A Roegadyn in Equestria

A Roegadyn in Equestria.

Chapter 72: What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

*Point of view: Brex*
*Location: Ponyville, right outside the home of Brex*
*Time: Twelve-Thirty in the afternoon*

Brex was standing nearly a quarter of the distance that it would take to enter his property from the front gate. The Roegadyn stood while staring right at the entrance as Rory remained at his side and in the middle of hugging his right arm with a grin. Within the large front yard and off to the side was his Chocobo Crystal prancing about without a care in the world.

The bird was randomly letting out a few chirps here and there while also scratching at the lawn. At the same time it would be running away from Bee, who was holding a brush in one hand and looking rather tired by the way she was out of breath. As Brex found out, Crystal had a fondness for getting her feathers brushed on a near daily basis.

However, the mischievous bird always turned it into a game and whoever was holding on to the brush was essentially forced into playing a round of tag, before anything can get done. This meant that for nearly the last twenty-five minutes, the changeling in disguise that oversaw taking care of crystal was running rather ragged and on the verge of tumbling over. As for the reason for Brex and Rory to be outside like this. The reason having to do with their expected guests who would be arriving shortly.

This all went back to when Brex returned to his home yesterday. Both rainbow and Gilda were already gone by then so that they can get to their normal daily jobs. Twilight was still passed out and was taken to one of the rooms on the first floor that was meant to act as a small library and placed onto a couch within. Of course, Spike remained at twilight side for the whole time. But eventually she did wake up and seem to be in a better mood after having some time to process the shock she went through from earlier when Brex mentioned just how many jobs he possessed under his belt.

Nonetheless, she was still skeptical of the whole matter. But after some short discussions it was agreed that she would bring her friends over the following day and be at his place around twelve-thirty. Once the purple Unicorn and young Dragon got around to leave. Brex went right to work with getting some items ready for day for when they all would arrive. This included a few books, weapons, gear for the low levels, a table, and a few chairs for the expected number to sit outside. Of course, while all of this was still going on. He had a couple of his doppelgangers being hard at work with putting together that Geiger counter for when he would come across Engineer again.

Now, when it came to sometime after dinner the night before. It was safe to say that the four within the mansion had quite a night with one gratifying activity after another. Which led to half of the participants eventually passing out around midnight. Obviously, this would not take a rocket scientist to figure out just who were the ones still being active until the early morning hours. So, when breakfast was finished the following morning, and they still had the next six hours until Twilight was to come by. Brex tracked down Engineer and the two of them used his ability to travel through the shadows and conduct their experimentation while in the deeper sections of the Everfree Forest.

It was soon found out by the more sensitive nature of the calibrated Geiger Counter, that a number of Engineers items were giving off trace amounts of radioactivity. But surprisingly enough, there was not any that could be detected from the stallion’s body directly. Brex wanted to try and do a comparison between Engineer firing his own weapons and then using the ones that were provided by Brex the day before. This was to see if it was not somehow created in some way as a passive ability or simply a result of those original items coming from an irradiated world.

Of course, this whole idea was stalled greatly after Engineer got around to explaining how he lost the weapons and what happened after they parted. To say that Brex was both annoyed and concerned after hearing the story was an understatement. He knew that he did not have eyes and ears everywhere, but the think that there was such a high-level Voidsent with the power to control the undead in the city was something he could not forgive himself for not knowing about. Especially since he was literally there a couple of hours before it all went down. It was even more concerning that it was one that was capable of complicated speech.

As far as he knew, there were speculations and research done into the hierarchy of the Voidsent. These being called Rungs. In this system there are twelve in all. The twelfth rung houses the weakest and most primitive of the Voidsent. Meanwhile, the first Rung belongs to the strongest and most lucid. For example, Voidsent such as Imps and Nats belong to the twelfth rung. But as you climb, one would see that bombs are on the eleventh. Ogre’s or different types of Gargoyles are between the seventh and sixth.

Arc Demons inhabit the fourth and toward the end you see things like Succubi varying between the fourth and third Rung. The second and first Rung are chaotic to say the least. These Voidsent are so clever and powerful, they’re constantly challenging each other for dominance. Some Voidsent on the first Rung get knocked down to the second, only for another to take their place. Among the top would have to be The Cloud of Darkness and the Queen of Shadows to name a few. There are even those that were considered untouchable, and they retain their ranks for who knows how long.

For one of them to be able to talk in the way that Engineer described. Along with not exhibiting mindless attack patterns, could only suggest that she came from somewhere around the fourth or perhaps the third of the ranking system. Those of the lower typically have reduced way of thinking to where it would not be no better than a rabid animal. Brex explained this as best as he could to Engineer so that if he should ever come across another that could talk, then he was to be extremely cautious.

Now when it got to the end. He showed his concern when it came to his transformation being seen by the two mare’s he was with. Then there was also how he casually explained to not only them, but to one of their mothers that he was an omnivore. Brex literally gave himself a facepalm that was strong enough to create a visible shockwave and even rattle a number of the nearby trees as a result of hearing all of this. As soon as his vision stopped being so blurry after doing that. Brex was about to lay into Engineer about being so careless. However, he did manage to stop himself and take a few deep breaths before anything came out.

From what he gathered. Engineer seemed to be not so phased with this turn of events. He wanted to tell the once human turned stallion the downside of showing his skeletal form and letting it be known that he requires meat to survive. Then there's Daring Do. A mare who loves to write stories about her adventures. There was no telling if that mare was going to put this down and have it distributed for all to know. Not to mention Spitfire and her mother. She literally is the captain of the Wonderbolts, which means that she is a member of the princess’s army. It would not take much effort at all for any word of this to immediately make its way straight to the solar princess.

But for Brex above all else, was the simple fact that he had spent all these years in Equestria and kept his real form and the fact that he is an omnivore himself a secret from everyone was really eating him up right now. There were so many times that he had to be extra careful with the way he reacted around others. So many close calls. He even saw it as a blessing in disguise that his interactions with other displaced being strictly set to either Ryu or Engineer. Back then, he envisioned a cartoonist drawing of him grabbing Engineer and stuffing him into a large tin-can that was marked, “Can of worms.” And riveting the lid on with a power tool. This would be followed with it being placed into a package and addressed to go to Australia.

This only got an annoyed sigh to escape his lips as he wished it were that easy to stop this leakage of information. In the end, he just did not want to go through the hassle and was willing to trust the stallion with who he believed could be told of such matters. Although, he did make a mental note that he was eventually going to have a word with Daring Do on this matter. Not to mention he was going to ask that his informants in the castle to keep an open ear when it came to Spitfire just as a precaution.

Brex then provided Engineer with a new set of weapons that were identical to the last. The next hour was spent with them going over the ammunition that was expelled in all their trials on the makeshift firing range that was set up using some dead trees and boulders. This was also paired with taking some genetic samples from not only himself, but Engineer as well. These were placed alongside a few others that he scrounged up.

They were then exposed to the effects that were being given off by Engineers original equipment to see what kind of reaction it would get. Of course, there were also small traces of Aether crystals to be used as a safe catalyst for what would happen when radioactivity was to come into contact with a source of pure magic energy. The last thing he wanted to find out unexpectedly was weather or not there would be a violent reaction if the trace amounts of nuclear residue where to interact with a huge amount of the energy from this world.

The following results were as followed. The equipment themselves from the other world that Engineer first was thrown into had a lasting effect that did not seem to be getting any weaker. Any ammo fired from these weapons would have an isotope with a half-life added to them. Any living matter that comes into direct contact it would then show signs of typical degradation that would be expected. Judging from the different test samples of various species, along with his own. He was able to tell that he had a high resistance thanks to all his stats being much higher than normal. This included his physical resistance and magical resistance. However, this would vary greatly depending on his current class and gear set.

When it came to a target that would be struck with these enhanced bullets. They would exhibit the signs of their healing rate being significantly slowed down. Not only that, but it did also have an interference when it came to the magic itself. Brex originally feared that the two forces would have an adverse reaction. Something that would be equivalent to adding two volatile chemicals together and resulting in a catastrophic explosion. But instead, it had a type of diluting effect.

