before completely ripping apart, leaving what looked like a big leg in her place.

Said leg contracted into a bush as a huge, and I mean HUGE, spider appeared from the bush laughing in the same laugh the pinkie was using.

"Soooo, spellweaver. How did you like my little party trick?" He asked me as Fluttershy and I took a step back in suprise/fear.

"H-How do you know that title?" I asked shakily as the spider leaned down towards us and grinned wickedly.

"Well, ain't that just the question, huh." He said as he looked to Fluttershy. "Hehehe, how about weeee make a deal? Let me eat her and I shall let you go and tell you anything you wish. I haven't had pony in a looooong time!" He said as Fluttershy literally balled up behind me. I clenched my fist, suddenly was less scared, and took a step forward.

"Leave her alone, you freak of nature!" I yelled at him, preparing for a fight. He blinked for a second before smirking.

"Ohohohoho, tough little maggot are you? Well, we shall see if you deserve the title of herald soon enough!" He roared as he shot a leg out at me. I put up a barrier just fast enough to block the blow, yet it sent me and the bubble back several feet.

The spider recoiled slightly. "There's that infamous magic Dadiolus went on and on about! Stop hiding behind that bubble and show me some real firepower!" He beckoned as I dropped the bubble and focused into my hand before releasing it towards the big thing...

With absolutely no results. The spider looked blankly at me before cracking up again. "Your telling me the little shrimp that Dadiolus is afraid of can't even use offensive spells? What are the odds!" He growled as he swung another leg at me far faster than before.

SHLING!

I blinked as Ronin cut the leg off and kicked it away. He turned to me and smiled as the spider roared in pain. Chrysalis and the real Pinkie Pie came up behind him, the former panting from the apparant run they had.

"When this is done, I am personally holding that stupid sun-flanked monarch responsible for not making sure that thing was dead!" Chrysalis growled as Pinkie gasped and ran over to Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy, are you alright? Did that meanie Volt try and hurt you?" She asked her friend as Fluttershy stood up from her position of fear on the ground and shook her head.

"I'm ok, Pinkie, but that Spider wants to hurt Nicholas." Fluttershy said as a look of anger appeared on her face. I looked at the two in suprise before turning to Ronin.

"Bro, That thing...what is he?" I asked as Volt started to recover. Ronin took a breath and responded.

"His name is Volt, and he's a big ugly as hell spider that can't stay squashed." He said before Volt started giggling as his leg came back fully healed. "What the... you couldn't do that before!" Ronin yelled.

"Weeeell, that puppet of mine was rather weak anyway. So I doubt it could posssssibly use the full extent of my power." He said before his back glowed yellow and sent bolts of lightning at us.

Ronin dodged left out of the way of one and deflected another back at Volt, just for it to get absorbed by the back end of Volts abdomen. Pinkie and Fluttershy dived out of the way of the bolts sent towards them, and Chrysalis simply put up a barrier around her, absorbing said bolt herself.

The sound of thunder crashed through the path as clouds surrounded the area. Chrysalis put her barrier done and teleported near Ronin.

"This thing is controlling the weather, we need to take it out. NOW!" She yelled/screeched as Ronin nodded and turned towards the two girls to our left.

"Pinkie, Fluttershy. Take Nicholas and go to town. We can handle this freak of nature ourselves." He said as the girls and I ran towards town, hoping those two knew what they were doing.

************
Raiden POV
************

Celestia and Luna had set up a battalion of soldiers on the borders of ponyville. Since we had no idea where Volt would appear, so we weren't taking any chances. Me, the girls(minus Fluttershy and Pinkie), and the two princesses were standing at the main road to ponyville.

"Where could Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie be?" Twilight asked as Luna summoned a mace with her magic while Celestia created a spear. Rainbow dash flew up and looked over the town.

"I don't know, but they are missing out on a potentially awesome butt kicking!" She said as her eyes landed on said ponies. "Their coming up the trail!" She called down to us.

Sure enough, Pinkie and Fluttershy, along with Nicholas had just came running out of the brush nearby the trail and were full sprinting(fluttershy flying) to town.

Almost a couple of seconds later, a giant spider came out of the same area and was pursuing them.

"Coooome back, you delightful appetizers!" It yelled after them. Celestia took a look of pure anger on her face.

"Leave those three alone, Volt!" She yelled as she sent a beam of light at him. The spider recoiled as the three made it into town.

"Raiden!" Nicholas yelled as I embraced him in a big hug. The girls were hugging themselves as Pinkie rattled off about what had happened. I let go of my brother and walked up to Celestia.

"Alright, Time we squashed this bug once and for all!" I roared as Celestia, Luna, and I charged Volt, with him doing the same all the while the air crackled with electricity.

