My Little Overlord: Harmony Desync

Chapters

They Came from The Stars
Welcome to The Everfree
Forest Expeditons & High Steaks Crafting
I Guess I'm a Fox Dad Now...?
Phantoms In The Night
Echoes, Courage, and Bloodied Splinters
There Will Be Casualties...
Kyudo Cultivation
The Lair of The Everfree Gaurdian
A Mare's Dreams of Another World
Descovering The Missing Pieces
Interrogation and Plans In Motion
Judge Jury and Executioner |Act 1: End|
Never Underestimate The Nerds |Act 2 Start|
Author's Muse and a Lunar Festival
A Quest for Pants & The Annoying Tome
|Update|

They Came from The Stars

Twilight looked to the skies, her amethyst orbs glistening in the navy blue glow of the night sky. Her heart practically fell into her stomach while her logical mind tried to make sense of the impossibility that was laid out in front of her. The sky twinkled with stars, too many to count, but one LOGICAL thing that she could count without fault was the amount of moons they could perceive. One, there should be one moon in the sky RIGHT?

Well, it would seem that in that moment her perception was being pulled through a blender because shining brightly beside the full moon’s glow was an entirely different moon sized rock floating in the skies. The aura around it felt…wrong, like it was trying to seed a deep sense of dread into Twilight’s very soul. Ponies all around paid the giant space rock in the sky no mind, oblivious to the concerning manifestation of this potential threat.

Rainbow Dash flew up behind Twilight with cider mug in hoof, her drunken and glossy eyes rolling as she tried to balance and look up at the oddity in the sky. “I think ahh…ahhh might drunk too much shider, but uh...uhhh wasthere always two moons? Haha, the princess really pulled out all the breaks for this shooowww right?” The drunken pegasus slurred as she casually dumped the rest of her cider onto the ground without realizing it, when she went for a swig she didn’t appear to even notice the lack of liquid courage in her cup, either way the result was the same with her falling flat on her back looking up at the sky giggling.

“No…no this isn’t Luna, something is seriously wrong…she isn’t using her magic any more, so why is the sky still moving…? Why is there a second moon…? Only Luna and Celestia could alter the sky…” Twilight’s brow furrowed in frustration, her mind trying to pull out every possibility to logically explain the phenomenon. Perhaps it was an illusion spell? No, a spell affecting this many ponies would be impossible, not to mention the princess wouldn’t have been staring so intensely at it. Maybe a passing comet? No, if that were the case it wouldn’t be stationary like that, discord’s childish pranks? Nah, couldn't be, he was reformed ages ago!

“Uhhhh, Sugarcube…? Is it me? Or is that second moon staring at us…?” Applejack spoke up, walking up to Twilight with Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy tailing behind. Twilight stopped her staring at the ground and shot her gaze skyward again, only this time falling onto her flank in surprise at what met her gaze. The second “moon” was in fact not a moon at all, rather it was a GIANT EYE that started right back at her. The dark blue sky lit up, the giant eye turning the sea of blue lotus purple, and the hot white stars brightened to a sizzling blue. It was like all the stars were going through a state of rebirth to that of dwarf stars.

“Oh my darling, that is a rather gastly sight…whoever designed this act of the show certainly had zero taste. I mean look at it! Purple in our all blue and white palette festival? Oh the equanity! This could only work on nightmare night!” Rarity fanned herself in all her dramatic glory, falling into the arms of Spike who stared up at the sky while struggling to hold the glamorous unicorn up in his tiny arms. The young drake tilted his head to the side, blinking a few times before speaking up.

“This kinda reminds me of issue 457 of Power Ponies when the giant alien eyeballs from space invaded Equis! It kinda looks cool! In a freaky, potentially evil alien invasion kinda way-” He snickered, groaning slightly under the weight of his “date” for the festival. With his tail holding onto an ice-cream cone he secretly took a big lick before going back to looking at the giant space eye.

“Maybe they are nice aliens….?” Fluttershy meekly squeaked, hiding behind Applejack who gave her side a gentle pat.

“OOO! OOO! OOOOO! Maybe we can throw a double party welcoming the aliens! IT WOULD BE A PARTYCEPTION!” Pinky bounced rapidly up and down like a kangaroo who just got on a sugar high. Her big blue eyes were wide, pupils dilated like a puppy getting a treat. Stopping mid bounce she would freeze comically in the air for a few seconds before landing on all fours, trembling slightly while tilting her head sideways at the moon.

Her cotton candy colored tail began twitching wildly while one of her back knees began to involuntarily jerk inward. “Wait a minute…twitchy tail…pinchy knee…a-and…oh boy!” Pinkie began shuddering in place, rocks around her practically bouncing from how hard she was shaking.``Shudders too! That can't be good!” Fluttershy squeaked louder, hopping under Rainbow Dash’s unconscious body like a shield, her pink tail and flank sticking out.

Pinkie Sense, no matter how hard Twilight tried to understand it she just couldn’t grasp its concept. It wasn't magic, yet for some reason when Pinkie had these involuntary twitches and spasms they could tell the future with over 150% accuracy. Twilight nearly went mad trying to uncover its secrets, spending countless hours observing, researching, and losing sleep over it. However after learning a valuable lesson that science and reasoning doesn't always apply to Miss Pinkamena, she's simply…Pinkie being Pinkie. “Wait, twitchy tail? doesn't that mean that stuff is going to start-”

Before Twilight could finish that train of thought her thoughts were invaded by another’s Princess Luna who was telepathically tapping into her mind. “Twilight, you and your friends must evacuate the townsfolk to the castle of friendship…something is coming through my night sky and I can't stop it! HURRY! IT'S COMING-”

‘Wait princess, what is coming through?!’ With no warning the music stopped, instead being replaced by a deafening droning coming from the sky. Ponies in the crowd were forced to the ground, some screaming, others trying their best to keep their ears covered. Even princess Luna was forced to take a knee, holding onto her head with a single hoof. The stage lights shuddered and popped in a shower of sparks and glass, spilling them onto the stage from the sheer volume of the noise.

The eye in the sky continued its deep, insistent droning, each one seemingly getting louder and louder until finally an earth shaking SMASH echoed across the planet of Equis. On either side of the giant eye space visibly began to crack like glass with deep veins spider webbing across the night sky.

Deep within the Everfree forest, beneath many layers of earth, rocks, and roots…a heartbeat would drum out, one that echoed through the chaotic wood, one that made the inhabitants of the forest roar to the purple heavens, roar for the grand anomaly.

Changes were brewing, a long awaited moment destined to occur…allowing the birch clad paws of the wood flesh alpha to take its first timid steps past the ancient barrier that had long protected the town of ponies, its red eyes glowing a hungry red.

The cracks glowed a prismatic rainbow color, shards of the cracks in space bulging like an invisible force was pushing in from the other side…or trying to break in. The Six excluding a still sleeping Rainbow Dash would stumble, Applejack falling on her flank, Rarity fainting fully on a collapsed Spike. Twilight tried to cast a noise canceling spell but whatever was happening had been interfering with her magic! Her horn sparked and spilled mana into the air causing it to harmlessly fizzle away.

What felt like minutes passed ended up only being a couple more seconds until the droning finally stopped. The cracks that the giant eye creature made in the sky had ceased their spread…only for huge chunks of space between cracks to fall away, falling towards the planet in the form of Meteorites. Hundreds…no…THOUSANDS of them were falling down to their world. The biggest of these “shards” was a giant purple meteorite flying over the heads of the concert goers, many of whom were still practically burying their heads in the ground from the noise.

The impossible chunk of space clipped the top of the stage with enough speed and force to melt the metal frame holding the lights, sending the broken ones smashing down on either side of Luna. The giant space shard had flung by, smashing through trees, melting vines, and EXPLODING in a spectacular display of blue light beams through the canopy. Bits and pieces of tree that unfortunately were caught up in its descent were light ablaze, blue flames crackling and dancing, purple smoke billowing into the sky.

Twilight stumbled to her hooves, her ears violently ringing, the world spinning around her enough to make her stomach lurch. It took every ounce of her will and fortitude not to vacate the vast majority of her dinner that night onto the grass. Instead she tried looking up to the sky in hopes to see what the HAY caused that noise. Fully expecting to see the giant eye, the holes in space, the ominous cracking, she was pleasantly surprised to see that…everything was normal again.

Ponies were steadily trying to recover from the shock, many murmuring, others trying to shake the unconscious ones awake. Guards were flocking in like a murder of crows, assisting in taking the unresponsive to Ponyville general. The others made a massive bulwark of the spear armed guards flanking around the Lunar princess in a circle while she too regained her bearings. This seemingly terroristic threat reasonably had them all on high alert, as they should be.

“What in TARNATION was that?!” Applejack screamed, shaking her head hard, her ears twitching. Pinkie who was just…standing there the entire time had slowly turned her head to look at applejack, blinking slowly like a chameleon before responding equally as loud with the word. “WHAT?!”

“Ngggh…whatever it was girls, it's gone…and whatever came out of that giant eyeball in the sky…it landed over there…” Twilight traced her hoof from the top of the melted stage fixtures towards…

…The Everfree Forest…

Meanwhile in the Forest

Jonathan’s eyes shot open, his breaths coming out in loud, wheezy, wet coughs as he rolled his body onto his side. The still relatively fresh memories of his body being engulfed in pain hammering full force into his head in an instant. His body convulsed, hands sinking into the dirt while he voided the contents of his stomach in a giant soupy pool between his hands. When nothing else came up he tried his best to regain his bearings, stumbling to get up from his hands and knees only to topple backward.

His head smashed into the soft dirt, his gaze fixed in a vertical stare at…the night sky Jonathan’s head felt like it was trying to crawl out of his skull, with him feeling a warm trickle of blood dragging down his forehead and side of his head. ‘Where…am I…oh fucking fuck…fuck this hurts…come on body…MOVE!’ Jona rolled slowly onto his side again, trying to get a feel for his own body again.

‘One hand, two hand, one foot, two foot, aaaaand….STAND!’ Jonathan’s body slowly went from prone, to all fours, and finally bipedal. Both hands stuck out at his sides to maintain balance, eyes closed to keep the world from rolling about. He took one step forward only to stumble and nearly fall if it weren't for something solid which both of his hands shoot out to hold him diagonally up against the…dirt wall?

The man waited a minute for the dizzy spell to pass with him counting in his head to better focus his rattled mind. ‘Three…two…one…” When Jonathan opened both eyes he would be met with the dipped grove of black dirt that had been visibly smoking under his palms. It looked as if he were clutching hot coals which sent his brain into panic mode. “SHITBALLS!” Both hands flung back, fully expecting to feel sharp burn pains in his hands. The shock was so much that he forgot how to balance, this time falling on his ass.

“Wait…it…it isn’t hot?” Jona looked to his hands, and his words were confirmed when he cautiously poked a finger into the opposing palm. The pink skin other than being slightly reddened was completely healthy without pain, infact, he felt a little drafty. When Jona looked down and around himself he came to the very obvious and embarrassing conclusion that he was...totally naked, and…fucking jacked! Looking and twisting his hands, his arms, his legs, he could see every definition of his muscular build. His large, open hand ran along his diamond cut pecs, and down his abs that looked as if Michelangelo had chiseled them like a marble statue.

Jonathan was certainly no slouch when it came to keeping up his physical fitness, he took great pride in his 4 hour gym workout every weekday during the mornings. Even so his build wasn't nearly as godly as it was when he looked himself over. ‘I need a mirror…right now’ Jona stood up, realizing another fact just as swift as the whole “naked god bod” part. He felt taller, prior to his descent into this new world he stood a crisp 5’4, and now he looked down at his bare feet with the perspective of someone who towered a good 7' 2.

‘Yea…I definitely need a mirror or something. I must be dreaming, that or I decided to get the most expensive body mod surgery while blackout drunk, then run around naked in the woods. Yea…that sounded crazier when I mentally said that aloud.’ The man’s eyes scanned his immediate surroundings, from the looks of things he was in a ditch in the middle of the woods, with the only light being the faint rays of moonlight peeking through the smoking canopy above.

Jonathan directed his focus towards the wall of this ditch, then up to the lip of the smoking divit. Getting a running start he would run and in a single bound climb up, and out in one go. The sensation and speed came as naturally as pulling himself out from his swimming pool back home. He clambered to his feet only to turn around and survey the ditch, and by god did he wish he hadn’t. Jona hadn’t just crawled from a small ditch oh no, no, no…he crawled from a damn CRATER.

Piles of smoking or burning grass made smoke that elevated to the smoking trees that had either been uprooted or knocked over. Earth had been scorched with blue flames dwindling in piles around the impact zone. Even the pile of vomit that the man had hurled was no more, completely evaporating from the intense heat this area was radiating. His eyes blinked owlishly, his head hurting while trying to make sense of all this. After giving his body a once over he would turn slowly and begin traversing deeper into the forest. ‘I gotta keep moving…before I freeze to death out here…yet…I don’t feel cold at all.’ Jonathan stepped further and further from his unknowing crash site, his large feet leaving smoking footprints in his wake.

3 hours later

Jona fell forward, practically burying his head in the stream, gulping up mouthful after mouthful of the sweet nature juice. In those waking moments he couldn’t give less of a fuck on decency. The water tasted relatively fresh, no dirt, no bugs, not even a stray weed, something that heavily confused the lad. Had he done such a stupid and brainless move back when he went camping in the sticks he would have spent the entire weekend shitting in the outhouse while popping antibiotics like no’one’s buinsess.

After finishing his lengthy and messy slurps he removed his head from the water to splash some in his face, combing his fingers through his hair to rinse it clean of the dirt and grime. The night time in this creepy forest felt oddly bright, it felt off, like some kind of ever present source of light was illuminating his surroundings in all directions. If it weren’t for the lack of gaps in the trees while he walked he could have chalked it up to it just being the moon, but now he wasn't so sure.

There were more things he couldn't explain, like why his feet were not currently blistered despite walking CONSTANTLY over rocks, sticks, and hell knows what. The only aches and pains he had were the ones in his stomach caused by hunger, and the soreness of spending the past few hours hiking ass naked in the woods. ‘I mean, I could chalk it up to just being a dream…a really realistic one?’ That thought was instantly dashed when his fingers brushed against a particularly tender spot on his head which flared up with pain. “Crap…nope…that's real!” He hissed, bringing his hand back down to see flakes of dried blood in between his fingers.

Not wanting to take his chances potentially infecting his wound with river water he was about to turn away when something caught his eye in the water…his reflection. Crouching down on his hands and knees he peered into the comically blue water, gazing at his reflection in all its clarity. His eyes…his…purple eyes widened in a mix of shock and wonder. His hands traced along his seemingly animated features, feeling every square inch of his face.

For starters his hair was alabaster white, save for the patch of dried blood caused by his scabbed over head wound, his eyes were bigger, much bigger. With his pointer finger Jonathan hooked the left side of his mouth, pulling it out to get a look at his teeth. Even they were bloody perfect, sparklingly clean with what appeared to be a pair of wicked sharp canines. When he tilted his head to the side he could see that even his ears were given a cartoonish treatment of becoming pointed like those of a halfling, or a demon perhaps.

“What the hell…seriously, I look like a goddamn douchebag! I mean the muscles I get sure but seriously? Whose body did I wake up in!?”

He punched the water in frustration and with a loud SPLASH he watched in surprise as his fist smashed into and through a large rock in the river without so much as a twinge of pain. When he removed his fist he grabbed both halves of the large rock he had just split in two. tilting them sideways, around, and even dropping them on top of one another showed the same results, they were solid.

Somehow he was able to punch the damn thing in half without flinching, only feeling the sturdy river stone crack like balsa wood. After wiggling his fingers just to make sure he hadn't really broken them, he reeled his fist back and punched both rocks he had stacked on top of one another in a downward motion. Internally he was bracing himself for the pain, but never breaking his course. ‘This is probably a dumb idea!’ There was a loud *CLACK* of both rocks smacking together before both exploded into smaller chunks with his fist creating a small divot in the earth. His knuckles were smoking, causing him to move his hand away as if it were a loaded gun.

‘Yea I don't think i’ll be jerking off with you lefty for a long while…’ He thought with a small snort, popping his knuckles with a quick and hard squeeze. In that moment Jona felt like superman, however that moment of basking in his own ego would come crashing to a halt when he heard it. The low rumble of something big emanated behind him, something growling low enough to send a chill down Jonathan’s spine. Gulping softly the man slowly turned his back away from the river, making no sudden movements in fear of provoking a reaction from the beast.

When he fully turned his body 180 degrees around he would be almost face to snout with something BIG, something mean, something furry, and something with LOTS of pointy teeth. The beast towered over the tall man, its wide body covered in a thick layer of mustard yellow fur, and an even thicker red mane. The beast’s fangs were easily as large as his forearm, two of which protruded from the front of its drooling maw.

If it wasn’t pants shittingly terrifying enough the beast seemed to have a large scorpion tail swinging side to side behind it, its stinger dripping a neon green sludge into the dirt behind it. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was probably poison. Like a computer going through a blue screen crash, Jonathan could only formulate enough brainpower to let out a soft “Oh…”

Then the beast promptly reeled back and swung with its massive paw in Jonathan’s dumbstruck face….

…..

What? Are you expecting a fight scene in this chapter?

Patience…you'll get your bloodshed reader, all you need to do is….stay tuned readers~

Author's Note

To those who read my first chapter I'd like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Even more so to those generous few who graced this story with a like, favorite, or saved my story to their archives. I am writing these during my night shifts as a security officer, so I have ample time to crank out all the juicy ideas while also sketching for each chapter! For those who made it this far, thank you again for reading, comments and feedback are always appreciated!

Welcome to The Everfree

Have you ever been hit in the face? Let's rephrase that, have you ever been hit in the face with a metal folding chair by a burly biker on steroids? Amplify that image, enhance it times 75% and then some. That was the most accurate comparison Jonathan could make in his mind. The beast’s paw and claws swiped him across the face, his body lifting off the ground in one violent burst of motion. His entire form went flying across the river, slamming violently into a tree. His bare back smashed into the rough bark of the tree with enough impact to send chips crumbling in all directions.

Jonathan’s back felt like it was being nipped at by hundreds of fire ants, turning the smooth skin red and raw. Being naked was in fact a heavy detriment, making every second that he tried to decompress his lungs for breaths a pain. Saliva launched from his lips, along with whatever remained in his stomach.

Jonathan struggled to breath, having had the wind knocked from his lungs from the unprepared blow to his face and back. He smacked both hands to either cheek, fully expecting to feel the gashes of those claws across his face. The fact he was even alive took a couple seconds to even register in his mind. “I’m not dead….? I-I’m not dead!”’ His short-lived victory was cut short from the roar of the manticore.

Its misshapen form clambered rapidly across the river, its amber scorpion tail thrashing wildly in the air. ‘Shit, Shit, SHIT! Not for long!’ Jonathan forced his body to move just as the Manticore went for a pounce. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, with the monstrous hybrid body would soar inches over the human’s head. In sync the human was hitting the dirt, sliding away just in time so the beast would end up crashing into the tree he had his back to.

Jonathan could practically feel the warmth of this thing’s fuzzy body, he was close enough to smell the pungent odor of blood on its hide. From the corner of his eyes he could see spears, arrows, and even what appeared to be an ax embedded in its back. Landing on his stomach this human who had not seen so much as a fist fly was in a life or death situation, no room for error. That’s why he was surprised when his body seemingly moved on its own, rolling and flipping forward on his hands, springboarding forward from the ground in a dead sprint opposite of the monster.

The Manticore yowled, roared, hissed, its venomous tail whipping about in the air while trying to re-adjust its massive form. When it did, its blood red eyes glared daggers at Jonathan’s back while he made a dead sprint deeper into the forest. The beast had hit the tree hard enough to snap it like a dry branch, sending a few parasprites buzzing into the sky. It crouched down on all fours, its leathery wings spread wide, with a mighty roar it flapped while kicking, shooting off like a bullet despite its lumbering size towards its strange looking prey.

Jonathan heard the roar, then the sound of paws rapidly advancing towards him at breakneck speeds. Lions run at speeds of 50 miles per hour, Usain Bolt in perspective could reach record breaking speeds of 27.79 miles per hour. That was why it was very much a surprise that he, an author, one who only spends 4 hours a day doing squats, almost passes out on the treadmill, was internally freaking out as to how he was managing to outpace this mythical creature on foot. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t scream, it was like a part of him deep down was coming to the surface, suppressing his terror into a cold, steely, determination, and with one word echoing in his mind….SURVIVE.

The beast lunged again and again in quick bursts, trying and failing to pounce this bipedal creature. Each lunge resulted in its claws stopping either a few inches short, or it overshooting over the biped. Each miss gave its prey more time to run, more time to flee deeper into the natural maze of vines, scary trees, and hostile fauna. Sense had long since been abandoned by the lion amalgam, with only a burning, yearning, bloodthirsty desire to sink its fangs into this man’s flesh remaining.

Jona kept moving forward, dodging, sliding, and jumping over every swipe, pounce, and slash the monster made with its tail. His hands would reach out, ripping aside vines, shoving branches, and downright pulverizing rocks beneath his feet into gravel without care. Even as the sharp thorns pinched his skin, the force of the branches whipping his naked skin, and the sensation of bugs smacked his face, he kept running. If he stopped now he would have been this thing’s next meal, a fate Jonathan was far from comfortable from suffering.

It wasn’t until he saw the first glimmers of moonlight peeking through the underbrush ahead that his heart swelled with renewed hope. He was safe, he was getting out of here, he was gonna break through those branches, and he was gonna call for help-

However when his body lunged through the branches and his feet met nothing but air, reality came crashing down on him like a 2 ton anvil. His wide eyes and hopeful smile contorted into an expression of sheer terror when he launched himself clear off the cliff and plummeting down beside the waterfall towards a massive lake bellow. With arms flailing in the air Jonathan was able to let out in his mind, his final word.

“SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!”

The beast behind him was fortunate enough to be born with claws, not just for cutting meat from bone, or fending off other predators in the wild, but also to gain enough traction to stop itself from sharing its foolish prey’s fate. Pawing at the ground angrily it would snort, letting loose one final roar that echoed through the Everfree, disturbing all the wildlife that slumbered peacefully.

Princess Luna had lived for many years, watched the rise and fall of many empires, and led wars against her sister. She had seen many things, but this…this was something completely different. Whatever manner of magic had interrupted the festivities was something or somepony new. She had helped her sister defeat discord, she knew when chaos magic was involved, but something to this magnitude of destruction and madness was not “his style” as he would say.

Luna took a long sip of her coffee, the castle of friendship was lively with the sound of maids rushing about, guards patrolling, and concerned murmurs of ponies who had taken shelter throughout the night while guards assessed the situation outside. She would watch in calm silence as the Elements of Harmony whipped about, doing what they did best, bringing about harmony and order to these trying times.

Fluttershy had lulled the children to sleep, allowing many of them to slumber while their worried parents desperately tried to get answers from the guards as to when they could return home. Miss Rarity was walking about with the help of Miss Applejack, hoofing out blankets, pillows, and drinks to the ponies huddled around the main chamber. Pinkie Pie in all her crazy glory served cupcakes fresh from the oven, aiding the maid’s efforts to sooth the panic.

Miss Twilight, her fellow princess, sat beside her at the table, looking frantically through book after book, trying her best to figure out what happened that night. The poor mare looked on the brink of a mental breakdown, reasonably so. Her mane was sticking out at odd angles, one eye twitching manically, She had lost track of how many drinks of coffee the panicking mare had drank to keep awake.

Luna sighed softly, unfurling her wings to soothingly rest it on Twilight’s shoulders, feeling her flinch and sag into her comforting touch. “I-I’m sorry Princess- I mean Luna…I’ve scoured every book in my library, every single one on reality magic, space, and even chaotic illusionary magic, but NONE of them could EXPLAIN IT!” She slammed the book shut. drawing more than a few looks of either annoyance or panic from the masses around her. When she noticed she could only flinch again before sagging into her seat. She buried her head into the book, letting out a muffled groan of defeat.

Luna slowly shook her head, a frown gracing her face as she gently ran a hoof through Twilight’s mane to straighten it. In her blue magical aura she would float the book on “Moonrocks for Dummies” away. “My dearest Twilight…you must rest, you are the brightest pony in Ponyville, by morning my guards will have ample to report…until then you must regain your strength, I take it you have sent a message to my sister?” Twilight nodded, resting her muzzle on the table.

“Yes Luna…I have, she said that she would be sending her best researchers and guards here to relieve you of your duties here so you may return home. Being the most capable…*Yawn*...pony here when it comes to…uh….mnn…magical anomalies, I’ll be doing my best to resolve this…” She mumbled, rubbing her eyes with a hoof.

“Even more of a reason for you to rest…I'm not saying this as a princess of Equestria deal Twilight, but as your friend…please rest your eyes, sleep…” Luna cooed softly, continuing to lull the purple Alicorn to sleep. Even without magic the princess of the night still had this natural aura about her. Even as they spoke many ponies curled around their loved ones, drifting off to a sweet slumber.

“B-but what if-” Twilight spoke, her eyes drooping, but she was swiftly hushed up by Luna who only smiled and shook her head.

“Hush Twilight…I shall handle everything…just…sleep…” With that Twilight as well as many of the other ponies not working had fallen asleep. The rest of the 6 had curled up in different parts of the massive room. Luna levitated the books into the air with her magic, setting them atop a passing maid who was already in the process of collecting the unconscious mare’s books to be sent away to the library. Luna’s wings folded back to her side, allowing her to lean back and let out a soft sigh.

“Princess Luna…I have news…may I speak with you in private?” One of the night guards approached, speaking low and quietly, having noted the slumbering princess beside his princess. The guard’s leathery bat wings shook slightly causing his dark armor plates to softly rattle against his form.

“At ease captain Night Glaive…yes, we shall continue this outside…” She said smoothly, causing the guard to give an affirmative nod. His entire form released its already pent up tension from that night’s Equis rocking events. He and the princess walked side by side, him ordering his men to stand guard at all entrances to castle friendship.

Thanks to Princess Celestia they were able to receive extra Lunar guards shipped to their location, many of whom were combing the town on patrol. Those who were not at castle friendship were ordered to stay in their homes. The town itself had gone under swift lock and key, nopony in, nopony out.

Both princess and captain spread their wings, flying towards the top of castle friendship, settling on the yellow tiles of the roof. Without looking to one another their conversation went from friendly to cold and calculative in an instant. “Scouts have reported that there is unusual activity coming from the Everfree. Something or somepony has stirred activities from the hostile animal life…lieutenant Moonglow said that she heard what sounded like screaming and roaring further in, but was unable to confirm.” The captain grunted.

“Hmmn..” Luna closed her eyes, watching as the world melted away into darkness…and with her closed eyes she could see the world before her in a whole new way. She could see the town before her, she could feel the flow of harmony in the air in the form of wispy auras. Her guards all held a navy blue colored aura, with them each individually harboring fragments of her lunar power. Such power granted them the affinity and biological traits of the night, wings, fangs, eyes, and appetite to ease burdens of being nocturnal for the job. Her captain held the brightest and most powerful aura of them all, harboring a strong bond to the night.

Looking to the forest with these “magic eyes” resulted in a mix of results that would typically send her senses into a frenzy. The aura of the forest was alight with activity and life, a rainbow of different colored auras from species, emotions, and potency. Typically that was the way of the Everfree, a chaotic mess born from the vicious battle between the forces of harmony and chaos. For once the forest was…calm, all the chaos, all the excess chaos magic had dwindled, to a deep shade of purple. The aura around the crash trail of the meteorite was hot pink, the epicenter a brighter shade of blue.

“Captain, double your forces around the Everfree, nopony enters unless they receive direct permission from either myself or my sister…understood?” Luna spoke firmly, her eyes opening to reveal the steely blue gaze that pierced through the night like a beacon. “Whatever landed in the forest appears to have altered its chaotic properties…by morning I request swift transit back to the capital, this matter must be brought to my sister immediately.”

“Yes your highness…It shall be done.” The guard stood tall on the roof, giving his princess a salute with his hoof. Adjusting his helmet he would soar into the night sky, darting downwards in a swift glide towards the treeline surrounding the forest that had grown so active as of late. The princess closed her eyes yet again as if to reconfirm her assessment of the chaotic woodlands. Nopony, not even both herself and her sister, nor the elements could tame the nature of the forest. Even with the most recent aid of Discord after his successful reformation bore no fruits in removing the spell that plagued the Everfree.

“Chaos magic is like a rash, the more you aggravate it by scratching, touching, and prodding it, the more festered and aggressive it spreads. The best you can do is contain and let it go away on its own. One can’t simply control chaos, even when I use its powers half the time it has a will of its own. However if somepony were able to subjugate it…well…they’d certainly surpass me I dare say.” Discord laughed, much to the bemusement of Celestia, Luna, and Twilight.

Based on the aura that was gradually spreading from the landed meteorite’s impact zone confirmed the creeping dread swelling in her stomach. Something or somepony was subjugating chaos, slowly but surely, assimilating the living aura of the forest into a tidal wave of purple. Her breaths came out shakily, her feathers rustling at her sides. Something about this was wrong, a fundamental of nature was being tampered with, by a force potentially stronger than that of discord. If that were the case and they harbored ill will towards her subjects, then a swift use of the elements may be needed in the future.

“Oh Tia…I have so much to tell you…”

Jonathan felt himself floating, his eyes fluttering open to see nothing but a vast, gray, infinite darkness that surrounded him at all angles. Faint particles of white light were his only illumination, and strangely…he felt so safe, so cool. His chest raised and fell, taking in slow, steady breaths. His entire body drifted in a downwards spiral, simply enjoying the calm moment amidst the chaotic sprint that lead him to….wait-

“Am…I…dead…?” Jonathan mumbled, blinking slowly as memories came rushing back to him. The manticore, the dead sprint through the forest, the drastic alterations to his appearance, the creepy forest, and…the fall. From all around he would receive an answer in the form of a soft, echoing, and soothing voice.

“No…not dead, that was quite the fall you’ve taken son…if I hadn’t stepped in you more than likely would have died of shock on the way down. Your body might be strong but…with the mind of a mortal you may still suffer certain inadequacies they may harbor…” The voice boomed, its sounds echoing in his skull, invading his thoughts. Pictures of his descent from the skies, his awakening in the crater, his discovery of the manticore, all taken from the third person. Someone had been watching, and judging from their voice they were finding his plight rather amusing.

“Mortal….shock…? W-what…am I? Where am I? Why…am I…I just…wanna go home…” Jonathan whispered, his body slowly curling up into a ball. Like a child he tried his best to hide from this warped form of reality he found himself in, only there was no bed or covers to hide under.

“You have many questions, that I can tell for certain, and I have answers…however my hands are tied to certain answers I can disclose to you little one. To begin I must apologize for plucking you from your world, but there is much here that needs to be done, and after discovering your rather…particular portfolio.” The voice seemed to alter the space, the images being seen all around Jonathan. He saw pictures of him when he was 16, giddily typing away on his computer with sketches and notes of his first ever character coming to fruition.

“Your will, imagination, ingenuity, and passion…all of those were put into this seemingly childish, broken, and as you might have called it…mary sue…of a fictional character. You unknowingly created a being so strong that it managed to tear the foundation between fiction and non-fiction right down the middle, creating little holes. Those holes took in excess dreams, willpower, and ideas, manifesting themselves into individual entities. What was once fiction, gradually cultivated and became reality.” The voice said with a twinge of sorrow in his tone, revealing a glowing fabric with holes in the middle in another image.