For example. If a creature that was made primarily of Aether was to be hit with these bullets or cut by Engineers machete. Then they're magical power would be significantly more difficult to control or even weaken their overall capabilities. Of course, this would all be temporary as the cut would eventually lose its effect and heal up normally again. Whereas the bullets would also turn into regular pieces of metal after close to an hour past. This would undoubtedly be cut shorter if the item was removed early on and not left to just sit inside of the target's body.

This meant that as long as Engineer was to use weaponry that was not brought straight over here, then he wouldn't have anything to worry about. So, Brex strongly urged him not to use his original armor or weaponry for the time being unless it was something he fashioned here. Of course, if he were to equip them then he would have to make sure that he was very careful about doing so. He was also extremely adamant about not using any type of fuel source that would require nuclear energy.

Engineers’ immediate reaction to this, was him going on to explain that a number of his more powerful items required either a Fusion Core or a Fusion Cell in order to operate. The Roegadyn only started to shake his head before telling him that they could work on a substitute for those items in the future. After all, he did have his own version of the power suit for when he fought the Red Dragon. Of course, it was not as if he was outright banning him from using them to begin with, but just to be extra careful.

Nonetheless, Brex was going to provide him with some level-appropriate gear that was without a doubt better than anything that could be sold in the shops for when he was not in critical need of his original setup. The next set of tests had to do with his transformation. Once Engineer took on his other persona. Brex immediately noticed a discrepancy with what he remembered seeing of his first transformation through the use of is Echo ability. He even voiced it out loud by inquiring as to why there were no small hints of green from the vision what he saw.

On Engineers part, he could not really remember it all too well and it was mostly a haze on his part when it came to what he did in that building back in the middle of nowhere. But after thinking it over for a while, he did say that he recalled seeing some green here and there but that was about it. From this, Brex surmise that it may have been a byproduct of only arriving through the portal and it was some residual energy that stuck to him and that caused the manifestation of the odd Flame at the time. But he did instruct Engineer to let him know if it should ever happen again.

Really didn’t help that engineer had a hard time with remembering the end of the fight with the demon on the ship. All that he could say was that he was really angry near the end, and that most of it was in small bits and pieces. But what really stuck was the way he diced up the Voidsent at the very end and everything after getting carried out and onto the top of the ship.

If anything, he could at least arrive at the scene to take some residual readings of the area to see if there were any lingering effects that were worth to put down on his notes. However, when the testing was all finished and engineer returned to his pony form. He could not help but to point and ask what was going on with his right eye. Apparently the now turned pony human was showing a patch of fur missing to expose a cut going down from right above his eyebrow and continuing an inch below the eye itself. This was followed with him checking it just as it was beginning to fade.

Engineer was really confused about what was going on but commented that he did have quite a few scars on his body from while he was in that fallout world. But upon coming to this one they were mostly absent. That was when he lifted his right hand and used a couple of his fingers from the other to move the short fur and expose a long scar on the back. This only made it obvious to Brex now. Whereas it was normally difficult to spot if one wasn’t really paying attention to that part of his hand.

He even went on to explain that he did have more on his back and a couple on his front side from everything he went through while fighting Raiders, Ghouls, Super Mutants, and other mutated abominations in the wasteland. However, unlike his hand and eye the rest were plainly visible as they were far worse. But this still begs the question as to the one on his eye only revealing itself for a short time after reverting. As far as Engineer knew this was the first time that it showed itself and that neither Daring Do or Spitfire commented on it.

Brex was not all too sure, but it seemed that it would only appear during certain times. And with the number of uses of his ghost rider form. There was a possibility that his scar on his eye would become more of a regular occurrence with the more uses of his other persona. There may even be a chance that it would be permanently back at one point or another.

Afterwards, Brex even went so far as to take him to his house in the mountains and said that he was allowed to use it for himself. Especially now that he had a new place to stay in Ponyville. At first, Engineer did not understand why he would go so far and made it obvious with his refusing in the beginning. However, Brex argued that if he didn't take it, then it was just going to sit around and collect dust all on its own.

To sweeten the deal even more so that it would be practically irresistible. He even brought Engineer inside and showed him the entrance to the basement which contained a fairly large room that was big enough to house several carriages. There were even a couple of work benches and some tools that were already set up on them and hanging on the walls.

To top it all off Brex eventually carved out a tunnel that would lead to a secret exit just a little way from the house and down the mountain. Upon seeing all of this. Engineer started to get all giddy and was already beginning to list off a number of items that he was excited to get on to making. One of which included on the list, was a suit of power armor.

When Brex caught wind of this plan, he offered the unfinished second prototype of his first generation set of robotic armor to help with speeding up the process. But surprisingly enough, Engineer refused it outright and said that he wanted to make one of his own design. Not wanting to take a no so easily from him. Brex pushed for at least giving him the schematics and raw materials to make a magic-based power source, so he did not have to rely on Fusion Cores as the fuel to power it.

Sure, it probably did not have that much of a kick in comparison to the destructive power that could annihilate cities. However, it would not leave a toxic footprint if one could call it if the battery should happen to be discarded or destroyed for any reason when compared to the nuclear material version. Brex even joked that if Engineer could transform weapons, then why not do it to the armor as well. Who knows. He might even be able to power it himself with his own raw heat being emitted from his body in the same way as some self-contained blast furnace.

So, when all was said and done when it came to the test and getting Engineer a place to stay. Brex returned home and began his preparations in setting up the front yard. Now being back at the present. He and Rory have been waiting for several minutes now. As for his two maids, they were inside doing some household chores. Even as Rory was still clinging onto his right arm, he glanced over his left shoulder towards the house and began to wonder the following.

“That place is way too big for the two of them to clean on their own. Maybe it should be a good time for me to display my doppelgangers to help with the work?” Rory apparently heard this and spoke to him through the connection. “I'm not too sure that would be a wise choice Master. After all, they may not be all that strong, but being able to have an information network dedicated to you that is hidden from everyone else aside from me, is a great asset. If anything, I would advise against it unless it was a big emergency. And it may only just be me, but I doubt an oversized dust bunny qualifies as one.”

On the outside, one could have seen him give a slight wince if he were not wearing a mask when he began to think the following in return through the connection. “It’s just a little too much, even for them. They may be my maids, but I'm not going to work them to death. Not to mention it's hard enough to get them to take days off unless it’s a direct order. I could just tell that it would literally take them from morning till night of non-stop work to be able to keep up on all of that with just two pairs of hands. Then there’s all the times that they get all mopie and panicked if I try to help. The next thing that happens is that they start to cry and say that their failing me as my personal maids.”

Rory could be heard through the connection immediately after, along with a mischievous giggle. “If you're so worried about them being overworked then we could always slap on a pair of made outfits for Gilda and Rainbow to ware. And you can't deny that you think that's hot.” Brex did want to deny her that, but he knew it would have been a fruitless argument seeing as she knew pretty much everything about him and what she said was undeniably true. Even now he could not stop himself from picturing them in said outfits.

However, he replied with a tired sigh and a light shake of the head as he spoke through the connection. “Okay… you have a point that yes, they would look really hot in maid outfits. But seriously. Do you really think that I would do that to them? What is this, the fifties?” Rory quickly scoffed as she said, “Oh, I'm sorry Master, but that's what is typically expected of the males here in Equestria. They're supposed to stay home and take care of the children. I don't see any harm in reversing that for them. Who knows, they might even like it.”

Brex was now facing forward and at the gate has he had this flat stare from behind his mask and replied. “I'm not collecting girls just to make them clean my house! Now I've considered calling in some more Changelings to fill in the positions of staff members, but I'm a little worried when it comes to Rin and Lin. I already know how territorial they can get when their sisters are around me. Sure, I may be a little dense at times, but even I noticed the extra distance the others would give me whenever those two are at my side back at HQ.

Rory gave a small giggle as she said, “If that's the case, then I suggest that Master does not bring either of them to the Ponyville Hospital. Wouldn't want there to be a bloodbath if nurse Red Heart should ever try to put the moves on you again while in their line of sight. I really couldn't tell if this was a result of you giving them their names or the training that got them to be this protective.” Brex was now bringing his left arm up and placing two fingers on the side of his head to rub to show that he was trying to get rid of a small headache.