Author's Note

Here we are! next chapter, the heroes will br faving off against the true power of the Antiarachnid assasin himself, Volt. Will they be able to stop this ancient foe from killing Nicholas? Next time, my fic-crazy ponies, and remember:LOVE AND TOLERATE!

Chapter 26: Spiders, Warlocks, and destruction, oh my!
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Era of Harmony

Chapter 26: Spiders, Warlocks, and destruction, oh my!

Author's Note

Chapters may be pumped out slower than usual, due to my life getting a tad more busy. But expect 2 to 4 days at the most for updates!

now, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 26: Spiders, Warlocks, and destruction, oh my!

*Ronin POV*

As the girls fled towards town with Nicholas, I turned my gaze to Volt.

"Aight, Volt. I'm going to give you one chance to surrender. If you do, I will make sure to make your death as painless as I can." He laughed in response as Chrysalis summoned a scythe with her magic.

"Weeeeeell, there's the fighting spirit I enjoy seeing soooooo much!" He said as he licked his fangs with a pointed tongue. "I will enjoy snuffing your flame, Human." He growled as he charged us. Just before we could start the fight, a voice called from behind Volt.

"Stop..." the oddly familiar voice said as we all turned to see a cloaked figure. But this figure was no pony, he stood like a human.

"Masssssster! Why do you show yourself so early to the enemy!" Volt said as the robed man laughed and pointed to the setting sun. It had just set over the horizon, bringing the dark of night over the trail.

"As long as the sun isn't up, I can show myself." He said as he removed the hood of the cloak he wore. I took a step back as I noticed his face was nothing more of an empty skull with some kind of shadows coming out of it. "Does my appearence shock you, Ronin?"

Chrysalis took a threatening step forward. "Leave us be, demon!" She growled as I shook my head.

"He's no demon, that's the guy that possesed me back in canterlot! How the hell did you survive?" I yelled at him while Dadiolus turned his head to the side.

"Ah, wouldn't you like to know that." He turned to Volt. "You have your orders, go and kill the boy." Volt nodded and scurried off as I turned to Chrysalis.

"I need you to go and help my brother. I can handle this guy." I told her as she shook her head.

"Are you insane?! You think I will just leave you here to face that...thing?" She stated as I sighed and gave her a quick kiss.

"Please, Chrysi. They will need you in ponyville." I pleaded as she sighed and turned away.

"Your are lucky I love you, you big idiot." She said as she teleported away. I turned to Dadiolus and frowned.

"Alright, spill it. How are you still alive?" I asked him. The shadows inside ths skull sparked a bit as he answered me.

"When I took possesion of your body and soul, I had to leech onto the hate and darkness in your body. And boy, did you have plenty of that! But when I was pulled from your soul without consent, I took that malice with me. That malice is what keeps me alive right now, these shadows you see surrounding me." He motioned to the dark blue shadows around his whole body.

"So, your telling me that you took darkness out of my heart and used it to create some shadow puppet?" I said as he laughed.

"Hahaha, very good. Glad to see the current herald of death isn't as much an idiot as the one that blasted unicorn once knew." He said as I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What unicorn?" I asked him, but he waved me off as he turned away.

"It matters not, that blasted magician died ages ago, with many of his spellbooks left uncompleted. Besides, don't you have a brother to save?" He said while my eyes widened.

Nicholas...

I went to run off but stopped short and asked him. "Why are you letting me go?" I asled him as he sighed.

"That is a question that I cannot answer you right now. Just know that everyone has their share of regrets." With that, the shadows overtook Dadiolus as he said one last thing. "One thing, Ronin. Your are a being of shadow, if you don't find a replacement for that malice I took from you, lets just say you'll be weaker than the timberwolf behind you." As he vanished I turned around to see a wooden wolf glaring at me.

So That's what those are called. I thought as I saw a large scar going down its body that looked like a blade cut. Wait, that scar...Is this the wolf from before? I thought as the wolf howled at me, apparently recognizing me as well. It charged forward, bearing sharp fangs of bark. I put my my blade and blocked the bite, proceeding to kick it in its stomach to knock it back.

The area I kicked ahattered into nothing but splinters, but after a second the splinters returned to the wolf and realigned his stomach.

Welp, that explains how its alive. I thought as I dodged another lunge from the wolf. How am I going to kill this thing? It's made of wood, so maybe fire of some kind. I looked around until an idea dawned on me. I deflected a claw swipe and jumped backwards a couple of feet.

Nicholas had been able to enchant my blade, could I do the same? We did each have some kind of power. I looked at my blade and focused.

Nothing happened.

Must be a thing only he can do. I thought as the wolf took me by suprise and jumped on me, pinnong me to the ground. I grabbed its muzzle and was barely able to stop it from biting down on my neck.