“Your character has bled through to the fictional plane of Equestria, a realm of magic, harmony, chaos…if left unchecked, such a being of his power could utterly annihilate the unstable walls that separate fiction from reality. Such a cataclysmic event could irreversibly alter existence. Gods, monsters, demons, angels, all existing in a place that doesn't require or need them. Belief is belief, tales are tales, and it is my job as The Author to see to it that all goes according to plan.” He hummed, a massive pair of shimmering blue eyes appeared above Jonathan who could only blankly stare back at them, the shining blue rays calming his soul.

“Mr. Jonathan…I bring you here, to this realm of Equestria not of ill will, but of necessity…it is only you that can wield, cultivate, and bend the powers of Lord Dezmond to your command. It is only YOU who can collect the shards of the fragmented reality before you, and do what Dezmond does best…kill all the gods and entities that have bled into this world. Your existence has become a paradox, infinitely existing, infinitely non existing across all dimensions simultaneously. Your fate...is tied to here, to Dezmond.” The voice…The Author called out with complete neutrality in his tone.

“It is because of my power that I will draw these fictional beings to you in order to staunch the flow of fiction oozing into reality…so you may reap and send them back to the mindscape where all fiction dwells.” The voice reached out, many hands grasping at Jonathan’s body, sending forth a cascade of knowledge onto him…of this world, of Dezmond’s life, all in accelerated time.

“The knowledge I have given you will not come all at once, rather you must traverse the world, find fragments of Dezmond’s past within the world of Equis. Places he has tread in his fictional existence you must go, the reincarnated remnants of his harbingers must meet, and slay those whom he called foe. Only then will you discover the full extent of this power growing within you.” Multiple hands made from the floating grey orbs of light came together, manifesting a harmonic energy between their fingers, shaping it into that of a colorless tome.

“As a token of my good will…I bestow upon you The Tome of Knowledge, a book that can give you the answers to many things, teach you the way of magic, and aid you in your harrowing quest…do not give up Jonathan, for this world, and the world as you knew before hangs in the balance…slay all those who don’t belong, who seek its untimely destruction, and I shall grant you the peace you so desperately crave.” The Author’s voice gradually began to fade, the book itself floating into Jonathan’s arms which held onto it so tightly.

"Keep in mind, your body, your mana, at this moment is limited, spells you learn may not be achievable unless you cultivate your reserves. No offense but I would prefer not to see you again so soon, because you tried to use a time freeze spell on your first week."

Jonathan felt his eyes grow heavier, and heavier, drifting deeper into this downward spiral that moved faster, and faster. He could feel his body stretching, his soul BURNING, and his mind defragmenting. The darkness became clear, taking on the appearance of stars, planets, moons, all whipping past him at breakneck speeds incomprehensible to the human eyes.

Jonathan was no longer human, he had become something so much more. He watched as infinite versions of himself on either side plunge into planets, mirrored echoes of himself all going into infinite versions of these WORLDS. It was in that moment that he’d see his body rapidly approach the surface of this planet. His astral body broke through the sky and down into the depths of the jungle, down the waterfall, and finally into his own body.

….

Jonathan’s eyes would shoot open, his breaths coming out in choked gasps before he promptly rolled onto his side. Water vacated his lungs and stomach, warranting a fit of violent coughing. His naked form had washed ashore, and with it…a silver tome, with jade and amethyst stones bedazzling its surface. Everything he had seen, everything that he had heard, his reason for being in this world…it was all so clear, yet so unbelievably vague at the same time.

However the one thing on his mind at that moment was so unbelievably mundane that it made him laugh, hysterically laughing with tears pouring down his cheeks.

“Man…I could really go for some clothes right about now…”

Forest Expeditons & High Steaks Crafting

Twilight paced back and forth, her expression contorted into one of unease and a pinch of fear. Her saddlebags were packed, double checked, no quadruple checked for all the gear she would need for this harrowing journey. Spike adjusted his own little pack, watching her pace back and forth while munching on a shiny looking emerald gem.

“Spike, have all the students attended to? Substitute teacher Peachy Keen has everything under control right? RIGHT?! Oh Celestia, there is so much I gotta do before setting out, what if everything goes wrong while I’m-I mean we are away? What if the creatures of the Everfree invade and we aren't there to help?! HUH!?” Twilight sat on her flank, her hair fritzing out while taking rapid breaths.

"Eaaaaaasy Twilight! Celestia AND Luna have sent over plenty of guards to protect the town while we are away. With the amount of ponies in armor and spears, I’m pretty sure they could totally knock the teeth out of an Ursa Major if they had to!” Spike finished his gem snack, licking the flakes of green dust from his fingers before getting up off the crystal table..

“Besides, with all of us helping out we should be back to town with whatever it is that's been making the forest all wacky lickity split! I mean, we even got THEE Daring Doo with us to find this thing. The only thing you have to probably worry about is Dash drooling all over her hehe~” Spike snickered, his tail swaying from side to side. Almost as if on cue a rolled up ball of candy wrappers lightly bonked off the back of Spike’s head causing him to flinch.

“I heard that shorty!” RD called out from the main doors to the hall of friendship, with a very huffy look on her face. The pegasus had her own set of saddlebags, packed up to the brim with her personal supplies. Those supplies were not limited to preening oil, some Daring Do novels, junk food, and her P0N3 Pod phone. Landing on all fours the rest of the mane 6 would emerge from behind, with many packed up with varying supplies. Pinkie Pie had fluffy pink bags stuffed with candy, stuffed animals, and party supplies which comically seem to spill half way out.

Applejack snickered, coming in with an extra large set of saddlebags packed with various apple rations, but also tools, lasso rope, clothes, and a few spare hats which dangled from the right side of her saddle. “C’mon RD, we ain’t dumb…we all seen how you tweak like ah doggie in heat when it comes to her books! Reminds me of the time I caught ya with that Darin Doo pillow that one time-”

“Hey! You promised never to speak of that!-” Rainbow blushed, her entire face going from cyan to beat red in mere milliseconds. She shuffled from hoof to hoof, antsy and embarrassed to Canterlot and back.

“Awwwweee its ok to have a crush darling, I find such budding romance to be oh so charming~” Rarity swooned, carrying large trunks of clothes, mane care products, and practically half of her boutique in her magic. Hovering a stack over to Spike who at this point rushed over to help, dropped it into his arms with a soft OMPH coming from the drake. “Thanks for helping me with my bags darling!~” Rarity leaned down, pecking Spike on his cheek causing him to almost faint. He began mustering his dormant dragon strength to effortlessly begin balancing the luggage for the mare he oh so Idolized.

“I-I just hope that the monsters don’t jump out and a-attack us…like the nice guard ponies have been talking about.” Fluttershy whimpered softly, her saddlebags packed neatly with what appeared to be medical supplies and alchemical ingredients for on the road. “I-If so Miss Redheart let m-me borrow some of her first aid kits…!”

“That might be the case Fluttershy, from what princess Luna described, whatever landed from that anomaly has caused the chaotic forest of the Everfree to become more…unstable. From what I've read from the reports from these past few days, the creatures have been…changing with the forest, becoming more angry than usual. The natural barrier protecting Ponyville from the monsters was shattered. We need to find whoever or whatever is causing it-” Twilight was about to finish but was rudely interrupted by Rainbow dash.

“YEA! Then we’ll kick its sorry flank back to whatever smelly eyeball moon they came from! Haha! OOO! Me and Applejack can give it the one, two, wombo, combo! HIYA!” The hot headed Pegasus exclaimed, bouncing up and down excitedly while chopping the air, warranting an eye roll from both Twilight and Applejack.

“NO Rainbow, it isn't ALIENS, It's just some strange temporal, reality magic which messes up the magic flow…it's probably some mad scientist pony who thinks they alter the fabric of spacetime.” Twilight quoted with her hooves causing RD to let out a childish huff, sitting on her flank with her hooves folded.

“Like that makes any more sense egghead...Hmph…I still think it's aliens…” She pouted.

“Anyways, the princess has not only given us a convoy of the best trained guardsponies AND Daring Do to help with this expedition, but also some helpful relics that we will need to find the source of the anomaly. Lieutenant Flare if you’ll please?” The more Twilight spoke, the more at ease her worries were becoming, they got this, they got this all under control. Twilight motioned to the solar soldier just off to the side, allowing an alabaster unicorn in gold plate to come close with a navy blue box in his telekinetic aura. Upon opening the box it revealed 6 identical looking hoof bracelets with a glowing white stone in their center.

“Ooooo shiny!

“Oh my….”

“So beautiful, it even matches my mane!~”

“Ugh, jewelry…?”

“Ah agree, what the hay is this Twi…?”

The five other ponies either crowded around the box or shied away, finding various degrees of interest in the shiny box of relics. Twilight shook her head, levitating the precious relics onto the hooves of her friends which promptly clicked shut. “They are “Mana Aura Detectors”…or M.A.D as the lab ponies over in Canterlot fondly call them. They use Luna’s unique ability to see the flow of magic and project it when she closes her eyes.”

“ With these nifty devices we can find the distinct aura of whatever has changed up the forest so much! It’s such a fascinating magic device, it uses stones pulled directly from the moon, refined flawlessly into these stones! On top of that it was mixed with black pearl metal to harness the intense magic power LUNA herself blessed them with!” Twilight clicked her own bracelet into place, a star struck twinkle having formed in her big eyes.

While Twilight drooled over the bracelet, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, moving it up from her hoof to wear as a choker, much to the disgust of Rarity due to her oh so keen fashion sense. Meanwhile Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were testing out the ability that the trinket bestowed upon them, to varying degrees of success.

“Sugarcube, this is mighty strange…ah mean, it's interestin and all, but this thang gives me a headache something fierce y’know?” Applejack muttered, opening her now glowing green eyes. After giving them a rub with her hoof they more or less went back to normal.

“OOoooo! Lots of colors! Hey Dashie! You're all rainbow colored! Hehe! It suits you so well!” Pinkie Pie giggled, bouncing up and down rapidly, flipping forward and backwards while running around the room with her eyes shut. The result of course was her comically bonking herself into a crystal pillar. She fell back, clattering onto the floor like a metal dishpan. After a few seconds she would stick her flat hoof in her mouth, blowing herself up like a balloon, with her tail being the last to inflate with a loud PFFFFFT.

…Pinkie being Pinkie…

“Of course I am, I'm 120% shades of cool!” Now let's get moving and kick some alien flank!” Rainbow Dash darted out of the room with her bags jostling at her sides, leaving behind a rainbow streak in the air.

“RAINBOW WE AREN'T!- Ugh…never mind…Lieutenant, tell the captain to ready his men…we march to the Everfree in 2 hours ....” Twilight sighed, using her magic to slip her saddlebags onto her back. There was a soft jingle of her mobile lab equipment clinking together, test tubes, scanners, and bundles of quill, ink, and parchment. The guard gave a salute, marching out to extend her orders to the expedition guard. This further went up the line to the expedition captain’s unit of whom were waiting patiently near the forest entrance.

Standing with the guards was an arylide yellow mare, with an ashy gray and black mane, her hoof pointing out various places on a large map. Twilight approached from behind with her friends who had all finished their final preparations during the two hours. Clearing her throat caused the guards and the mare to look up from the map placed upon the travel cart they were using as a table. "Greetings Captain Smolder Spear, Miss Daring…” Twilight introduced, giving them a respectable bow of her head. The others did the same before raising their heads to meet Twilight’s serious gaze.

“Afternoon princess, I was just going over with the captain the most safe route to your approximate coordinates of this “Impact Crater”. Hypothetically with rations, camping, and minimal interference, we should reach the meteorite in about 5 days time. Ever since the forest began expanding again, it's been a lot more difficult to map.” Daring Doo motioned with a wing at the red marked route across her well made, topographic map of the Everfree.

“Just to be clear, I get to use any and all details about this expedition in my next book right? Just as long as I make it as obscure and fictional as possible, correct..?” Daring Do inquired with a sly grin.

“Be grateful we are paying you such a large sum of bits for this task Miss. Daring…-” The solar Captain would start only to be shut down by Twilight who spoke over him with an annoyed look.

“What the good Captain was TRYING to say…is that you are allowed to document and publish a fictional tale similar to these events, however in order to prevent any potential outer nations from prodding Equestria, it is advised you refrain from using any real names please.” Twilight said with a kind smile, while the stoic Captain stared hard at Daring Do, like she had spat in his face with her trivial request.

“Aaaaaaall right your highness, this adventure should be easy, peasy, lemon squeezy! I’ve never gone after a fallen space rock before, should be an interesting tale for the books when I’m done with it! Heh, traversing a strange, mysterious, horrifying, magical forest, with dangerous monsters lurking in the shadows? Talk about KILLER content…heh…get it?” Daring lightly nudged the Captain causing him to glare daggers at the mare. If he didn’t like her before, he sure as Celestia didn’t like her now after that comment.

“Onwards to adventure!”

—--------------------------

It had been a couple days since the discovery of the crafting system, and Jonathan had gotten a rather good grip on its mechanics. During his time at the lake he had learned a great deal of survival techniques in order to give himself a leg up within the cruel clutches of the cursed forest. AFTER he made himself another pair of fiber pants, he followed it up with a shirt, a shawl, and even a hood, making him look rather kitted out.

Further more he made his camp behind the waterfall, weaving himself a bedroll out of the largest Everfree palms which were thankfully hidden away from pesky parasites. Fishing poles, recurve bows, stone arrow quivers, and even a few coils of climbing rope.

On top of that he was able to begin improving his tools, starting with his stone knife that he had intricately carved with stone. It took a great trial and error, but each time he either failed or successfully made a knife, he would simply toss it into the growing pile of stone blades. Pwinx watched in boredom, groaning as Jonathan held up and began swinging another stone blade fluidly in the air.

____________________

Makeshift Stone Knife

____________________

This makeshift knife is a beginner's best friend, composed of finely sharpened stone reinforced with finely twisted Everfree Oakwood. The blade itself, while not comparable to metallic knives, still maintains a deadly edge capable of carving most wood. Not ideal for combat, however it would prove a useful backup blade when things get dicey.

Material Requirements: Medium Stone (x4), Everfree Palm (x1) Cackling Tree Branch (3x)

Durability: Medium

Crafter’s Familiarity: 98 / 100

Combat Familiarity: 5 / 100

Mana Requirements: Low

Track Materials: Inactive

Combat Damage: E
Combat Range: E
Combat Speed: C
Enchanting Potential: F
Weapon Grade: F
Enchantments: N/A
Enchantment Scaling: N/A
Special Skills: None

____________________

“Talk about the grindset, mindset dude, what are you even doing? Do you hope to gain something from maxing out your crafter’s familiarity with something as basic as a stone knife? You could be improving SO many things right about now, like a stone sword, or a spear, hell, even maxing out that BOW would be a better idea right about now.” Pwinx groaned, laying back on the small rock beside a busy looking Jonathan who finished wrapping the Everfree palm grip onto his next knife.

The man had gone into a complete zen state, focusing on nothing other than crafting these damn knives. He was relentless, even as Pwinx waved a tiny hand in his face, which momentarily broke him from his crafting frenzy. “Quiet, I’m testing a theory…if I'm right, all this time will be worth it in the long run…” Jonathan tossed the knife back into the pile with the other. He just as quickly began withdrawing the materials for another stone knife from one of the open screens displaying his tome’s inventory.

Pwinx let out a long, bored, drawn out sigh, flopping onto the human’s leafy hood to continue watching his mind numbing work. The daily schedule was more or less cracked down to a muscle memory, with Jonathan doing nothing but eat, drink, work out, craft, eat, drink, sleep, repeat the next morning. It was a miracle that he hadn’t gone mad, then again Pwinx was starting to think that he might have at this rate. “Dude, just give it up already, you aren’t gonna change anything about that stupid starter kni-”

+1 Makeshift Stone Knife Added (98)…

+1 Makeshift Stone Knife Added (99)…

+1 Makeshift Stone Knife Added (100)…

Rare Skill Created: “Item Compression” [Desc..]

Makeshift Stone Knife

Crafter’s Familiarity

100 / 100

…Commencing Schematic Evolution Process…

Compound Makeshift Stone Knife?: Y / N

Warning, Compound Success Rate 25%

Pwinx’s eyes widened in surprise, watching the sudden emergence of the crafting notification box. Jonathan’s frown turned into a cocky grin, dragging his finger over to “Y” and pressed it. When he did, the imp frantically began scanning through his own version of the tome to look over this uncatalogued “Compression Skill”. Pwinx was also frantically trying to identify whatever skill his host was using to evolve the schematic in this particular way. Despite being the manifestation of the tome itself, this method of using his powers hadn't ever been observed, at least not by any of Pwinx’s users in the past.

Jonathan held the knife out, eyes wide as he watched the hundreds of knives from both his inventory and on the ground float into the air. Each one fizzled away, dissolving into gray particles that encircled the knife’s creator like a tornado. He raised the crude blade to the sky to get a good look at it during this strange process. The skill’s effects were beginning their slow toll, siphoning his mana, but something was off. Pwinx looked up from his brief yet efficient scanning to scream out, his smug and taunting tone turned to a look of absolute mortification.

“JONATHAN! DROP THE KNIFE! Your mana reserves can’t handle this yet!”

Arcs of purple energy bounced from his fist into the knife, all of the gray particles sucking into either flat side of the blade, enlarging it gradually. Power, Jonathan felt it surging into and from him in conflicting waves. It was like his very soul was being torn out and back into his body, similar to that of a fierce tug of war game. The pain, the unbelievable pain, it was like when he had first descended into this world, it was unbearable. His veins felt like they were burning beneath his skin while he desperately tried to hold onto his dwindling consciousness.

The heat, it was all going away, cold, everything was so cold.

The purple arcs brightened to an alabaster shade of white before slowly tinting to a fluorescent neon green. The electric arcs coiled around one another to form the outlines of twin serpents, both which bit down on the morphing blade’s hilt.

…Schematic Evolution Phase Complete…

…Compounding…70%

Jonathan fell onto his back, the arm that had been clutching the knife draining of its healthy color to a sickly looking gray. The flesh was withered, veins visible like thick tubes beneath the shriveled layers of skin. His twitching eyes swayed left, right, barely holding focus. The ringing in his ears was loud, muffling Pwinx’s cries of concern and…his words. Jona could barely understand, only vaguely crawling in the direction his guide was motioning to go. Inch by Inch he would crawl further out of camp, each motion more and more draining, with the compounding knife still in his grip.

80%....

It felt like the weapon was sucking him dry, making every thought a slosh in his melting brain. Jonathan’s face smashed into a patch of glowing, pulsating, and rather sweet smelling blue mushrooms. His milky eyes could only blankly stare up at Pwinx who was miming with his hands to EAT. This hunger…hunger…he was so unbelievably hungry, the void was not in his stomach, but his soul, and it's cold, unwavering, merciless hooks dragging him to the source…the source of fresh mana that his body craved.

90%....

Digging his fingers into the patches of mushrooms he began to eat, his teeth gnashing while his free hand sank into the cluster of fungal delights. He took massive indiscriminate mouthfuls of mushrooms and dirt alike in massive gulps. With each mouthful he took, more of the mushrooms seemed to regrow in the patch. Even as the sensation of mana flowed within him, it felt as if the knife sucked it out just as quickly. The gray warped, drained, and sickly flesh crawled up to his neck, a bad sign.

95%....

Jonathan had been shoveling mouthful after mouthful of the mushrooms past his lips, but the knife continued to bleed him of every last drop. This caused him to eat faster than the mushrooms could regrow in the fungal cluster. Pwinx was thinking quickly on his feet, scanning through countless menus in a desperate attempt to find ANYTHING to save his host. His glowing eyes rested on one skill above all the rest, his fingers trembling as he pressed the “accept” button to infuse the skill into the dying human.

Uncommon Skill Acquired: “Mana Vampirism” [Desc..]

UncommonSkill Acquired: “Mana Sense” [Desc..]

Pwinx pointed away from the slow regenerating patch of mushrooms, highlighting a small, trembling fox just in view in a blue outline. The poor creature was just peeking from the faint cover of the leafy bush. Its fearful blue eyes watched the strange biped who was eating both dirt and mushrooms at such a scary rate, shoveling handfuls into his maw. Its fear, its sentient, paralyzing fear…was its undoing, never even getting the chance to react when the humanoid let loose a warped roar.

Jonathan tackled the fox onto the ground with a sudden burst of feral swiftness, mindlessly grappling the smaller creature tight in his arms. The fox would yelp, crying out in pain as Jonathan sank his teeth into the animal’s exposed neck. His milky eyes pulsed a bright shade of purple, his veins glowing bright pink whenever he took DEEP gulps. With each loud, wet, sloppy intake the fox’s cries became softer, and softer, until it was nothing more than inaudible whimpers.

100%....

Compound Result: Success

New Epicitem created: “Fang of the Gorgon”

—-----------------

Author's Note

Hello everypony! For those curious on what lil ole Pwinx looks like, here is a small picture I sketched up a little while ago! Next chapter will hopefully be a bit longer and more fleshed out, so stay tuned if your still enjoying Jonathan's series of unfortunate events XD

Pwinx!

I Guess I'm a Fox Dad Now...?

‘How did it come to this…?’ That was the initial thought that ran through Jonathan’s mind as he sat on the large rock inside his little cave camp. Laying curled up in his lap was the tiny form of a fox cub, sleeping soundly and comfortably. The man let out a soft sigh, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to wrack his brain to remember.

“You know very well how it came to this, fucking dumbass…” Pwinx huffed, appearing on his shoulder causing the man to groan quietly, running hands down either side of his face. In that very moment the memories came flowing back to him, and it all started because of this skill. With one hand gently petting the red fox, the other opened the tome interface. Passing the inventory he took note of the new item cozily stashed in with his “weapons''.

____________________

Item Compression

____________________

Item Compression is a skill born from the insistent and continuous creation of a singular item. “What is life but a gamble…?” or in this case, what is a real gamble if you aren’t betting not just the material items, but also your very life?

Item Compression is a risk reward skill that takes items in bulk and harnesses the power of one’s mana in order to fuse them together. In turn creating a randomized, more powerful, higher tier item. The more items stacked together, the higher the chance of receiving a better item on a successful compression. Unfortunately this better item comes with additional sacrifices, with deathly increasing mana drain inflicted on the user the more items are input into the compressing stack.

Successful compressions refund 15% of all mana poured into the item without decreasing the item’s value or rarity. These deadly trade offs mean that users attempting Item Compression should use this skill at their own risk. Failed Item Compression attempts consume all the bulk materials, and no mana will be refunded, vanishing into the Aether.

Skill Rarity: Rare
User’s Familiarity: 1 / 1000

Combat Familiarity: N/A

Mana Requirements: Medium - Very High

Track Materials: Inactive

Combat Damage: N/A
Combat Range: N/A
Combat Speed: N/A
Combat Grade: N/A

Scaling Potential: S++

Enchantments: N/A
Enchantment Scaling: N/A

____________________

14 Hours Ago

“J……..ona…….Jona…..JONATHAN WAKE UP!”

Jonathan awoke with a gasp of air, his body jerking upright into the sitting position against the mossy cave wall. The rays of sunlight peeked through the hole in the cave ceiling, the heat warming his tingling feet. The man wretched, gagging on air before promptly rolling onto his hands and knees to throw up. Glowing, bioluminescent sludge poured from his gaping mouth, pooling onto the stone floor in a sickly pile. With trembling hands and a light head Jonathan got himself to his feet.

“Ughh…my head…what happened?” The man croaked with dry lips, rubbing his eyes while the world rocked from side to side. It took all he had not to vomit again, trembling where he stood.

“YOU ALMOST DIED! You fucking dumbass! Do you have ANY idea how worried I was?! If your stupid ass dies I-I wouldn’t be able to do anything!” Pwinx screamed, causing Jonathan to fall onto his ass, thankfully opposite to the vomit pile stinking up the cave with its sickly sweat stench. He clutched his head as a tidal wave of insults, some that weren't even in English were thrown in his face. This of course didn’t help the aching pain that was burrowed into his skull, wreaking havoc on his brain. The raging pink imp was flying in his face, face bright blue in anger, fists clenched, and eyes glowing the deepest shade of red.

“Whaa…what happened…? Ugh…my head, everything hurts…I feel so…drained…?” Jonathan slurred, sliding his back down the cave wall. Pwinx’s angry expression softened to a much more concerned one, sighing loudly in frustration as the infuriating man tried to understand, or make sense of anything that happened.

“You are suffering from mana cellular deficiency, your body was slowly deteriorating due to the lack of mana. Nothing in this world can exist without mana, so without it your body will gradually break down any organic material to compensate. Blood, stomach acid, muscle cells, even bone matter…until gradually you waste away. During that process your brain will draw you to the closest source of mana in order to consume it…like those mushrooms over there.” Pwinx growled, motioning to the pile of glowing fungal growths.

“NNgg…I remember eating those…but what are they? And uh…wait…do you hear that?” Jonathan’s attention steered from the dull pain resonating from his revitalized form to the faint sounds of whimpering. Over towards the dark corners of the cave, the man could see two blobs concealed by shadow. The closer he came, the louder the whimpers became. The blobs grew in detail, taking the accurate form of two foxes…or at least ONE of them could be identified as one.

“This…is what happens to creatures who are completely devoid of mana for extended periods…like the fox you drained in your feral stupor…” Pwinx mumbled, looking away from the remains of the dead fox. The adult animal was thin, its skin tightly hugging its skeleton to the point of tearing in multiple places. Its lush fur had fallen out in gray clumps, both eyes glazed over into milky white orbs. The veins were blackened, presumably the body trying to metabolize blood into mana to stave off the sudden drain.

“I…I did this…?” Jonathan looked over the disturbing remnants of the fox mother, holding his stomach as the nausea returned. “How…how could I have possibly done something like this…?” He whispered, his eyes focusing on the remains of his kill. Normally he wouldn’t feel something like this, it was an animal, a wild animal, nothing more…but something was so off about it. The way its…its pup was mourning over the remains of its presumed mother, it felt too…lifelike.

“I had no choice…I had to draw out two of the darkest remnants from Dezmond’s origin magic. Mana Sense, and Mana Vampirism, both of which were automatically triggered during your feeding frenzy…this Fox unfortunately was the closest source of sustenance. You had eaten through the mushrooms faster than the forest could regenerate them, if you hadn’t done it you would have died before the item processing could be complete.” Pwinx explained, watching sadly as the fox pup continued its mourning, whining into its mother’s belly.

“That…and the fact that if you had failed the item processing, you would have passed out before you could regain healthy mana reserves. That 15% mana refund was what kept you barely from death’s doorstep.” Pwinx mumbled, floating onto Jonathan’s shoulder while he watched the smaller pup.

Jonathan, filled with guilt, slowly approached the small creature, crouching down beside it while its muzzle continued to nestle into its mother’s belly. He tried to reach out but in an instant the small beast lashed at him, its sharp teeth sinking in between his pointer and thumb finger. It bit down hard, gnawing on the flesh, but…it didn’t hurt, instead it just felt mildly painful, never even breaching the skin.

The young creature’s jaws were weak, either from emotional distress or perhaps a youthful birth defect. With his other hand he would tightly hug the struggling beast whose eyes were filled with tears rolling down its fuzzy cheeks. When Jonathan looked into its eyes, he could see the pain, the loss, the rage, and most of all...the fear of loneliness. His hand that had been cradling the pup, while the other began soothingly stroking the top of its head after removing his hand from its maw. The three sat there, with Jonathan letting the creature bite, scratch, and thrash itself at him to let out the pent up rage. After a couple minutes the young beast fell asleep in his arms, completely drained.

“I'm sorry little one…I…I promise to make this right...I promise…”

Present

“It's the least you could do, without a mother SHE will perish, from what the stats dictate she was born with weak jaw strength, the only surviving runt of a litter...her mother was her only means of survival. Just know that if you do this, there is no going back...till death do you part.” Pwinx said firmly while watching Jonathan feed the red fox chunks of fresh fruit. After a long time of gnawing, angry yapping, and whining by her mother’s grave, the fox pup came around when Jonathan offered it food he had pulverized into juicy slop.

The animal seemed to begrudgingly accept the human’s help and his head scratches…seemingly never leaving his side. “I understand…besides, I always wanted a pet…could never have one growing up. Not to mention my lease prevented any dogs in my studio apartment.” He laughed softly, staring down at the status box displayed by the tome. “So if I accept this fox as my personal tame, it gains the benefits of the tome in full…? If that's the case, then presumably it can grow stronger under your tutelage right?” Pressing the accept key resulted in a small box popping up in his view.

Please insert name for your pet

_______

“That's correct, the tome while also bestowing knowledge on individuals under its possession, also have the added benefits of accelerated development. Knowledge is power, and such power can easily be granted to entities capable of sentience. While she isn’t the smartest of animal creatures, she is capable of improving over time…until she is able to develop enough I’ll personally see to it that she receives the proper skills for her healthy growth.” Pwinx said smoothly while Jonathan pondered on a name. After a moment of silence and watching the fox eat her fill, his eyes widened, fingers snapping at a sudden epiphany.

Please insert name for your pet

Aelita

Jonathan hit confirm causing a glimmering blue light to envelop the fox while she ate away at the fruit resting on her leafy plate. The aura of arcane energy circled around her formulating into a tiny halo with her new name hovering just above it in white text ‘Aelita’. Along with the sudden appearance of her name, the basic information for his new companion popped up just from the corner of his vision.

Aelita

Aelita, a young Red Everfree Fox orphaned during a tragic accident, given new purpose and security in the company of Overlord Dezmond. Her youth and sentience gives her great potential to flourish under the tutelage of her Overlord.
Note: While unable to perform strong biting attacks, this pup has the unique ability to move extremely quickly, with ample room for agility based skills to be learned over time.
Skills Learned: Bite (F), Claw (E), Intimidating Growl (E)
Spells Known: (None)
Resistances: Cold Damage
Weaknesses: Poison Damage
Natural Habitat: Red Foxes are commonly found in the south west regions of Equestria, however their existence can be found in the Everfree’s anomalous zone which serves as the perfect habitable zone for them to live in peace. Everfree Fox creatures obtain a unique skill allowing them to store excess mana within their body, however there are no known instances of them converting their mana into magic spells.

“Intriguingly, Everfree Foxes can store excess mana…? Maybe later along the line we can teach her some special moves. Heh…I feel like a Pokémon master…” He smiled softly, looking over his new pet’s stats. In addition to seeing her name he could see her health status which was thankfully a green 'Healthy’. He scratched his chin, thinking with a low rumble escaping his throat. ‘When I fed on her mother her excess mana might have been the reason why I was able to survive the rest of my processing skill, speaking of…’ He thought while retrieving the new dagger from within his inventory.
The dagger itself was unlike conventional stone daggers he had been crafting, this one lacked a bladed edge to it, rather a singular spike with interlocking snake skulls wrapping around the hilt. Its weight and consistency was that of premium stone, high quality for its legendary rarity. The weight was balanced evenly like a true blade, allowing Jonathan to swiftly thrust, jab, and pose with the knife in one hand.

____________________

Fang of The Gorgon

____________________

—-------------------

This blade was intricately carved from the hands of a brilliant Minotaurian craftsman from the stone flesh of his petrified brother, cursed by the claws of a Gorgon Equine. Reinforced by the raw, unadulterated rage and grief, wrapped in burned leather near the hilt, this piercing weapon perfectly replicates the petrifying effects of “Gorgon’s Petrification.” (Increase Combat Familiarity For More Lore)
Note: Rather than a dexterous style most thrusting weapons require, the weight calibration of the weapon allows the user to use their strength for each stabbing jab.
Material Repair Requirements: Petrified Stone (x8), Burned Leather Strips (x5) Great Mana Stone (3x) Gorgon Fangs (x4)-
Durability: Very High
Crafter’s Familiarity: 0 / 100
Combat Familiarity: 2 / 100
Mana Requirements: Low
Track Materials: Inactive
Combat Damage: A++
Combat Range: C++
Combat Speed: B+
Enchanting Potential: B+
Weapon Grade: S+
Weapon Damage Type: Piercing
Enchantments: Enhanced Durability (B+), Iron Stone (A+), Elemental Blade: Earth (C+)
Enchantment Scaling: A
Innate Skills: “Gorgon’s Petrification”

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Gorgon’s Petrification

…………………….