He then said in a rather tired voice. “I know that they started having this hierarchy business with the others when we were staying with Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis. You know... now that I think about it again. It's really odd that I have yet to meet that assassin since that very night. It's been a while since I stopped looking over my shoulder for another sneak attack. Who knows, either they're already dead or they're just playing the long game and she’s waiting for me to lower my guard after a long absence.”

Rory gave a low hum and closed her eyes for a moment before she spoke up through the connection again. “I'm not too convinced that they're dead just yet. She did exhibit some extraordinary level of strength and agility when the two of you went at one another then. It may have been a fair assessment that her level could have been higher than your own. It may have been my imagination... but I think she may have been holding back until near the end. After all she did take that little crouching stance in preparation of a rush before she ended up stumbling and making that retreat.”

Brex was now tilting his head back so that his mask was turned towards the sky and the few clouds in it as he began to go over the fight in his head. It was true at the time that he did get this impression that she was indeed holding back quite a bit. There was even the strange movements she was utilizing which were strongly mirroring the style of the dancer class. Especially when it came to utilizing that large ring as a weapon. But he couldn't get over the simple fact that even though he was literally fighting her head-to-head. There was still this empty sensation that he was actually fighting nothing the whole time.

He then released a heavy sigh as he lamented over not being able to get past this level seventy cap that he was up against. He knew for a fact after playing the game on the other side with Little Moon, that there was something more. He also went over a few of the moments of his characters adventures that were now seeming almost as real as this very moment. However, the realism abruptly came to a halt before the shadow bringers expansion came into effect and all he knew was what he saw from the screen as he sat at an oval shape table with Little Moon, Little Light and Daddy and all playing as a group on the game.

He began to wonder if this world was stuck at the same ceiling as him by this point. Now if that was true, then the only real threats to him were creatures that were classified as raid bosses at the end on Stormblood. However, the highest level he had ever come across turned out to be Nightmare Moon and he easily bested her. That was when he casually brought up his character window and opened the tab which displayed his list of jobs.

As his eyes rolled down the list with starting with the blue icons, that turned out to be the tank classes. He quickly found himself in the green section for the healers. Eventually, he got to the red colored icons which were meant for the damage dealers such as the melee, ranged melee and spell casters. Brex constantly saw the number seventy lining up neatly against each one of the names and a completely full bar to indicate the experience that was accumulated for the next level. However, there was one that stood out as it was the only one to have a sixty out of the bunch.

This turned out to be the Blue Mage. Sure, he may have the achievement unlocked for having everything maxed. However, the Blue Mage did not count as it was considered a limited class. Unlike all the others, this one could not go into the party randomizer that would automatically put together players to go into the Dungeons and Raids. Instead, they had to manually go into the party finder window and post that they were going to try for one run or another and hope that someone else was looking to join.

The developers would make sure that it was always ten levels below the current cap of everything else and would add new spells that could be learned with each update. The Blue Mage had a spell book that would first start off with blank sections that would instantly fill up whenever a new ability was learned from some certain enemies after defeating them. Although it was quickly found out that his was already full after running around and defeating what was needed to fill every slot in the book, which meant that he could not learn anything new. He did find it to be a fun class to be, but he held off on it with its complete randomness for a couple of reasons when it came to the public.

For one. It would at times summon random objects which was dangerously close to appearing in the same way a certain God of Chaos would pull things out of nothing whenever his fingers snapped. Then there was the simple fact that he was essentially using monster abilities. Which would instantly draw a red flag. To him, there was a good chance that if someone saw him using something that only a monster could throw out, then he would instantly be labeled as a dangerous creature and hunted down. And of course, there was the whole bit about being ten levels below everything else. If only there was something that would boost his overall effectiveness so that he would at least be able to contend with those of his other jobs.

Brex was about to wonder on a few other subjects when he began to hear some voices off in the distance. The first one was Rainbow and soon it was accompanied by the others. They seem to be in the middle of a conversation by the sounds of it and began to quiet down as they approached the gate to enter. Brex started to smirk from behind his mask as he caught the tail end of what Twilight was saying in regard to his gate and made the motion to try and push on it herself. However, Brex did get around to changing some of the settings on the spell for the gate and gave them all a pass.

When the gate opened easily from Twilight's touch, she was caught staring straight ahead with her eyes slightly going wide and making these subtle noises to indicate that she was dumbfounded. To him this was most likely due to her wanting to show the mouth appearing on the gate but was clearly feeling a little embarrassed. Applejack could be heard speaking as all the rest were arching an eyebrow towards the purple Unicorn. Well, aside from Rainbow and Gilda, who already knew about the entrance’s effects. “Uh... Twilight? I didn' see no face on that there gate.”

Twilight herself began to stutter a little bit as she pointed to it repeatedly and then back to herself. “But-but, I'm telling you it did, it did have a mouth on it yesterday when I touched it! Oh, I know! Spike! He saw it. He can tell you he did! Come on Spike, could you please tell-. Oh… That's right. I completely forgot I had him stay at the library today.” Upon hearing this, Brex began to roll his eyes from behind his mask and wondered if Twilight had him stay behind to clean up her mess. He could actually see it in his head that as soon as Twilight got home, she probably went straight to doing as much research as possible for today and left Spike with a mountain of books that had to be reorganized and place back onto the shelves again.

Twilight was the first to come in and the rest followed in this order, while turning their head side to side to get a good view of the mansion. Along with the garden for the front yard. Rainbow was strolling along with her hands behind her head. Gilda was right behind and already giving off this air of superiority that just screamed that she belonged there. Applejack was tilting her hat back and giving a long whistle. Pinkie was bouncing and saying things like, Ooh’s and Aah’s in the same way as a tourist would. Honestly, all she was missing was a camera. But just at that very moment. the pink mare instantly pulled one out and started to take a bunch of pictures.

Rarity was carefully looking around and making small remarks such as to how elegant the front yard was, along with pointing out some of the aspects that stood out. However, she did look a little confused at the sight of some of the large cages that could be seen on the far left and right. When her eyes got to the mansion. Both orbs went comically wide as glittering lights were appearing on them.

When it came to Fluttershy. She was sticking close to Rarity and eyeing the place with some trepidation. She even started to shrink a little as she saw the cages and the creepy style of the mansion. This was even more so when she caught sight of the gargoyle statues near the roof and gave out a small “Eep” of fright and pressed herself up against the fashionista in some hopes of hiding from the inanimate objects.

Once everyone gave their greetings. Brex immediately showed them to the table he had set up and they all took a seat. On the very end sat Brex, along with Rory on his right side and Gilda on the left to start the line down the table. On Gilda side. There was Rainbow, Applejack, and the one and only Pinkie. Next to Rory was Rarity and Fluttershy. There was one more chair that was empty which Brex assumed Spike to be sitting at if he was there. At the far end was Twilight and she was already putting down a couple of notebooks. There was even an ink bottle, along with a quill that was already placed inside of it to be used at a moment's notice.

Rainbow rolled her own eyes at Twilight’s preparations after only sitting down for a few seconds and commented on it. “Twilight, what are you doing? Gambit said he's going to help us get stronger. What’s the deal with the class supplies?” Twilight replied as she was closing her eyes and fixing some of the supplies by moving them so that they were in perfect order on the table. “I'm merely being prepared this time around. Besides, you never know when you'll need to take notes.” Seeming to be getting rather impatient by this point, it was Applejack who spoke next.

“So Gambit. Rainbow and Twilight been sayin' that you're going to help get us to be as strong as Gilda.” Rarity was the next as she did that hair flipping motion with her head. “Ah yes. It was rather shocking when Gilda disclosed her status to us all. More so with how short a time it took to gain such astounding results.” Pinky was now vibrating as her hands were grabbing on to the bottom of her chair before she exploded and started to blurt out what was on her mind at such a speed, that it may as well of all seem like one unbroken word. Of course, this went completely over the heads of the others, but Brex did look at his chat window to see what she said.