"Damn, why wont you just die!" I yelled at it as our eyes met. Immediately it stopped as I heard a voice in my head, weak and hollow.

Consume its dark power, then it shall die.

And how do I do that? I thought as the wolf proceeded to try and bite my neck again.

Rip out its wooden heart, your soul will do the rest.

Well, that's kinda dark. I thought as I plunged my hand into the chest of the wolf and found a sap like object that was beating. I gripped it, causing the wolf to howl and try to get off me, and ripped it out.

The wolf let off a excruciatingly loud whine before falling over, dead. I squeezed the heart, causing it to break and have some green aura go into my body. A flash of light surrounded my body for a second, and when it dimmed, I gasped in shock.

My armour had finally fixed itself. It was black like before, but it had pink flames instead. I took in the new look before realizing I had places to be.

"Crap, I gotta help the others!" I yelled out as I ran towards town, any thoughts of the wolf and the voice left behind.

************
Raiden POV
************

Before today, I always found spiders to be interesting creatures that were fun to watch and look at. They had never really irratated me in the past.

Now they can all go to hell.

We had started fighting Volt about five minutes ago, and for all the spells and attacks we landed, we were not even scratching the spider.

I turned to Luna, who was panting from exhaustion, and said with a tired voice. "Why aren't we hurting him?"

She jumped out of the way of a bolt before answering. "It seems the fiend can only be killed by Adamantine, and we cannot make that metal appear with any spell." She said as Celestia let off a large beam of light, sending Volt into a building. Celestia flew down to us and turned to me.

"Wherever your brother is, only that blade of his can kill Volt." She said as Chrysalis teleported in front of us. She turned to us with a frown on her face.

"Ronin is dealing with Dadiolus outside of town, so we have to keep this thing busy until then." She said as Volt got up from the building and rushed us. Chrysalis threw her scythe at him and it cut his forelimbs off with a sickening sound. I turned to her in suprise.

"That scythe...what's it made from?" I asked her as she smirked at me.

"It belonged to my late mother long ago, and it was forged from Adamantine...why?" She said as Luna and Celestias jaws dropped.

"You should be able to pierce his hide then!" Celestia said as Chrysalis raised an eyebrow and shrugged before turning to Volt, who seemed to take a step back as his appendage grew back. Luna, however, huffed slightly.

"Even if we have the metal to kill him, he will just regenerate all damage done to his body." She pointed out as an idea popped in my head. I turned to Chrysalis and smiled.

"If we could get his underside vunerable, would you be able to strike his heart?" I asked as Luna sent her mace at Volts head, forcing him to back off further.

Chrysalis snorted. "Easily, but only if you are able to pull your weight first." She said as I pulled my axes and charged at Volt.

************
Nicholas POV
************

As soon as Volt attacked, the elements got to work ensuring the townsfolk were safe from the battle raging on nearby. We had mostly everypony evacuated to sugercube corner for the time being.

"Thats everpony!" Applejack said as she finished the headcount. I turned to Tak and motioned him to follow me. We went under a table and I faced him.

"Listen, I've got to go and help my brothers. Could you distract the elements so they don't catch me sneaking out?" I said as his eyes went wide with worry.

"Are you insane?!" He hissed. "I'm not letting you go out there alone! I'm coming with you!" He said as I sighed, but smiled nonetheless.

"Thanks Tak, your one in a million." I told him as he smiled big.

"We're coming too, ya know." Scootaloo said as we turned around to see the crusaders had snuck under the table with us without our knowledge. I immediately shook my head.

"Absolutely not! There is no way y'all are coming with us! what if you girls get hurt?" I asked them as Applebloom stamped her hoof.

"We can take care of ourselves, and we sure ain't gonna let you go without us, and that's that!" She said while Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo echoed with a resounding "yeah!".

Tak and I looked to each other for a second before smiling while shaking our heads. "Very well, my friends. Let us go assist in the downfall of that multi-legged traitor!" Tak said as we snuck out the bakery and went straight to where the action was happening. As we approached the fight, a loud crash sounded off in the area before Raiden landed next to me with a audible oof.

"Raiden!" I yelled as he got up slowly, brandishing his axes and his mouth visor steaming. He turned to me with shock on his face.

"Nicholas?! Why are you here? Why are they here?!" He asked as he pointed to the crusaders and Tak. He shook his head. "It's too dangerous, we need you kids away from here now!" He said as I frowned.

"Not this time, Raiden. Last time I was told to leave this to the grownups, we nearly lost Ronin. This time I will help, and nothing you can say will stop me!" I said while my friends stood beside me with equal determination on their faces.