“Gorgon’s Petrification” uses the concentrated power of dark nature magic, harnessed by the infamous Gorgon Equine species of the Badlands. Unlike the Cockatrice, the effects of their "Stone to Flesh" magic are not limited to the first few layers of flesh being affected. The Gorgon’s version of petrification when active freezes through and through, rendering them susceptible to the “Shattering Effect”.
Afflicted limbs or points that are shattered are incapable of being grown back, regenerated, or healed, rendering them petrified permanently or until reversed by a high tier of a “Stone to Flesh” spell.
Petrification is a slow buildup depending on the size of the creature, when the bar is filled a stack of petrification is applied across the body. Large creatures gradually lose feeling in their limbs on the first stack, the second stack petrifies the limbs, and the third stack will fully petrify the large target solid.
Note: Petrified targets take increased damage from impact damage, Lethal blows to a creature will also guarantee an instant petrification on any opponent.

____________________

“God damn, this thing is fucking CRAZY! Petrification, AND permanent dismemberment…? I gotta make sure that this thing doesn't prick my fucking fingers…” Jonathan gawked at how strong the weapon was. Such power in the wrong hands could easily drop thousands in his world, and seeing as the weapon only seems to require one stack to affect small or average sized opponents, an assassin could likely slay with this piercing blade easily.
He twirled the weapon between his fingers, the momentum of which caused it to slip from his grasp, and fly into the thick wooden roots growing along the cave walls. The weapon easily slid a couple inches in, the plant’s wooden flesh slowly turning to stone in a rapid display of the blade’s legendary powers. With trembling hands he slowly pulled the knife from the stone, holding it in both hands. “I don’t think I can use this…I-I…hmn…emergencies, I’ll only use it in an emergency, this is just…too cruel to use on someone.”

“Don’t worry Dezmond…it's understandable, petrification is one thing…but shattering someone is something else, it's painful…the stone eats away at the flesh, saturating all life until nothing is left but cold, unfeeling stone.” Pwinx said softly, his patient and kind expression shining through his annoyance for the stupid human he had been saddled up with. “But just know you’ll need to use it eventually, no matter how inhumane it might seem, you have a duty to fulfill…”

“Yea…my duty…” Jonathan stared at the dagger, a mix of emotions flowing through him as he twisted the onyx black stone in his grip, squeezing it tight. In that brief moment he hadn't realized that he was squeezing it enough for his knuckles to turn white. With a shaky sigh he closed his eyes and placed the deadly weapon into his tome inventory. “Hmn…I think it's about time we explore further out from the waterfall, we mapped out a good 8 kilometers in a square, and we should find more supplies further out from here. Pwinx…can you do a ping for any points of interest around the area I’ve explored..?”
“Right…hold on for a second…” Pwinx paused, pulling up a small screen on the tome, his eyes glowing bright blue.

There was a loud thump as blue energy rippled from where they stood. The waves of the tome’s magic resonated, through the ancient forest, rolling across rocks, around trees, and across rivers a plenty, all within the areas he had explored during his time in the Everfree. The waves came crashing back, right into Jonathan’s face as if his head had been struck with a sledgehammer of knowledge.

Everything became clear, and from what the map in the top corner of his optical screen dictated, there was a point of interest a couple 18 kilometers past the fog of war in unexplored territory. Like when he had to track the materials for his pants and other crafting projects, various icons popped up overhead, most of them coming up as question marks. If this really was scanned from his brain to act as an open world RPG, then when he got closer the name of his location should be cataloged. Where he stood was a personal heaven that he had come to call “The Grove”, its location always present in his field of view, and easily relocatable thanks to his nifty arrow guide back.

“Ok good...should be a simple journey…then again if it ends up like that run-in I’ve had with that huge Manticore, I at least have something to defend myself with. Lets try and keep a low profile…that means keeping chatter to a MINIMUM…Pwinx.” He shot the pink imp a look causing him to pout and stick his tongue out. Jonathan rolled his eyes, going to his belongings in order to pick out the perfect gear to take with him on his trip.

The tome did wonders in the way of preserving items, leaving them completely intact, fresh, and clean as they were when entering, almost as if they were frozen in time whilst in his inventory. ‘I wouldn’t put it past The Author to enchant this thing with time bending spells, perhaps I can exploit this feature later along the line?’ Jonathan shoulder his recurve bow and tied his quiver to his hip for easy access to ammunition.

Back when he was in his world he was an excellent marksman with both a bow and a pistol, having ample time to refine his craft during many summer camps. ‘Let's hope I haven’t gotten rusty…I never shot at live game before, only targets and dummy animals’ He thought to himself while slipping his stone hatchet into his leafy thigh holster.

Looking out towards the veil of water concealing his camp, he lightly bit his bottom lip. Nerves were wreaking havoc on his body, preventing him from taking that first step from his safe heaven. It wasn't until he felt something soft and warm crawl up his leg, resting on his shoulder that the cold clutches of fear were broken.

It was Aelita, she had somehow crawled up his pant leg and found her new home under his ghillie-shaw, her head poking out to sniff the side of his face. The man let out a soft chuckle, watching his new pet’s wide eyes look ahead, a comical look of determination on her little face. Seeing this filled the man with a new wave of determination allowing him to step out into the new dawn that had settled over the Everfree

Author's Note

Rarity Table

Common: White
Uncommon: Green
Rare: Blue
Legendary: Purple
Divine: Gold

(Lol sorry about the roughness this chapter, I plan to run through and tweak a few things! ^^)

Phantoms In The Night

POV

Captain Smolder

The loud buzzing and chirping of the Everfree, an ominous cacophony of sound that bleated out into the early morning. Despite the charming and beautiful appearances on the outside, this grand forest was anything but those things at its core. Dangerous monsters, abnormal weather patterns, strange magic, and animals that tend to their own devices rather than embracing the domestic lifestyle that civilization brought. That's why it came as a rather annoying pain in Captain Smolder Spear’s flank when he heard the dramatic winning of the element bearer, generosity whining in the back.

“Egads! These wretched insects are getting in my beautiful mane! Ugh! Spiiiike, be a dear and fetch me my net hat?” The unicorn called to the dragon who seemed to follow the equine’s every beck and call, to the point that the captain was wondering if the little drake was a slave. When Spike retrieved the wide brimmed purple hat, Rarity used her magic to gently float it onto her head. She neatly began tucking her violet curls into a bun beneath the secure confines of her stylish travel accessory.

It only took one nudge of her manicured hoof for the white bug veil to come flopping down. It was all of course to keep any of the local pests from buzzing in her face. If it weren't for the fact this mission was so serious, the captain might have snorted at the rather annoying display. The mare rewarded the dragon with a soft and affectionate pat on his head, the act alone causing the drake to quake as he walked alongside her.

Flapping above them Fluttershy looked around, occasionally stopping on one of the trees, her hooves lightly running along the smooth bark. Her usual timid expression was melted away in order to give birth to one of mixed confusion and concern. It was only one that the captain had only seen when his scouts were actively observing anomalies in the environment. Floating down beside twilight with a leaf between her teeth she seemed to speak low, but with a little bit of base to her voice.

“T-Twilight, something isn’t right…my animal friends that live this far in aren’t responding to my calls, the habitat is acting strange too. L-Look…” Fluttershy stopped with Twilight who had been at the time scribbling notes down in a brown book, presumably an expedition log stopped to look at the simple leaf. The sudden halt to their steady tempo irked the Captain, but he said nothing other than giving his forward advancing troops a sharp whistle.

Holding one hoof up in the ‘hold’ gesture, caused the front end of the forward marching party to stop, along with the rest in the long line back. The positioning of his guards encased the caravan’s straight shaped line, with an arrow formation of Earth Pony spearmen leading and protecting the rear. They would be supported by the unicorn battle mages behind them, formed in a neat firing line. Traversing by air flanking either side of the caravan were the Pegasus units, watching perched from the branches of trees when they stopped on command.

Three air scouts were sent ahead of the expedition to both validate Miss Daring Do’s route, and to ensure that no threats may be lying in wait. With every moment they remained stationary it made Captain Smolder more antsy. His hardened gaze peering into every dark corner of the Everfree within his sight, sizing every bush like a Manticore was gonna leap out. His golden unicorn magic tightly grasped the handles to his massive glaive, “The Sun Sliver”.

While most Unicorns focused on long range engagements, the Captain preferred to tangle with the threat head on like an Earth Pony. This role and combat style he used for battle went down in history as the first ever Magus warrior pony. His unique skill was to direct his magic flow from his horn to his hooves, then to his weapon to magically amplify his spells. It made him quite the foe to reckon with through his career. Even during training both Celestia and Prince Shining Armor were present for both his knighting and promotion to Captain of The Royal Guard.

“These Everfree leaves are growing all wrong, they have more veins then they should…and l-look!” Using her wings Fluttershy lightly split the leaf in half, slowly pulling them apart to reveal a sappy, glowing, shimmering blue substance that roped the two ends together. Whatever it was, the substance smelled oddly sweet, uncomfortably so to the point that both Twilight and the captain scrunched up their snouts ever so slightly.

“Hmm…these plants, I’m no expert at botany, but even so…I’m positive that Everfree leaves never had that kind of scent or consistency to them when split…wait, hold up a moment Flutters, don’t move.” Twilight mumbled, her magic holding up her booklet and quill.

“E-eep! O-okay…” Fluttershy squeaked, holding the leaf in either of her trembling wingtips while her friend examined the leaf. Both her and Captain Smolder would watch as Twilight tapped the gem on her bracelet before closing her eyes. It only took a brief moment of uncomfortable silence before the Alicorn mare would open her eyes again.

“Fluttershy…? Where did you find this particular leaf?” Twilight asked with a skeptical look, her eyes focused on the seemingly insignificant leaf. Fluttershy motioned with a hoof to the tree she flew down from with Twilight’s gaze following her friend’s hoof all the way. Twilight would close her eyes again, staring at the tree in question only to let out a small gasp that caused Fluttershy to jump.

“W-w-w-what is it T-Twilight?” The element of Kindness barely managed to stammer out just as her friend’s softly glowing eyes opened. Twilight turned to Smolder Spear with a grim expression.

“Captain, send a scroll ahead to tell the scouting party to hold position, we are gonna halt and set camp for the night here. I need to take further samples of these trees…something is wrong here, very, very wrong.” The sudden seriousness within the princess’s voice made the Captain stand rigid in his gold plated armor, his glaive pointing up as he gave the mare his salute.

“As you wish princess, lieutenant Twinkles! Send the forward marching party the message to hold and secure their position until further notice, and to send us that status report.” He barked at his guards, rallying them into swift action. One of the supporting Unicorn mages swiftly wrote off on a parchment before promptly rolling it up and burning it in the transport lantern connected to the broken off scouting party. Another similarly wrote more detailed notes but these went back to the guards in the rear of the caravan

.Twilight approached the tree with saddlebags in hoof, removing a small sample kit from her bag. "Applejack! I need your assistance please!” Twilight called back a couple hundred hooves from their position. Applejack, the element mare of honesty, broke off from Pinkie Pie’s side, running full gallop to Twilight who was positioning a metal tap up against the tree. With the telekinetic swing of a hammer, the metal spike of the tree sap tap was buried into the smooth bark of the tree.

“What is it Twi? What's with the whole tap thang…ah doubt y’all be collectin sap to make some Everfree syrup up here.” The country mare smirked, raising a brow as she blew up causing some loose blond mane to blow softly from her eyes. The Captain knew a strong mare when he saw one, and the rumors he heard were certainly not that far off describing her. Applejack wasn’t the tallest of the Apples, average height at best for a mare her age. She made up for that with heavy amounts of muscle that surpassed the typical Earth Pony.

“I want your opinion on this tree…do you see or feel anything off about it?” Twilight asked calmly while the rest of the group broke off behind them. The straight line caravan had broken off into three camps, each setting up as planned while the two examined the tree.

Applejack rested her hoof on the rough bark of the tree, closing her emerald green eyes slowly, feeling along the rough surface. The gem on her bracelet glowed, causing her hooves to stiffen briefly. After a moment of adjusting to this new sight she ran her forehoof along the surface in a circular motion, her ear pressing against the tree as if holding it in a loving embrace.

“Ah…Ah ain’t seen anythang like this Twi...When Granny picked our soil and had us examine our trees, they had this certain…feelin to um if ya catch mah drift. It was a family secret, one that helped us know if them trees were gonna give us good fruit that harvest..” Applejack continued to drag her hooves along the bark, focusing them at a specific part just above the sap tap.

“Really…? Well, what do you feel right now about this particular tree?” Twilight asked while leaning in closer to the orange mare who had furrowed her brow into a confused glare while her eyes shut, her ear square against the tree now.

“I…Ah know it sounds weird Sugarcube, but ah think this tree is angry…that's the best ah could describe it right now. It feels like it's eyein me up somethin fierce, but really it feels like it's eyein you...like it’s barely being restrained…beggin to be let off the leash.” Applejack opened her eyes, the green irises glowing a soft shade of lime green.

“Hmm...very strange…thanks Applejack…” Twilight said quietly, swallowing the golf ball sized knot in her throat from her friend’s creepy input. The tap slowly oozed a thick glob of purplish sludge into a glass vial which she promptly corked off when it filled a quarter of the way up. She removed the tap from the bark before watching with in slight apprehension as the hole it left behind slowly closed.

Applejack nodded while adjusting her Stetson with a disgruntled, and rather perturbed feeling streaking across her seemingly unshakable resolve. To Captain Smolder the mare looked like a soldier who had looked into the field of battle, saw something that they wish they could take back, but this wasn’t a battlefield, this wasn’t a war, it was a leap into the unknown.

This was a Celestia. God. Damn. Tree. Nothing more, nothing less, just another creepy thing in a long list of disturbing things in this humid jungle of chaos. Nothing about this place made sense, so trying to put logic or reason to it in Smolder’s opinion was nothing more than a waste of time. Swinging his halberd within his magical grip he sliced a Parasprite flying by in half without even looking, the creature disappearing in a puff of white smoke.

“Second lieutenant… have all fliers position in the treetops, I want 24/7 eyes on those woods, make sure that each camp keeps their fire lit, if anything changes, toss the pink signal crystal powder into the flames. The barriers around the camp sites can only be maintained for so long, we can't have any gaps in maintaining the spells.” Smolder ordered, his cold look unchanging, a continuous stare that kept his guards in a constant state of unrest, something that needed to be done less they be struck while their tails were up.

POV

Twilight Sparkle

The Mobile Lab, one of Twilight's more brilliant inventions, for when somepony wanted to do science on the go. The steam powered trailer was drawn by two powerful Earth Pony guards, both equipped with purple armor as the princess’s personal guard. Ever since her coronation to becoming an Alicorn it had the added benefits of hoof picking her own guardsponies. Each one chosen was picked for their individuality and free spirit, allowing her to mesh well with them both on and off duty.

With the guards unhitched and pleasantries exchanged, Twilight pulled the lever resting on the back of the trailer. The result was a slow, fluid, and graceful process which drew the curious eyes of many ponies as it fully unfolded. Upon finishing the process a series of tables, wall mounted gear, and the coal powered generator were elegantly fixed in place. WIth test tubes, magnifying gem scopes, and machines at her disposal, the scientist Alicorn was ready to work on the samples she had collected.

The night was filled with soft and quiet banter with the Pegasus keeping diligent watch over the camp and beyond while Twilight worked. Her friends were the ones doing the most chatting, with two of them broken off into each camp. Rainbow Dash and Applejack in camp three, Pinkie Pie and Rarity at camp two, lastly Fluttershy and Twilight herself at one. Spike as usual kept stuck to Rarity while she pampered the drake with treats a plenty. Thankfully Applejack was able to keep RD in check so she wouldn’t crush poor Daring Do with all her fanfilly inquiries and autograph requests.

Beneath the Microscope Twilight gazed upon the mysterious blue sap that had been drawn from the tree. With the slightest twist of the crystal she could peer into the petri dish in different visual spectrums. She watched as xylem cells were consumed by a seemingly alien blue mass.

“Hmmm…” Twilight hummed, squinting her eyes as she peered in closer at the cellular predators feasting on the sap’s plant cells.

It churned them up then began spitting them out as more purple tinted cells, similar to the flood of green that they once were. Something was changing every cell, splitting them into these strange purple replicants. Taking out a long, thin, microscopic probe with her magic, she gently began moving it into the frame of her microscope lenses. She sank it into the cluster of purple cells, and with the slightest flash of her horn sent a thin stream of her magic into the cluster of the purple cell clones. The result was an instant reaction, the purple cells thrashing wildly, almost as if they were being energized by her magic. “Amazing…” Twilight muttered under her breath.

The cells when given the slightest drip of magic would pulse, actively throbbing a bright violet color, to the tandem of a resting heartbeat. It was an incredible yet unnerving sight to behold. However just as quick as it began it stopped, the cells gradually seeming to burst like balloons, dying out. ‘Now way…it's only been this long and the cells are already dying…? Maybe they can’t survive long outside the tree?’ She thought.

These notes along with many others were written down in her notes, as well as an accurate drawing of the cells she witnessed, naming these purple replicant cells “Imposter Cells” seeing as no noted micro bacteria or viral contaminants documented could be paired to this anomalous virus. It acted like a virus, the blue blob consuming and replacing normal cells with these Imposter Cells. Whatever they were, it would seem that whatever landed in the Everfree was not only mutating things at a magical level, but a cellular one too.

“What is it that they are mutating into…?” Twilight mumbled under her breath just as she was snapped from her stupor by something out of the corner of her eye. It was a flicker of white light just as she was blinking. She had inadvertently seen something move while her eyes were shut, an unfamiliar aura. When she closed her eyes again she could see the forest more clearly than before, observing the familiar auras that the Solar guards were attached to, as well as the kindness aura that tethered itself to Fluttershy. It accumulated as a pink and butter yellow fog that surrounded her in a wispy outline.

The trees were different, up close they had a green aura, however further away it seemed to have encroaching veins of purple and blue consuming it. What really caught her attention out of all the auras was the moving white blob, and rather than a misty cloud it seemed to take on a more solid shape. It weaved in and out of trees, slowly moving, but when she opened her eyes the blob had nothing attached to it…?

Twilight squinted her eyes, moving from her position at the desk and towards where the white blob had been moving. Fluttershy, who had been silently munching her daisy sandwich, saw this and slowly went after her friend. She was concerned as to why she was leaving the safety of the camp, and what for. “I-Is everything ok Twilight…?”

The purple Alicorn nodded before softly shushing her friend. “I think I saw something…I wanna check it out…” She whispered, moving further and further from the glow of the campfire. When Twilight closed her eyes again she saw the white blob, this time with more detail the longer she closed her eyes. It was bipedal, walking on two muscular legs, broad torso, and arms that seemed to stretch slightly down to its waist.

The being was similar to that of a minotaur mixed with the traits of a primate chimp. Each digit was curled slightly, one holding onto what appeared to be a wooden club. Its head was on a swivel, wide, intelligent, milky eyes darting around while its mouth opened and closed in soundless words. Twilight could see its lips moving, but no sound escaped, however from its mannerisms it appeared to be calling out to somepony…?

“Fluttershy…look, do you see that? Close your eyes!” Twilight whisper yelled to her friend who quietly squeaked in response before screwing her large eyes shut. Her fear melted into confusion, concern, and awe at the creature. When she opened her eyes it was gone, when closed she could see it again. The creature in her zoologist mindset could tell it was in fact a he. She was unsure of the leafy articles he was wearing, presumably clothes, though one thing was for certain, this poor creature was scared.

“I-It looks like he's trying to avoid something…a-and he doesn't appear to see us…wait…why is it stopping?” Fluttershy stammered out as both friends watched the creature stop in his tracks. The creature turned its head, looking around like it heard something, then seemingly locked eyes with both ponies. His face contorted into one of alarm and terror, lips opening and closing in a pleading series of vocalizations that neither could hear, its weapon was raised in defense.

[WARNING BLOOD AND GORE: Start]

“Don’t worry we aren’t here to hurt you…we just need to ask you some ques-” Twilight started and stopped from the sudden jerk of the creature’s aura. He fell backwards as if something invisible had tackled him to the dirt. His terror stricken face morphed to one of pain as he soundlessly screamed. Claw marks slashed down his chest, slicing open the leafy shirt it had been wearing to reveal the gaping 4 cuts along his torso.

His neck jerked up as what looked to be teeth marks pocked the furless flesh along his neck. His upper half jerked left and right as something appeared to thrash him on the ground. In a grotesque and horrifying display his arms were jerked out. More teeth marks appeared on his forearms, forcing them out in a T shape, while his legs were also yanked out by the haws of somthing big.

These invisible creatures tugged, thrashed, and maimed the biped’s aura…or perhaps it's Phantom? More claw slashes dug into his stomach, cutting, ripping, tugging until his entrails spilled from his chest cavity like a fleshy balloon. Somehow he was still alive, eyes rolled up in their sockets while his neck gushed in the force’s maw.

With one last tug from all over his limbs were ripped from their sockets, flesh, muscle, and nerves snapping, tearing like wet noodles. His neck sharply snapped backwards, even without sound Twilight could surmise its misery only ended at the sudden neck break. Both ponies watched, pale faced, frozen with fear as the creature’s aura faded into nothing. With a violent gag Fluttershy puked her daisy sandwich up onto the floor, her eyes opening to reveal pools of tears trailing down her yellow cheeks.

[GORE END]

“W-w-w-what…c-could h-h-ave p-possibly d-d-done that…t-that poor critter…I-It was pulled apart!” Fluttershy cried out, while Twilight swayed, trying not to throw up herself. The scene was so gruesome, churning her stomach in many different ways. The mare had never seen death, nothing like this, and seeing it as it was…was traumatizing.

“F-fluttershy…we have to get back to ca-” Twilight started just as the loud growl escaped the foliage in front of the two. From it a pair of red eyes burned through the leafy green. What came leaping from the bushes was a giant wolf…a timberwolf, no… something else. It would seem that whatever mutagen was affecting the trees had also been affecting its local wildlife. The wooden wolf stood from its low 3’7 height to a staggering 5’10 on all fours alone. Each paw was lined with razor sharp stone claws which sank into the dirt.

Its birch wood chassis was layered like white armor, sticks sharpened to a point like quills diagonally running down its back. Its muzzle was opened to reveal serrated teeth and a sappy leaf tongue. Thick, long, Everfree palm leaves ran down its neck like a mane, further complimenting its horrific transformation. More of these wolves crawled from the shadows, licking their splintered fangs hungrily, some even with flecks of dark blood staining them. What little gaps in their armor showed were for the cleanly carved joints and various cracks that oozed with purple light. In the center of each Birch Hound was a beating green sphere.

The looks in their eyes…Twilight felt it, their desire, their desire not to consume…but to kill, the same feeling she had sensed within the tree, just like Applejack. It confirmed her suspicions, her deep rooted dread spreading throughout her trembling body.

The forest was coming to life…and they were not welcome here…

Echoes, Courage, and Bloodied Splinters

“Echoes, that's what they are called. Dimensional anomalies across the fabric of space and time, manifested as intangible ghosts that few can see.” Pwinx explained while watching the ghostly apparition roll and run around wildly from an invisible force. Jonathan sat in the bush silently, watching the white ghost of what seemed to be another version of himself dodge and run around. The ghostly construct looked terrified, almost as if trying to avoid something out of the three’s perspective.

“Echo’s huh…Why does he kinda look like me? I mean, I can kinda guess why but I want to hear it from you.” The Jona whispered, wincing as the echo version of himself was tackled to the ground by something. His momentary thrashing was interrupted by a slight jerk of his chest caving inward like he had just been stabbed by something. Seconds later the apparition faded into nothing.

“They look like you because after your duties had been assigned by The Author, infinite versions of yourself across infinite versions of Equis, were all funneled and locked here into this world category in particular. The resulting fragmentation of reality was the echoing effect of different versions of yourself focal points of death.” The Imp said as another echo ghost appeared from behind a tree. This one was wearing leather armor, rolling, dodging, twirling a stone spear skillfully in his hands. He seemed to be fighting well until something seemed to tackle him from above, ending him in a swift mauling.

“This is where many of your counterparts have fallen, a graveyard of their last moments that are repeated. They serve as a warning, and a way to learn from their mistakes moving forward.” Pwinx explained with a small frown as each entity faded away in the clearing. Jonathan nodded his head in acknowledgement, slinking his way around the death field to avoid provoking what might have been the cause of his echo counterpart’s demise.

“In that case it would seem there must be a reason for their convergence on this location, the arrow radar is being really finicky with wherever this point of interest is located.” With his bow drawn he kept his body low, letting the natural camouflage that his shaw and hood provided conceal him from potential prying eyes.

During their hike through the slowly darkening forest it had been made known to him by his floating guide that he had long since acquired night vision. This made traversing the forest in darkness just as easy as hiking in the daylight.

[Dark Gore Warning]

Jonathan’s hands pushed aside the massive palm leaves, revealing the source of the hovering question mark on his map. The hot stench of blood and decay was potent in the air. The corpses and remains of what looked to be a supply caravan were strewn sloppily all over the place. Carriages which were supposed to be hitched to horses laid in bloodied tatters, their contents spilling free in messy piles. The equines that were meant to be attached were well…only half way attached from what the man could see.

Jonathan had been trying to grapple with the reality that this was actually the world of My Little Pony. That this was a children’s show that he watched once or twice at the behest of his younger relatives when he would be babysitting them. Looking at the bloodied remains of the pastel ponies only confirmed the macabre reality of this world. Peace, love, friendship, none of it mattered in the face of survival, or the gaping jaws of the dominant predator.

One of the blue “Earth Pony” stallions had managed to unhitch from the leading caravan. It unfortunately appeared that he only made it the first few feet before something tore the back of his neck out, bending it viciously at a 90 degree angle.

His forehooves were messily ripped from their sockets leaving bits of broken bone and torn muscle. Judging from the trails of dried blood splashed ahead, they had been dragged a couple yards ahead of him into the bushes. Behind the first was his partner in moving the carriage, a green Unicorn stallion who had been wearing what he believed to be silver plated armor.

The gear only seemed to protect its upper half because under their belly Jonathan could see that whatever got to the pony had forced itself under them. It had clawed, eaten, and gnashed away until the back hooves and haunches of the pony fell off completely. The monster had completely bisected them in the middle, letting his entrails spill out to be swarmed by the bugs.

One of the flying ponies, a Pegasus, had tried to fly up into the air, however by some means he had gotten tangled up in a thick net of Everfree vines. The way he positioned himself caused his weight to gradually lower him back to the ground where whatever had attacked the convoy more or less ripped him in two. Much like the poor bloke who was pulling the supplies along he was bisected. Entrails hung from the upper half and dangled like grotesque party streamers.

Flies buzzed around the crusty organs that had long since hardened over, leaving only stinking meat for the maggots to feed. Everywhere Jonathan looked he saw death, heads were rolled about, skulls cracked open with brains spilling into the dirt, limbs discarded, half eaten, blood splashed across the various carts. Many even appeared to have been riddled with wooden spikes, almost as if they had been repeatedly hit with throwing darts.

The worst however was yet to come, finally reaching the back of the line yielded the most horrific corpses out of them all. It was another Pegasus, a mare who had gotten stuck in the hollowed out remains of a fallen tree log. In the panic she must have tried to hide inside the dead tree, only for her hind legs and flank to end up sticking from the entrance hole. It only took one look before Jona finally caved, finding the closest bush to empty the contents of his stomach. The soft squirming under his hood signaled that Aelita was trying to peek out, to see what troubled her master.

Jonathan breathed heavily, cradling the lump where his pet was trying to wriggle out while walking briskly away from the carnage. He couldn’t bear to see this anymore, and the thought of his new baby pet having to see it made his stomach churn more than it already was.

“Pwinx…I-I can’t do this anymore, I just can’t…I have the body of a god, the potential of a lifetime, but at the end of the day I’m a writer! I write about battle, war, and death, but the only experience I ever had was hunting with my compound bow when I was a KID!” He croaked.

GORE END

Poor Jona squeezed handfuls of a tree, gritting his teeth as his eyes welled with tears. The smell, the sights, they were burned into his mind, no matter how many times he blinked he could still see their mutilated bodies flashing in his eyes. Knowing that these ponies were happy, bouncing, and sentient creatures before that made it feel as if they were normal humans.

Pwinx sighed, sitting on top of his head, staring down at the ground thinking, thinking long and hard. It was true, this wasn’t working at all…so far Jonathan wasn’t thinking like an Overlord, he had a weak stomach, brains for sure, but no will to use the god given strength to take initiative. “I…I might have an idea, but I'm not sure how well it will work. Hypothetically I can combine the ego and fortitude of Dezmond in the form of a persona, bolstering your resolve.”

“The only problem is that there is a chance that there will be lingering side effects. Essentially I would be fusing both of your personalities together, in tandem with his sealed memories with yours. Both you and Him will be sharing a body, the possibilities are endless as to how this long journey will play out.” Pwinx mumbled softly while looking through the various sealed fragments locked deep inside Jonathan’s mind. One wrong move and Jonathan would be lost forever, his mind completely subsumed by the memories of Dezmond.

“I have to…Pwinx, I’m weak, I'm pathetic, and you know it’s true, and If my only way out of here is to slay gods, I need his strength, his courage, and his fighting spirit. In this world Jonathan can’t survive on his own, so why not Dezmond.” He hissed, feeling the stinging of the flowing tears. Inside he felt awful, unable to do anything, but that was about to change. With Pwinx at the controls he looked upon the defragmented data with a worried look gracing his soft face. He had failed Jonathan as a mentor, a guide, but perhaps with this giant leap into the unknown he could be better to him, to THEM.

“Beginning Ego Synchronization…”

It felt like a switch had been flipped off, plunging the human man into the dark abyss he had grown so accommodated to. Unlike before he could move about freely, as if he were walking on cold cement. Each step he made left glistening blue ripples about on the non existent floor.

He watched them move outward, endlessly progressing towards an equally non-existent horizon. “Did I die…?” That was the first thought that left his mind through his lips. The words echoed loudly across the endless chasm of space that comprised this awkward void.

“Nope, though personally I think it feels like it…I call it “The Mindscape…” Another voice mirroring his own rang out in all directions. From the shadows a figure would emerge, with every step creating bright purple ripples that clashed with Jonathan’s whilst he backed away. The form took shape and color, and when it did there was just something so surreal about it. Standing at eye level with Jonathan was well…himself…no, Dezmond, the real Dezmond.

“Are you…him?” He asked dubiously, raising a hand to point at his double who had both hands resting in the waistband of his plant fiber pants. His purple eyes shone throughout the void like a spotlight, illuminating and reflecting off the constantly liquid state of the darkness beneath both their feet.

“I suppose you could say that, It's strange…isn’t it? Looking, talking, interacting with someone who looks exactly like you? Gotta admit it's kinda cool too, they say the best friend you can possibly make is with yourself right? That's besides the point, I know why you're here…please take a seat.” Dezmond snapped his fingers, causing the darkness around them to shape into lawn chairs.