“Ooh! I wonder what we're going to do! Are we going to go through a training montage? Oh-oh I know! I bet he's going to power level us! Wait-wait maybe he's going to put us through strength training? Do any of you think he's going to have us wear a bunny girl outfit and do bunny hops on a long set of stairs going up a mountain? Wait, if we do that, then will we all need to wear sports bras? Because it would look really weird to wear the ones with straps if you're wearing a bunny girl suit. Oh, wait! Are you supposed to wear bras under those? Okay, now I got a craving for carrots. I'll need to make sure to grab a slice of carrot cake the next time I go by the shop!”

By the end of all that. Brex could easily see that Fluttershy was attempting to make herself seem as small as possible from his current position at the end of the line. This caused him to wonder if he had done something wrong to get such a reaction from the mare. He did not recall any instances that he showed aggression towards her or did anything at all that would have made him seem dangerous. For all he knew, she could have had a fear of males in general or maybe it could just be him.

Twilight was the next to speak as she turned her eyes on Gilda and picked up the quill and got one of her notebooks ready to be used. “So, as a baseline. Could you please tell us Gilda what you did to raise your level at such an astounding rate?” To this, Gilda leaned into her chair and raised one of her eyebrows before answering. “There's no big secret. I just did a lot of fighting. Twilight paused her quickly moving hand that was probably writing every word that was being said and gave the Griffin her own confused expression.

Seeing this, it was Rory who elaborated and brought all of the girl’s attention towards herself as a result. “It's simple really. As an adventurer, one gains experience through combat. It's as clean cut and straight forward as that.” Clearly catching sight of Twilight beginning to open her mouth in order to throw in her own thoughts. Rory quickly interjected and continued with her explanation. “Let me explain it like this. As we all have our own levels, so do monsters. Now when you go up against a creature that is just as strong as yourself in this regard. Then you get a modest chunk of experience upon their defeat. This is a given.”

She allowed this a long moment to sink in for the group before she went on. “Now, as you get stronger and you continue to fight the same opponent repeatedly, what do you believe will happen?” Rainbow was the one who answered that by saying, “Hah! That's easy. You get stronger too of course. All it means is that it gets a lot easier.” Rory was now smirking at the Pegasus before turning her attention over to Gilda and motioning with her right hand for the Griffin to take over.

“When you level up, so does the amount of experience you need to do it again. If you keep beating up on shrimps nonstop, then you're going to get a shrimp size chunk of experience every time.” Rory nodded to this before taking over the explanation again. “Gilda's right on that. It should also be known that the higher level you are compared to your opponent will also affect how much experience you get by cutting it down substantially. Let's say you had to defeat ten opponents before you leveled up. Now, you won't level up again by defeating another ten. Instead, you would have to go against something that is as strong as yourself and it might take twenty or more.”

“However, if you just keep attacking the same things you have at the start then instead of twenty, you might end up requiring forty, or even more. So, if we follow that way of thinking. Then it's easy to see that the reason others have not been leveling up so much is because they are either not fighting enough in the first place, or they've been going against weak opponents all the time. Which then results to them getting such a small amount upon their victories, that may as well be a single drop of water into a large bathtub.” During all of this, the other girls were listening intently to Rory’s words. While Twilight was furiously scratching away at her papers and only glanced up occasionally.

Twilight's head eventually rested on Rory after taking one more glance to see if she got everything down and asked her question. “This is the first I've heard of anyone referring to monsters having their own strength measured in the same way as ours.” Rory first reply by placing her right hand onto her chest before it eventually switched over to her left so that she could gesture to Brex as she spoke. “Well, I have the experience to be able to sense how strong my opponent is. Whereas my master can clearly tell the level of anyone or anything he comes across, of course there are a few exceptions.”

Twilight was now slightly tilting her headed in confusion for a few seconds before she followed up with another question. “Okay hold on. Are you saying that Gambit is using a spell that identifies a target's level in almost the same way as the plate readers at the Adventurers Guild does with our identification?” Rory only shook her head at Twilight as she glanced over at Brex and said the following. “No. I mean he can tell just by looking at them. If you need any proof, then why not ask him what everyone's level is right now at this table?”

Everyone there were now looking between Brex and Twilight repeatedly until they all stopped after landing on the Unicorn for the fifth time. She clearly wanted to ask how, but she was looking rather ashamed and even covering her chest with her arms for some strange reason. It quickly dawned on him that she must have felt exposed if he was able to do what Rory was stating. Wanting to get things over with he started to point to one girl after another by saying their name and corresponding level.

“Gilda is twenty-nine. Rainbow Dash is thirteen. Applejack is nine. Pinkie is eleven. Rarity is ten. Fluttershy is eight and Twilight is level nine.” Everyone there appeared surprised, but Brex caught the way Twilight was hanging her mouth while trying to form some words that were just unable to exit her lips. Eventually, she laid into the back of her seat while having this thousand-yard stare that was literally looking right past Brex as she spoke. “I… I thought you just heard what we were from Rory or Rainbow. But-but you couldn't have known about my own... I went by The Guild earlier today just before getting the girls. No one was inside of the building besides the workers, so there’s no way you could have heard that I leveled up.”

Her tone started to turn a little more excited as she stood from her chair and leaned onto the table with both hands. “Do you have any idea just how useful that is?! We have no idea how powerful a monster is until we go up against it. We even have to rely on past documentation to go off of. So often do the guards have to go in blind to fight an unknown threat. Knowing the strength of a monster could greatly increase our defensive capabilities. Knowing the proper numbers to send in, whether it's something we can take down or have to retreat for more reinforcements. This would keep us from sending too many to fight a weak opponent when we can allocate the appropriate numbers to where they're needed the most!”

Brex started to slowly shake his head and leaned forward so that is elbows were on the table and he had his right hand covering his left before he spoke. I am different. Rory as well as a few others are able to feel these things out. All of it is drawn from experience. Where they can have a close approximation, I’m able to be exact. Now please tell me that you still remember what they taught you in school when it came to difficulty ratings when it comes to a creature.” This got a nervous smile from the unicorn before Brex began to look at the rest of them. Rory and Gilda already knew about this as he instructed the Griffin carefully when it came to this matter in the past.

But everyone else there was not lifting a hand to answer him. Eventually, it was Rarity who was the first to speak up after a long stretch of awkward silence. “Darling, it would appear that we may have forgotten that lesson. Perhaps a small refresher course might be in order.” By the end, she was showing a slight blush and giving one of those smiles that one would use to try and get out of being in trouble. Brex ended up giving out one of his signature sighs again and held out his right hand so that it was pointing towards the center of the table.

By accessing one of his Dungeons & Dragons spells, Brex created an image of a small creature that was no bigger than one of those one-inch figurines on the table. The form was not very defined but everyone there could tell that it walked on all fours and had a thin tail and a set of wings. In an odd way it kind of resembled a gecko, but the proportions made it thin and one area and rather round in others. There was even a floating number right above its head that said, five.

He then said, “Okay, let’s say that this is a level five creature and it's classified as easy. Of course, it would have the lowest stats when it comes to all of its abilities, and it typically works alone.” He then made it go away and produced two more that resembled a large ladybug and a swarm of flies before he continued. “Now imagine that these are also level five, but they're classified as medium. Not only are they a little stronger, but they sometimes tend to work together with another creature nearby when their threatened.”

This was when he produced another figure that looked like a Pony wearing a suit of armor, while holding on to a sword and shield. The new fighter that attacked the ladybug was instantly caught in a pincer attack from both it and the swarm of flies that came at his flank. He then added, “Now keep in mind that easy and medium typically are not hostile until you attack first. Next, I'm going to show you one that's considered to be high on the threat rating.” This time he produced a spider like creature that had six legs and a single and almost flat disc body where the limbs were connected.

The underside could be shown opening with a mouth that broke into a couple of segmented pieces. The same Pony figure from before appeared. Although it did not get too close as it did to attack the ladybug and flies. However, the spider like creature immediately started to pounce on the Pony and easily won the fight after some struggling was put up by the figure in armor. Most of the girls there were watching it in horror while Fluttershy was ducking underneath the table and only peeking up from the edge once she was sure the simulated fight was over.