Raiden looks at all of us for a minute before he sighs and laughs a bit. "Well, with that kind of logic, how could I say no?" He turns to Volt, who was currently being distracted by the royal sisters while Chrysalis attempted to get in a blow to his underside, but having no luck. "We need a way to get him to flip over, got any ideas?" He asked us as we sat on that before Sweetiebelle spoke up.

"Ooo! Ooo! what if we could suspend him in midair with a levitation spell? He wouldn't be able to block any attacks then." She said as Raiden smiled before frowning.

"The guy can wield lightning as well without moving, so how would we handle that?" He said as a voice spoke up from behind us.

"Ain't that obvious? we need a lightning rod. And I know just the Alicorn to be one." Ronin said. We turned and saw him pointing at Celestia, who was currently dodging a barrage of limbs from Volt. He motioned for us to get closer. After we huddled in, he continued. "Here's the plan, y'all."

************
Raiden POV
************

After getting the plan from Ronin, I ran towards Celestia as Luna took over attacking Volt. She noticed my approach and flew down to stand next to me.

"Princess, we have a plan to stop Volt. But we need your assistance to distract him." I said as she nodded.

First, We need to have Celestia in position near Volt.

"Very well, I will do what I can." She said as she turned and brandished her spear to assault Volt again. As she charged, I saw Chrysalis snealing around the battle with Pinkie Pie in tow. Alright, time to set up that anti-grav spell. I thought as I ran towards where Luna was resting.

Next, have Luna use the levitation spell.

"Luna, we need a levitation spell on Volt, now!" I yelled at her as she noticed me coming. She narrowed her eyes at me but saw the determined look in my eyes, so she did just that, sending a spell towards the spider.

Said spider had just put Celestia into the ground and had his fangs dangerously close to her neck. "HAHAHAHA! At last I shall have my revenge on those who slew my Antiarachnid brethren!" He proclaimed as the spell hit him, causing him to float upwards. "What the- You think this can hold me?!" He said as his abdomen started charging up.

BOOM Chrysalis was sent flying upwards by Pinkie Pies cannon.

After Luna sets up the Levitation spell, I will have Pinkie Pie assist Chrysalis to get the altitude necessary to deflect a bolt from Volts body.

As the lightning bolt shot upwards, Chrysalis deflected the bolt towards Celestia, who saw it coming and bounced it off a bubble sheild she made towards the levitating Volt. As the bolt hit its creator, it tore away a decent amount of flesh from him, causing Volt to scream in pain.

After Celestia deflects the blast, It should weaken Volt enough to leave him open to attack, thats where I come in.

"RONIN NOW!!!" I yelled as Ronin, weilding a flaming blade enchanted by Nicholas, ran forward and jumped upwards.

The two young magic weilders will need to create an updraft that I can use to reach the floating Volt.

I turned to where Tak and Sweetiebelle were. "You two, make the updraft!" I told them as they complied, making a wind updraft Ronin could use to fly towards Volt.

Once I reach him, Lights out for the spider.

Ronin spread his wings and let the updraft carry him up to Volt, who was weakened and helpless in his current state.

"p-p-please....spare me..." Volt choked out. Ronin simply shook his head.

"Nope, waaaay too late for that man." He said as he reared his blade back and swung hard.

SHLING!

With that, Volts head landed on the ground below as Ronin floated down from above. The kids ran out from there places and hugged each other in celebration as the princesses checked with each other to ensure no lasting damage was done. I walked up to Ronin and smiled.

"Well, that worked out." I said as he laughed.

"Maybe, but there is still one last thing to do." He said as I raised an eyebrow. He pulled a broom from who knows where and smiled.

"Clean up!" He said with a smirk as I groaned and grabbed the broom. this was gonna take a while...

Chapter 27: Bonfire bonding.
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Chapter 27: Bonfire bonding.

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Chapter 28: Meeting the mom and other romantic ventures
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Chapter 28: Meeting the mom and other romantic ventures

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Chapter 29: Settling into the calm
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Chapter 29: Settling into the calm

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Chapter 30: Heartache under the stars
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Chapter 30: Heartache under the stars

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Chapter 31: School daze and a working craze.
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Chapter 31: School daze and a working craze.

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Chapter 32: Insert joke about Cat fights
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Chapter 32: Insert joke about Cat fights

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Chapter 33: Healing the heartache pt.1
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Chapter 33: Healing the heartache pt.1

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Chapter 34: Healing the heartache pt 2
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Chapter 35: Reconciliation and the attack of the hand suckers.
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Chapter 36: Kindred Wubs
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Chapter 36: Kindred Wubs

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Chapter 37: Mosh pits, revelations, and too much hair food!
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Chapter 38: Changeling hearts and the bad kind of brain freeze
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Chapter 38: Changeling hearts and the bad kind of brain freeze

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Chapter 39: Captain Mac and meeting the rich family
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Chapter 40: Echoes of an old era (Ronin's lesson)
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Chapter 41: Echoes of an old era (Raidens awakening)
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Chapter 42: Echoes of an old era (Nicholas faces the music)
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Chapter 43: Helloooooo, Nurse!
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Chapter 43: Helloooooo, Nurse!