One was thematically purple, the other was blue, and both sat almost at the same time side by side. Neither had been looking at one another, just looking out into infinite nothingness. “Yea, I know, I’m here because I’ve come to the conclusion that I am weak, I’m spineless, and pathetic. I have all the tools to take on anything in my path yet I don't seem to have the strength to use it. I’m not like you Dezmond."

"Putting it bluntly you are the fantasies that I had when I was a moronic, horny, and young asshole living it up in high school. You are everything that I wished I could be, powerful, handsome, tall, and unstoppable…and without knowing It, your stories were the reasons I aspired to become an author in the first place, to lose myself in YOUR world.” Jonathan said with his hands resting over his stomach, his blue eyes coming to a close.

“And now that I’m given the chance to do so…I can’t seem to do it on my own.”

Dezmond hummed softly, listening to each word with a slight nod of his head each time, his face devoid of any emotion. There was a brief moment of silence that tied the two together, only broken by Dezmond’s low, jovial, and amused chorus of laughter. This only caused Jonathan to slump forward, placing his head in his hands.

“So you're gonna keep pitying yourself hm...? Sorry to be the one to say this buddy, but you really are pathetic…heh. That's why I’m gonna be the one to whip you into shape, so you can take on this new world with a crazy smile and more tales to tell.”

“Even with my memories suppressed, I could tell you that my existence, the one YOU orchestrated, was boring. I was the strongest spanning across the entire multiverse, a force with no equal. You're the weakest…so I couldn’t think of the perfect person to mentor, to work with...” Dezmond’s hand gripped Jonathan’s hair, tugging his head up so their cheeks were pressed side by side.

The purple eyed duplicate had a wild, excited, and bubbly expression while Jonathan’s face looked concerned, fearful, and rather unsure of the proposition. His blue eyes were bashfully looking at the ground, but he nodded nonetheless. The accumulated light from their ripples brightened, with Dezmond’s stupid grin filling Jonathan with a strange sensation, one that elevated his spirits, giving him hope for the first time in this wild reality he had be thrust into.

“Let's show this world…”

“The definition of the word…”

“...Overlord…”

Jonathan slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the forest canopy with a hazy gleam in his eyes. For once he wasn’t awoken to a splitting headache, if anything he felt more refreshed than he had ever felt in days since waking in this nightmare of a world.

The wet sensation of Aelita’s snout sniffing his prone form eased him from the fog that overtook his dulled senses. Her faint whimpering combined with Pwinx’s muffled words were what yanked him from the stupor he had been dragged through.

“Jonathan? You good…?” Pwinx asked nervously, taking note of the change in his ward’s eyes. Both were changed in color, both equally shining either purple or blue in a stunning display.

“You bet your fat ass I’m good, I’m better than ever baby!~” Jonathan rolled back, flipping forward onto his feet so he could brush the dirt from his leafy clothes. Pwinx raised a brow, tilting his head back in surprise at the sudden backbone behind the human’s words.

“Okay who are you really and what did you do with Jonathan? You aren’t some carbon copy of that jackass are you?” Pwinx asked cautiously while backing up a little. Aelita gave Jonathan a curious sniff before backing up beside the Imp while letting out a small growl. Her fluffy red and white tail wagged cautiously while giving her new master a look. Jonathan held his hands up with a small grin on his face, rolling his shoulders whilst clicking his tongue.

“Easy bubble butt, It's still me, I was just given a little ego boost is all…It feels like I have someone else on my shoulder, and a new driving force giving me this surge of strength that's hard to explain. Regardless that won’t change my standing and desire to leave this fuck trash of a world. Let's start with scavenging that dumpster fire of a caravan back there…from what I could see before losing my lunch, it might be a supply line, maybe even a group of traders trying to take a fast route through the woods.” Jonathan said with a skeptical look towards the leaves blocking the carnage from sight.

“Pwink…I want you to keep Aelita company, I don’t want her coming with me to see all this crap. If anything happens let me know, I’ll be fine on my own for a little while…if I need you, I’ll relay all the information to you mentally.” Crouching down to Aelita’s level he gave the young fox a small scratch behind her ears. His warm smile put the young pup at ease, causing her to nibble his fingers while letting out cute growls.

“So you putting ME on babysitting duty? Ugh, fine…you're just lucky she’s so fricken adorable…don’t go getting yourself killed now just because you dick grew a few inches.” Pwinx scoffed, rolling his eyes as Jonathan went about crafting two items with his newly acquired item formula.

+1 Chiseled Stone Knife Added

+1 Chiseled Stone Knife Added (2)

Both stone blades manifested in either hand, firm, sharp edged, and reliable blades that could rival that of a traditional iron dagger. The rock had been magically carved to appear similar to an average knife. The statistics, unlike his previous stone knives, were balanced, not too strong, not too weak, just right. It even held the same material costs as the weaker versions. Jonathan got a good feel for them both, the blade dancing in his hands, twirling between his fingers with a vague familiarity coming to him in waves.

Dezmond was a master of the blade, knives in particular were his personal favorite means of battling on the field, at least when he actually ended up doing the dirty deeds. With both held in a reverse grip he made his way through the foliage back to the slaughtered ponies, and all their juicy, potentially untouched loot. His leaf bound feet crunched on dead leaves and twigs, muffled only by the loud chirping of the night life.

The scene laid out before him unnerved him for sure, but not nearly as much as it had before. Dezmond served as the comforting hands on his shoulders, keeping his heart thumping at a rhythmic throb. Survival was what came first, and this caravan was a huge opportunity to change things.

It could also potentially lead to acquiring the crafting components for better gear. With the blades snuggly slid into his waistband he was able to pry the sticky, blood-soaked, iron armor from the stinking corpse of the pony half attached to the leading carriage.

+1Iron Half Plate Armor (Pony) Added

The front half of the corpse sagged into the mud, his bloated meat bursting much to Jonathan’s disgust. Moving from them to the carriage yielded much less disgusting results. The boxes that had spilled from the open sliding door contained various non perishables, bread rations, hay, some grass, and a few waxed over wheels of cheese.

When he rooted through the food stuffs he was able to acquire a bottle of milk, the dampened label reading “Milky Way’s Endearing Dairy”. The mare on the front wore what he could only describe as a navy uniform with a bow tie and an oversized officer cap.

“Huh, that outfit looks oddly cute here…yet at the same time obnoxiously alluring at the same time…” The milk, along with the other foods excluding the plant rations went into Jonathan’s tome inventory, giving him ample food supplies to bring back home. Among the various boxes were many containing collars, chains, and even some shackles, all with red gemstones clipped in where the locks would be. “Hmm…”

Skill activation: Mana Sense

Purple waves of energy traveled from his shoulder, down his arms, to the tips of his fingers grasping one of the collar’s gemstone. The shiny red ruby glimmered, radiating with magic that warmed in his grip the more he touched it. It washed over the various other shackles as well, categorizing them as similar items. His pulse along with a swift analysis identified the neck restraint as an “Enslavement Collar”. After running a hand along it the option to “ Vampirize” the magic item. ‘Strange…I get vampirism on living things but Items as well…?’

Jonathan pressed the skill activation prompt, causing the gem’s lush red color to gradually dull into a gray diamond color. He could feel the surge of power flow through his veins, energizing him in a unique way that he couldn’t put his finger on. What he didn’t expect was the acquisition of a new skill that was bound to the consumption of the item.

Spell Acquired: Dominate Mind

This was the first time Jonathan had seen the tome designate a skill as “magic” and on further examination the spell consumed a large amount of mana in order to impose one’s will forcefully or willingly on another’s mind. The only drawback was the fact it consumed so much mana to cast, rendering Jonathan unable to cast it less he wishes to suffer from the lethal effects of mana drain.

‘Pwinx, how can I increase my mana reserves?’ He asked inquisitively to his guide, causing the Imp to give pause as if he were doing something before responding in the man’s mind.

‘Think of your mana as a small puddle, in order to increase your mana you must dig deep, concentrating, meditating, and practice with appropriate skills to expand that puddle. With enough training you could make your mana deep as a well, and further along as violent, vast, and mighty as an ocean. For now I recommend you try and create or roll back certain skills to a common or uncommon level.” Pwinx said with a serious base to his voice.

“The more unorthodox and brutal method of increasing your mana is the pilfering of other’s own reserves through the vampirism skill you’ve just used on that collar. However I know what you're thinking, no you can’t just use the skill over and over on enchanted items. You have to actually use and kill creatures with it in order to boost yourself. Like Dezmond in your stories he gained his strength through the devouring of gods and other entities alike. It's a powerful shortcut, but a long, dark, and treacherous one that most habitants of this world might find uncouth.” Jonathan listened, rolling the dead, lifeless, gray gem around in his hand.

While it’s true the sensation of devouring the item’s mana felt amazing, the memories of what he did to poor Aelita’s mother flooded his mind. Her poor whimpers and rage filled eyes were the only thing he could see in his mind. Even with the requested bravado that Dezmond bolstered his mind and heart with, the idea of using such methods just to get ahead in this life felt wrong. “Yea, I think I’ll just stick to using it on items for now…besides, I found some cool skills in this enslavement collar.”

“Oh Deeeezmond~ You naughty boy, you know you don’t have to use any domination spells to make me sing~” Pwinx cooed flirtatiously causing Jonathan to gag and roll his eyes. He placed a few of the magically charged collars into his inventory before moving down the various carriages containing more supplies.

Some held bulk leather, others held scrap, no weapons other than a single spear that had been sloppily sunk into a felled tree. The metal was not iron, rather a copper based alloy, crudely and cheaply made. After giving it a small twirl he slid it onto his back along with his bow, causing both to lightly clatter together over his shaw.

Carriage after carriage was either loaded with mangled bodies, materials, or food, a lot of it being left behind to conserve inventory space. The last carriage proved to be the most useful, with a dead…Zebra…? Dressed in a tattered loincloth, various jewels, and a cloth head wrap to further decorate her pinned up dreadlocks.

The cause of death was obvious, with a large spike having embedded into her gut. She had propped herself against the back wall of the cart, a hoof resting on her gut, and the other holding what appeared to be a journal. He gripped the book lightly in both hands, respectfully removing the zebra’s hoof and placing it over the other. ‘Finally some information…’ Jonathan climbed into the carriage, taking great care not to disturb its occupant by sitting atop one of the crates.

The first thing that Jonathan realized when he opened the journal was the sophisticated handwriting for someone who didn’t have any hands. The second crippling realization that came crashing down on his head like a bag of bricks was the fact he couldn’t understand a lick that was being written on the pages. ‘Uh…Pwinx? Could you maybe decipher this side by side as I'm reading?’

Pwinx responded as quickly as he inquired. ‘Fascinating dialect…it's extremely complex for such a trivial world, but nothing I can’t crack.’ The journal slowly shimmered a bright blue, holographic slab materializing over the pages. Letter by letter the unintelligible scribbles became legible english he could mentally read aloud.

‘The forest, it is angered by our presence…the spirits that call to me are silent as the grave, leaving only an angry buzz. These ponies that have imprisoned me ask time and time again what is to be the cause, but time and time again I find myself with no answer. Wolves of timber that could fall apart at the slightest tap have become beasts born from the nightmares of dark spirits.’

‘They attack us day in and day out, feasting on the flesh of the ponies who claim to be the strongest in the lands…leaving no room for mercy. When I look into their eyes I see not the wild heart of the forest, but a spirit scorned by grief and unbridled rage. We tread on glass, in dwellings we have no business pilfering from. These changed creatures heed not their own wishes, but the desires of the forest.’

‘I watched as bipedal creatures unlike anything I have ever seen fall to forces unknown, mangled beyond recollection. I believe- no, I KNOW these serve as warnings from the other side, for when they come…the wrath of the forest soon follows.’

‘These ponies come in search of the crystals containing unfathomable power, a cave that infinitely replenishes the gems within thanks to the sacred nature spirits that linger in this place. Their feline leader knows not of the dangers, despite my cries…they go un-headed, greed blinding his every decision. The fallen heavens punish the greedy, I only hope that I may be spared…’

The pages went on and on, explaining that this Zebra was a slave, forced into servitude by a group of hardened criminals. Judging from the various tools and materials, backed up by the sorrowful tale, they were on the cusp of obtaining great riches. Said riches were powerful gems containing the raw, unrivaled power of the elements, with a legend fortelling that the Harmonic Elements were discovered in this very cave by ponies of old.

‘These stallions and mares foolishly abandon the bulk of their might, in favor of keeping it directed towards the cave. They believe that they can lure ‘The Guardian Beast of the Cave’ from its depths. I pray only that the gray pegasus mare and her filly survive, or at the very least her filly.’

‘Despite the circumstances her gilded eyes shone with hope, even as the men beat and starved her, she never gave up, shining through the dark times whilst shielding her daughter from the cruel hooves of our captors.’

‘Zecora…my sweet sister…If by some miracle of the spirits this journal reaches your hooves, I wish to apologize for never being there when you needed me most.’

Mag die geeste my huis toe lei bloed suster

(May the spirits guide me home sister)

-Tecorat

It was a strange feeling welling up in Jonathan’s chest as he read those words, looking down at the tear and blood soaked pages of a mare who had been unfairly imprisoned, violated, and exploited. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became for her, feeling the suffering she went through every single word. Not wanting the mare’s body to be desecrated he would wrap her in cloth shredded from the blinds of the carriage.

It was a long, tiring, but respectful process burying her body. With a stone shovel in his hands he made sure to dig deep enough so the animals wouldn’t be able to dig her up again. Upon finishing he would place and bury the bloodied cloth and its occupant deep into the earth. Looking back at the carnage only filled him with spite, mares, stallions, ponies like them…deserve every bit of karma they received, so for all he cared their stinking carcasses could rot.

After giving a small prayer he looked to the map etched in the final pages of the journal, a crudely etched one, but acceptable enough for the tome to pin it up on his own map as a location of interest. ‘Pwinx, we're ready to move out…I wanna see this cave of magic crystals this mare has been talking about, is Aeilita safe?’

‘Jonathan, we have a problem…whatever roughed up these thugs has returned, I managed to lead Aelita to safety, but I think they know you're here already. These Timberwolves are different, I don’t think you can run this time…’ Pwinx said with concern dripping from his words.

Slipping both knives into his hands, he discarded the shovel with a soft ‘THUNK’ as it slipped into the loose soil on the forest floor. His body turned, facing the 5 pairs of eyes glaring back at him. His fingers grasped the knives tightly causing his knuckles to turn white in anger. “No worries Pwinx…I wasn’t planning on it.” Jonathan glared at the hungry beasts, watching as the leader of the pack emerged from the shadows.

The wolf was massive for canine standards, almost as tall as a small car, with wooden flesh to boot. The wood was bleach white, more than likely a mutated form of birch, with various vines in between bark plates to serve as the muscles. Stone chiseled claws curled between mossy paws, with a leafy mane trailing down the back of his angular head, leading into a fan style tail.

Its beaming red eyes were filled with hate, yet also…confusion? That confusion quickly vanished with the shake of its head, allowing it to part both jaws to reveal rows of jagged splintered teeth. Thick ropes of purple sap oozed into the dirt like sticky, honeyed, drool, a sign of its unending hunger for death.

Its powerful frame bowed into a threatening poise, ready to pounce, with loud cracks, snaps, and groans filling the air. Large, powerful, deadly wooden spikes about as long as Jonathan’s arm broke through gaps along its back, a deadly countermeasure that diagonally moved down its spine. The one thing all of the hounds had in common was the large, glowing, obvious weak spot between their birch chest plates.

The four wolves behind it sported similar looks, though they proved to be much smaller than presumably their alpha. They procured less wood spikes, however that was made up for by larger jaws, sharper claws, and a more slender frame. “If I wanna get home…I have to become the Overlord of this dimension, that means no more running, no more preparing…I have the strength to see this through, and i’ll be damned if I’m going to die here from a BUNDLE OF STICKS!”

The alpha howled to the skies, sending forth the pack just as Jonathan kicked off from his position. With his enhanced speed he lunged with one foot out, only to plant and kick from the earth with enough force to cave the dirt inwards to form a small crater. The resulting slingshot affect sent him propelling forwards towards the alpha.

His course was cut short when he felt two Birch Hounds collide into either arm, sinking their teeth into his forearms. This sent the three jerking back, and Jonathan landed flat on his butt. Both wolves gnawed and applied pressure, yet for some reason they couldn’t breach his skin. The memories of when the Manticore days prior slashed his chest came flooding back. If that couldn’t breach his skin, then clearly these wooden abominations would have no chance.

The man grit his teeth, the pressure of their bites aching and bruising his skin beneath the thin layers of green. Jonathan mustered his strength and will to push through, lifting both wolves attached to his arms into the air. “Get…OFF!” He swung one arm into the flat side of the carriage, smashing the birch wolf flat against it. This caused the entire box carriage to tilt slightly from the force.

The impact caused the nature creature to splatter viciously against the surface, showering the carriage in a mix of bark, purple sap, and vines. Its large wooden skull clattered to the ground, the bottom jaw wetly dislocated to one side. The only comparison Jona could make was like smashing a bug with your hand, gross, quick, and effective. With one arm now free he violently plunged the dagger again and again into the chest of the dangling remaining hound.

It helplessly flailed around with its back paws tapping the ground while the human viciously stabbed until the knife met its mark at the beating purple core. The results were a volatile explosion of sap and birch wood, showering the ground and half of Jonathan’s body in the creature’s plantoid innards.

The other two didn't give Jonathan time to breath, lunging or bolting towards him with their full weight smashing him into the carriage in a mix of flailing limbs, snarls, and howls. With the right positioning Jonathan was able to violently plant his foot in the face of one birch canine’s muzzle, kicking it back into a tree. While hugging the other that was shoving him into the cart he squeezed, and squeezed, and squeezed again until he heard the resounding CRACK of wood splintering.

He stabbed both blades into the beast’s upper and lower back before slowly ripping it in half with a mighty roar. The battle lustful man could feel and hear the vines snapping, leaves tearing like wet paper, and feel the hot, sticky, gooey sap pour onto his clothes. Regardless he tossed either side of the wolf in different directions, with its beating core resting at his feet. It took only one stomp to burst the pulsating sack like a glowing cyst, gunking up the wrapped leaves that comprised his flimsy sandals in bioluminescent slime.

This time Jonathan was ready, removing the spear from his back so he could hurl it with all his strength, turning his body to maximize the resulting output he would pour into the spear. Air around the weapon distorted, creating a cyclone that broke the sound barrier with a loud BANG when the weapon left his fingers.

Weapon Skill Activation: Implosion Shot

The spear perforating and pinning the wolf to the tree it was knocked up against by the kick. There was a brief delay before a deafening BOOM shook the forest to its core, sending the creatures within into an uproar. The spear had completely exploded, hollowing out the monster’s chest cavity causing wet,sticky, gooey vines to pour out, splattering onto the ground. Purple core sludge mixed with the sap, messily pooling beneath the crumbling hound’s birch armor which had completely shattered from the implosion.

Item: Flimsy Copper Spearhas been destroyed

Both the beast and the tree fell, with the gaping hole caused by the implosion going into both the mob and the environment it was stuck to. Despite the hole having chunks of tree remaining at either side the weight proved too much, sending it crashing between the Alpha and Jonathan. Such an action while unplanned for was not welcomed, providing ample breathing room so Jonathan could catch his breath.

The drain from the use of his skills was there, but having absorbed the magic from the slave collar, the high from consuming the mana lessened the dizzying effects. ‘I might be strong, but there is no telling what that alpha is capable of…this tree falling will only give me so much time to think of a plan- wait…THAT'S IT!’ Jonathan’s eyes opened with recollection, staring down at both stone knives in his hands.

The alpha leapt into the air, bounding over the large tree blocking its path, its growls were low, enraged by the folly of its weak underlings. Through its red eyes the world could be seen in shades of red, with life appearing green and death appearing as blue. For reasons it was unsure of, the beast couldn’t spot the biped which further increased its inclining agitation. The beast tilted its muzzle to the air, snorting, sniffing the air to take in the scent of its prey.

The alpha hound moved briskly towards the carriage that had nearly tipped from its underlings' attempts to hold the creature down. Its sliding door was opened, revealing another open door on the other side. There stood Jonathan in all his glory, giving the beast the middle finger, and blowing a wet raspberry in its face. The hound howled, leaping through the carriage in an attempt to get at the human. What it didn’t realize however was the trap it had just sprung.

“Gotcha bitch~!”

Weapon Skill Activation: Delayed Implosion Shot

During the brief 20 seconds it took for the alpha to run and jump over the felled tree, Jonathan had tossed and embedded both stone knives into two trees behind the wolf before it leapt through. Now that it had, the resulting implosion of both weapons caused the tree to fall forward, perfectly landing on the back half of the MASSIVE alpha, crushing, pinning, and keeping the beast pinned inside the carriage. It didn't help that its massive spine spikes were scraping the ceiling of the carriage, getting tangled by webs of cargo netting that once held the supply crates.

It howled in pain as the ironic twist of fate befell it, a beast of wood crushed by the very nature that spawned it. Its muzzle gnashed, snapped, and howled in Jonathan’s smug face, warranting another wet raspberry to the snout.

“Nice try ass clown now to finish you off for good!” Jonathan was about to finish the beast off by hacking it to death with the hatchet, however that plan was quickly squashed by an unexpected maneuver by the alpha. It didn’t want to die, reasonably so, making it draw fourth its hidden skill.

The spikes on its back retracted, allowing it to wriggle a bit further through with its head now sticking out. Green sparks of arcane energy arched from its muzzle which opened wide, and before Jonathan could even react, a hail of glowing green splinter shards the size of his finger flew from the alpha’s open jaws.

“FUCK! ANAGGH!” The pain was immeasurable, while his crude ghillie shaw did help in shielding him from most of the magic infused shards, a large amount still managed to successfully embed themselves into Jonathan’s flesh. It felt like he was stabbed all over his body by a tiny dagger.

Each movement that followed was intense, blinding, white hot pain, with his strength draining away. Through the fiery pain he grit his teeth, moving slowly out of the flailing alpha’s line of fire towards the sliding door. He was running fully on pure adrenaline, grasping the rail to the box carriage door.

“Will…you…just…FUCKING DIE!”

Jonathan used both arms to slam the door on the beast’s neck with a satisfying CRUNCH of its bark clad exterior. He would slam again and again, his bloodshot eyes wide from the mix of adrenaline, rage, and pain going through his body. Even as every thorn embedded in his body burned flesh, he continued to slam the door into the alpha’s neck. Again, and again, and again, and again, not stopping, not letting up until a sickening CRACK filled the night air.

It sounded like cracking open a watermelon with a baseball bat. The door had fully slammed shut, messily clobbering the beast’s head off in a shower of green gore, splinters, and wooden teeth. The mighty hound of the forest ceased its flailing, the head splattering onto the ground in a pile of sticky vines. The man wearily collapsed beside the head, panting heavily while grabbing at the glowing green splinters sunk into his chest.

One by one he removed them, letting the magically enhanced wood clatter to the floor in splatters of fresh crimson. It took a great deal, and a muffled scream into his shaw to remove the biggest one that had lodged through his hand. In the attack it instinctively went up in the blast to shield his face, a smart move that could have led to allot more severe injuries. The adrenaline high that came from the battle was wearing down, with only the aches, pains, and stress weighing in double time.

“Pwinx….I…I think it’s safe no-EH!?” The calm was broken by a loud growl from the wolf head as it lunged from its position on the ground and into Jonathan’s face. He had to use both hands to keep its jaws pried open. His fingers gushed blood from gripping onto the wooden teeth that had begun growing back. In the back of the beast’s throat was the pulsating, angry, throbbing core of the beast.

Jonathan struggled and slammed the decapitated head into the ground HARD, allowing him to plant his knee into the neck whilst vines wriggled from its stump towards the carriage door, likely an attempt to reattach itself to the main body. ‘LIKE HELL!’

The bloodied, exhausted, and bruised man used his hatchet to keep the mouth open, allowing him to reach inside the jaws to grasp the core. It felt wet, slimy, and gross, with the consistency of fresh pumpkin guts, but he was able to get a firm grip.

His arm shot out, fully ripping the alpha’s beating core from its body with a sickening RIP of the various roots connecting it. The head, vines, and the rest of the body went limp, with the MASSIVE core now residing in his possession. He laid back and shuddered wildly with his back planted onto the ground, completely spent and then some.

Item Obtained: “Core of The Birch Hound Prince”

“O…Okay, now we’re clear…” Jonathan’s hoarse voice called out in a scratchy tone, eyes rolling up while the tendrils of darkness clouded his vision, threatening to plunge him back into the sweet embrace of slumber. Both Pwinx and Aelita came out from the shadows, with Aelita being the first to rush over and begin licking his face.

“You…you did all of this? You not only managed to kill four mobs on your own, but also a MINI BOSS all in your first week of arriving here? You're accelerating ahead of schedule, way faster than I expected…I’m even detecting a breakthrough in your mana pool after you finished the fight. Quick, into the carriage, if you close the door and bind it with some vine rope you should be safe to rest.” The impish guide said with excitement and glee boiling over from each word.

Jonathan gave a shaky thumbs up, struggling to even lift his arm for such a simple gesture. “Yea…yea…I’m spent…ugh…and hurting all over.” The man did as his guide suggested, using the vine ropes from his item storage within the tome to lock both doors of the carriage not containing the wooden carcass of the alpha. Inside he was able to freely unfurl his bedroll and plop down on top of it. Aelita made equally great speeds to curl up on his stomach, whimpering and nuzzling his chest. The expression of worry in her eyes said it all, she was glad he survived.

That's all it took, sending Jonathan back into a deep slumber…

There Will Be Casualties...

“Princess! Miss Fluttershy! Get behind the barrier!”

The cold voice of the captain rang out into the night air as a rope lassoed around both the purple Alicorn, and the butter yellow Pegasus. The rope snapped taut, sending both mares flying backwards behind the shimmering purple barrier, just as one of the birch hounds smashed its opened jaws into said barrier. Splintered teeth and sparks flew, sending the beast flying backwards into another hound.

Sparks of golden electricity danced across its slender form, sending its smoldering body into a twitching frenzy. Both would regain their footing, rolling back onto their mossy paws. The murderous gaze of the beasts looked upon the two with such disdain, sending rolling waves of fury that made both mares shudder. Poor Fluttershy was horrified, with the color rapidly leaving her cheeks as she hid behind the rapidly approaching guards.

“That was darn close y'all, Twilight! What did we learn about moseying off in such a dangerous place? Tsk…what would y’all do without us?” Applejack chuckled, approaching from behind with her lasso neatly tied to the tip of her tail. One flick and tug dragged the pair further from the shimmering barrier. This gave time for the bulwark of earth pony guards to march forward in front of them. Their spears were raised with the tips angular towards the opposition, ready for any changes among the beast’s ranks.

“Captain SIR! The timberwolves are organizing and attacking all three camps! There doesn't appear to be an end in sight to them!” Multiple hot pink lights illuminated the forest, signals of alarm from the sudden ambush to the camps. The captain raised his hoof, his glaive slaming into the dirt.

“Have the earth ponies line up in a C shaped defensive position, have them ready for a controlled breach! Have the barrier mages open a hole in the center to relieve pressure and pick them off one at a time! Battle mages I want you to flank at both sides of the opened hole, flame spells at the ready. Burn them all to cinders and let none of them remain, if not then wound them enough for the earth pony line to finish off! Support mages, reinforce your earth pony spearstallions. Make them as tough as the Canterlot mountain, and make damn sure not a single one of those sap sucking mongrels make it into our camps!” The captain spoke with authority, his bold voice, intimidating gaze, and assertiveness inspiring his troops.

The messenger Pegasus who had flown down to report gave a one winged salute before taking to the trees, flying between camps to relay the orders. The mutated timberwolves fought with a fury unlike anything ever documented in the history of Equestria. They threw themselves blindly against the barrier, not caring if their bark armor charred or chipped off. Each impact however made reasonable leeway at cracking the barriers, causing the unicorns maintaining it to stumble in strained concentration. If they faltered even for a moment while channeling the spell, the camps would have no protection.

Their topmost priority was defending the princess and the element bearers no matter what, even if it came down to the last stallion or mare. The Captian's teeth grit tightly together, grinding whilst observing the battlefield that their “safe camp” had become. Everything needed to fall into place, every piece on the board needed to fit just right, or casualties would arise. The captain's hoof wrapped tightly around the glaive, his brow furrowed as his golden eyes burned into the red orbs of the encroaching nature beasts.

It took a minute, but everypony was in position at their designated camps, with two guards keeping an eye on the elements at a time. When the group at the captain’s camp opened the hole in the barrier, two wolves poured in. Gnashing teeth, claws scratching up earth, and a mindset befitting a homicidal maniac. Their attempts to adjust themselves were halted by a barrage of golden blasts from the unicorn guards on either side of the barrier entrance. Birch charred, sizzling under the intense heat of the militarized magic beating down upon them.

Their howls of pain rang out with blackened smoke rising into the night air in thick columns of black. They regained footing and made a lunge for the closest mage only for them to be pierced in the skull by a golden spear. The head of which plunged through the beast’s skull and out the back with a series of loud cracks. One last swing of the golden spear shattered the wolf into a pile of smoldering timber, resting alongside the second who received a similar fate.

None would have time to prepare as three more leapt over the piles of burning timber. They smashed into the solid wall of Canterlot guardsponies. Each stallion or mare refused to move, standing side by side with the fortitude and mentality of a stone wall. Behind them the supports were casting reinforcement magic, giving the guard’s armor a shimmering blue glow signifying their enhanced durability. Mages blasted at the hounds both inside and outside formation ring.

The ones that were roasting received a firm smack or stab with the spear. Poking, stabbing, and whacking until their targets were nothing more than piles of glowing embers. Everything was going fine until one of the breaching hounds leapt onto one of their kin, then launched OVER the formation of guards. It’s stone paws lashed out at the closest support unicorn who let out a loud scream. The mare flinched, expecting a painful end to befall her, yet it never came.

That's because the birch hound was lifted from the ground in a purple telekinetic aura, hovering its thrashing form inches from the unicorn’s pale muzzle. Princess Twilight Sparkle stood tall behind her, wings spread, horn lit with a blinding lavender light. Sweat trickled down her brow as she concentrated on moving the beast away from ponies. “Applejack! A little help please!” She called out, keeping her horn trained on the beast.

“Ah’m on it Twi!” Applejack was working on her own opponent, smashing her back hooves into another one of the birch monsters that had leapt over the main wall of guards. The beast was sent back into the pit with its kin, being lit up for its troubles by arcane fire. Galloping towards Twilight, she would slide, pivoting on both forehooves to turn beneath the amethyst aura containing the splintery beast.

Twilight timed her release causing the momentum that the monster had been using to pounce followed through. However it was simply fated to receive a gnarly buck into its chest by Applejack’s hind legs. *CRACK* There was a rippling shockwave from the cowfolk’s strike center mass into the beast’s beating core. Its durable body rather than being launched back into the ring of death with the rest of its attacking forces exploded in a geyser of sap, twigs, bark, and purple slime. It was like a garbage bag full of maple syrup being smacked with a sledgehammer.

“Captain! Camp 2 is being overwhelmed! Formation is breaking!” One of the Pegasus guards flew overhead, hovering over Smolder Spear. Her helmet was streaked with purple slop, viscera from the heated battle observed below. He looked to her with a firm expression, and without hesitation he galloped through the barrier without resistance, glaive floating in his telekinetic grasp.