Brex followed up as he allowed the images to fade. “Now those will attack on site. It doesn't matter what they look like either, so you need to be on constant guard in case that should happen. Even if it wasn’t an ally in the start. As long as one of them has you in its sights and you get close enough, then a fight with those are unavoidable.”

Applejack was now looking back and forth from all of her friends to Brex before she spoke in a confused tone while also arching an eyebrow that conveyed how serious the matter was to her. “Now how in tarnation do y'all forget somethin’ as important as that? That would be one of the first thin’s that I would memorize if I was to be in one of those darn classes.”

Brex began to smirk at that statement as he pointed towards Applejack and said the following in a fashion that resembled a teacher praising his student. “That is exactly the first lesson they teach. I can already see that you're going to make a great student.” Applejack looked a bit flustered by that before she countered. “Now look here mister. I only came here because Twilight said that we should. Besides, I got a lot of work on the farm and-.” The farm mare was interrupted when Brex raised his right hand to ask her to wait.

He then said, “I know that the Apple family has a lot to do but they're all for you learning from me. I'm sure you've heard something from them recently.” She was about to argue when she lifted her hand to extend a finger. But just as she was about to say her first word, did she finally come to a stop to have this thoughtful expression for a few seconds. Brex waited during this time as he was sure that either her parents or even granny had let it slip at one point or another. In anticipation, the Roegadyn could almost see the gears turning in Applejack's head before she spoke again.

“We... we did get that tractor. And my Ma and Pa did say that I didn't have to worry about going to the school... wait, wait! Hold on. Are you saying you know my parents?” He ended up giving her a subtle nod before he explained further. “I've known your parents for a little while. They even expressed how they felt a little guilty when you weren't able to go due to all the responsibilities of running the farm. With how far the schools are from Ponyville, you would end up having to rent a room or stay in one of the dorms if you left to go. It would have all been nearly impossible for you to lend any assistance with your family when it came to harvesting or planting any of the crops.”

It did not even take a single second to fully pass by before he noticed some wetness on the edges of Applejack's eyes as she stared blankly at him. At first, he wasn't sure what it was about, and that uneasiness turned into concern on whether or not he overstepped some line that he was unaware of. He then rushed to continue his explanation while he still could and thought that it might calm her down if she knew it all.

“Originally, I was going to head on over to the farm to give you lessons. But there was always one distraction or another, so I kept putting it off. Although it would seem that thanks to a certain someone among us. A proper training area is no longer an issue.” When he got to that part, he was facing Rory with his mask and getting an awkward chuckle from the girl. Applejack tilted her hat down so that she could cover her face with her right hand as her left was busy with most likely wiping away any semblance of weakness.

The other girls were now smiling at this, and Rainbow was just about to poke some fun at the farm mare when Gilda punched the Pegasus in the side of the shoulder to get her to stop before anything was really done to ruin the moment. This earned the Griffin a role of the eyes from rainbow as a result. However, this was short-lived as Brex said the following to earn a wide set of shocked expressions from everyone aside from Rory and Gilda. “I'm not all that sorry to say this because I need to. But the truth of the matter is... at the pace you're going, then each of you at this table is likely to die within the next couple of months.”

After getting a collected set of “WHAT'S?!” Brex went on to explain. “The dangers of this world are only getting stronger, and your princesses will not always be there. Contrary to popular belief. They are not gods. they do not have limitless power. They cannot see everything or be everywhere at once. Those of you who are the elements of harmony will no undoubtedly come across even greater dangers in the future. Can any of you say to me with a straight face that you have not come across an incident where you nearly lost your life? Or saw someone who did, or was about to lose theirs?”

Rory and Gilda stayed quiet as the others had a mix of reactions. Twilight obviously did not have to go through any life-or-death situations of her own. Or at least any that he was aware of. The Ursa Minor attack was dangerous and all, and yes, Trixie nearly lost her life. He was also aware of what she went through when it came to her dad in that hospital. Rarity looked as if she was lost and thought. When it came to Fluttershy who was right next to her. The poor mare was hugging her arms tightly as she was looking down at the table and shaking.

When he glanced over to the left, he could see the way Applejack and Rainbow were giving each other that look that conveyed they were silently talking to each other with the use of eye contact alone. From just that, Brex recalled lending them a hand with that buffing ability he lent when they were being swarmed by those bugs in the forest while on that Quest to gain a tree sapling. If anything, it was a miracle that none of them had passed away during his absence. But he was sure that it was due to Rory sticking behind.

After a few moments of getting nothing out of the group. Brex felt it was about time to get the show on the road and loudly clapped his hands once. This had the effect of snapping a few of them out of their daze and thoughts as others were startled. This was followed with him getting out of his chair and walking to the center of his front yard. This placed him on the four-way intersection that had some small sets of bridges going across a couple of the handmade rivers that were incorporated into the gardens design. This meant that the table was now a good dozen or so meters away as all the girls eyed him curiously.

From in his personal view. Brex brought up his character window, along with the options and started to do the following. After equipping himself with his Samurai Soulstone, he also brought out a level one item that appeared in his right hand. This turned out to be the wooden shaped katana that was the kind meant for training. The weapon was also completely blunted so that it could not cut anything at all. He also went to the trouble of maxing out his level so that it was at seventy for the moment but kept that option up on his HUD to change in the next couple of seconds once his point was made.

This got an immediate effect on Twilight and her friends as he noticed the way their fur began to bristle as soon as he did all of this. To him, this was probably contributed to how he was intentionally releasing some bloodlust in their direction while doing so. A couple of them were shaking violently, while Rainbow was releasing a very loud gulp of nervousness and attempting to keep a brave front for her friends.

Twilight dropped her notes at the same time that Fluttershy ducked underneath the table and hid behind Rarity’s chair legs for additional comfort. However, the one thing they had going for all of them aside from the fur reaction was the way their eyes were nearly bugging out of their skulls in the same way a cartoon character would when getting a scare. In fact, if it went any further, then they may have turned pure white and fell over on the spot.

He then called out in a serious voice while keeping the sword close to his side and pointed towards the ground. “Hmm, you feel that right now, don't you? That's every fiber of your being from the tips of your hoofs to the ends of the strand of hair on your head screaming that you need to run. Its saying that there is no other course to take, otherwise you might die. As for why I'm doing this, it’s for two reasons. First is that I need you to feel this at least once so that it's not overwhelming in the future. It could be so easily overpowering that any rational thought will leave a weaker person's mind if not prepared.”

“Their body will lock up. They will be unable to speak, unable to move. In worst case scenarios they could even be paralyzed to the point that they can’t breathe, or in worse cases, they could even suffer from a heart attack.” He paused for a moment as his mask tilted down slightly before going on. “Please… do not take this as an insult Miss Fluttershy, but I am rather surprised that you haven't fainted yet.” Even though she was mostly hiding. Brex could barely see her lips moving to show that she was trying to say something. Although because of the distance and how weak her voice was. There was no way for him to hear her, so he glanced over at his chat window.

The following texts that could be seen caused him to raise an eyebrow in confusion. “I-I c-can't feel my legs. You were much scarier before.” Brex tried to go over in his head at any time he could have done anything like that, but nothing came up. He wondered if it was just because of their first meeting and played it off as just that. Afterwards, he began to flex his muscles just a little bit. It was also accompanied with rolling his shoulders a couple of times and letting out a few calming breathing exercises to loosen up.

As this was going down, he mentally synced his level to that of ten. Almost instantly there was a visible change among all of the ponies as the clear signs of being on high alert faded away as fast as they originally came. There was even a collective exhale of air that they were apparently holding in. Even Fluttershy began to poke her head out from the side of Rarity’s chair and started to crawl out of her hiding spot from underneath the large table after a couple of seconds passed.

Applejack was the next to speak up while wiping some apparent sweat from her forehead before the others could voice their opinions. “Landsakes! I hadn't felt like that since the last time I got on Granny's bad side after I went and broke her rocking chair a couple years back!” Brex then made a mental note not to get on that grandmother's bad side as he answered Applejack. “You felt me releasing everything I had without any limitations. If it were anyone else that didn’t know me. Then they would be running for the hills or passed out if they were at your levels.”