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Chapter 44: Dreams, floats, and regrets
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Chapter 44: Dreams, floats, and regrets

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Chapter 45: Everything that glitters...
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Chapter 45: Everything that glitters...

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Chapter 46: ...isn't gold.
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Chapter 46: ...isn't gold.

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Chapter 47: Fire, Ice, and everything nice!
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Chapter 47: Fire, Ice, and everything nice!

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Interlude: In Faust we trust
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Interlude: In Faust we trust

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Chapter 48: Contemplations and Changeling puberty.
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Chapter 49: Cold hearts, Burning spirits pt.1
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Chapter 49: Cold hearts, Burning spirits pt.1

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Chapter 50: Cold hearts, Burning spirits pt.2
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Chapter 51: Cold hearts, Burning Spirits pt.3
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Chapter 52: Cold hearts, Burning spirits pt.4
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Chapter 53: Cold hearts, Burning spirits pt.5
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Chapter 54: Cold hearts, Burning spirits pt.6
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Chapter 55: Trial by metal KFC bucket.
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Chapter 56: Enter the wendigo queen
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Chapter 57: The calm before the hailstorm.
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Chapter 58: When lies are revealed...
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Chapter 59: The end of winter
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Chapter 60: Divine intervention
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Chapter 61: Pain and suspicion
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Chapter 62: One Nation, Two species pt.1
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Chapter 63: One nation, Two species pt.2
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Interlude 2: Nicholas v.s the status quo
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Chapter 64: One nation, Two species pt.3
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Chapter 65: One nation, Two species pt.4
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Chapter 66: One nation, Two species pt.5
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Chapter 67: The Wrath of a God
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Chapter 68: The return to Ponyville
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Chapter 69: The fallen King
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Chapter 70: Steps towards freedom
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Chapter 71: True balance
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Chapter 72: Epilogue
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Chapter 5: Tour of ponyville, Pinkie and the Brain, and a whole lot of giggles.
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Chapter 5: Tour of ponyville, Pinkie and the Brain, and a whole lot of giggles.

*Nicholas POV*

It had been two days since I had appeared in this world. Until I believed I was ready to go into town, I had decided to bunker down at Fluttershys. She had no problem with this, even though every time I went to help around the house, she would try to stop me from doing so. I would end up doing it anyway. I mean, she was literally taking care of me. It only made since to do my part around here. In fact, that's what i found myself doing that fateful monday when i decided to man up and hit the town.

I was cleaning some of the animal bowls that Fluttershy would use to feed her animal friends when I heard multiple knocks at the door.

"I'll get it!" I called out to Fluttershy, knowing that crazy knocking could only belong to 3 girls I knew.

However, as I opened the door, there was some purple pony at the door. She was currently reading a book which was floating in front of her face.

Must be a unicorn. I thought to myself, recalling what fluttershy had taught me about the three types of ponies that lived here.

The unicorn spoke up. "Fluttershy, I need your help with something back at the library. Some squirrels have invaded and wont leave at...." She trailed off as she lowered the book and looked at me.

"Umm.... are you ok?" I asked as a look of shock mixed with a huge grin slowly came on her face.

"YOUR A HUMAN!!!" The pony yelled, causing me to fall back with suprise. I quickly got up and slammed the door in her face.

"What kind of wacko was that?" I said as Fluttershy came downstairs quickly.

"Who was at the door?" she said quietly. but before I could answer a pop sounded off in the room and the pony from outside was now next to Fluttershy.

"I cant believe I found you already! Its only been two days since I got the princess's letter to be on the lookout for a human, but I didn't expect to find you so fast!" The pony said with great enthusiasm.

Wait? the princess of this world knows I'm here? I thought, the idea of royalty having a lookout for me scared me a bit.

Thankfully, Fluttershy intervened. "Please calm down, Twilight. Your scaring Nicholas." After hearing that, Twilight looked at my shocked expression and lowered her head with her ears bent down.

Taking a deep breath, I went over to her and kneeled in front of her. "Hey, its alright." I said softly. "I can totally understand you being excited to see me. But please dont scare me like that again, Ok?" She looked up at me and smiled

"Ok. sorry about that. I just get so excited when I see something new, I just tend to lose myself a bit." She said with a bit of an embarrased blush on her face.