The distance between camps wasn’t too far, a good 133 yards out, the purple distress flames lighting up the forest around them. Shadows danced, howls echoed off the endless sea of trees, and combat shook the grand woods. The captain could sense the encroaching wolves who had broken off from the camp he had just left and the camp ahead. They saw him as easy pickings, a ground pony who had left the safety of the magical bulwark protecting camp, however that was far from the case.

Smolder’s horn shimmered with hot white light as the dual bladed glaive became imbued with the heat of Celestia’s scorching sun. Flames gushed from the red hot metal of his glaive blades, an unimpeded barrage of his powerful magic flowing intricately through the weapon. He moved through the enemies like water through a bed of stones, his voice coming loud and proud.

“Solar Swansong!”

Those who could see watched in amazement as the royal captain danced through the hounds, his blade twirling in wide arching swipes, never stopping its graceful movement. It looked as if he were creating streaks of white and orange within the air itself, leaving dazzling trails in his wake. He would jump over the blade would it ever come close to his constantly moving hooves, allowing him to maintain his pole arm blade’s continuous state of movement.

The molten hot blade would cleave through the hounds left and right, effortlessly slicing through and through as if they were made of jello. Their wooden armor stood no chance against the might of the sun, ceasing their regenerative properties by boiling their cores the moment they were cut through. Seconds after a cleave the orange marks that comprised the cuts would cause the beasts to combust in a spectacular shower of sparks and ash.

Another hound from afar retracted the wooden spikes on its back, opening its jaw wide with the inner mouth lighting up a sickly green. In a jaw dropping display the beast fired a hail of glowing green shards. This forced the captain to redirect his Swansong, twirling the blade rapidly like a propeller to deflect the green shards. It easily burned them seconds after they encroached upon his weapon’s smoldering aura. With a single arcing slice the hound was cleaved in two directly down the center.

Leaping onto a log he would gallop and jump off on top of a birch hound that had breached through the second camp’s defenses towards the ordered kill funnel. His magic twirled and impaled the beast through its stomach, pinning it up against the shimmering barrier. The energy from it roasted its back, combined with the molten blade boiling its insides. It burst into a volatile slurry, with some of the sticky hot sap splattering across Smolder’s cheek.

When he surveyed the camp he could see that the C shaped formation of camp 2 had been broken up at the center, with an overflow of the birch hounds amassing. All of them were piling on top of one singular guardpony trying his best to push them off. Behind the guard Rarity stood her ground much to the stallion’s amusement.

Her magic was working into overtime, binding hounds in rather garish looking dresses from her own personal luggage. Even the young drake was doing his best to help out, spewing lethal green flames upon the monsters that were bound by the glittering mare. It would have brought a smile to the Captian's face it the circumstances were different.

The element of laughter, the questionable pink ball of energy whipped about the battlefield, disturbingly quick on the draw for a party mare. She had no grace, nor organization with her technique, she simply whacked the hounds that got close to her friend’s with an oversized mallet. The beasts would become nothing more than splintered piles of purple, white, and brown mush with the giant hammer between her teeth.

With each wolf felled, the pressure was alleviated ever so slightly. The mass of wolves within the kill circle were growing more restless, getting closer and closer to breaking the full formation protecting the camp core. Standing at the center of the C formation, Smolder raised his glaive with both hooves. Harnessing all the magic he could into the bottom blade he roared the incantation aloud. “May the scorching rays consume my enemies SOLAR BURST!”

The captain violently plunged the blade into the earth, releasing the pent up magic into a vicious shockwave of blinding light, heat, and power. Golden flames swirled around him, expanding outwards like an inverted vortex. The wolves attempting to climb over one another to get over the guards were vaporized in an instant, not even leaving a single flake of ash behind. Even the smoldering remains were consumed within the captain’s power. This was the true power of a Magus, and the iron hoof of Celestia’s royal guard.

The blast left a sun shaped burn in the dirt, constantly expanding outward with Smolder standing at its center. Sweat trickled down his brow, causing him to let loose a puff of steam. His little light show and rapid expulsion of heat was enough to spook the rest of the attacking hounds. They ran off into the forest with their leafy tails tucked between their legs, nursing wounds. Their once organized pack tactics were irreparably damaged, and that’s what unnerved the captain so much.

These things weren't normal timberwolves, they were smarter, faster, and admittedly more durable. If there weren’t any heavy hitters like Miss Applejack, or Miss Pinkamena, his spear stallions needed to take multiple stabs at a time in order to even breach the layers of birch bark, vine muscles, and rock to inflict lasting damage. Speaking of, they even managed to regenerate quicker than the old timberwolves. It made it nigh impossible to kill them unless they were set ablaze or their cores were damaged.

“Second lieutenant Twinkles! Status report!”

The male Pegasus flew down from above, wings fluffed and puffed open to reveal the sap soaked blades integrated between his primary flight feathers. “Sir, we have a total of 15 injured, 2 in critical, and...one dying…sir, a support mage, he is asking for your presence at camp 1.” He looked down at the earth, his big eyes closing with an unnerved expression on his face.

Smolder’s eyes widened and he gradually made it back onto all four hooves, using his glaive as a support to stand tall once again. He went from a low hobble to a full gallop back towards the leading camp, his breathing heavy as he leapt over logs, crunched branches, and crushed dead leaves. His heart was throbbing in his armor more and more the closer he reached the site. Huddled in a tent surrounded by his fellow support mages was a unicorn stallion. His body was covered in blood, from ears to hooves he had been riddled with wooden steaks, many effortlessly striking through his enchanted cloak.

“S-Sir…these wooden spikes, they are nullifying our healing magic…we can’t!-”

Beside the fallen troop, various wooden steaks were removed from his body. The tips were coated with a glowing green aura similar to that of the birch beast Smolder dealt with. The various other support mages desperately attempted to remove the rest of the oversized splinters, wrapping healing bandages around the wounds.

Yet for some reason they wouldn’t close even in the slightest. “Sir…I…Is the princess…safe? Did…I-I do good sir…?” The unicorn choked out, his breaths shallow and wheezy. He coughed a thick stream of blood off to the side, curling slightly as the medics tried desperately to keep his body still.

Smolder slowly removed his centurion helm, gently setting it to his side along with his weapon. His golden locks of messy mane dropped into his eyes which he promptly brushed aside. The captain kneeled beside his soldier, gently placing a hoof on his shoulder. “You did good colt…what's your name soldier…?” He asked softly, his hardened expression wavering to one of absolute calmness.

“It’s…nggkk…Rolling Gaze…I…I don’t look good huh…captain sir…ngg..I feel so cold…so…cold. Sir…I’m scared…I-I” Rolling Gaze shuddered, his head falling back to stare up at the ceiling of the tent. His chest moved up and down, slower, and slower, with blood pushing through the glowing white bandages. From outside a mare entered the tent, her long, soft, silken mane drooping over one side of her face.

Rolling Gaze would slowly direct his eyes lazily towards the new pony who had come to him in his final hours. He could feel it, the gentle hooves cradling his smaller form, her soft feathers wrapping around him in an almost motherly embrace. He even felt the warm tears splashing down onto his cheeks from those beautiful eyes. Fluttershy, a mare of great kindness embraced the fallen colt, running a single hoof gently through his mane which had been caked from the fresh blood.

In that gentle moment…she would begin to sing, sing with all of her heart, letting it fill the grim atmosphere with a sense of peace. Everypony would close their eyes, losing themselves to the music.

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li lai-lay

Lay down your head and I'll sing you a lullaby

Back to the years of loo-li lai-lay

And I'll sing you to sleep and I'll sing you tomorrow

Bless you with love for the road that you go

May you sail far to the far fields of fortune

With diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet

And may you need never to banish misfortune

May you find kindness in all that you meet

May there always be angels to watch over you

To guide you each step of the way

To guard you and keep you safe from all harm

Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

May you bring love and may you bring happiness

Be loved in return to the end of your days

Now fall off to sleep, I'm not meaning to keep you

I'll just sit for a while and sing loo-li, lai-lay

May there always be angels to watch over you

To guide you each step of the way

To guard you and keep you safe from all harm

Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li lai-lay

Loo-li, lai-lay

The stallion starred up, his eyes welling up with tears as he listened to the gentle tones, filling his dying body with a sense of true peace. Gaze’s bloodied lips parted into a small smile, letting his voice call out one last time to the shaken ponies present.

“I…feel…warm….”

The unicorns finished wrapping their dead brother in arms within a preserving bag, after gently removing the spikes from his bloodied body. He along with two others who had passed were loaded into the carts far back. Nopony could sleep that night, not a wink, especially Twilight, who stood beside the captain looking up at the gaps between the trees, to see the stars.

“It's…all my fault, if I didn’t insist on staying here to camp, we probably wouldn’t have been ambushed like that. My ignorance and selfish desires for research lead to the deaths of three good ponies…” Twilight said softly, her eyes glazed over as she continued to stare blankly up at the sky. Captain Smolder said nothing for a moment, letting the hot air of the Everfree blow his long mane to the side.

“No princess, this is my own fault…as Captain of the Solar Guard, it is my duty to make sure those brave stallions and mares make it back home. It is my duty that they get to live and see another beautiful cycle beneath our glorious princess’s sun and moon.” The captain sat, picking up his helmet in both hooves he looked it over, his reflection barely visible in the golden sheen of the metal. Slowly he raised it in both hooves, letting it snuggly rest back on his head, with his magic tucking his mane back inside.

“When we stand tall princess, we know the risks, every day is a battle for us guards…and in a battle there will be casualties…it is my job as their leader to minimize those casualties. We haven't had a stallion or mare die in the line of duty for 500 years. When it is all said and done I will have to be the one to look those stallion’s loved ones in the eyes and tell them. I will lead the march for their glorious sacrifice in the name of the royal family, they will be remembered as they were…heroes.” The captain gripped his weapon, slowly making his way away from Twilight, could only stare up at the stars, a single tear rolling down her fuzzy cheek.

‘In a battle…there will be casualties…’

Author's Note

Another chapter done! I added a little music this time! Hope you all enjoyed! :pinkiehappy:

Kyudo Cultivation

The void beckons, once again consuming Jonathan’s entire being, yet it allowed him to drift down into the abyss in peace. His eyes were open, staring up above at the glowing blue sparks glistening in the endless sea of darkness. It felt cool, a stark contrast from the humidity of the endless forest he had been forced to trudge through. He blinked once to organize himself, then leaned forward so he could slightly spin himself so he was standing upright..

His bare feet touched the cool void grounds with the familiar blue ripples expanding from his point of contact. ‘Here again…? What did he call it…the mindscape?’ Now that he was here for a second time Jonathan could really observe his surroundings. Many things were different than before, so many alterations were made.

The environment which had once been an endless flat expanse seemed to have an almost grassy texture between his toes. Upon further examination, tiny blades of black grass were visible through a thin, bright, glowing blue outline. If it weren’t for that then the grass would have likely blended in with the endlessness of the mindscape void.

Jonathan walked forward, mindlessly exploring this oddly peaceful place for all its empty glory. The further along he went, the more the mindscape gradually changed for the better. Purple trees with blue leaves, blue bushes, and even a few stationary bluebirds were frozen in the air mid flight. ‘Strange…it's all different now…’

“I know right? You would be surprised with the amount of creative freedom you have in this place HAH! Makes me wonder what you might do if you spent a little more time in this place, Mr Author~” Dezmond spoke suddenly and loudly, seemingly appearing from behind a tree next to Jonthan giving him the shock of his life.

“JESUS FUCK! Damn it Dezmond! Don’t fucking do that!” Jonathan clutched his chest, breathing while trying to slow down his rapidly beating heart. After adjusting himself slightly he turned to face his other half, his aqua blue eyes burning into the vast violet sea of Dezmond’s amused gaze. The man stood at eye level wearing a pair of casual khaki shorts, and a floral amethyst shirt that complimented his snowy white hair.

“Ugh…I’m guessing when you say creative freedom over this place you mean the ability to change the environment? Everything seems a little off though, and from what I could tell it's limited only to three colors, black, purple, and blue…” He crouched down and plucked some of the mindscape grass. Rolling it in his palm Jonathan watched as the blades gradually broke down, turning themselves into glittering blue particles that floated into the air like fire flies.

“Yep, that's not even the coolest part, don’t get mad but I’ve been sifting through some of your memories. I found your old moments taking a trip to 6 flags, really cool stuff y'know?. Currently my latest project is raising an ENTIRE themepark to fuck around in, though its rather difficult programing attendants and stuff.” Jonathan watched with a raised brow as Dezmond waved his hand around, conjuring a stick of purple cotton candy.

“This lawless realm has few rules, however implementing or creating other sentient life seems a lot more…tricky, hence why those birds are rather awkwardly designed.” Dezmond lightly plucked one of the stiff and frozen birds, squeezing it in his palm until it shattered into purple particles. He did this all while munching his fluffy, cotton, park treat, he finished it all before tossing the stick into a bush.

“The hell…? Wait, you can look through my memories…?” Jonathan’s brow furrowed, raising one sky high with a nervous look. Dezmond smirked, shrugging his shoulders slightly while flashing a playful wink.

“Indeed, I can also observe your progress while you're awake through the actively generating memories, it's more or less like a livestream. Gotta admit that courage booster really did wonders eh? You took those wooden mutts down like kicking down a house of cards. Though I do believe there is one thing that you can do to improve…” Dezmond leaned up against one of the trees.

“Oh…? What might that be, oh wise master?” Jonathan asked with a sarcastic snort. He rolled his eyes with both arms folded across his broad chest in a huffy manner. The memories of his triumph over the birchhounds were satisfying to say the least. It further boosted his confidence more than he ever thought possible. The fight was exhilarating, even though he got sloppy towards the end with the alpha’s sudden projectile barriage.

“Variety, you weild my power yet you're thinking too small…you were on the right track when you created that implosion weapon skill, but what you need is more skills at your disposal. In order to do that you’ll need more mana, and for that…well…I might have just the thing.” He snapped his fingers, causing the environment around them to warp. The trees crumbled and grass retracted into the ground. The scratchy blades of black nature became hard and solid, like that of wood.

Walls emerged from all sides, a ceiling, windows, and familiar sights flooded Jonathan’s senses on all angles, memories of the past given tangibility. This place, in all its warped, nostalgic, and heart pumping glory. ‘This is…my old kyudo dojo…?’ The place was almost exactly as he remembered it, down to the last chink in the wooden support colums where he had incidentally misfired an arrow. His Hanshi was so mad at him that he forced him to stand with books on either hand as punishment.

“This…” The cold chill ran down Jonathan’s spine, plunging his lingering mind back to the old days of when he used to live outside of the states. Back before his life as an author he was nothing more than the bastard child of a rich American man and a middle class housewife from Japan. Life was hard, and living it was even harder, even with all the money coming in.

Even with the highest form of education available through boarding schools…it never brought him or his mother true happiness. Jonathan was nothing more than the bastard child of a rich foreigner…and no matter what, he would always be considered an outsider. His one joy during those hard times was the time and friends he made during those kyudo classes.

“I do hope that you find everything accurate to the memories, sadly I can’t accurately replicate the colors. I was able to at least somewhat replicate everything down to the general appearances…” Dezmond said rather confidently while flashing a cocky smirk while Jonathan moved his way over to the equipment closet, sliding the door open to reveal its contents.

The equipment used in kyudo includes a 2.21-meter ( 7.2 feet) bow, arrows, bowstrings and a glove fixed to the handle of the bow called a yugake. The bow combines wood and bamboo, while the arrow is mostly made of bamboo. From among the bows he removed one in particular, his master’s bow. It towered high, feeling heavy within his grasp. The onyx black bamboo wood bow was perfect, balanced to perfection just as his master showed him how a bow should really feel. “You even got his bow right…” The human man whispered.

“To find power within, you must dig deep, using all the memories you have available to take advantage of. Any skill, no matter how big or small, no matter how old, trivial, or buried in the past it might be will come in handy for your training. I must say, I was rather surprised when I found out that you are a Kyudan, a 9th Dan, one level beneath total mastery..” He chuckled, rubbing his chin.

It was a strange thing, rather ironic for both sides…Dezmond, a master of close combat engagements, getting wrist deep inside his opponent. Then there is Jonathan, nearly a master of the ancient arts of Kyudo archery in all its olden glory. “It's nothing that special…my uh…mother, she had high expectations for me, so she more or less pushed me into the sport. It's been about maybe 4 years since I last touched a bow, at least before all of this world jumping nonsense.” The man muttered, lightly hugging the bow close to his chest.

“Regardless of how long it's been, you are one rank beneath being a master of the arts…making you very capable if you were to wield such a weapon. This will be the template for your training in the arcane arts…” Dezmond folded his arms, motioning to the archery range. Rather than targets stood the stationary forms of what looked to be living monsters pulled from Jonathan’s memory. The manticore, the birchhound Alpha, and a cluster of parasprites floating in a controlled swarm.

“You mean to tell me I can practice magic and exercise my mana through archery…?” Jonathan mumbled, staring down at his master’s bow, tilting it from side to side, examining it top to bottom. Even the string was perfectly tightened, roped by the hands of a TRUE master of the kyudo arts. He could practically feel the firm hand of his master placed upon his shoulder, squeezing him with guiding authority.

“Indeed, position yourself at the range…lets start with the bigger target, polish off that rust yea? Don’t worry about time by the way, it flows differently in this world, hell…if you wanted to, you could make a day here only an hour outside the mindscape. Seeing as you're planning on going to that mysterious resource cave those bandits have been hauling ass to loot.” Dezmond snapped his fingers, now wearing an instructor’s kyudo uniform, as was Jonathan who now wore a student’s uniform.

Jonathan nodded, gathering the glove, quiver, and bow before making his way to the range only for Dezmond to click his tongue in disapproval. “Ah ah ah…you won’t be needing those arrows. We will be training your magic, not just your fancy bow job kid…” He snorted, his lips curled into a cheeky grin. Jonathan bore a confused look, questioning the method but discarded the arrow quiver off to the side.

When he finally took his stance at the firing range he awaited further instructions from his magic instructor. Dezmond nodded his head before motioning to the large birchhound alpha. “Kyudo involves meditation, up until the release of the arrow. Originally used for hunting, war, and contests, but now Kyudo will be used for strengthening your mana.” Dezmond approached, placing a hand gently on Jonathan’s shoulder and another on the hand gripping the bow.

“The meditation part will be the key factor in allowing you to cultivate the pool of magic swelling within your core. You command my body, but its core is weak, unable to withstand the full power that I once wielded…therefore it was locked away. The method you will be using is going to dilate, expand, and refine the arcane circuits within your body, funneling it all into your bow as you draw its string.” Dezmond hummed.

“I don’t get it…? How will using a bow do that…? Shouldn’t I be sitting down and meditating like a monk or something?” Jonathan asked softly, looking down the range at his stationary target.

“While it is true that this method can work, this way will be much faster right now. Think of meditation cultivation as doing situps and pushups, while THIS will more or less be like weight lifting. Right now we will be trying to draw out the first sparks of your arcane power, to break the dam so to speak…let's call it…Kyudo Cultivation.” He winked while backing off.

“Hmn ok…” This was all so new to Jonathan, magical circuits, channeling, mediation, it was one thing to geek out while writing about the stuff, but it was a whole other ball park to actually be partaking in it. His grip tightened around the cloth grip of his master’s bow to the point his knuckles turned white.

“First, you must close your eyes…empty your head of all thoughts, let everything fade into nothingness. In the darkness you must concentrate, search for a flickering spark, and follow that spark. Imagine it growing into a small flame, small, weak, and easy to be snuffed.” Dezmond commanded while wagging a finger.

Jonathan like so many times during his kyudo classes eased his mind, closing his eyes to concentrate on the man’s words. He cleared his head of all invading thoughts, all worries, doubts, and queries. He let it all fade from static to a calming silence that eased him. His eyes darted beneath closed eyelids, searching the darkness within his thoughts until he saw it, a spark, it was only a tiny prick, but it was there. He reached out to it causing his fingers to twitch as his gloved fingers gently grasped the bowstring.

“You must let the mana sparks grow through deep breaths, let each inhale increase the size of its flame, and every exhale shrink it. Keep growing it until you feel as if your body is on fire, burning you from within. That is you stretching and opening your channels to the magic circuits within your spirit body.” Dezmond grunted, relaying the next steps to his student of the hour.

“Magic is all about visualization, I want you to picture your bow as an empty glass…I want you to fill that glass up with your spark, your mana, all as you draw back the string. Feel the mana pour from your fingers, imbuing your bow string with all the power you can muster. While inhaling, draw back that power, let your mana manifest into that of an arrow, balanced upon the string and between your fingers.” The teacher hummed in delight, watching his student struggle to comprehend.

However much to the overlord’s surprise his pupil was making good progress, grunting and straining as he followed each step. Sweat trickled down the young man’s brow, with his breathing growing deep. Hestruggled to maintain a steady flame which caused blue sparks to crackle and pop all over his body.

With a very deep and slow inhale he gradually pulled the string back, feeling every muscle in his body screaming. It wasn’t the pain he was used to not in the slightest bit. He had drawn the bowstrings many times, but this was different, like he was pulling muscles in places he didn’t realize he had them. He wasn’t using his physical strength to draw the bow any more, he was using his will and spirit.

Blue arcs of power trickled down from his shoulder, coiling around Jonathan’s bicep before creeping down his forearm to meet his hand. The positioning of his fingers allowed the arrow to form. The arcane power swelling from within him was growing, circulating in the air into an elongating vortex. It continued stretching, growing, molding itself into the crude shape of an arrow. It was sloppy, but it was there, an arrow made from the crackling powers of Jonathan’s mana.

“Yes, YES! Very good, many people couldn’t possibly reach this stage without months or even years of practice. Being able to physically manifest your cultivated mana at this stage is a momentous feat. Now release that energy, open your eyes and let your power smite your target!” Dezmond commanded with a stupid grin spread from ear to ear.

Jonathan opened both eyes and with his legs in the proper stance he released the crackling arrow. It soared through the air like a bolt of blue lightning towards the alpha target. The arrow embedded into the beast core with a loud THUNK, the energy expanded into a volatile reaction. This caused the point of impact to explode into a shower of vibrant sparks, completely obliterating the entire wolf target. Its smoking black legs were all that remained, comically plopping on their sides like a table with its top removed.

“This is the power of mana...and we haven’t even begun to touch upon the fundamentals of the arcane elements. Though we won’t be touching on that subject for a bit until you master the ability of manifestation.” Dezmond suddenly sprouted a wry and almost demonic grin, sending a new wave of terror down poor Jonathan’s spine. He didn’t like that look, it reminded him too much of his old master’s face when he would end up punishing him with extra training.

“That means more drawing that bowstring kiddo! I think about 3 hours or in your case 3 WEEKS will be enough!~”

Even with all this courage bestowed upon him by the overlord, Jonathan still felt his stomach sink like a rock. His skin was pale, clammy, not even from the aches, pains, and warmth from exerting himself. It felt so familiar, but nevertheless it was a welcomed feeling at the same time. ‘You are your own worst enemy after all…’

The training was harsh, grueling, and unforgiving, just like how he had felt oh so long ago when he initially started the art of kyudo. Now he was performing a brand new form of the archery style, never once using a single arrow to strike his targets. Each time he would pull back the string he would feel as if life were being sucked from his body. Each day felt more and more difficult to go on, sometimes with his muscles aching to the point that he couldn’t move.

In this world the exertion of his body would be transferred outside, with his mana constantly being drained then automatically filled up again. Seeing as it's only being discharged in his mind, the energy released is simply returned throughout his entire form without the risk of suffering mana drain.

On the 3rd mental week within this place Jonathan drew back his bow, his breathing steady, body flowing with power as it exuded from his fingers, and snuggly around the bow string. The crackling blue light amassed, swirling around his entire body like water during its path along the bow string. Space distorted, and power circulated into a solidified arrow. The energized manifestation of his power was given a solid foundation to build on, unlike when he first began it was shapeless, unstable, and unrefined.

Releasing the arrow sent it piercing the heart of the alpha training dummy, then skillfully through the wall without explosions. He drew another mana arrow with faster succession than the first, piercing the heart of the manticore target second. Lastly he would take aim at the stationary swarm of parasprites.

They were small as floating baseballs, but he could hit them, he KNEW he could. With one final draw of his bow he released the glimmering blue arrow, watching as it split into a hail of energized projectiles similar to the splinter shot of the Alpha. Each arrow landed, hitting their mark with deadly accuracy causing both the arrow and the target to explode in a puff of white smoke.

“Good work Jona boy, remember that spells function on the same principle as what I’ve taught you during your time here. Focus on the spark within yourself, give it shape, give it a form that you can project outward into the physical world.” Dezmond spoke with a look of absolute calm, sitting crossed legged with what looked to be a blueberry slushy in his hands much to Jonathan’s bemusement.

“Yea yea…ugh…I definitely feel a bit different, hopefully we can continue this later…sorry to break it to you chief but I don’t plan on doing this shit every time I close my eyes out there.” Jonathan growled bitterly, huffing and puffing while taking a long swig of the water bottle he set off to the side. After squirting some all over his face he approached Dezmond who by this point had finished his drink with a visible struggle from brain freeze.

“Okay, okay, easy…next time how about we hang out? No training, no stress, just you, me, and a trip to 6 flags?” Dezmond winked, flashing the irate human the finger guns. Jonathan paused, letting the words really sink into his mind for a moment as if an anvil had been dropped on his skull…then his face slowly turned red.

“You mean to tell me…I’ve been busting my ass here, struggling, burning, and straining myself through this torture while YOU have been spending your time building a fucking amusement park?” Jonathan smiled a sickly sweet smile, grabbing a real arrow from the quiver. Dezmond spat out a mouthful of slush defensively holding his hands up with an apologetic smile.

“Okayhavefunouttherebye!”

Dezmond snapped his fingers and before Jonathan could knock an arrow a purple portal opened beneath his feet, sending the man dropping like a stone in a lake. The world faded to white, with the man screaming to the overlord from beyond.

“YOUR A DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!”

With Jonathan out of the mindscape Dezmond was able to turn and face down the smoldering wreckage of the birchwolf alpha. His playful and coy smile melted to one of emptiness and contempt. His voice came out cold, malice lacing every word, he had felt the tugging of old memories beckoning what came from his mouth.

"My Harbinger...what has this world done to you...what have you become after all this time? I only pray that this young soul can save you before it is too late. May the curse that these wicked ponies placed upon you be broken, so I may see your face In the glow of the setting sun....Just as I promised you"

The Lair of The Everfree Gaurdian

“So let me get this straight, you mean to tell me that this aspect of Dezmond came to you after your ego synchronization, and taught you how to use MAGIC? How?! If I were to teach you it would have taken easily months of studying and practicing to even manifest the twinkling embers of your mana pool! Hmph…he's stealing my thunder, I don’t like him!” Pwinx huffed, folding both arms across his chest like a jealous ex, all whilst floating beside Jonathan’s head.

During the waking hours Jonathan was able to harvest the remains of the butchered birch hounds. The materials combined with the supplies from the bandit caravan he was able to make much more durable weapons. ‘The Living Wood’ made the perfect durable yet bendy material to craft a new bow befitting his honed skills in Kyudo archery.

Its structure and density could only be compared to fresh Earth bamboo wood, prime for the bending. The string was easily crafted with the muscle fibers of the hounds, which were primarily made up of these mana infused stems. When coiled around one another into a tight braid they became stretchy, strong, and capable of withstanding the straining tugs.

Unlike the Everfree variants he usually plucked from trees and bushes, these components proved to be much easier to manage when stringing up a new bow. ‘Interesting…what if I could do…this?’ He held up two coils of ‘Birch Hound Muscle Fiber’, rolling them around in his palms. When pressing them together he began concentrating on the skill he was trying to tap into, peering deep within his core to draw out its mystical power. It was the same risky crafting technique that threatened his very life the last time he attempted calling on it.

Skill Activation: Item Compression

Jonathan felt the strong drain on his body, shuddering as the mana siphoned from his innermost depths. The flow dragged down both arms and channeled into his fingers that gingerly clutched the crafting components. Slowly but surely both tightly coiled bundles of the muscle fibers merged together as one. The completed product reduced the quantity, but improved the quality from uncommon to rare, the text hovering over it confirming its new status.

He performed the same actions for the living wood, improving the quality to rare as well. Unlike when he had used compression on his knives, he deduced that compressing simple materials drained less mana. This all also proved useful in increasing the experience of his compression skill overall, something Jonathan took note of for later exploration.

“Good thing you didn’t suck yourself dry this time…but what are these things for?” Pwinx looked over the improved materials with a puzzled look. With the instructions plucked from within the tome based earth’s strongest bows, Jonathan was able to use his freakish strength to bend the wood enough to properly rope his Kyudo bow. The 7 foot tall weapon was elegantly crafted, the string tightly bound to either end in intricate knots. His quiver of arrows rested snuggly behind him at his hips, made from extra Everfree palms.

It was a funny thing those arrows, they were long and individually assembled with a steady hand, rather than letting the crafting system do its work. Half the arrowheads were made from chiseled stone grinded into shape. The other half had been fashioned from the mana infused shrapnel that the Birch Prince so lovingly spewed into Jonathan’s body before death. These arcane splinters when combined with wood, feathers, and a pinch of twine, manifested a deadly munition…one without a name.

This proved to be an interesting moment, the tome had registered its rarity as uncommon, however it held no name, instead coming up as Unamed_Munition. Just like when he named Aelita an option to name his newest creation came up, suggesting he created something outside the bounds of the Tome’s identification capabilities. Pwinx watched with mild interest as Jonathan mentally projected the name of the arrow onto the floating screen.

“Splinter Shot”

The leather, scrap, and other supplies on hand were just enough for Jonathan to improve his attire over the span of four days, camping the abandoned supply convoy. It upgraded them from the fragile and easy to rip plant fiber outfit, to the now sleek, refined, and durable set of studded leather armor. With the excess leather he was even able to system craft a bandolier which slung diagonally across his chest. It held multiple chiseled stone knives, sharpened and ready for combat if need be. Jonathan’s fingers tugged the green laces of his boots, making sure they were tightly secured to his feet.

Aelita sniffed his cheek while he had been bending over to tie them then cutely started licking him with a concerned whine. Despite trying to shield the pup from the gorey site it in fact did quite the opposite. His little fur baby relished the taste of the bandit pony meat, even dragging Jonathan an entire head which he politely refused.

The man smiled softly and gently scratched between her ears with an affectionate hum. He calmly lifted the fox onto her perch upon his shoulder, then finalized his additions with a red bandana tied around his neck. “Now…let's get moving to that cave, it's pretty much one of the best leads we have in terms of higher quality materials…I have a few items in mind I’d like to craft if they are what I think they are.” He muttered.

3 long days had passed, the journey on foot, even when running and jumping at full sprint it was arduous and rough. With an overabundance of enraged hounds crossing his path in roaming packs, times were tough. The further into the Everfree Jonathan advanced, the more wildlife seemingly thrashed out at him, giving little time to rest. By night he would take to the trees, tying down his leg to a branch in order to keep himself safe in his elevated sleeping space.

Aelita, bless the pup, spent her time snuggling into his chest, finding a new home wriggled up under his shirt when the armor was discarded. When she wasn’t doing that, the fox traveled alongside her master with surprising speed, keeping a good pace for a young fox pup. It was strange, on Earth no fox could ever move so fast, especially leaping from tree to tree.

Her claws sank into the branches like climbing hooks, tearing chunks of wood off as she bounded from point a to b with such fluidity, that she appeared more like a soaring snake than a fox. This world…it broke all meaning, a factor that Jonathan would have to come to terms with. Even so, that never made it any less amazing to behold, to watch the reality and rules he had come to know break before his very eyes.