The farm mare was looking confused now as she lifted her hat again and scratched the back of her left ear before replying. “I kind of figured that part out. Woo wee! If that's what it's like, then I could guess that you weren't really all that angry with Rainbow. But what I don't get is why do you feel different all of a sudden now? I can't exactly put my finger on it. I can just notice that you're not giving off the strong impression as a few seconds ago.”

Rainbow also chimed in as she took to the air and zoomed up close to Brex and was now hovering around him, while she was giving the Roegadyn a scrutinizing gaze. “Yeah! What Applejack said. Now I can sort of see it too. Whenever you're close by it's as if I'm flying in the air and I'm about to go into a low cloud. It doesn't stop me, but I can still feel the sensation of the water vapors rushing over my face and that small resistance. But now I don't even get that.” The next to speak up was Rarity, as she got up from her chair and started to fix her outfit a little.

“I do believe that analogy might be quite fitting. Darling, you typically have this intimidating air about you. Although I am not getting that anymore.” Brex was glancing over to Twilight right after that when he noticed the way her horn was slightly glowing. The Unicorns eyes were shut tight for a couple of seconds before she opened them and had this shocked expression as she started to talk. “His magic... I… I don't know how. But it dropped like a rock! I can't even feel it from over here anymore. But how? There's no way any Pony can do that... Er! I meant that there's no way anyone can do that.”

At the end there, Twilight nervously gulped and gave a nervous chuckle. Brex did not mind seeing as she was actively making an effort to change the way she was using that term. Although she probably thought that she was going to trigger something with the way she was looking incredibly nervous. He then said while resting his wooden katana on his right shoulder. “I'm restricting my power so that I'm near that of all of you if I was to go off an average number.” He held up his other hand quickly to prevent them from asking any more questions as he continued.

“All of you right here and right now. You're going to attack me with everything you got as a group. Fluttershy brought both of her hands up to her mouth to contain a horrified gasp. Rarity took a few steps back with her own shocked expression and bumped her tail into the table, which caused it to rock a little bit. On the other side, Rainbow's mouth was hanging open in disbelief. When it came to Applejack, the farmer was frozen in place. Over with Pinkie, who was surprisingly quiet for a good while. Her face fell at the same time as her hair fell and releasing a hiss of escaping air.

However, the most notable reaction came from Twilight in the form of her knocking over the chair as she abruptly stood up and started to shout. “Are you crazy?! If what you just said is true, then we could really hurt you! Not to mention it's against the law! I'm sure you know that stallions are not to be attacked without sufficient reason. If none is given, then we're all going to go to jail if we so much as leave a mark on you!” Twilight was about to go on a long rant by the looks of it but was stopped by Brex gesturing for her to hold up after outstretching his hand.

Once he was sure that Twilight was sufficiently halted. He turned his head towards the house and gave out a small whistle. This had the effect of bringing out someone who was standing behind one of the pillars. The one in question turned out to be a Unicorn mare in what looked to be a guard uniform for those stationed in Ponyville. She came over and approached the table and gave a quick salute before taking off her helmet. This act caused the illusion spell to dissipate and reveal a dark brown mare with a light chocolate mane. She has a set of violet eyes and a couple of freckles on her cheeks.

The guard mare then said, “I am Lieutenant Search, at your service! I am here under the request of the Adventurers Guild.” She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out of it a rolled-up piece of parchment and held it in her right hand as she continued. “I have documentation from both the branch here in Ponyville and signed authorization from the town mayor that you will not be punished in this training exercise with Gambit. In other words. As long as I'm present and can vouch that this is not being done with malicious intent. Then you are free to do as he says and attack.”

The arrival of the guard turned out to be something else that he had to get set up earlier that very day. Knowing full well of the law, Brex paid a visit to the appropriate government officials and the guild to get this permission all drawn up. At first, the lieutenant wanted to be in plain view of the girls at the beginning, but Brex convinced her to stay hidden until now. He did this for a couple of reasons. One was so he could see their general reaction when ordered to go at him as a group. This was to find out if they were not only willing. But to also gauge how highly they thought of themselves if the command was followed right away.

The other was to discreetly show the lieutenant just in case she caught on to anything amiss. It was not as if he was a mind reader, but it felt better to have an experienced officer who had a spotless record on hand to catch if there were any signs of the group being perfectly fine with doing such an act. Lastly was to also calm down the guard. It did not go unnoticed how agitated she was with this whole notion upon receiving the quest and being guided back to his place. During the trip from the guild, she was constantly trying to get him to recall the request on the grounds of his personal safety and how ludicrous the whole idea was.

Especially after the whole Lyra Heartstrings incident where a stallion was nearly killed. Since then, the guards have all been on high alert. They even adjusted their patrol routes for areas to be looked after more if a stallion were to be reported in the vicinity so that they could jump in when needed at a quicker rate. There was even one guard constantly stationed inside of the guild hall itself.

This was all just in case another altercation was to show any signs of turning into what happened that day. But thanks to some help from the guild, and for both his high level and rank. It did not take too much effort on his part to convince the parties involved into signing the permission papers. Otherwise, the Elements of Harmony would end up in the dungeon so fast for this, that the princess’s own head would pop off.

The mare then called out while tapping at her left wrist impatiently after putting the paperwork right back into her pocket. “I'm not fond of this request but we better just get a move on it. Got better things to do than to hang around here all day. This was an abrupt call, so my schedule hasn't been changed to accommodate it. So, I'm only here long enough for this big fella to give you all a group test. Now chop chop!” Miss Search emphasized that last bit by rapidly clapping her hands loudly a few times to show that she was indeed in a big hurry.

All the girls seemed rather reluctant with the way they were glancing at the other one nearby before Rainbow landed a few paces between them and Brex and took on a defensive stance. However, all she brought to bear was her empty hands which were immediately balled into fists in the same way a karate student would be presenting themselves. She was just about to say something with the way her mouth was in the middle of opening, but she was abruptly cut off before any syllables escaped as Brex started to shake his head and say the following in a disappointed tone.

“Rainbow has the right idea about jumping into this now, but she's mistaken about one part. This isn't a game and I want you to take this seriously. You're going to need to break out your weapons and attack me with everything you got. This means no holding back.” A loud chorus of gulps erupted from all the ponies, while Gilda released an amused chuckle that resonated in the silence that followed.

Gilda then said the next part while having a dangerous tone to her own voice to show that this was no joke on Brex’s part. “He may have made himself as weak as the rest of us... Okay… Scratch that. I doubt that even now I could still take him. But if you all don't listen, then odds are you're going to get beat up badly.” Over on his end. Brex was beginning to develop a small smile on the right edge of his lips as he considered the current situation. Unlike back on Earth where it was strictly frowned upon to beat up a girl. The very same concept was true here in a sense. However, he was placed in the opposite role.

This meant that it was just fine for him to attack the female gender as there would be no social repercussions. Well, I guess the only repercussions would really be that sensation of humiliation that a guy on Earth would get when word got around that he was beaten up by a girl. However, his little musing was interrupted when it was quickly found out that Twilight and her friends were not making any motions at all towards their weapons. In fact, they all were looking away from him with conflicted emotions.

He then had a mental picture of himself giving a self-imposed facepalm as the next thoughts went through his skull. “Don't tell me that they're all playing the chivalrous card in are refusing to hit me? Well, I'm sure once Rainbow gets started then the rest will-. Oh, come on already! not you too?! Okay, then I'll have to admit that kind of looks a little cute on her.” What he was referring to, was the way Rainbow Dash had dropped her fighting stance and had adopted an embarrassed schoolgirl position.

It was one of those stereotypical anime things where the girl would look down to the ground with a small amount of embarrassment plastered onto her face. Both arms were extended straight down as her fingers were interlocked. Even her right hoof was crossed in front of her left as her body fidgeted. Brex could not really see her eyes thanks to some of her hair obstructing his view of the upper part of her head. However, he did imagine her giving him the puppy dog eyes that would come with the whole set.