I chuckled at that. "Lets start over, shall we? I'm Nicholas, nice to meet you." I put out my hand

She looked at it for a second, confused. Then realization dawned on her face and she put her hoof out, shaking my hand. "I'm Twilight Sparkle." She said. She then looked at Fluttershy. "So, he's been here this whole time?" Fluttershy nodded as I spoke up.

"You might want to sit down, this will take a second to explain." I said as she took a seat on the couch, followed by Fluttershy as I stayed standing to tell my story.

************
A few hours later.
************

"So you have been staying here ever since you arrived in Equestria?" Twilight asked me as I finished.

I nodded. "Yup, I've been helping around the house to make up for Fluttershy putting a roof over my head." Fluttershy hid in her mane a bit at that.

"Well that's really sweet of you, Nicholas." Twilight said with a smile.

"Please, just call me Nick. Nicholas is such a mouthful sometimes." I said as she nodded in response. "I do have a question though. how did you know I was a human?"

Her grin got bigger at that. "Two days ago, I got a letter from the princess stating that a bipedal being known as a human had been found in her room. After spending a day with him, she learned that human had two brothers that might have appeared as well. So she told me to be on the lookout out for a smaller one and a really bulky looking one." I looked at her with a mixed face of shock and glee.

"So my brothers are here after all!" I said happily. "Since you were told to look for a bulky man, Im geussing Ronin hasn't been found. That means Raiden has been with the princess this whole time?!" I said incredulously.

She smiled. "Yup, and now that I've found you, I can send a letter to the princess informing her that one of the humans have been found! She said that she would be able to come down in a weeks time after I sent the letter once I found you." I was starting to get really giddy about all this.

"I can't wait to see Raiden again!" I cheered. Twilight cleared her throat to catch my attention.

"For the time being though, what are we going to do about you?" She asked. I looked her with a raised eyebrow.

"What about me?" I asked.

"Well, you are a child. and by our colt laws. You not only have to have a designated guardian, but you'll have to attend school as well." She said as my jaw dropped. The guardian thing was one thing, but school? Here?

"You mean I have to go to some random school who knows where?" I asked, getting a bit worried. Fluttershy shook her head.

"We have a school here for fillies and colts that I think you would like." She said.

"But who's going to look after him?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy turned to her.

"I will." She said and we both looked her with suprise.

"Really?" I said, unable to believe what she had said.

"I couldn't bear to see you get put in some random home somewhere, that is, if you dont..." She didn't get a chance to finish as I hugged her.

"Thank you." I said quietly, tears welling up in my eyes. I pulled back and wiped them as I noticed Fluttershy had some in her eyes as well.

"Aww, that's so sweet." Twilight said as she looked on. "Now that we have that decided, We will have to visit the mayor and inform her if this to have it finalized on paper." I rolled my eyes at that.

"Ugh! paperworks the worst." I groaned as the two mares giggled at that.

"I guess we could show you around town first." Twilight said. Fluttershy looked at me.

"Would you be ok with doing that?" She said in a motherly tone. I nodded.

"Yeah, lets do it!" I said as we walked out the door towards ponyville.

********

As we walked into town, I couldn't help but notice the stares I was getting from a lot of the ponies. They didn't seem scared, though, Just curious of who and what I was. Bet they would've been much more scared if it was Ronin being escorted down this street. I thought, laughing at the idea of him chasing ponies around with his sword.

"Whats so funny?" Twilight asked me as we approached what looked like a bakery.

"Nothing, just thinking about how my brother would've handled being here." I said, suddenly missing him greatly.

Fluttershy noticed this and spoke up. "Dont worry, Nick. The princess will find him. Then you can all be reunited." I looked at her and smiled.

"Speaking of funny, I should warn you. The pony your about to meet can be a bit... eccentric." Twilight said. I frowned at that. But before I could say anything, a wall of pink floof blocked my vision.

"OMYGOSHOMYGOSHIVENEVERSEENSOMEPONYLIKEYOUINTOWNBEFORE!YOUMUSTBENEW!!!!MYNAMEISPINKIEPIE!ICANTWAITTOTHROWYOUR'WELCOMETOPONYVILLEPARTY'ANDTHEN*HMPH*" She was cut off as Twilight put a hoof to her mouth.

I just looked at the pink pony with a look of pure shock. I had never heard anything speak so fast before, and I definitely understood Twilights warning now.

"Umm....my names Nick" was all I could manage to say. Twilight, who still had her hoof on pinks mouth, adressed her sternly.

"When I remove my hoof, you have got to reel it in a tad, ok? Nicholas is new here, and we don't need you scaring him, alright?" Pink let out a muffled response and nodded her head rapidly. With a roll of her eyes, Twiight removed her hoof.