The trail that the smuggler bandits took was still fresh, their hoofprints imprinted deep in the forest soil. There were tell-tale signs of their supply caravans still present, starting with toppled trees, likely felled to clear the way for their various carriages and carts. On top of that signs of a struggle were everywhere blood, claw prints, even a few arrows embedded in tree trunks.

Judging from the notes left by Tecorat the group suffered many sleepless nights being hounded by the occupants of the forest. ‘It seems like she might have been able to see my echos…yet these slaver ponies didn’t seem to heed her warnings that they were wandering into disaster.’ Jonathan thought, letting his mind wander while sitting on the tree branch. His thumbs peeled open the outer layers of the fruit he had been eating, revealing the juicy, neon pink, gooey fruit meat within.

A “Tonfa” fruit, or whatever Pwinx called it, was a strange mixture between an orange and a skinless grape. The bioluminescence of food Jonathan had come to learn is a trait shared in ingredients with high levels of mana saturated into them. One other example was the mushrooms that had saved his life back when he was on the brink of death. The spine chilling memory of their salty texture being shoved into his gullet by the fist full made his stomach churn.

‘Ugh…I never want to eat another one of those damn mushrooms again for as long as I live, gods be damned if it provides more mana…at least these things have fucking flavor.’ The man’s gaze beamed down at the yellowed pages which were stiff with dried flakes of the zebra mare’s blood. He took great care not to squirt any juices onto the journal as he read away with his fox companion resting on his shoulders.

The zebra mare had drawn an accurate depiction of the location she was held prisoner, a large waterfall with a wide open field surrounding it. This was all set up by the criminal organization she and many other slaves had come to name them as “The Onyx Horn “. With them as slaves they had enough horsepower to chop down hundreds trees to set up the damn thing. When Jonathan looked back up to peek out from the foliage he could see the camp in the charcoal drawings matched the descriptive art rather well, if not a few differences here and there.

The camp was heavily fortified, reasonably so seeing as the rapid incline of these creatures was at its apex in this general area. Wooden spike barriers had been fashioned pointing outward towards the shadowy unknowns of the great wood. It was a vain effort to ward off any would-be predators seaking to rend the flesh from their bodies.

It was a clever ploy nonetheless, an outer perimeter with a 10 foot walking gap separating it from the actual camp. The dirt inside this gap had been purposely dug up and trampled to make a nice ring path, giving this ramshackle camp a bit more order.

Various carts were positioned in a circular shape, almost like a circus had pulled up to pony made clearing. More of the spiked barricades were neatly planted behind them as an added layer of defense, giving a nice extra layer of safety to each cart. Between every four carts and carriages, crude guard towers were fashioned from thick logs, each holding two guards.

Their equine forms were silhouetted by a thick layer of camo netting. One looked out at the forest while the other observed the unfriendly inhabitants of the inner camp.

Tents were erected towards the center past the varying carts, with a massive bonfire made at its core. The flames had long since died to a smoking pile of charred logs which radiated rippling waves of heat. Amongst the sea of tents and carts were piles upon piles of wooden crates, barrels, and supplies galore. That was when Jonathan saw them, for the first time in this fucked up world he saw its colorful inhabitants ALIVE if he could even call them that.

Among the many supplies he had pilfered from their retreating trade convoy, he had acquired a spyglass, which he was now using to peek out at the wandering husks. The unfortunate ponies that made up the camp’s willing or unwilling residents. To summerize the inhabitants could be broken up into two categories…the slaves..and the masters.

These equine creatures held an uncanny and unnerving amount of expression on their rounded faces. They bore sparks of sentience behind big, round, comically large eyes, complimented by various pastel colored manes and coats. It gave an almost cartoony yet somewhat realistic aura that confused the man’s brain the longer he looked.

The ponies came in all shapes, sizes, and colors, with the slaves looking more disheveled and unkempt than their privileged masters. Some of the guards wore studded leather, metal half plate, or a mix in between, giving them a more mercenary feel to them. One thing they all had in common was the trend of them burning their leathers a shiny black. It gave them an even more cliche, generic, biker, bad guy look that made Jonathan internally facepalm.

From what he could remember from the show, these markings slapped on their flanks were called “Cutiemarks” a marking that depicted one’s special talents. “To think these micro horses use ass tattoos to determine their fate or profession in life…kinda pre-determined don’t you think?” Jonathan murmured to his fox child who sat on his shoulders, messily gnawing one of the fruits she procured from his bag.

“I agree, kinda dumb and single minded whoever came up with that form of existence…just looking at these guys SCREAMS textbook evil minions.” Pwinx puffed his cheeks, sitting on top of a now curious Aelita. The fox seemed to yap in agreement, poking her fruit slathered tongue out between gushing bites of her fruity meal.

“Hmmm…seems like they've been here for a long while…look at the waterfall…” Jonathan pointed out when turning his spyglass to the formation of rock and flowing water. The Onyx Horns had built a wooden dam to redirect the falling water, causing it to evenly splitting the falls on either side to the green waters bellow.

Across from the exposed entrance was a crudely fashioned plank bridge, one that had been sloppily assembled to connect the cave to the other side of the body of green water the falls made. Thick, gnawed, and scratched supports held it up, a very dark foreboding in its constriction efforts.

The murky green water showed signs of life, various slithering dark shapes, outlines of massive fish, all wriggling just beneath the dark surface. It didn’t take a genius to know that whatever laid beneath the mossy surface was not a fan of land walkers. Jonathan saw the red sign picturing a pony being eaten by a fish. If that wasn’t a big enough indicator of the lethality, then the various bones floating on the surface were sure as hell the red flag he needed.

Beneath the sign’s image were the words….wait…words? Jonathan focused the spyglass, zooming in on the two “words” which brought him much confusion and discord trying to read it. The text looked more akin to chicken scratch, a series of blocky lines horizontally or vertically connecting like mayan hieroglyphics. It was much more different than the cohesive text in Tecorat’s journal which used proper earth lettering to write.

Jonathan lowered his spyglass for a moment and trained his ears towards the camp, hoping to pick up on idle chatter. It only took mere seconds before the heavy weight of the situation came crashing down on his head like a two ton ACME anvil. He caught the conversation of two passing guards that were patrolling the beaten path between both spike barricades, nearest to his position over them.

Both looked to be chatting casually, if not a little heated watercooler talk. Every word that escaped their lips was nothing more than garbled gibberish, a slurry of unrecognizable words that sent Jonathan’s thoughts into a spin.

"i abd't ajannevt lon bossz hase havri lek dayt vem ehnadasitt buckri gryif. Si roke Si caps weiev kulnid evd aidrothe ailn bailid lon gehdeth sie orderid linm erdaiy sell rast junk arshsupplsz. "

("I can't believe that the boss is having us stay here another bucking month. I knew I should have joined my sister and bailed the moment he ordered them to go sell our junk for supplies.")

The second pony let out a congested snort and nodded his head, bitterly looking away from the first with his spear tightly pressed into his side. Both his ears flopped back when he spoke, clearly heated up by the first’s alien speech. Despite their words being completely alien to his own ears, Jonathan could detect a hint of a slavic accent dripping from both ponies. Their body languages from the shuffling of stationary hooves, to the sway of their tails gave away the cold tension in the muggy forest air.

"i rike gled? Si don't trieve inm sie vock'tfyust leck nevt aritt aarvid bitch ailn sisa whineva brat henter lon rarestek'sz maw miy ohwey abd asdlass trieve laut vi linm ?"

("I know right? I don't get why he won't just toss that cross eyed, bubble butt bitch and her whiny brat into the beast's maw so we can FINALLY get some of that sweet treasure…")

Jonathan looked down at Pwinx who clearly looked just as puzzled as he was, already scrolling through numerous texts and screens within the tome’s infinite knowledge database. “I take it you can translate that drobble…? I've heard my fair share of fantasy speak but this is on a whole new level of tongue twisty bullshit…” He whispered and continued to watch as the two idly surveyed the treeline left of the hiding human.

One casually remained holding his spear in a relaxed manner, wrapping a hoof around the length of the weapon so it rested on his shoulder. Just watching it kinda threw Jonathan for a loop. ‘How the hell would they even use that anyway, they don’t have hands! Maybe with their teeth? Talk about impractical…’

“Hmmn…well, here is what I CAN do, I can produce a crude translation and visually place sub text over their heads for you to read. Right now I unfortunately don’t have enough data to verbally translate it to your ears. Anything they say will be stored in the tome for you to look over, kinda like a chat log.`` Pwinx pulled up a purple screen and tossed it into the man’s face causing it to vanish in a puff of purple particles. The information came to him at once, imbuing a new ability to add onto his ever expanding repertoire of skills

Skill Acquired: “Sound to Text”

“Huh…handy” Jonathan willed a screen of the surrounding speech logs to read what the ponies had said, and it all came out in easily understandable English. When he looked down at the chattering guards It was almost as if a ghostly text box was floating over them both. “Hmmn…can you do the same for me…? That way these fine folks can somewhat understand me? That language barrier is gonna hurt like a bitch in terms of keeping the peace if we have to confront them.”

Jonathan scratched his head while watching another pair of merc ponies chatting further in the camp. He took mental note that ponies far away couldn’t have their dialog cataloged clearly, hinting that the skill used a form of lip reading to print their verbal information. Just to test he willed the skill to end, causing the various text bubbles over pony’s heads to vanish in an instant. It came back just as quickly with another thought.

“Unfortunately not right now…deciphering this language is gonna take some time, if you can find me some books or listen in on conversations it’ll speed up the process yea?” Pwinx waved a tiny hand nonchalauntly as Jonathan moved around from tree to tree, circling the entire bandit camp. He took great care that the guards on patrol wouldn’t catch him, using the various tree branches and leaves as cover for each springlike motion.

He only stopped when the trees met the mossy, rocky wall leading to the waterfall. Before Jonathan could make the trip back around for another look he was halted by something out of the corner of his eye. His fingers clasped the spyglass he had slipped into his bandolier, bringing it up to his focusing gaze. When he double checked what he saw the man was pleasantly surprised and confused at the point of interest that snagged his attention.

In clear english, carved into one of the many flat rocks, bottom right of the pony made dam was text. He hadn’t seen it before, but getting closer made it a lot more noticeable.

“Harken herald, the _____ sing….the overlord above all _____ this sacred place demands b__, the guardian slumbers, lying in wait for the golden one’s- __________. When the sky twinkles a violet dawn ____ will ____ and the guardian will awaken once more, as will the true power of the sacred treasure within for ________ to behold.”

Even though most of the words were either faded or eroded from many years of exposure to the elements, it still made no logical sense. How could the cave have prophetic writings in plain english? The ponies don’t appear to grasp the fundamentals of human English, much less any other form of known languages.

‘In that case how was Pwinx able to translate Zebrican so easily into English from Tecorat’s notes? There are to many questions that need answers, and I have a feeling I won’t find those in the tome…’

Jonathan wasn’t a fool, walking into that camp would have been foolish, suicidal even. Bad as these ponies were, starting a head on confrontation seemed like It would be a bloodbath for either party. There was also the crucial need for information, the more he could understand about this cave the sooner he could unravel its mysteries. He dragged his spyglass along, looking throughout the camp, taking in every crucial detail.

The more he saw, the more sickened Jonathan began to feel deep down, an anchor that weighed him down into despair for the slaves. Cages, so many cages were lined up north of the fire, between the walkways, with many occupants inside. The confines were cramped with two or three ponies, all of whom were shackled to the rusty bars over them.

They all donned the daunting gems of the slave collar around their necks, a spell of domination flowing through each and every one of them. Many were sickeningly enough mares in various stages of dehydration, malnourishment, or sickness, some even sported a…belly…swollen, rounded with implied stages of an unwanted pregnancy.

Some of the unfortunate stallions amongst the sea of mares looked battered and bloodied. Dirty bandages loosely clung to matted fur as a shitty attempt at covering varying wounds. The stallions that weren’t in their cages were east of the bonfire, hauling, chopping, and moving firewood by cart. It didn’t help that the way they chopped the logs was by cringingly clutching the rusty ax between their chipped, bloodied, and ruined teeth.

Two guards actively patrolled the cages at a time, one with a massive bag of what looked to be hay, and another with a jug of suspiciously murky water. The cloudy sludge was poured into dog bowls for each individual cage with a sickly *SHLORP*.

Hay was tossed against the bars which smacked into some of the occupant’s faces before pitifully dropping onto the damp floor of their tiny prisons. It was a truly heart wrenching sight to behold, worse than any prisoner deserved. Some ponies practically bucked at one another for the little scraps of hay given by their jailers. Others had to gingerly support the injured or sick cagemates, just so they could bring their muzzles close enough to the brackish mix of water and hay.

Two mares in particular caught Jonathan’s attention, giving him pause when the guards walked to their cell towards the end. The smaller mare had a dirty rose colored coat, with an equally dirty yellow mane. From what he could tell she seemed like she would be around 15 years old judging from her facial features and spry frame, no cutiemark oddly enough. The older and larger looking mare was resting in the younger one's hooves, clear signs of illness wreaking havoc on her limp frame.

She held similar colors to the youngest, however the coat was discolored in various patches due to hair falling out. If Jonathan had to guess he would think she was about 18 or 20. Her eyes were rolled back, half open and twitching in their sockets lazily, paying the guards no mind, only focusing on each labored breath.

The youngest looked up at the guards, whimpering out in her native tongue. (“I beg of you m-misters, my sister is very sick. S-she needs medicine, I beg you please save my sister…”) The guards paused, mockingly humming and hawing until one them gave his partner a small nudge with his forehoof.

The mercenary holding the jug of water, the one that was nudged let loose a sickly laugh. He was an Earth pony, one with a dusty red coat, and a raven black mane that bore a silver stripe running through the greasy locks. His plump lips rolled back to reveal a set of gold plated teeth, gnashing in a twisted smile.

(“Ooooohh?~ Your sister is sick now?~ Don’t worry runt, I’m sure we can make her feel ALL better, though medicine ain’t exactly cheap. It's expensive enough to give you walking money-bags water and hay. How can we expect to run such a lavish “shelter” for you “lost souls” if we have to oh so willingly show favoritism~ If you want them meds shortie, you're gonna have to work for em.”) The stallion ran his grayish tongue across his teeth in a perverse display of depravity and lust.

One sharp whistle to his unicorn companion caused the stallion to eagerly set down his bag of hay. There was a brief flash of green from his horn before a thin rope of magic connected to the collar’s gemstone like a leash. The small mare yelped as she was yanked from the cage causing her older sister’s head to squish into a pile of soggy hay. The youngest sister was gradually dragged off to one of the many tents near the cages, her horrific fate sealed….when the screaming started.

*CRACK*

Jonathan had unknowingly squeezed the spyglass to the point his knuckles turned a boney white. The metal had become warped under each individual finger, while the glass lenses shattered to powder from the sudden application of pressure. The man could feel his heart palpitating rapidly, pounding loud and hard like the beat of war drums.

Repressed memories flashed before his eyes belonging to him and the man whose body he inhabited. Visions of soul crushing trauma weighed heavily on his heart, turning that anchor he felt into what felt like a two ton elephant. The gnawing sensation could only be described as cold hands crushing his insides in a vice grip. No words could describe it, the immense feeling that was gradually overriding every mental facility in the human’s brain.

Jonathan wanted to kill them, to butcher these vain, disgusting, steaming piles of shit where they stood. His feet shifted, knees bending in preparation to vault over the two barricades. Before he could though, a wave of shimmering amethyst light enveloped his head like a halo of faerie lights. Quick as the emotions came, it all just…melted away like dust in the wind.

It was a sudden and powerful wave of calm that slowed his pounding heart to a rhythmic throb. The pieces were coming together, if he were panicking and thinking with irrational rage he couldn’t use the full picture that had been forming since the beginning. They were crammed in the back of his mind, and were clouded by other thoughts that loudly rang true.

He subconsciously had begun gathering information from the beginning, watching guard patrols, and observing the ponies' behaviors, all tactical info that a true battlemaster would need before a fight. A plan had already begun formulating, he just needed that sound, empty mind to finish it, to follow through to see results. Rising to a standing poise on the tree limb his blackened eyes glared down at the camp.

Scumbags, thieves, and violators, the worst that humanity had to show for…all imprinted upon this supposedly innocent world meant for kids. There was no rage, no sadness, only a cold, collective, and calm glare with twin purple orbs shining through the darkness that dusk was bringing.

Aelita as if sensing her master’s rage began snarling, her fiery orange and white fur stood on end when she poised arched on Jona’s shoulder. The primal gaze became as calm and focused as his own, a chilling blue glow gradually creeping into the corners of her eyes. She too had repressed feelings, the yearning for blood, to please her new master with the heads of their new prey, awaiting her lord’s orders.

“In 3 days they will all fall…one by one…until none remain...”

Author's Note

Sorry about the hiatus y'all! Mixtures of conflicting work schedules, loss of data, and writers block have halted my steam train of progress to a halt. :applejackconfused: No worries though! I have more content coming and plenty time to work on it!

I also want to just say WOW! I finally reached over 100 likes! :pinkiehappy: Thank you all so much, it really melts my heart all this work was worth it. I have some loyal viewers who enjoy my content, and even though I've recived some criticism I still hold it close to my heart and will use it going forward.

I have more bonus stuff incoming, especially for the 100 like goal, so stay tuned!

A Mare's Dreams of Another World

The darkened steel of his paladin armor shimmered in the burning glow of the dying stars. The heavens of Eden burned a hellish red from the cataclysmic merge with the fiery pits of hell. He stood atop a mountain of angels, his heavy boots crushing the halos like the stained glass of their churches.

He showed no mercy, clutching his burning halberd with but a single gauntlet, cracked but unbroken amidst the heat of glory. The sickly blade hummed with a potent power, one that seemed to siphon all light into its bottomless sea of darkness, never to escape its cold embrace. Each step ascended the mountain of holy corpses, their fresh blood pooling down to the base in copper scented rivers.

Everywhere the maiden turned her head, she could sense nothing but death and destruction. Feathers of her brothers and sister’s angelic wings rained down like snowflakes on a winter morn. Her concealed and cursed eyes stared up at the towering mass of bodies, tears of sadness, joy, and euphoria trailing down her pale cheeks.

Heaven, hell, and all between were falling into one another, armies fell at his very command. The commandments were shattered, the cycle disturbed, and both sins and virtues were abolished. That left only him, with his never ending hunger, his everlasting gluttony for the seemingly unreachable power.

This one man single handedly subjugated the father’s natural order, with a maniacal smile that spread from ear to ear beneath his helm of shadows. What many would describe as complete madness, she would see it for what it really was. Destiny, a fate so absolute that none could possibly interfere with its course. It rapidly approached with every step the man took, time slowed, the sounds of war reaching a new octave.

The maiden watched with shaky breaths, feeling her blindfolded gaze trail down to the blood that soaked her once sparkling robes. It was not her blood…no…it was the blood of her fellow angels, ones that once looked to her with such admiration, such loyalty, and love. Her fingers clasped the crucifix lance, a sharp tug removing the silver pole from its home within the smoldering husk of brother…Gabriel.

The angel Gabriel is…or…was the herald of visions, messenger of God and one of the angels of higher rank. He made God's message understandable to people and helped them to accept it with a pure heart. One might consider such an act of betrayal unforgivable, a grotesque act that would forever alter the balance of powers within the heavenly court. It didn’t matter though, for HE opened her blindfolded eyes to the truth, the perversion that he and the other angels of the heavenly hosts have made of the lord’s precepts.

The lord sat atop his high and mighty throne, letting the angels run amuck, toy with humanity and their emotions. The maiden was shown by the man in black that his way would finally free the humans she loved so dear from the shackles of both divine and unholy. He already revealed to her the armies of hell reduced to dust, showing her the strength that the heavenly father refused to muster.

The maiden moved her blind gaze to the unblinking blue eyes of her brother…her mentor, her bestest friend. His charred, skeletal jaw bounced up and down in a horrific display that sent chills down her spine. Even without lips she could hear his words which pierced her aching heart like an icy dagger, echoing within her mind.

“Lady Justitia…sister of mine…why do you betray me so…? Your blasphemy will doom us all, and for what…your blind faith? Your zealous devotion? Was it worth it…was HE…worth it…over family?”

Justitia silently grasped the lance that her brother fought gallantly with in one hand, her burning sword of judgment within the other. For a moment she could only silently stare down at the remnants of Gabriel, the words caught in her throat. When she finally spoke she would say her peace with the firm base behind it.

“Justice is blind brother…and I wish to finally open my eyes, and look upon all creation as he does. The world has so much color, life, and happiness, all of which I was cursed to be blind to…because all of whom my gaze meets, crumbles to ashes, forever damned to eternity in limbo.” The air within her general area shifted, causing her ears to twitch in response.

Justitia’s white knuckle grip upon the holy blades caused her fingers to grow numb, yet she could not feel the pain it also brought. “His path will show humanity and all mortals the true way…for he has told me the greatest secret…one which none would ever understand save for those who bend the knee to him.”

The faint smell of copper filled the air, her blond locks standing up in many places on her scalp. “His love for me transcends the heavens and across the cosmos, something that will always keep my faith alive. The time for God to be judged is upon us…and I proudly serve as Lord Dezmond’s HARBINGER OF RIGHTEOUS JUSTICE!”

The maiden twirled her sacred sword, spinning around in a fluid motion, her blind gaze piercing the illusion that Gabriel had brought upon her. His gentle words, they coaxed her nearly on towards destruction at his hands. Her blade halted, the burning metal cleaving through the flesh of Gabriel’s midsection. She drove the weapon through, fully bisecting the holy angel in twain. The lightning bolt that the angel failed to cast struck the ground beside her, searing down her bicep in a gnarly burn.

Gabriel…he relinquished his mortal form, the beautiful and humanoid figure of a kind man with blond hair and blue eyes. Beauty, that was what the angels valued in their deceitful guise when coming down to greet the humans. Justice was blind, immune to their vanity, and thanks to Dezmond her blindsight could perceive the angel’s true form.

The dying angel let loose guttural wails of anguish, his many wings losing their alabaster white in favor of the gushing crimson of his own blood. The many eyes that encompassed his divine form burst like popping blisters, showering Justitia in a mix of tears and gore. Her head tilted up, basking in the glory and freedom of the angel’s grizzly defeat.

“Your illusions shall bind me no longer…I relinquish my responsibilities to heaven and stand side by side with my new brothers and sisters. He, my one true love…and shall grant my truest wish at the death of our lord…” Upon the last words escaping her lips the heavens shook. The grand eye in the sky, the god above all opened himself to the challenger. The knight in black, The Overlord above all who claim themselves to be gods, approached without fear.

Justitia smiled, the tears which soaked into the blindfold gushing out, rolling down her cheeks in full force. It was over in an instant, watching the singular slash of his sacred sword cut open the fabric of space, time, and reality as she knew it diagonally. The arching slash stretched for what seemed to be infinity, cleaving open the all seeing eye of The Maker.

She thought he would die in an echoing scream…one that would knock her to her knees in sorrow. The great creator, the one who damned her into servitude, died without so much as a whisper. Everything that Justitia did lead to this moment, she fought alongside angels, the fallen, demons, and mortal champions blessed by her new lord. All of them battled under the banner of HIM, and what HE stood for.

The angel of justice spread her silver wings, letting her blood soaked, golden locks down to her shoulders. She flapped hard, boosting herself from the center of the carnage that Eden had become. The pearly lands of God were crumbling, without his divine power all would fall to nothingness, returning reality to a darkened void. No pantheons remained, the Greeks and Romans, Mayans, Egyptians, the Norse, Eldritch, along with all lesser gods have either bent their knee or died by his blade.

Existence was crumbling around them, and even so Dezmond met her with a loving embrace. His ominous platemail was stained with the steaming blood of many, both god and moral. She could care less, only relishing the tender fingers that caressed her cheek. His voice rang true, making her heart pound in excitement and yearning. Everything was falling down around them, crumbling in order to give birth to a NEW life, one in the Overlord’s image.

“...My love…”

Dezmond’s fingers grasped the eye guard of the lady justice, removing it to reveal closed eyes. His voice, his oh so warm, and gentle voice graced her ears, beckoning her to open up her eyes. “The time has come my flower…my other half, tell me in these final moments, what is it you wish…?”

Without hesitating she replied. “My wish…is a world without gods, one where everyone can live, laugh, and love forever…a place where godly power doesn't matter. In this world, I want to stay by your side and look upon mortals without these cursed eyes.”

Justitia opened her twin orbs to reveal the golden irises which blazed with the power of judgment. Dezmond’s amethyst eyes gazed back, locking with hers and withstanding their might, for he is the only one who wouldn’t crumble at her gaze. The scales which weighed the Overlord behind her pupils crumbled, without reality there could be no holy judgment.

Their lips inched closer and closer until finally colliding in a passionate kiss, just as it all came crumbling down around them. His final words before the great collapse echoed across the now empty nothingness their reality had become.

“Wish…granted…”

Derpy’s eyes opened, her held breath coming out in a loud gasp as molted feathers rained down around her. The ceiling of her bedroom rolled with her wandering eyes, one having drifted towards the incessant ringing of the alarm clock. A hoof brushed her blond mane from her face, while the other violently bashed the button of her little clock. Gray feathers continued to rain down from the ceiling, another sign of her sleep flapping…again.

The mare was nothing special, a simple if not mediocre mail mare working for Ponyville Postal. Even though her life was supposed to be simple, as of lately these…dreams…continued to wreak havoc on her already questionable mind. Rolling off the bed and onto all four hooves, Ditzy Hooves dragged her exhausted body to her bathroom. Just looking in the mirror spoke volumes, she was an absolute mess.

Derpy’s hair was disheveled, some parts tightly matted by layers of sweat, others poking out at odd angles. Trying and failing, the mare attempted to straighten her eyes to get a good look at herself when brushing her teeth. Every attempt leads to one eye drifting off to another side of the bathroom, finding the floor or ceiling more amusing. For as long as she could remember Derpy suffered from this unfortunate disability, one that grew worse as she became older.

Finding work was miserable, especially during her young adult years when she flunked college in Fillydelphia. Her miserable optical disability fortunately led to a few benefits, one of those being guaranteed work here in Ponyville. The other being-

“MOOOOOOM! I’m heading off to school!” The cheery voice of Dinky Doo rang out as she passed her open bedroom door. The young, pinkish gray, filly bobbed up and down with her saddlebags loaded with various notebooks, textbooks, and lunch, prepared for her day at Castle Friendship. She shared her mother’s lovely blond mane, and equally stunning gold eyes, a prominent feature in the Hooves family.

In an instant all stress and worries of her night terrors vanished, with her heart thumping with the joys of motherhood. “Ohhhh! Have a great day my little muffin! Make sure to come straight home after school! We need to stay on schedule if we are gonna make the Lunar Festival!” Derpy called with her mouth full of paste which she promptly spat into the sink.

“Momma, the festival isn’t until next Moonday remember? Have a good day at work and thanks for the yummy breakfast muffin!” With that the vibrant filly raced out of the house, leaving the Pegasus mare alone with her thoughts once again. Derpy climbed into the porcelain tub, reaching out with a hoof to twist the blue crystal which controlled the shower cloud over her head.

Cool water rained down her slender, curvy frame, rinsing away the sweat that had been trickling down her brow since she awoke. ‘This is the sixth time I’ve had this dream…oohh…It's making me forget things more than usual! Maybe The Doctor can tell me what it means…? Heh…I’ll ask him after the festival.’

Derpy pondered this while using her favorite blueberry shampoo to straighten, comb through, and adjust her mane. The bathing soap also proved most effective in cleansing the grime from her gray coat which vanished down the swirling drain. Getting a good shower in before work always made waking up so much easier.

WIth a brushing stick between her teeth, Derpy took great care cleaning her wings, with the bubbly, blueberry, muffin scented soap delicately washing her feathers. When all was said and done she emerged from the shower with a content sigh. Derpy had gone through this cycle all too many times, continuing on to her routine acquisition of her malemare uniform from her closet.

When she finally slipped into the last of her gear, she would leave the confines of her bedroom and out to the living room. The previous night Dinky had invited friends to their home as a pre celebratory party for the Lunar Festival. The remnants of their party escapades were all to clear with various board games, empty juice boxes, and paper plates scattered across the room. No wonder Dinky had skipped out so quickly, this place was a mess!

Derpy sighed in disappointment, shaking her head while both eyes zipped around the room in opposing directions. She took a large trash bag from the kitchen cupboard, under the sink and began rapidly darting around the living room. She scooped up trash, put games away, and generally tidied up the cluster bomb of mess.

The faint sound of beeping on her hoof broke her from the mindless tasks of cleaning after her daughter. It was her watch, buzzing and beeping to remind the mailmare of her work dedications. “OH gosh, I’m goanna be late!” Derpy rushed out into the kitchen, sliding and almost toppling over one of the kitchen island table chairs, all in a mad dash for breakfast.

One, solitary, blueberry muffin remained on the lazy suzy platter where she had loaded it with emergency breakfast treats a week prior. Days where she was late for work were common, and it was actually Dinky’s clever idea to make the muffin platter for a quick dine and dash. With that being said Derpy made a mental reminder to pick up more muffins over from Sugarcube Corner.

That week in particular they were actually having a sale on their new Moonberry Muffin Bites, in celebration of the festivities that were coming to town. Derpy rushed towards the door in a full gallop to grab her empty mailbag. It was thankfully dangling off the standing hanger nearest to the door, right where she left it.

After giving her gray cap a small adjustment she’d leave her cozy home with a strong flap of her wings. The strong gust of wind allowed her to take flight to Ponyville’s one and only postal office. Despite a small hiccup getting ready, she was confident today was going to be a great day!

“Really Derpy…? Again? This is the third time this week you're late…” The sky blue mare with an orange mane let out a dramatic sigh. One hoof adjusted her green rimmed glasses upon her snout to look at her frazzled mail carrier. The mare looking upon her was none other than the big boss, Postage Stamp.

She was a no nonsense type of mare who didn’t take many excuses from her employees, especially tardiness. The morning light of the early morning shined in, showing off the orange envelope cutiemark smacked on her flank. Pink and green postage stamps whirled around the envelopes like a breeze blowing the autumn leaves.

“I-I’m sorry boss, I just don’t know where I went wrong…!” Derpy whined as her unfocused eyes struggled to look at her watch. The bubble-brained postal pony gradually realized when looking from her watch, to the wall mounted clock that…her watch was wrong. Work started at 7:00am, and the watch on her wrist did say she was on time. It seemingly left her in the clear at 7:15am, if not a little late on arrival for her shift..

Unfortunately reality smacked her across the face, revealing it was actually 8:15am instead, making her an entire hour late. Postage Stamp sighed, running a hoof through her curly mane. “Derpy…what am I going to do with you? Your mail is in compartment 166, please make sure it's all done by this afternoon? Without property damage this time… I’ll let this tardiness slide one last time, I mean it Miss Hooves!” She barked while shaking her hoof in the air.

Derpy let out a nervous laugh, falling over herself as she made a beeline from Postage’s office. “Y-yes ma’am! I’ll get them done in a flash! You’ll see!” Derpy chirped while constantly tripping, stumbling, and rolled her way through the building. Her boss only let out a long sigh, planting her head into her paperwork as she did. That mare was gonna be the death of her, she could see it.

Derpy entered backrooms of the mail center, searching the various mail slots for her little cubby containing the morning mail. Compartment 166 thankfully contained way less mail than she was used to. This boosted her confidence that she could knock out all her work easy peasy! She had been given a large bundle of various letters, a hoof full of packages, and one mysterious black box with the red stamp labeled “Caution Fragile”.