He then said the following while placing his right hand over his mask to show that he was beginning to get a little frustrated towards everyone in the outside world. “I thought as much. I've suffered many injuries and have recovered just fine. But really, there's no need for you to worry about my safety so much. Not only do we have healing magic at the ready. There is also a sufficient quantity of potions on hand.” When he lowered his hand enough to expose the eye holes of his mask. The Roegadyn expected at least two of them to be brandishing their gear. However, that was not the case here and now.

After resisting the urge to slouch and allow his arms to just dangle. Brex motioned over to Rory with a nod. She then started to say the next part, while the girl took a number of envelopes and swiftly tossed them onto the table so that they would land in front of the chairs of all the girls that were still there. “Those contain a reward that I will be willing to give out for those who participate. Go ahead and open the one with your name. But I must ask that you don't let the others know what it is. Each and every one is specifically for the recipient.” At the end, Rory tossed the last one over so that it zoomed through the air and was immediately caught by Rainbow.

Pinkie was the first one to see what she got after literally tearing the envelope apart so quickly that one would have thought it went through a paper shredder that was set on high. But miraculously the note inside escaped any type of damage as it was looked over with Pinkies excited gaze. She immediately shot up into the air and threw her arms and legs out to shoot a substantial quantity of confetti before plummeting back into her chair. This was also followed with her squeaking behind a set of closed lips as she desperately held it all in.

Applejack gave Pinkie a wide berth after seeing the outburst and carefully opened her own envelope. She gave it a scrutinizing look over as her eyes went from left to right while the paper was slowly brought up to the next line underneath to be taken in by the farm mare. After a couple of seconds. Applejack slowly lowered the paper until she had it on the table once again. However, her sights were squarely set on Brex as she gestured down at the paper with her eyes before looking back at him with clear disbelief written on her face.

In turn, Brex gave her a slow nod which then caused Applejack to plop in her chair as her expression turn to that of shock. She even started to do that thing with her hands where she was obviously attempting to do some form of math in her head as her right index finger was going between the others on her left. When it came to Rarity, she daintily picked up hers and slipped the contents out just as a red set of glasses popped into existence. Once she was done reading and had the paper folded.

She said to Brex in a near stuttering tone. “C-Can you truly do such a feat?” She then received the same acknowledgment that was given to Applejack and the fashionista nearly swooned so much that he thought she was going to collapse on the table in the same way she would if it were her fainting couch. But luckily, Fluttershy was there to help at the last second and was doing her best to prop her friend up onto her two hoofs. Once Rarity came back to her senses after a couple of moments and could stand on her own. Fluttershy was the next to examine what was given to her.

The yellow Pegasus covered her mouth with her free hand after letting out a small excitable Eep! She then said the following in a rather bashful tone. “I…I couldn't possibly accept this... it's too much... also there's no way I can bring myself to attack you...” In the end, she was doing that thing where she was trying to hide half of her face behind her mane out of what he thought to be either embarrassment or a lack of self-confidence.

In response. Brex made sure that his mask was facing directly towards Fluttershy as he said the following in a voice that was intended to give off a relaxing tone for the mare. “There are other ways to be a part of a group that is in combat that does not require you to literally be a part of the assault. I didn't say that I would not be counter-attacking. If you do not wish to cast any offensive spells, then why not stay to the rear, and offer assistance if they should get any injuries?” After hearing that. Fluttershy began to lightly nod as she began to speak. “I-I uh, could try... If it’s alright with you.”

Over with Rainbow, who was closer to Brex. She was already in the middle of reading her own note. Her face was partially obscured by the paper for a few seconds until it was slowly lowered. Once most of her face was exposed. Brex could see a devilish glint in the Pegasus’s eyes as she looked over her shoulder and towards Gilda who was still at the table.

She then turned her attention to Brex as she whispered the following. “Are you really going to… You know… That?” All she got was another small nod that was just barely perceivable from where she stood. As a result, a manic grin appeared that threatened to crack her face as her hands started to do that evil villain move where she rubbed her knuckles with a wicked glee.

Twilight, who was the last member to finally pick up their envelope. Had just placed it back onto the table before giving Brex a thousand-yard stare down. Her mouth was slightly hanging as her eyes were going so wide that he was wondering if it was going to become a medical issue. Especially when he noticed that she was obviously frozen in place to the point that she was probably not breathing anymore. However, this all changed as she let out a loud squeal of delight and rushed right to Brex in a flash and grabbed onto his robes with both hands right at the chest and near his hood.

As this was all going on. Twilight was looking right into his masks eye holes, along with a small amount of drool coming from the edge of her lips. Excitedly, she exclaimed the next part at such a volume that it was almost loud enough that it could be heard halfway back to Ponyville. “You're not kidding, are you? Please don't say that you're kidding!” Brex was giving her a flat stare as he was expecting this type of reaction and gently pulled her hands from himself as he responded. “Yes, what I wrote down is true. Also... personal space, please.”

The excitable purple Unicorn immediately backed off and had this set of nervous giggles erupting from her mouth, while also looking in every other direction as her eyes shifted. It did not take much time at all before Twilight and all of her friends got into a group huddle to discuss how they were going to tackle Brex. All the while. Lieutenant Search, Rory and Gilda had moved over towards the front door so that they were out of the way. The area they were fighting in was quite spacious and would require several seconds for someone to dash from one side to the next at a full sprint.

There were a couple of bushes lining the sides of the cobblestone path. Along with a couple of small bridges that would go over the man-made rivers that could possibly act as small obstacles. Brex even started to do a couple of light stretches along with rolling his neck a couple of times to loosen up the joints. Sure, he was at their level essentially at the moment. However, he was not going to use any abilities aside from what he could normally be used by a normal person who played a Samurai at his current settings in this world. This meant no additional spells from his Artificer subclass, or those from the book of The Shield Hero.

In other words. Brex was going to have to take this seriously if he was going to make it out as the victor. He then called out while they were still huddled together and said the following and giving his wooden katana a few light swings from side to side. “The time limit is ten minutes. If you can manage to bring me down before the allotted time is up, then I'll treat you all to dinner tonight at any restaurant you all decide to pick. You know what, you can even invite your family members and I'll treat them as well.” Surprisingly enough, it was Applejack who spoke next as she was tilting her hat down so that it was causing her eyes to have a serious expression.

“Oh partner! You're goin’ to regret those words. Y'all got no idea how much my family can eat. But I can tell you're not lyin’, so don't go tellin’ anyone that I never warned ya.” Rarity was the next to join the conversation as she used her left hand to fix a bit of her hair while also giving him a confident look. “I have been feeling a small desire to dine out as of late. And I'm quite sure that my little sister would greatly appreciate the outing as well.”

Twilight joined in herself as she was giving a confident smirk and brandishing her staff in her right hand as she took a step forward from the rest of the others. “This is not just about the meal, girls! We have a reputation to uphold as the Elements of Harmony.”

And with that, all the mare’s got themselves into position where they had Applejack in the front alongside Rainbow. Rarity was just a little ways behind the two of them. Beyond her was Twilight and Pinkie. Taking up the rear was Fluttershy and her green carbuncle at her side. The scene became silent as the two opposing sides glared at one another. All eyes sharpened. The sound of a crow could be heard in the distance. A single tumbleweed rolled by in the background. This lasted a couple of seconds before a strong gust of wind made a few of the leaves for the garden sculptures rustle to mark the start.

What came next was a battle of epic proportions. The ground quaked. The wind blew with the strength of a full-blown tsunami. It was all the stuff of legends. Songs would be sung for generations on what happened in this small battlefield. Scars were earned, tears were shed. Great lessons were learned by all and would shape they're future. Unfortunately… that was not the case in reality. Well aside from tears being shed and scars turning out to be more of scratches and bruises… Ok, more like bad boo-boos.

Most of which were inflicted upon the girls thanks to friendly Fire and some uncoordinated attacks on both the frontline and rear. In the long run, the only Pony that was fulfilling their role turned out to be Fluttershy as she was frantically running and flying back and forth to administer her healing spells to the others.

If Brex was to be honest, then this entire fiasco would have ended within twenty seconds if it were not for the yellow Pegasus’s efforts in keeping most of them conscious for just a bit longer. Especially after Twilight inadvertently nailed Rainbow in the back with a fireball when the athletic member of the group picked that moment in time to fly in the path of the spell.