Pink started again, slightly slower this time around. "Lets start over, HI! Im pinkie pie, do you want a cupcake?" She pulled a cupcake from....who knows where and handed it to me.

"Thanks?" I said as I looked at the sprinkle-covered cupcake. It couldn't hurt to try a bite, right? I took a decently sized bite.....

And immediately felt like I had been struck by lightning! MAN! That was a lot of sugar! I thought as I started jogging in place. Fluttershy looked at me with a hint of fear before turning to twilight.

"are....humans supposed to do that after getting sweets?" She asked Twilight. Twilight sat in thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"I don't think so..." but before she could finish, I cut her off.

"Hey wheres the next stopping point on this tour?" I asked quickly, jogging faster in place.

"The next place is raritys, its just up the road." Twilight said while pointing down the road. I grinned widely and took off in a sugary hurry in the direction she indicated.

"Nick, wait" Fluttershy called out, but I had already gotten out of hearing range, leaving a frustrated Twilight and a laughing pinkie pie in my wake.

******

As I was running through the town, dodging and weaving through ponies, I ended up slamming into sweetiebell. We quickly became a small pile on the ground.

"ooooooh, what hit me?" She shook her head and looked at me. "Nick?!" I gave her a smile as I got up and helped her up.

"Sorry, Bell. Pinkie Pie fed me a cupcake, and next thing I know, I'm speeding through town faster than lightning!" I said as Sweetiebelle giggled.

"Her sweets will do that when you first eat them. I'm glad to see your finally out of that cottage, though. what brings you to my sister's house?" I turned and looked at the tall tower-like structure in front of me. I turned back to Sweetiebelle.

"Twilight and Fluttershy were giving me a tour of ponyville. But then I left them in the dust back at pinks place." As I said that, her face lit up.

"I have and idea! why don't I show you my sisters house, and then show you around the rest of ponyville?" She asked.

"Sounds great to me! Hey, while we are around we could see if we could find the other girls as well." I said while her smile just got bigger.

"YEAH! we could make a crusade out of it! I guess we should start here, though." She said as we walked into the house-tower thing.

When we walked in, it was easy to tell what her sisters line of work was. From the manequins to the material all over the place, I had just stepped into a divas workshop.

"Ah, Sweetiebelle, your back. Did you get Spike for me?" A posh voice sounded out as a white pony came from upstairs. She had purple hair that coiled a bit at the front and had three diamonds for a cutie mark.

"Spike was busy doing chores at Twilights, but I brought a friend instead." Sweetiebelle said as she motioned to me. The mare looked at me, or at my clothes anyway, and gasped.

"Darling, what is it that your wearing? That shirt and pants are much too dirty for you to be walking around in." She said as she pulled out some measuring tools. "You must let me make you some new clothes immediately!"

I looked at my clothes. I HAD been wearing them for 2 days straight. And they were pretty dirty, after all. "Ok, but you do know I cant pay for the new ones, right?" I said nervously, not liking the way she was looking at me. It was like she saw me as some sort of challenge or experiment.

"Dearie, there is no cost for a friend of my sister. what did you say your name was?" She asked as she measured my legs.

"Nicholas, but most people call me Nick." I said as she measured out my waistline.

"Darling, thats such a noble name." She said as she finished with my arms. "I'll have your clothes done in a day or two at most. Where should I have them sent?"

I looked at her with suprise. It usually took waaaay longer for tailors to make clothes. "I'm living at Fluttershys since I have nowhere else to go." As I said that, Rarity gasped.

"Oh my, how dreadful!" she said dramatically as she fainted onto a couch. "Why do you have nowhere else to go?"

I shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Long story short, Im from another world. but Fluttershy said she'd look after me for now. So its fine" I said as she calmed down. Sweetiebelle just laughed at the situation.

"I think we should get going before my sister throws another one of her fits." She said as we ran out before Rarity could get her back for the quip.

"I DO NOT THROW FITS!!!!" I heard her yell from inside her house-tower thing. This made me and Sweetiebelle fall to the ground with laughter.

"What are y'all up ta?" I heard a feminine southern voice ask. I got up and came face to face with an orange pony. She had yellow hair and a cowboy hat on. She also had apples on her flank, which made a question pop into my mind.

"We were messing with rarity, miss. But can I ask you a question?" I asked.

"Well, ah don't see why not" She said. yup, defenitely southern.

"Are you related to Applebloom, by any chance?" I asked just as said pony came up behind me.

"Yup, that's mah sister Applejack!" Applebloom stated rather loudly next to me, causing me to jump in suprise.

"AH! don't do that!" I yelped, but smiling all the same. Applebloom simply laughed it off as Aj chuckled.