Despite being curious, the mail mare knew better than to snoop, she could lose her job. While Derpy may be a klutz, she was smart when it came to her working habits, one of them being the organization of the mail before flight. Her satchel that had come with her uniform was enchanted, providing an extra expanding compartment for excess mail. Said bag was simply called “The Mailbag of Holding” by it’s boring creator.

Space inside was twisted, making it weigh much lighter for flying mail carriers, especially when it came to packages. One by one the letters, packages, and lastly the box were positioned, placed within the expansive void of her mail bag. Derpy checked the address list inside the compartment, getting an accurate read on the ponies who needed their mail right away!

With the list grasped in her muzzle she wasted no further time, flying out the window to her first delivery of the day. Everything beyond that would fade into a blur, her wings beating and sending her soaring just beneath the cloud line. Derpy flew much differently than most Pegasus carriers, tending to keep herself under the clouds so she could spin, twirl, and readjust herself accordingly.

Her awkward eyes shifted with motion, almost as if she had been born with a set of golden googly eyes. That being said, twirling, corkscrewing, and risky maneuvers made her eyes focus a lot easier on the buildings below. This method of flight was something she had to master at an early age if she ever wanted to fly, period. Unfortunately this method had its downsides, like the time she accidentally mucked about at town hall.

During that time she was just getting used to being in the air again after spending weeks moving into her new home with Dinky. Before she was used to soaring above the angular city streets of Fillydelphia, rather than the circular town structures of Ponyville. If it weren’t for Miss Applejack generously paying out of hoof for her screw up she’d be thousands of bits in debt. Derpy oh so lovingly sent the cowmare many baskets of muffins as thanks, which the element of honesty always accepted with a small smile.

Each bundle of mail that was delivered was accepted with open hooves and friendly smiles. More than a few ponies gave Derpy a wave when she would place their mail in their respective homes, one grandma even gave her a banana muffin! It all came down to the singular black package in her bag.

The last courier order on her list led her to what seemed to be a rather run down apartment building. It was nestled up towards the furthermost outskirts of the Ponyville east of town hall. She took care to settle her hooves onto a cloud before double checking the address on her list was right.

Derpy was no stranger to the creepy sides of ponyville, especially after the most recent swarm of parasprites running rampant. The little pests had quite literally eaten many families out of house and home. This left only ruined timber piles, crumbling foundations, and crumbling stone walls.

Construction was underway, but that didn’t stop the unsavory sort from dealing business in the ruined alleyways. Sometimes even troublesome colts or fillies would spray paint on the concrete walls in alleys as “tags”. Derpy took great care to instill into little Ditzy that running or playing in these areas was a big no no.

Gliding down onto the cobblestone path Derpy took cautious strides to the abandoned looking home, her wandering eyes taking note of the glistening yellow caution tape stretched across boarded up windows. When she finally mustered up the courage to approach the door, her hoof poised to knock. When her hoof rapped on old, splintery, damp wood it threatened to buckle at her very touch.

There was only silence, a deafening silence that permeated the courier mare’s surroundings. The sounds of cheerful birds chirping had long since ceased when entering the area. It was almost as if they too felt a sense of unease being in the general area. Even the wind was unnaturally quiet, with weather Pegasi directing the clouds away from the construction zones in the area for clear weather. Speaking of…it was strange, normally the construction ponies would be working during these hours, early bird catches the muffin!

Just as Derpy turned to take the package back to the postal center, the faintest sound of hoofsteps met her twitching ears. Turning back to face the door she watched with bated breath as it creaked open to reveal the home's inhabitant. Standing tall at a good 5’6 was a masculine, bipedal feline with black fur. The shaggy fuzz was complimented by a large white patch around the left side of his face.

This…caught Derpy off guard, a Catfolk in ponyville wasn’t commonplace, with their kind more or less gyrating around the Abyssinia country. What would one be doing so far into Equestria, much less be doing in their rinky dink town of Ponyville? The more Derpy tried to wrap her brain around it, the more she rationalized with the recent town gossip. It could be possible he was there for the festival…yea. Her thoughts would be interrupted by the feline’s smooth voice catching her small attention span.

“Ahhhh, there is my package, it's about time those schmucks delivered my goods…I've been dying to get my paws on some quality food. Importing preserved foods out of the nation tends to get a little hectic, yeah? Especially with these growing tensions out in Storm King territory…beyond the Equestrian Sea. Them teaming up with Griffonstone sure as heck made trading pain in the flank.” The cat’s words were slow, methodical, and pleasing to the ears, sending a shiver down the pony’s spine.

He spoke with all the charm of a snake oil salespony, unfortunately causing the clueless mare to hang on every word he said with big eyes. Derpy loved to talk with ponies while delivering mail, and seeing as he was the last package before her lunch break, she didn’t see a reason to stop now. Her ears twitched at the mention of the “Lands beyond Equestria”, something she knew very little about, but was obviously hooked to hear more.

The cat’s squinted eyes were mismatched, one twinkling a bright emerald green, the other a bright ruby red. Both were twin jewels that Derpy thought she might get lost in if she stared for much longer, which her eyes thankfully rolled away when she tilted her muzzle sideways. His extra long tail swayed behind him in a serpentine fashion, showing off that there was less fur along its length, leading to the large tuft at the tip.

“O-Oh! I mean, yeah! I mean, I don’t think I had food outside Equestria before… OH! Actually I tried out the “Muffins Around The Globe”, the monthly food service! I got to taste some of those yummy salted caramel muffins baked in Seaquestria, super moist!” The more Derpy sized him up, the more she got a good look at his rather…formal attire which didn’t seem to match up with the drab setting of the ruined home.

They wore a thick black overcoat with a pair of gray pants, complemented by an ashen gray button up shirt. Running through the various loops at his curved hips was a shiny black belt, held up by an oversized buckle. Bottles of glowing purple and green liquids dangled from various pouches adorning the belt straps.

His feet were clad in straight laced boots fastened up to the calf, they were even shined to perfection. What really caught Derpy’s drifting gaze was the yellow armband sewn into the overcoat. It wasn’t anything too fancy, but patched into the center, clear as day was what looked to be two black horns curved upwards into the shape of a spade.

“Ha! I’m more of a cupcake kind of guy, but to each their own…I’ve been known to have a muffin or two on occasion as a quick breakfast, do you have a favorite? Oh! Forgive my rudeness, my name is Onyx Archypurral, but you can call me Onyx baby~!” He chuckled, combing a paw through his greaser hairstyle.

“Oh! Okay…Mr. Onyx! My name is Ditzy Hooves, but most ponies call me Derpy! You're a new face around here, are you just moving in? Normally Miss Pinkie Pie would be all over new folks in town.” She giggled, lightly shifting her hooves so her mail bag could more comfortably settle at her side. The cat laughed a little, shaking his head while taking the box into his open paws before setting it aside.

“Nah nah, just passing through, a couple…business associates of mine are here to pick up a few folks before heading east through the forest. I guess you can say this little ramshackle hole is more so a rental than…permanent residence.” Onyx mused, leaning against the doorframe whilst they casually conversed.

There was something about his eyes that rubbed Derpy the wrong way, yet she couldn’t find it in herself to look away for long. Even as her heart began to beat a mile a minute, utterly enthralled by the gentlecat’s soothing presence. It felt as if every ounce of deception she could have possibly had was melted away, faded into obscurity in favor of his enchanting glamor.

“O-oh! You better be careful there mister, that forest is baaaaad news, it has lots of dangerous monsters, many have been very active to the point Princess Twilight mandated ponies get a permission ticket to cross through there. In there, the weather isn’t controlled by Cloudsdale making it unpredictable. The animals are wild and take care of themselves, Ooo and there are lots of poisonous plants too!” She mumbled, shuffling on her hooves.

An ominous chortle escaped Onyx’s lips, almost as if he found what the mare said to be quite humorous, yet at the same time not belittling her warnings. “Ah, trust me when I say my associates and I can handle ourselves quite fine, besides, the pony we seek in this little town is quite precious. We were willing to cross any ocean, scale any mountain, and trek through any dangerous jungle or forest to find her…” The cat placed one paw over his chest, closing his mismatched eyes as if thinking of something.

That brief moment of broken eye contact allowed Derpy to finally release the breath she had been unknowingly holding. Her mind was no longer held captive by that enthralling gaze. Derpy’s empty mind was now filled by something else, something potentially more distracting…curiosity. “If you don’t mind me asking, who is it you are looking for? She must be very important if you people came this far!”

The moment those words left her lips the air would change around them, growing extremely tense. Onyx would pause, his eyes slowly opening to reveal that his heterochromatic green eye had joined its brother in becoming a ruby red. Even his teeth seemed to have shifted, pointed fangs peeking from under his curled lips.

Derpy tried to take a step back, completely blindsided by the change, but it seemed like every muscle in her body had completely locked up. Even her eyes which normally rolled around in her head seemed to pause, with one staring at the ground while the other locked onto the rising threat. Onyx let out a melodic hum, shrugging his shoulders before speaking aloud in an almost sing-songy voice.

“Oh you might actually know her….mmm, she moved ALL the way here from Fillydelphia. We’ve been keeping tabs on her for a long while, she got all cozy here. Got a job, had a filly to call her own, a divorce, caused a couple thousand bits worth of property damage. Now THAT…was rather entertaining to read in the reports, to think ponies are so willing to forgive and forget in these parts.” Onyx yawned and stretched his body out with a few pops.

He approached, his soft paws cupping the underside of the now trembling Derpy’s muzzle, squeezing in a shockingly firm vice. When he smiled it was no longer that sleazy, joking, and endearing one she had so willingly let herself be drawn in by. Instead it was filled with a whole different emotion, a different feeling, one she had only felt in her dreams…bloodlust.

“You know at first I thought it was all an act, a cover to hide your tracks in this pitiful world. When our spies told me that a HARBINGER moved to this peace loving, backwater town out here, I had to see for myself. Now that I got a look at you up close, I know. How can I ever mistake those eyes, those beautiful, beautiful eyes…derpy as they are, they shine bright like bricks of gold. It almost makes me wanna just gouge them out and make em into trophies!~” The sickly sweet cat popped his claws, the sharp points of his thumbs coming inches from Derpy’s dilated pupils.

“But what’s the rush…? We have plenty of time before the first wave of this “Grand Cataclysm” that the higher ups have been preaching about. Now that we have YOU, you're the golden ticket to opening up a big ole treasure trove of goodies before the “Great One” arrives.” He clicked his tongue while gradually retracting his claws.

“With the forgotten gods coming to our world and subsequently their champions, my association needs all the firepower they can get their grubby little mitts on to combat “The Overlord”...” Onyx opened his mouth, revealing a long, black, wet tongue that danced in the air like a bulbous worm. It dragged along Derpy’s tear stricken cheeks, leaving a trail of sticky slobber clinging to her now matted fur.

“With the gods arriving to this world, only the strong few such as myself will rise from the ashes…and climb to the top as the ruler of this world. Hmhmhm…who am I kidding, without the first wave you don’t even have access to your former strength, much less your memories. Good thing we got a hold of you before that…wouldn’t want you meeting with the Overlord just yet, now-”

Before the dastardly cat could finish a second figure emerged from behind Derpy, filling her whole world with pain. Every nerve screamed in pain while both her mane and fur stood up from the surge of electricity. The smell of sizzling flesh and burning hair wafted into the air, filling her lungs.

When her body finally fell, it crumpled like a sack of potatoes into the dirty wooden boards of the porch. Standing behind her in a completely relaxed stance was a second cat of opposing colors to Onyx. This one had been graced by an alabaster coat of white fur, with a voided black spot over one of his squinted red eyes.

Clutched in his paw was a sparking baton laden with glowing, blue, crystal gems that hummed with magical power. The intricate golden frame coiled around the blacksteel base, insulated by a rubber grip that protected the feline’s gloved digits. The arching bolts licked at the air, generating a small aura of light that revealed his mimicking attire that clad the twin’s person. Every bit of his gear matched, only to differentiate his gear had inverted color palettes to Onyx

“Dear brother…what did I tell you about playing with your food…what if the informants were wrong and she WAS an awakened Harbinger? You and I both know that I would end up scooping your ashes from the cobblestone…” Twirling the baton on his palm, the second party cat holstered the deadly stun weapon at his side. His much more intense red eyes staring down at their newly captured prey, cats who caught a twitching mouse.

“Oh hush my dear Wesker…you undermine my infernal born power. Even in this pre awakened body my power is unmatched by the likes of these simple minded ponies. The moment she locked eyes with me, my Incubus charm had her wrapped around my fingers~” Onyx chuckled, crouching down to stare into the glazed eyes of a barely conscious Derpy.

“We have her daughter, my mercenaries managed to silently pick her off and drag her to the convoy, right on schedule. Make sure that Miss “Ditzy Hooves” makes it to the camp INTACT. The blood of a living Harbinger is needed to raise the sunken city of Yureli from its earthly depths in the “other world”...” Wesker turned, walking away from Onyx.

Onyx looked from his brother to Derpy before giving a two finger salute as he rose from his crouched position. Reeling his leather boot back, the petrified Pegasus could only mentally brace as the flash of stars exploded in her vision. More blinding pain, and the swift decline into unconsciousness consumed her mind, tendrils of darkness fading her into a sea of darkness…

Descovering The Missing Pieces

Derpy felt herself moving, her entire body completely weightless in her own little haze. She had grown numb to everything, save for the dull throbbing in her swollen eye, forcing it shut. She let out a soft groan from her swollen lips and struggled to move from her prone position. Each attempt barely allowed her to open a single eye, tendrils of darkness combating the vain attempts to remain lucid in the waking world.

For the briefest moments she could see herself laid sprawled out in a cage that rumbled along with many others. The faint aroma of fresh forest air greeted her nostrils, topped off by the stomach churning scent of blood. Derpy’s lips parted in an attempt to say something…anything, but such effort only led to a stream of nonsensical, agonized moans. This single act stirred another figure occupying the cage, shifting against her stomach until they were practically on top of her.

What felt like tiny hooves shook and rocked Derpy, trying so desperately to further along rouse her. Derpy’s wandering gaze trained on the tiny face of Dinky, her cheeks damp with fresh tears, coat covered in grime and…dried blood? The poor filly looked as if she had not eaten or slept in days. Her small lips moved rapidly, yet the only sound that she heard from the filly was muffled, overpowered by a loud ringing.

“Mom…you have to….ple…ase…wake…they’re comin…g…please don’t….o”

Derpy’s slowly rising head lost what little strength she could muster, collapsing onto the cold, rusty, filthy cage floor with a soft thump. Any and all physical feelings would leave her, like an invisible force tugging her further and further away from the unfolding scene. Next she would attempt to awaken, it was to the overpowering smell of smoke flooding her muzzle. Her bloodshot eyes opened once more, rolling aimlessly around in a confused haze.

The incessant ringing had dulled, instead becoming a low hum, muffling the screams that filled her darkened surroundings. It was night, yet the forest around them was lit up as if Celestia’s very sun had come to kiss the earth. Unlike her previous attempt she could get a slightly more clear picture of the immediate area. The darkness wriggled from the corners of her vision, receding to show her the ensuing tides of chaos.

Derpy was a captive, as were many other ponies hitched up into the open cart that was traversing a path through what she assumed to be the Everfree forest. Stallions flanked either side of the cart, yelling out in a mixture of anger and fear. Clutched in their forehooves were lengthy spears, rusted, old, yet just as deadly. One of the stallions, a purple Unicorn with a green mane, ignited his horn with a lime colored aura. From the tip a stream of purple flames spewed forth, crashing into the darkness beyond the mare’s weak peripherals.

“That bastard! He said that this route would be safe when the bloody first wave started! Oh Celestia…oh Celestia buck me with your forehooves! This psycho bitch is goanna kill us all!” The Unicorn cursed, backing up whilst maintaining a constant stream of magical flames at the unseen force beyond the walls of fire he conjured. He stepped back until his flank bumped into the cage next to Derpy's face. Now that he was closer she could better see the stallion’s unique cutiemark. Stamped into his flank was a pyre of purple flames engulfing a cackling green equine skull.

“Hold them off until the boss gets here! We can’t let them reach the package! I don’t care how many slaves you have to throw at them! If anything happens to her then we are all bucked anyways! For House Onyx Horn! FOR THE ONYX HORN!” Another stallion beside the unicorn roared, rushing into the plumes of smoke and fire with a silver lance mounted to his armored saddle..

Said stallion was massive, tall, imposing, almost like that Big Mac fella lingering around the Apple homestead. Derpy had seen the big lug around Sweet Apple Acres during her frequent muffin deliveries to his sister. He could be found plowing, bucking trees, and on one awkward occasion bucking her daughter’s teacher.

His coat of fur was the darkest shade of brown she had ever seen, at least what she could see between the little gaps of his hefty armor. The ashen gray plates glittered in the lavender tinted light of the dancing flames, surrounding their little caravan of cages like a ring of fire. Mounted atop his head was a helmet unlike anything she had ever seen before.

Derpy had seen her fair share of guards, Princess Twilight had plenty guarding the grounds of Castle Friendship. Normally the helmets of guards were open around the facial regions save for the bridge of the muzzle. While it did guard the sides of the neck well enough, It still had plenty of vulnerabilities around the face, not this stallion though. His helmet completely covered his entire head, masking his facial regions save for a single slit streaking vertically across the eyes as a way of seeing through.

Black horns protruded from either side of the head below the ear holsters, coiling in opposing S shapes near the forehead in gnarly spikes. While most of the surrounding stallions leading the slave caravan were clad in leathery armor, this stallion in particular seemed very important, a captain perhaps? Derpy wouldn’t be able to process it all with the mixture of smoke inhalation, and the after effects of her brutal concussion threatening to claim her mind yet again.

The stallion roared to the heavens, rearing back on his hind legs with the shadowy silhouettes of what looked to be a wolf impaled on his lance. It was barely visible within the purple light which passed through the smoke. The pyro unicorn pressed into the cage beside Derpy let out a startled yelp, his entire body growing rigid. Vines had shot from the clouds of smoke, constricting around him like a snake around its prey.

The unicorn let loose the most guttural, terrifying screams imaginable, pulling Derpy back from the brink. Her body couldn’t move, only watch the horrific display as the unicorn was twisted like a broken power pony figurine. The sickly sounds of his bones breaking resonated with the sounds of battle around her. Through the chaos Derpy could hear her…her poor Dinky, sniffling, whimpering, terrified by it all.

Either through sheer determination, will, or motherly instinct, the Pegasus was able to stretch out her twitching wings, pulling the terrified filly into her stomach. Both wings flopped around Dinky, shielding her from the shower of blood which erupted from the Unicorn who had been promptly ripped in two. His flesh and muscles ripped like wet tissue paper, his organs spilling out like a grotesque piñata.

Even with both ends of the pony being whipped around in the air Derpy could still hear his screams. The continuous torrent of flames erupting from his horn remained, even in this mutilated state. The deadly streams unfortunately ended up spraying a passing Pegasus mare who had been dropping what appeared to be bombs from the sky. The intense heat blasted her in the face, igniting half of her form causing her to let out unholy shrieks of anguish.

The feathers on her right side all but vaporized from the Unicorn’s spell, sending her spiraling down beyond the walls of flames. The fire that had steadily sizzled the writhing mare’s form engulfing the rest of her writhing body, igniting the satchel of explosives she had been carrying. The resulting explosion sent shockwaves through the forest, obliterating the dense tree line over them all. The patches of sky revealed a sea of twilight, an all seeing eye glaring down at them like a malicious spotlight.

Hot, sticky, copper scented blood rained down, with the wet, gross sounds of the Unicorn stallion’s entrails spilling onto the bars over the mare’s head. Derpy wanted to scream, to panic, to cry out, but the gods refused to let her, instead making her watch every second of this Tartarus. The vines that had completely ripped the Unicorn apart dropped both halves with a wet SPLAT, the upper half landing atop Derpy and Dinky’s cage.

Derpy’s wandering eye unfortunately wandered upward, panning to look at the now deceased stallion. His face was frozen in an abstract look of terror, blood pouring from his open mouth and onto Derpy’s petrified cheek. Beyond him she found herself concentrating on the great eye in the sky, feeling herself become lost, lost in its intense gaze. Only in that moment would the sensation of lucidity begin to fade, white gradually clouding her vision just as what looked to be a purple comet soar overhead.

Derpy’s eyes opened once again, the heavy weight and paralyzing effects on her stiff muscles all but faded. Expecting herself to be in the cage she would twist and turn, looking in all directions for her daughter…nothing. White, white as far as the eye could see, it was the ONLY thing she could see. When she looked down at her hooves…for the first time in a long time…her eyes were perfectly straight, normal. Had she died? Had she inhaled too much smoke and passed to the great beyond? Where was her daughter? Had she died too?

She could see both of her hooves with both of her eyes, even when blinking, shaking her head, or moving in general she could still see clearly. Dreams…she had to be dreaming, was it a dream? Was it ALL a dream…? No…a nightmare. Her thoughts would be interrupted by the sounds of hoofsteps approaching ahead of her prone form. An all too familiar voice ringing out into the infinite sea of white nothingness, sending a chill down Derpy’s stiff spine.

“Unfortunately no…this isn’t a dream Ditzy…even though I wish within my heart of hearts that it was.”

She sat upright on her flank to face her visitor, wings instinctively shielding herself from any would-be attackers. Her entire body trembled like a leaf in a strong gust of wind, one flick and she’d be blown away. Tears of panic leaked down her pale cheeks, rolling down her neck which had begun developing bruises beneath the thin fur from her previous abuse in the waking world. The voice…that voice called to her again, this time much softer.

“Calm yourself Ditzy…I am no foe, you of all people should know this…” Her voice and hoofsteps grew closer and closer, until the darkness of her shadow had cast over the shell-shocked mare. When Derpy finally lowered her curtain of feathers she could finally match the face to the voice. Towering over her was in fact…herself.

“W-who are you…? What are you…? W-where is my daughter…?” Derpy croaked, slightly scooting back from her double. This version of the Klutzy mare looked…different, yet at the same time similar. She stood on all four hooves, chest puffed out with all the courage of a lion. Her yellow mane had been tied back into a ponytail, one strand of hair poking out and tracing down the right side of her face.

The biggest discerning feature that differed between the mares were the bright, glowing, golden eyes beaming down on the sitting mare. The corners of her glorious orbs leaked streams of arcane runes, bleeding into the air before vanishing into nothing. The calm expression on her face spoke volumes of Derpy’s character. Unlike this…imposter, Derpy was completely lost, confused, and most importantly of all…terrified for her daughter’s safety.

Before she could open her mouth to speak her doppelganger held up a hoof, taking her time to sit opposite of Derpy. “Before you ask…again your daughter is safe…for the time being. As for who I am…? Well…I have a feeling you already know the answer to that don’t you?” Derpy opened and closed her mouth, thinking hard on her response. The memories came to her slowly, but they came nonetheless, sending glimpses of two lives into her at once.

“You…your Justitia…?”

The mare sitting before her smiled a little, but quickly reverted back to a cold and stoic expression. “Hmmm…I suppose you could call me that, however my answer is both yes and no.” She held up her hooves, her golden eyes dancing across the gray fur as if finally looking at herself for the first time in years.

“What do you mean yes and no…? I don’t understand…p-please I just want to understand! I want my daughter, I want to go HOME!” Derpy screamed, and for the first time in her entire life she felt the burning embers of rage well up within her chest. Her gaze locked with the mare’s who simply nodded, averting her golden eyes from the fuming Derpy.

“Ditzy…there isn’t a simple answer I can give you that you will understand, much less comprehen-” Derpy cut the mare off, unleashing her pent up vitriol in one, loud, echoing shout of frustration.

“THEN BUCKING SIMPLIFY IT FOR ME!”

The clone let out a sharp breath in as if startled by the outburst, only to let out a long sigh, relenting to her twin. Derpy was now standing on all fours, this time with her gaze filled with so much bubbling rage. She was like a tea pot ready to blow steam to the point her ears tinted a bright shade of red.

“I am you and you are me, I am but part of yourself, pieces of your mind broken away and held here by…her…but I guess you can simply call me Fragment” She mumbled, closing her eyes as if to think carefully on the answer, something the mare could understand.

“Justitia, as you know, desired a life where she could be carefree, where she could live amongst mortals, and her one true love. She wanted a pair of gentle eyes, ones that wouldn't reduce those she looked upon to ashes. You…you are her reincarnation, new life, flesh, spectrum of emotions, yet your…our soul is still intertwined with hers.” Fragment said coolly, unblinking as she met Derpy’s harsh glare with one of indifference.

“In this lifetime she ripped away her rage, her innate lust for conflict, her natural combative side. Instead she left a gentle heart, optimistic views on life, naiveté and everything that made YOU so…innocent…to innocent. Unfortunately that came with the unprecedented side effects of…erm…you know, being a bit scatterbrained.” The glowing mare traced a circle in the white void between them with her hoof.

“All of those discarded feelings, those parts of yourself abandoned by HER, all of it was accumulated into me. It left me trapped in this space within your…OUR mind, an inside voice unable to call out, only observing as you lived out your life..” Fragment whispered, closing her eyes as repressed feelings of her own bled through.

“The only friend I had were the centuries of memories of Justita’s past life, another part of herself left to rot with me…”

After a moment Derpy’s replicate rebuilt her calm façade so she could look the mail mare in the eyes once again. “She shattered us into many pieces, leaving what SHE thought were the greatest aspects of herself to live life to the fullest, one without conflict as she wished. However what she DIDN’T expect was the coming storm…'The Grand Cataclysm'...” She whispered.

Derpy slowly sat down, her flank pressing onto the cold surface of the white void, all attention was now focused on…well…herself. “That…I…you mean to tell me that Justitia is the reason I’m like this? Why I was born like this? A cross eyed, bubble brained FREAK!? T-Thats impossible, if that's the case, why do I feel mad now?! Why do I feel these emotions NOW!?” Derpy slammed her front forehooves between her clone’s. She scooted right up into Fragment’s face, her breathing becoming more erratic with each passing second.

“You say that Ditzy…yet can you look me In the eyes and say that it wasn’t the most relaxing, and peaceful life you could have possibly had? One where you could truly say that you were happy? In this life you've gotten to live in a world filled with peace, no war, buck not even a petty theft went by without some moral lesson being learned! You're feeling all of these new emotions because we are sitting face to face…for the first time EVER.” Fragment raised a brow, folding her forehooves over the fluff of her chest.

Derpy blinked, the question was like a swift blow to her gut, knocking all the wind from her sails. She sat back down, taking a moment to relive her life in fleeting memories. From the struggles of a rough foalhood battling her disability, to the many friends she made as she grew up in the bustling streets of Fillydelphia. Even today she could fondly remember her nights out with her old marefriends during her juvenile years. They still hung out with her, despite the clumsy nature she had inherited.

It all came to a head with the birth of Dinky, her precious little muffin, a filly so sweet and kind, even when the other fillies made fun of her klutzy mother. The more she thought about it, the more she had come to realize that she had in fact lived a happy life. Despite all the curveballs that life threw at her, despite all the taunts, the teasing, the accidents, she would go through it all over again to have Dinky in her life. Seeing her face made every morning bearable amidst the sea of thoughts bubbling in her clouded mind, Dinky was that one constant.

“Fine…you win…but why am I here now? If you are supposed to be an inside voice that I’m not even supposed to reach, then why am I able to be in contact with you now?” Derpy asked softly while shifting into a much more relaxed position on her side.

“It's because of the Cataclysm…ever since the Lunar festival everything in this world has begun to change. Picture Equis as a snowglobe, all the peace, love, and friendship filled up this world, creating a beautiful piece of art. When the Cataclysm arrived, it was like a hammer came crashing down, not quite shattering…but cracking the glass just enough for all those good things to come trickling out.” Fragment explained miming a smashing gesture with her hooves.

“ It gave way to something much more dastardly, an outside force pouring in where the water pours out.” Derpy’s brow furrowed at Fragment’s explanation, taking the startling information surprisingly well. It was a start, but things still felt so…off, so distant, so she continued her questioning. This mare, a combination of sealed away emotions, memories of another life, and Celestia knows what. More importantly she had what she needed most…knowledge…and as a wise pony once said, “knowledge is power”.

“Is that why things outside here have become so….so violent? I watched a stallion get ripped in half! The monsters of the Everfree were dangerous…sure, but never have they gone to such lengths to…mutilate a pony like that!” Derpy bit her bottom lip, reliving the moment of that poor stallion’s steaming guts pouring out onto the ground. She could still recall the cold, lifeless gaze staring into her unblinking eyes…making her glad she shielded her little Dinky from such carnage.

“Well…that's because you aren’t the only pony having their great “spiritual awakening” and as you know…Justitia was a harbinger reincarnated. You are that reincarnation, but other harbingers have also come to this lifetime with you, all with different bodies, names, and upbringings based on their deepest desires…” The Derpy clone held up a hoof, the smooth surface trained up between them.

There was a soft glow, then an eruption of rippling light before what looked to be a realistic image of a family materialized into existence. It projected from Fragment’s hoof like a hologram, revealing various faces that deep down...Derpy felt slightly familiar with. It was almost as if she resonated with them, hinting at a strong case of deja vu dragging her brain through missing memories.

Most of the bipedal forms escaped her, she had never seen anything like these creatures except for in her dreams. Many of the faces were blurred save for one, a female biped wearing a dress made from what appeared to be palm leaves. Her green skin had no fur save for a clump of blue hair atop her head. It flowed down to the small of her back, shining in the beach themed background the picture was taken in. The front of her hair stuck up in an unkempt display, a few twigs and flowers poking out giving an almost feral appearance to her.

She stood beside Justitia with an arm lovingly wrapped around her neck, and a coy smirk spread from ear to ear. Two of the creature's digits were held up in a V shape, thumb wrapped around her middle and pinky claw. She looked so happy to be around Justitia, while the angel of Justice seemed to be frozen in an equally expressive look of joy.

Justitia was dressed in her all too familiar battle robes, an arm wrapped around the female green creature's waist. Her cursed eyes were blindfolded with golden cloth, googly eyes sticking to where her eyes would be in a rather childish display. The two radiated a sisterly bond, a strong indication that they might have been close friends, maybe even family in that lifetime.

“Justitia did She…know her very well…? In that life I mean…” Derpy asked softly, knowing it was a stupid question. What kind of pony would be posed in such a playful way if they WEREN'T close. The scene was just too perfect to be posed, and judging from the strong pull she felt to the holographic memory, it felt genuine.

“Yes, from what I could find these two were close…her name was Floraline, The Berserker Harbinger. Justitia and...Dezmond…found her in the jungle, huddled up in the remnants of a smoldering hut. Alone, afraid, and cautious of other people, both took the wild child into their care. Through time her and Justitia became inseparable, to the point that she was willing to live and die for both her and Dezmond. She proved herself capable, strong, and loyal to both her and the gospel of The Overlord. This earned her a fragment of his power, to truly bestow upon herself the title as one of his harbingers.” Fragment hummed.

“But…what does that have to do with what I saw…?” Derpy furrowed her brow, trying to see where her clone was going with this. She had no clue who this creature was personally, though there was that certain…air to her that felt familiar, like meeting an old friend from school.

“Her truest wish, like many of the other harbingers, was to be reborn into another life…a much more peaceful one than the one they lived. One of Floraline’s biggest weaknesses was her anger, it's what made her such a powerful member of The Overlord’s army. Yet she always wondered what life without the shackles of her mindless rage would be like. Therefore she wished for her new life to become one with nature, a protector of all things living within it.