After the fireball collided with Rainbow in the back. She fell onto Applejack as a result and the pair became hopelessly entangled into one another after tumbling for a bit. During her struggle to try and get back up. Rainbow accidentally poked Applejack in the butt with her dagger and this made for the perfect incentive to cause the farm mare to buck Rainbow off so hard that she flew through the air and crashed into Rarity. Who was just finishing with channeling her magic through her weapon to produce a lightning spell.

Rarity, upon getting struck by Rainbow. Moved her arm that was holding on to her two-piece weapon that was still connected for the channeling over towards Pinkie and made a direct hit once it left her control. The pink pony’s entire body was coursing with electricity as her hair became spiky from the electric discharge. She even gave off a weird staticky noise as this was happening and jerked around in some weird dance. Unfortunately, she was already done charging a special arrow attack when this occurred, and the projectile was let loose.

As it was flying through the air. Its trajectory was slightly altered at the very last possible instant. Instead of going for Brex. It instead went right for applejack, who was just barely getting back onto her legs. Luckily, she was looking back at the commotion and caught sight of the arrow flying right for her head and released a scream. In reflex, her axe was brought up just in time to deflect the arrow back so that it was soaring high into the air. This made it to leave a red energy trail that glistened in the light before it disappeared thanks to the positioning of the sun that was directly overhead at the time.

By then they were all stuck in position while keeping a close eye above for where the arrow went off too. At first their faces were full of surprise. But as the second went on. They became more worried as their eyes attempted to look frantically for where Pinkies shot ended up. Eventually, Twilight began to sweat as she whispered from the side of her mouth while not bringing her eyes away from the sky in clear nervousness. “Pinkie... just how much power did you put into that arrow?”

The pink pony answered and the most innocent voice. “I really-really wanted my prize, so I put everything I had. Hmm, now that I think about it, I actually feel a little tired right now. Eh, that's a first.” After hearing that. Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity and even Fluttershy's eyes became full of panic from the implication that their friend may have drained all she had into that one shot. Even Brex wonder just how powerful that would have been if it had hit him and nearly blanched at the notion of being sent clean across the yard with a single hit from the pink party pony.

His musing was rudely interrupted when there was a subtle whistling sound being emitted from above. That was when they all caught sight of a glowing red object falling at a frightening speed towards the center of their group. The only reason that they were able to see it from so early on due to it being such a small object.

Was all because of the amount of red energy it was accumulating that made it almost as big as a cow if one were to use that as a comparison for how big the orb of energy it was giving off turned out to be. If anything, it was more like a red comet crashing to the planet. This caused Twilight and all of her friends to let out a unified scream of horror just as it collided with the lawn.

The end result happened in slow motion before his eyes. In a way, it was almost as if he was watching a scene in some action movie where the explosion was slowed down to a point where you can literally stretch it out over the course of a minute. Once the arrow's head got stuck in the grass and sunk several inches. There was a flash of light that erupted from underneath the ground. First, there were beams of light slowly erupting and random spots. Then the floor was pushed up as more of the light escape the now forming cracks.

Pieces of gravel and now loose dirt pelted the air and the girls. This was immediately followed with a strong shockwave from said underground detonation. Pinkies face looked almost lethargic to express how drained she felt the instant the explosion happened, and she was sent flying. Heck if anything, she was probably about to take a nap, and this might have not have been able to keep her awake. Rarity was pushed up and away from the impact site. Her hair was blown straight up and both hands were being used at the front of her skirt to keep it from being blown up as she was sent soaring.

Rainbow was sent straight up and into the air as if she were a rocket thanks to her wings catching quite a bit of air from the shockwave and essentially became nothing but a blur. Applejack was knocked over and forced to do a number of roles until she collided with the nearest section of the stonewall at the edge of the property. At which point, she was stuck in a position where she was upside down and laying most of her weight onto her shoulders. Her legs were completely spread and bent at the hips so that she was now displaying herself in an awkward position as her back was pressed against the wall.

Twilight however, attempted to use a spell to Shield herself from the blast at the very last instant. Unfortunately, she was not quick enough and the spell was interrupted nearly halfway through. In the end she did keep herself from being tossed like a rag doll into a storm. The only real problem was how her clothing was strangely torn apart to where it was barely covering her underpants and bra, as it poked out of the sides as she just stood there in place while still gripping her staff in her right hand and eyes closed tightly.

It took several moments for the dust to clear enough to show the impact crater that was caused by Pinkie unleashing a devastating shot that should not have been possible. It did not take long until there was this faint bluish green glow that could be seen near and towards the other side of the hole as the screen of dirt dissipated. He could not help but the blink dumbfoundedly as he was surprised at the site of Fluttershy standing there perfectly unharmed after all was said and done. More so when one was to think of how the others were affected.

She was hunched down and cowering in fear while looking straight ahead at the carnage that occurred. But what really caught his attention was the way the carbuncle that she had out before was standing right in front and taking on a defensive stance with its tails sharply pointing straight up and the front end leaning down in a crouch.

Out of all of them, apart from Twilight attempting to shield herself. Fluttershy managed to use one of her abilities to create a personal defense barrier that would nullify incoming attacks. Said spell could only be activated while the carbuncle was out and about to use as a conduit for such a useful ability that was meant for emergencies.

Although, Brex had to quirk an eyebrow as he wondered if Fluttershy did that intentionally, or if it was some kind of reflex on either herself or her summoned ally. Especially with the way she was giving off an outward expression of her being both terrified and confused at what happened. The barrier itself had a number of hairline cracks that ran all over the surface. There were even a few small sections with holes clearly being made from the magic being overwhelmed. Eventually, the carbuncle collapse and laid on the ground right at the same time as the barrier disappeared.

After coming to her senses upon witnessing her little friend laying on the grass. The yellow Pegasus immediately brought out her book and the creature jumped into its pages. She also went straight to work at casting her healing spells on the others that required it without even a second thought to anything else. As this was going on. Brex could see at the corner of his vision upon turning around, the expressions of the other onlookers near the house that witnessed it all.

Rory was having a hard time with holding in a giggle fit as she was literally crying and holding her mouth closed with both hands. At the same time, the girl was even hunched over on wobbly legs that threatened to fall out from under her. Gilda was covering her face with her left hand while clearly muttering a couple of phrases in the Griffin language that mostly consisted of her calling them all stupid. Now when it came to Lieutenant Search. Her mouth was hanging so low that he could quite literally see the back of her throat from all the way over where he was.

Brex could also make out a small sound coming from the mare that sounded as though it was a long string of a single word. “Eeeeeeeeeeeh?!” This eventually turned into some legible sentences as she said the following under her breath as Brex clearly saw it in his chat window. “Are these the same mare’s that went into the Everfree and defeated Nightmare Moon? They couldn't... they couldn't even... I I don't even know what to think anymore.”

Over with Brex. He glanced back at the group as his right eye began to subtly twitch underneath. He even had this expression that was a cross between being completely stupefied and possibly stuck halfway into a stroke. Honestly, he was at a complete loss of words as he could not bring himself to utter a single syllable for a couple of seconds until he managed to calm down somewhat. He then brought both of his hands up to his mask to do the following.

While being very careful. The bottom part of the mask was pulled away just enough for him to slip a finger underneath to touch around his nose before pulling it out and placing the mask back into place to look at the finger. Right there, was a single droplet of blood that caused him to partially freeze in place before Rory's voice could be heard in his head in a mixture of her still laughing and confusion. “How did they hit you?”

Brex then said in an inner voice that was straining to push out each word as if it was causing him some manner of pain. “They didn't... I think I got a brain aneurysm... from the sheer stupidity...” Rory's voice sounded as if it was getting more amused as she said the following. “There's another part to that joke, but I don't think I should really say it.” This got her a quick and decisive, “Thank you.” Before he sent away his weapon and began to help Fluttershy. Although he had one last thing to think in his mind in a whiny and kiddish tone. “I really don't want to have this world relying only on me! I need to do something, and I need to do it fast...”