"So, you must be Nicholas, huh? Mah sis has been yammerin' about ya for two days straight." Aj said while side-eyeing Applebloom, who currently blushed at the call-out.

"Now, why did ya go an' tell em that for?" She said while pouting, Causing me and Sweetiebelle to burst out laughing. Soon enough, Applebloom joined in as well.

"Well, y'all seem to be havin' fun, so Ima head back to the stand. Y'all behave now." She said walking off.

"We will!" All three of us said. I turned to the girls.

"Now, where are we going to find Scoots?"

The two girls shared a smirk."We know exactly where she will be at right now." Sweetiebelle said.

********

After taking a bit of a walk, we came across an open field where Scootaloo was sitting while staring at this pegasus that was flying around. The girls were about to call out to her when I stopped them, motioning them to move quietly. Soon, we were right behind her, so I quickly jumped in front of her line of sight.

"HOWDY SCOOTS!!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, causing Scootaloo to screech and jump back 6 feet before landing on her back. The girls burst out laughing while Scootaloo sat up.

"Gee, very funny guys." Scootaloo said, but she was smiling so I knew no harm was done. I then heard laughing from behind me.

"Hehehe, Man that was good!" the pegasus said as she landed next to me. She was a light blue, with a rainbow mane and had a rainbow ligjtning bolt coming out of a cloud. She looked me over. "What are you, anyway?"

"My names Nicholas, your friendly neighborhood human." I said while putting out my fist, hoping that I had geussed right thinking she was a tomboy.

Thankfully, I was. She smiled and fist(hoof?) bumped me back. "Im rainbow dash, fastest pegasus in equestria!" She turned to Scootaloo. "This is the guy you were saying came from another world?" Scoots nodded. "Man, that makes you like, 20 percent cooler right off the bat!" Rainbow exlaimed.

Dang, she's just like Ronin. I thought to myself. I turned to Scootaloo. "Hey, we're going over to the town hall. Wanna come with?" She looked over to Rainbow dash.

Rainbow chuckled. "Go ahead squirt, I need to take a break anyway."

"Ok, Rainbow dash!" She said as she followed us back into town as Rainbow Dash flew off.

*********

"Oh boy." I mumbled as we came up to the town hall. Standing directly in front of it was this old tan mare with Fluttershy and a VERY ticked Twilight.

"Well, we're going to go before Twilight gets us too!" Scootaloo said as Twilight started angrily trotting towards us.

"Girls wait!" I said, but as i turned around, the girls were gone. "Great." I moaned as Twilight came up to me.

"Where have you been? You should've been here exactly four minutes ago, your late!" She scolded me.

Your kidding, right? I thought as the other two ponies walked up.

"So this is young Nicholas" The tan pony said. "Nice to meet you, I'm mayor mare, And I will be handling the paperwork for your integration into our town." I smirked at the name, but stayed polite.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am. Sorry if I was SLIGHTLY tardy, but I had some friends showing me your lovely town." I said, glaring at Twilight halfway through, receiving a stuck-out tongue in response.

"Well, I'm glad you think so, dear. Let us go inside and make this official." Mayor Mare said as we walked inside.

**********
3 grueling hours later
**********

"FINALLY!!!" I moaned as we walked out. It had quite possibly been the most boring thing I had ever been through. After explaining where I came from. We had to sit through a whole speil about the responsibility of taking care of a kid. Thank goodness Fluttershy is well known for taking carebof living things, or it may have been harder to convince the mayor.

"It wasn't that bad, Nick." Twilight said. "Well, I've got to get back to the library and check on spike. So I'll see you two later." She walked off.

"Bye twilight." Fluttershy said, then turned to me. "Oh, I'm so excited to be able to take care of you, Nicholas." I simply shrugged.

"You've already been doing that and so much more, just now the FBI won't come crashing through the ceiling or anything to get me." I said with a laugh. Fluttershy just looked confused.

"Whats a....FBI?" She asked? I waved my hand.

"Ehh, earth thing. don't worry about it. Now, we should be getting back to the cottage." I said as she nodded.

"Yes, I can't wait to tell my animal friends the news and....huh?" She stopped as I poked her on the forehead and started running.

"Race ya there!" I yelled as i took off. She simply smiled and flew after me, determined to catch me or beat me to the cottage.

Author's Note

Well, look at that. Nicholas is now a registered resident of ponyville. What shall happen as he slowly integrates into society? How will he handle school life in equestria (keeping in mind he hasn't had good experiences with it before.) and how will his friendship with the CMC's evolve over time? only fate knows (and me, but we've been over this.) stay tuned my fic-crazy ponies. and remember:
LOVE AND TOLERATE!!!!