“She always had been in tune with the wild sides of nature since she was but a little one. Being a child raised by wolves, she became a druidic beast tamer who could raise the green, turn any uninhabitable land into an oasis, and soothe even the most hostile of monsters.” Derpy listened to Fragment’s breathtaking tales of the Berserker with a look of awe. Her eyes twinkled with an almost childlike wonder at her descriptions of the wonderful lady. However the sudden seriousness of her twin made her smile fade, matching Fragment’s worried frown.

“But something is wrong…It’s almost as if she has diverted back to her old ways of life, a bloodthirsty maelstrom of violence, fury, and hatred. She shouldn’t have these qualities, they should have been locked away deep within her mind, memories and all to give way for her new life. Something, or somepony must have triggered her mental roots, metaphorically of course. Though it is possible the first wave of the cataclysm jogged something deep within her mind…or…something so traumatic happened to her, that she returned to her savage ways in an attempt to defend herself.” She mumbled, rubbing a hoof under her chin.

“What is this…Great Cataclysm? That creepy Onyx cat was babbling about it like a zealot loon. He also said something about ‘The Forgotten Gods’ and ‘The First Wave’ . What are they?” Derpy asked while scrunching up her face, brushing a bit of her mane to the side just as Fragment closed the lingering image of the harbingers within her hoof.

“Mmm, it's about time you asked that question, I couldn’t find much, but I was able to piece old memories of Justitia together based on events leading to her erasure from reality. It's a theory that another one of the Harbingers has brought up during many war meetings. It’s a phenomenon of sorts for when reality itself is reset or recreated, involuntary or otherwise. Gods from the previous reset are reborn, similar to how you were reincarnated.” Derpy was about to ask something only to be interrupted by Fragment who seemed to be on a roll.

“However, unlike us the gods are powerful beings made from passionate beliefs and raw energy. They are forgotten by mortals, leaving only vague memories of their existence in the hearts of their most zealous followers from the previous lifetime.” Fragment raised both hooves up, stretching and letting out a small yawn, causing her disheveled wings to twitch at her sides.

“Those followers are also reborn in the reset, and when they come together they form new beliefs that more or less bring these forgotten gods back to reality. They serve as a tether pulling them from the depths of non-existence, like echoes reverberating off the walls of caverns. On top of that, an entity…a being The Overlord calls “The Eye of The Old One” brings about great change…a god above gods…” She brought both hooves down, tracing an eye in the white floor between them.

“His sole existence is to bring a grand shift in the natural order that allows the gods to compete over territory in this new reality. This new WORLD is loaded with potential followers, giving them plenty of minds to bolster their standing, and be further tugged back from the void.” Fragment muttered with a distant look, while the mare herself was putting the pieces together.

“So…like pawns? These forgotten gods see us as tokens for competing, all for followers who further progress the belief of their own existence. All so they can come forth from the depths of non-existence? Such a…cruel and selfish cycle. You said this is a phenomenon? Like this happened before?” Derpy asked, only for her to receive a nod in return.

“The title of Overlord…is given to somepony from the new cycle who wishes to end it all, to “burn it all down”. It is he who wishes to break up the bloody whims of the gods, so mortals can live in peace. The greatest of wars start from the religions of those who wish to push ideals and whims of their god’s on others.” Fragment spat with a small eye roll.

“The previous incarnation of the Overlord destroyed them all, dominating every godly being in existence in an attempt to create a monotheistic world of peace with him taking the back seat as the one true God. He would be creating a life without any all powerful beings in a great reset of all existence...” Fragment spoke slowly and clearly, each word pulling the last pieces into place for the mare to behold.

“And this…Eye of The Old One is starting it all over again in THIS reality…? Oh Celestia…how many times has this happened? How many times have I, have WE all gone through this song and dance?” Derpy pondered, exacerbated by the realization of their situation. It was all a game, one that was rigged from the start, a ticking time bomb leading to a new age of chaos that not even DISCORD could fathom.

“Who can say…but all I can tell you now, is that it's happening again, and each wave that follows, reality as you and EVERYBODY knows it will change…all as “The Eye” foresees it. However there is a silver lining to all of this madness, and it all starts with the rise of a NEW Overlord. The Cataclysm only starts on his arrival, and seeing as we are able to talk right now, I assume he has already been brought into this world.” Fragment stood up, looking down at a bewildered Derpy, who appeared to be contemplating everything she was told.

“L-Last question…this cat named Wesker or whatever his brother called him. He said my blood was ‘needed to raise the sunken city of Yureli from its earthly depths in the ‘other world’...what is that?” Derpy asked shakily, causing Fragment to freeze in her tracks.

The mare ran a hoof through her mane, pacing back and forth, further placing Derpy into a state of unease. Slowly Fragment tilted her head towards the white void encompassing the sky. Her golden eyes gradually tinted to a bright green, her lips moving yet no words escaped them. Her head seemed to vibrate rapidly in a blur, her lips now moving a mile a minute as if she were being possessed by a ghost. Letting loose a choked gasp, she fell onto her front legs, coughing loudly as if she had escaped moments from drowning..

“Ditzy…listen to me, whatever you do, DON’T give into their demands, no matter what they offer you, no matter how much they hurt you, you must NOT give them what they want. Yureli, it’s a game changer…a place that could single handedly start or end wars. If such a place were to fall into their claws, no matter what pantheon he and his brother hail...It could spell disaster for Equis as a whole.” Fragment wheezed, clutching her chest while thin streams of golden light poured back into the green orbs her eyes had become. The golden light formed into an iris, stamped neatly into each eye, a darker green pupil at its center.

“The Overlord…I can sense him, he will come for you, free you AND your daughter from these…sick felines. I get you don’t trust Justitia, or me…but until this world is purged of any and all gods, you’ll have to believe in us, believe in HIM. Now that we’ve met, I just re-inserted the majority of all the missing aspects back into your mind. This should ease the derpy smog plaguing your mind, maybe even fix your eyes too…” Fragment coughed, a stream of golden runes voiding from her body.

“Right now…your body is weak, therefore I am weak as well…I NEED time, a few days to a week tops to augment your…OUR body for the coming war. Until then…just…endure…the whole world might depend on it.” Fragment whispered, falling onto her stomach as Derpy shot over in an attempt to help her up. Even after everything she had been told, there were still so many questions she needed answers to, a can of worms ready to be spilled. Fragment’s body felt so light in the Derpy’s hooves, like she was holding paper.

The white void that engulfed the pair gradually began to shift, in a blink Fragment was gone. Everything was turning black, and the space Derpy had thought herself to be sitting upon became null. This sharp surge of gravity sent her careening into a free fall, spinning wildly without control..

No matter how much Derpy tried to flap her wings they couldn’t seem to adjust in the slightest. The darkness around her grew white specks, and those specks became pillars of blinding gold light that zipped past Derpy at breakneck speeds. Derpy flailed and screamed, she screamed until her voice felt like it would give out until finally-

…PING…

…A loud ping roused Ditzy Doo from her slumber…

Interrogation and Plans In Motion

—------------------

:POV:

“DItzy Doo”

—------------------

Ping…! Ping!

Ping….! Ping!

Ping…..! Ping!

Soft pings filled the air, metal bouncing softly off of metal in a rhythmic beat, rousing the Pegasus from her slumber. Hot needles of pain rippled across her forcefully extended form, tracing across her entire body. It could be felt from head to her hind hooves, an oh so uncomfortable sensation all around. Ditzy’s chapped and swollen lips parted, vocalizing her discomforted awakening in the form of a low moan. Her body felt stiff, aching all over as if she had been run over by an apple cart.

When she tried to open her eyes, she found that she could only muster the strength to open one, with the other having been completely swollen shut. The pain gradually eased to a dull throb, with every attempt to open her swollen eye leading to another agonizing wave of heat. It felt as if something were directly stabbing into her brain, pulling, pressing, kneading it like cookie dough.

When Ditzy’s vision cleared she could only see the faintest of figures, blurred shadows. Sitting calmly by ominous blue candle light, a figure she recognized all too well graced her presence. That same feline, the one whom had just about kicked her bucking skull in. The devious cat silently watched her whilst tapping what looked to be his claws on the length of a metal rod in his lap.

The mail mare thrashed wildly in a vain attempt to move away from him, anything to just…get away. However the slightest motion caused the jingling sounds of her shackles to clink throughout the tent. Her entire body was strung upright with her being forced to stand on her hind hooves. Her forehooves were shackled over one another, the hefty metal chains wrapped tightly around a wooden steak embedded in the dirt. The post nestled horizontally between her wings which had been wrapped uncomfortably in thick, sturdy, leather straps that restricted any potential movement.

The cat of the hour let loose a small whistle, standing up from his seat by the messy desk loaded with disorganized papers, all of which were haphazardly strewn about.

“Well it's about damn time gorgeous~ I was beginning to think that you might have gone brain dead from my little…ahem…’love tap’ a couple days ago. Then again…you slept through the first wave, which was rather surprising.”

“Seeing as you're not currently trying to rip these restraints off, I’m guessing you don’t have full access to the power of your past life hmm?~” Onyx approached, circling the mare with the metal rod lightly clutched within both hands, gingerly resting against the lower half of his back behind him like a sick showpony.

“Not that it will do you any good…turns out that the old “Dark One'' Prince Sombra can make a mighty fine nullifying substance out of them crystals cooked in them shackles. Somehow It's capable of suppressing the dormant powers that lie within OUR kind. Shame he's out of our organization’s reach at the moment, could have asked a few questions to the fine fellow…” The cat grinned, licking his sharp fangs which had protruded from under his fuzzy lips.

Ditzy, felt something…different…stirring deep within her, emotions she hadn’t felt before boiling to the surface. For the first time ever her lips curled into a snarl and her brow furrowed into a glare of pure hatred. Ditzy turned her head to direct this beaming ray of malice in his direction each step he took. “Where…is my daughter…? What have you done to her…? I swear to Celestia if you hurt my little filly I'll make you pay…”

Ditzy spoke in an icy tone that gave the feline pause… if not for a fleeting moment. Even she was surprised with her own tone, her raw emotions spilling out in a wave of venom she never knew she could be capable of mustering. That brief moment of shock plastered on his smug face gradually melted into one of excitement, his pupils growing big with amazement, solely fixated on the mare’s fierce gaze.

“Yes…I KNEW you weren’t completely spineless! I can see it in your eyes…well…eye, sorry about that by the by. You DID change during the first wave after all, my brother couldn’t see it, but I could. Something was different, a newly added factor to the grandiose equation. Heh…keep your stockings on, Derpy Honey…your sweet little “muffin” is safe and sound…for now.” Onyx ran a claw along the shackles binding Ditzy’s squirming form, tracing diagonally down the taunt metal, and along her extended forehoof to her vulnerable neck.

“…In fact, we plan on letting her go if you do us a little solid~ You see, where we stand, is the outer perimeter to ancient ruins leading down to a nexus of old tunnels pre-dating to the solar and lunar sister’s reign. However the entrance to said tunnels is guarded by something, a being so powerful that it butchered my men before they had the chance to scream. I personally observed it sending their bloodied carcasses soaring out the mouth of the cave…a ghastly sight to behold. Roughly translated text call it…”The Everfree Guardian” Onyx scoffed, giving a disgusted look.

“So…? What does that have to do with me?” Derpy grumbled, her gaze remaining locked on the cat who had removed his vile claws from her neck in favor of walking back to the desk. He ruffled through a few papers while setting his baton aside, returning with what looked to be yellowed paper preserved in glass.

“Five months ago my researchers managed to discover the mummified remains of a dead creature outside the cave, one of flesh and bark. It was a perverse combination of Equine and Timber, intriguing species. They wore rusted armor unlike anything ever recorded in the history of Equis, technology long since eroded by the sands of time. However in his possession were what appeared to be detailed instructions on how to bypass the ruin’s defenses…” Onyx twisted the glass tablet preserving the fragile paper, its ink glowing in the dull candle light.

“So? Get to the point cat…” Ditzy muttered lightly shifting in her vertically positioned restraints. The longer she stood like this, the more uncomfortable the contortions in her spine began to feel. Being forced to stand like this felt unnatural, like gravity was pulling her down.

“Easy there bubbles, I was getting to that~ As I was saying, those instructions were…encrypted, a form of hex had been placed upon it by this…”Overlord”...which prevented any of my scribes from translating the ancient texts to its fullest. Those who tried found themselves completely brainless, dead on their hooves, almost as if the text itself sucked the soul from their bodies. The only clue we have is THIS symbol…” He turned with the glass tablet, pointing a claw at the large circle printed in black ink towards the parchment center.

Scales, empty scales evenly set with what looked to be a sword floating above it, pointing downward in the middle.

“Knowledge forbidden, secrets unknown, the sightless gaze reveals the ink that fills the blanks etched in by the void.”

“To the blind man beware…for the void shows no mercy to the feeble minds of the mundane. Those incapable of beholding the vexing powers of his will”

“Our…benefactor, was able to point us in the right direction, and it led us to little ole you…justice reincarnated in the flesh. Now that you are awoken, you are going to dig deep, and you are going to reveal to me what is written on this parchment.” The cat purred, running his long tongue across his pearly fangs.

“Reveal its secrets, and both you and your daughter can go on their way as if none of this had ever happened.” Onyx said plainly, waving the tablet in Ditzy’s face, causing her hardened look to melt into one of confusion. Surely it couldn’t have been that simple right? Truly?

Chunks of the text were…missing…blackened as if a foal had taken a marker and dragged it across large sections of the instructions. Despite this, the longer she looked at the blacked out words, the more the blackness contorted. It coiled and stretched, forming such strange symbols, ones that felt so...familiar. Ditzy considered his offer, she really did, but the memories of her conversation with Fragment came crashing down onto her head like a two ton saddlebag of bricks.

“DON’T give into their demands, no matter what they offer you, no matter how much they hurt you, you must NOT give them what they want.”

“The Overlord…I can sense him, he will come for you, free you AND your daughter from these…sick felines.”

“Have Hope…”

Derpy grit her teeth tightly, screwing her eyes as tightly shut as she could, even as Onyx lingered inches from her face. His dark eyes were leering at her internal struggle with heartless glee, relishing every second of it. She could feel his warm breath, the hot stench of alcohol wafting up her snout, stirring un-fond memories from a time long ago. Those memories lurched her forward with renewed courage, violently butting her head into Onyx’s snout with a wet CRACK.

The greasy, arrogant cat reeled back in genuine surprise and torment, letting loose an ear splitting yowl that caused her to flinch. His paw shot up, cradling his broken nose as what looked to be a viscous black ooze formed small puddles on the floor. His slender, flexible body hunched over, completely stunned by the mare’s hard head. Each breath let out was followed by pained wheezes, his nose messily bubbling with each attempt. It gushed into his fuzzy digits like a grotesque guiser, staining his fur in the process. Insult to injury, the mare spat a hot glob of her spit on his cheek in complete defiance to his whims.

“Take your offer and shove it up your flankhole…you're a lying scumbag, and it will be a cold day in Tartarus before I believe a world that comes out of your lips. Consider that payback. A nose for an eye…” Ditzy snarled, baring her teeth to her captor with an intense glare. Onyx shifted, wobbling left and right on his paws from the disorienting blow to his snout. Reeling back he would spit a glob of the black sludge onto the ground, his now bloodshot eyes focusing in on the mare.

Just like before, his mismatched eyes darkened with intense bloodlust, blackened veins encompassing the twin organs. The irises shimmered in the dim light of the flickering candle, creating an ominous red glow. All of it was compounded by the sadistic grin that stretched from ear to ear across Onyx’s bloodied face. “Hohoho…I was hoping you’d be a fighter, lets see how long that new nobel spirit of yours can hold out…~ I’ve been itching to finally bust out the family tools for such an occasion!”

The cat shifted his body, limbs cracking and popping at the joints causing him to sway like a leaf in the wind. His body twisted, slamming into a wooden trunk towards the leftmost wall beside the desk. His claws popped, grasping and squeezing the lid until the wood visibly splintered. With one singular heave, Onyx ripped it open, revealing a large collection of the neatly organized “tools”. Hammers, scalpels, sawblades, and other deadly implements, all on display to the now petrified mare.

“Since you won’t hand over the information we seek…I’m just gonna have to rip and tear it out of you!~”

Ditzy shuddered, her fur growing more pale around the cheeks as she watched Onyx withdraw his paws from the torture box, tightly clasping a clawed hammer. Breathing heavily she maintained her hardened expression, praying to Celestia that her knight in shining armor would come to her rescue. She wanted them to come dashing into the tent, beat the bad guy, and help track down her little Dinky. She wanted all of that to happen, but…they didn’t come, life wasn’t all sunshine rainbows. Onyx needed her alive, she had the information he needed, whether she realized it or not.

The hard times were coming…during which Ditzy’s new resolve will be tested to its limits. She could only pray that she could hold out until her seemingly fated rescue.

....

—------------------

:POV:

“Jonathan”

—------------------

Jonathan crouched on the flexing tree branch, his seemingly empty gaze staring into the camp with dilated pupils. Like the focusing lenses of a camera, everything came into focus for the meta human. In reality, his brain was working in maximum overdrive, with various screens at his disposal. Three days, three days had been spent planning, watching, meditating so he could go back to that special place within his mind to cultivate his ever growing strength.

This special place, the mindscape, was his greatest and most valuable asset. The dilation of time within gave him ample opportunity to prepare. He was able to train, to adapt to his new god body. First day was spent within the mindscape, breaking up each hour of the 24 hours to a singular day within.

Each hour was a day of exhausting labor under the tutelage of Dezmond, who showed him no mercy. “Your enemies won't play fair. They reek of a champion’s influence…your arrival has awoken the dormant powers granted to this world’s residents, or at least the ones chosen by the gods. Your opponent can be broken down into four categories, Occult, Divine, Aberration, or Harbinger.” Dezmond explained, sitting with Jonathan on the amusement park’s bench.

Jonathan mulled over the words of wisdom provided to him by his mentor, and noted down the potential class types to label any future additions to his tome. “I don’t get it, from what I’ve gathered from Pwinx, this was all set up by some space eyeball right? How are you able to learn of all this when you're technically a separate conscious in my mind? I’ve spent hours reading through that damn thing and I have yet to even learn of what technical change this world is going through.” He muttered, closing his eyes while a few shadows lingered by the identical men.

“Simple, I discovered the longer you read from the book, the more knowledge its contents will imbue to you, and as you know in this place…time has no meaning. While you are out there, I spend what time I have here getting book smart. My memories, they are all still fuzzy…but spending some time reading seems to jog a few things loose now and then. I don't quite understand the whole reason, but it's making me feel queasy.” Dezmond reached up with one hand, manifesting an unlit cigarette between his pale fingers.

With the snap of his free hand’s middle and thumb fingers, he manifested a spark which ignited the imaginary cancer stick. “For you, you’ve been out there for days since our last meeting, but for me...it's been what feels like years. Since then I’ve learned so much more than that annoying imp that follows you around. For example…I learned of the next incoming waves...and their massive impact on this world’s ecosystem…which you'll see soon enough.”

“Waves…? Yea, I think Pwinx said something about that too…” Jonathan responded, lifting a manifested slushie that he managed to conjure in this dreamy world. Dezmond slowly nodded, leaning back in his seat like an uncle preparing to tell his nephew a campfire story.

“The first wave is the arrival of you, the Overlord, the only being powerful enough to consume gods with ease, an equalizer of sorts crafted by the maker. With you coming here, it also marks the awakening of the forgotten gods that laid dormant within this strange world. Many pantheons…as well as the reincarnated souls of their most powerful followers will rise from the depths. These followers will battle to the death, each soul slain adding to their own power, bolstering the strength of their respective god. The end goal…? Eliminating you, and taking our limitless ability to grow and consume for themselves, crowning the champion who kills us as the next Overlord.” Dezmond took a long drag of his cigarette, shutting his eyes.

“From there, the reigning god that the champion is bound to will have a potentially unkillable weapon of mass destruction at their fingertips. They would be a being capable of snuffing all light in the universe if their power is cultivated properly. That is why we must grow stronger, increase our mana reserves to dominate with superior powers. As much as you probably don’t like the thought….we may need to consume the opposition.” He spoke in a chill tone causing Jonathan to stop mid sip of his drink, almost choking on the nonexistent beverage.

“I-I….” In this place, Jonathan was at his most vulnerable, here he was detached from the courage and bravado that Dezmond’s consciousness had injected into him. In here he could feel the weight of morals and mortality pulling him down like an anchor. His gaze fixated on the ground, and for a brief moment when he closed his eyes he witnessed flashes of memory.

The memories of him slowly sucking the power and life from Aelita’s mother made his stomach churn. He could still see it, the flesh and fur from her living form sloughing off, falling into disgusting chunks in his arms. He could feel her pain, her sentient, living, agonizing pain, all through the pitiful eyes. The eyes of a mother protecting the trembling pup behind her, from the ravenous monster.

“I can’t…I won’t bring myself to that point, because if I go down that path Dezmond, if I take the path you walked, I don’t think I can find myself coming back.” Jonathan looked back up at Dezmond who passively averted his gaze, letting out a long exhale of purple smog.

The old lord took a moment, letting the melodic sounds of theme park music, muffled crowd chatter, and scents of fried food dull his senses. “While my memory remains fuzzy, locked behind the iron walls placed by the powers that brought us here…I could vaguely see glimpses of my life before this. It was a cold life, one without meaning, without feeling, and…it scared me. It makes me wonder if the answers I seek are even worth grasping at in the end.”

Jonathan started over at Dezmond, his heart weighing heavy in his chest at the man’s pained words. This man, this LEGEND was his creation. The trauma, the pain, the burden of power, all of it was orchestrated by him with his own two hands. While it is true he was the author of Dezmond’s existence, what happened between the chapters, the time gaps typed out on his computer, were lost to him. He couldn’t say with confidence what this living, breathing construct of his own design truly felt deep down inside.

“Emotions, they are both a blessing and a curse, when you have someone to care for…someone to cherish, you’ll do anything for them. Even if it means you have to crawl through hell and back, you’d do it for the ones you love. I…I think I had that once, and this path you speak of, I catch glimpses of it as I sleep. I had become the most powerful thing, but at what cost? Did that person I held close stick by me to the end? What happened to them? Are they…alive?” Dezmond dropped the cigarette, crushing it with his bare foot..

“Our…relentless pit of hunger for power is why we were strong, and there will be a time Jonathan where we must feed that hunger. We will NEED to feed in order to grow strong enough so that we can protect what we love most. Just as long as you keep track of the love you have deep inside yourself, perhaps you can change things...” Dezmond smiled softly, leaning back with his neck rolling over the curled wood of the bench to stare behind them at a nearby food cart.

“Right now however you must prepare for the battle that is to come, at the moment I’ve taught you all that I can. You might very well be facing a champion from a god, an Occult god. He will want you dead, this is far beyond a simple Birch Hound kid, so give them hell.” Those were the final words to Jonathan as the final hour of his training came to an end.

Day 2, it was spent observing the pony grunts that comprised the Onyx Horns patrols. ‘When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle.’ That quote from Sun Tzu rang true within the man’s mind while he watched the unaware ponies below. Sickening as it was to watch them beat on the helpless civilians, he needed to keep a level head and pull all the puzzle pieces together for the third night.

The outermost and innermost perimeter of guards trekked in 2 pairs, clockwise and opposite of one another with their eyes primarily focused on the tree line. Every 8 hours the walking guards would clock out and switch through morning, afternoon, and night shifts. The camp held two primary ways of entry from the outside perimeter, gaps in the spike barricades for entering and exiting. From Jonathan’s position in the trees these gaps were located south and west, with tall, unstable, wooden towers erected in a stationary spot for the 24/7 watchmen.

The inner perimeter held a more tightly regulated method of watch over both the external and internal going ons of the camp. Each smaller tower was carefully hidden away behind the spikey walled barricades while being evenly spaced apart. Each was approximately 480 meters in a perfect circle. Despite being camouflaged by both netting and foliage, Jonathan was able to detect about 2 guards per tower judging from their silhouettes. One faced the inside of the camp, while the other faced outward towards the trees, with a limited line of sight.

During the night, what looked to be spotlights powered by jars of…fireflies?…shined outward away from camp, scanning the trees regularly for signs of predators or would be infiltrators. Due to the limited, conelike visual, it made the gaps between each tower incredibly vulnerable, blind spots just out of view. The biggest vulnerability however…was seemingly the lack of communication between patrols!

Normally on Earth, such methods of security would require some form of radio communication, but here he realized that both the inner and outer patrol groups were basically deaf to one another! When Jonathan saw this blatant error on their behalf, he knew exactly how he would strike, and when. With the tome screen at his fingertips the human looked to his pink guide, his expression focused as he spoke.

“Pwinx, have you managed to crack the code for translating their speech?” He asked while running a hand along his pet fox’s head, who had taken her place within the comfort of his lap. Pwinx popped into existence, his head poking out from the center of the screen with a rather frustrated look on his small face.

“Unfortunately D man, progress has been slow…this world’s dialect is rather complex, the best I can do is give you predictive subs of their speech until I listen in more. Sooner you get me some more books, the faster I can decipher. The journal you retrieved from that Zebra mare, unfortunately, was written in a completely different language than these pony folks use.” Pwinx poked his head back in, presumably going back to work.

“I’ll do my best, but don’t hold your breath, these freaks seem more interested in beating slaves, stuffing their faces, and getting into drunken brawls rather than cracking open a book. However I did seem to notice a fair share of eggheads, they were moving in and out of a large tent towards the writing on the cliff face.” Using his spyglass Jonathan was able to monitor the many green tents pitched towards the camp’s core.

One stallion in particular emerged from one wearing scholarly robes and a pair of geeky glasses. His small form nervously waddled along, finding himself wandering into the biggest tent of all. ‘Likely the commander's tent…’

“Alright, perhaps you can get me close once you deal with the camp situation, m’kay hero?” Pwink snickered in his mind, causing Jonathan to shudder at the uncomfortable brain buzz caused by his voice. He nodded his head slowly, spending the rest of his time sleeplessly scouting. It was strange…Jonathan never brought much thought to it, but it seemed like his need for sleep as of late was gradually diminishing.

‘Maybe it's because of my time within the mindscape…? I’ll ask Pwinx once this is all said and done. Come to think of it, I don’t believe I wrote much about Dezmond needing to sleep…’ He let his train of thoughts linger while combing fingers through Aelita’s smooth fur.

—------

Day 3, the day of reckoning, where all portions of the plan would be woven together like a beautiful tapestry. He would strike at night when the shadows would become his ally during infiltration. Before then he spent the day readying the tools he would need for this plan to pop off. His tall and buff form sat criss cross, as high up as it could be within the canopy. The many branches and leaves hid him well, with what little light peeking through serving as his indicator for the time.

The orange beams of the setting sun eased their way along his frame, dancing across the stone knife being wrapped by the soft plant fibers within his dominant hand. Tightening the last of the grip off, Jonathan promptly tossed the blade into his inventory with the rest of his gear. Even with all bases covered, Jonathan could still feel his nerves rattling causing his heart to throb, anxiousness…or perhaps excitement?

There was no room for error, if this plan fails, many lives could potentially be lost…something he prayed deep down wouldn’t have to occur. Despite these innocent ponies not being close to him, this selfless act felt like it meant more to him then he believed. It was almost as if the notion of doing something good was anchoring him to the side of kindness, something Dezmond was not exactly known for. Closing his eyes, Jonathan took in a slow, steady, calming breath of the humid air, then let it out in a quiet sigh.

“Alright…it's go time…”

Author's Note

Hey everypony! I'm back! Sorry for the hiatus, I was undergoing more writer's block for this story :twilightblush: , but as of late I have been struck with the metaphorical hammer of inspiration. Especially since I have taken note of some particular fans interested in my work! I'm also at the moment looking for a more permanent editor to make this content all the more fun to read for all of you!

(Anyone interested feel free to pm, we can discuss details there)

I hope you enjoyed reading, until next time, and always remember to stay tune!~ :twilightsmile:

Judge Jury and Executioner |Act 1: End|

Author's note: Warning, this chapter will contain graphic scenes of wanton violence and is completely optional to read.

Jonathan’s fingers grasped the tip of his hood, pulling the leather cloth hybrid over his head to hide his tufts of white hair. Over the past few days it had grown considerably, almost to the point of falling to his lower jaw. He was no barber by any means, but delicate twirls of the blade at least kept his bangs from blocking his line of sight. To say his pearly mane was a dead give away was an understatement, hence the hood and wooden mask he had recently carved.

Standing tall he would slowly raise his arms over his head before gradually lowering them, poised as if grasping an invisible bow. Purple energy manifested between his fingers, gradually drawing out his crafted weapon from seemingly nowhere. The Kyudo bow became a solid object, with the string delicately grasped between his perfectly positioned limbs. With one foot out, and the other planted behind him, Jonathan readied himself.

The last of the bow formed, with the purple energy accumulating in a vibrant vortex as it conjured the arrow, from the fletchings to the broadhead. The arrows were delicately crafted with the fusion of Living Woodand the surprisingly durable Parasprite Wings, tipped off with the epic ranked fang of The Birch Hound Prince. These arrows in particular were a bitch to craft, with the arrowheads alone draining Jonathan with each one fused to the uncommon grade shafts.

“Wolfpack Arrows”, a special ammunition that measured approximately 110 cm in length (or 43 inches). With the sturdy shaft firmly grasped with his fingers gently pressing against the insectoid fletchings, he readied his aim. The archer calmed his breathing, and prepared to launch his premeditated strike. The pupils of his eyes dilated, zooming in on his targets with a sniper’s accuracy, all while his prepared skill came into play.

Weapon Skill Activation: “Sniper’s Aim”

Weapon Skill Activation: “Sniper Shot”

The weight of his draw was intense, even with his enhanced strength he felt every inch he pulled back tense up his muscles. The more weight a bow could handle, the more powerful the shot, and the further it would go. Mana poured through his entire being, expelling in the form of a green mist that rapidly coiled and soaked into the arrow, imbuing it with newfound power.

With a sharp exhale, Jonathan released the arrow, watching as it soared in a beautiful arch through the air like a rocket. With aid from “Sniper’s Aim” he could see the full trajectory of his shot as a predetermined line with various rings around it, almost as if using a ghostly arching laser to aim. ”Sniper Shot” used mana to forcefully increase the velocity of the shot, further increasing the range the projectile would travel mid-flight.

Item Activation: “Wolfpack Munitions”

The arrow glistened in the night sky like a shooting star, rippling with faint arcane power as the shaft split its mass into many smaller bolts. The separated projectiles that broke off from the primary shaft soared, twirling and dancing through the sky like leaping lupins. They were all guided by the master bolt they detached from, leader of the wolf pack.

The shots inevitably met their marks atop the many guard towers with a soft THUNK each target struck. The west side’s towers were all hit with a seemingly insignificant blow, no major damage done if any at all. There were 18 towers, the targets were between 960 to 8,600 meters away, effortlessly smashing the human record of any archery target.

Jonathan stored his long bow within his inventory once more, the sturdy frame of the
Kyudo bow was replaced with a new toy. It was a much smaller yet equally sturdy warrior bow that mirrored the designs of a Roman foot soldier. With it the arrow selection was changed to befitting munitions for the smaller weapon. The manifested quiver rested angular to the small of Jonathan’s back, with another crossing over to make the shape of an X across his leather belt.

Nocking an arrow into the shortbow, the man leapt from his high ground advantage, landing in the soft comfort of a large bush past the outer spike barricade. The first wave of patrols would be coming in soon, right on schedule. Two stallions, one wore a brass centurion helmet with black feathers protruding in a vertical mohawk.

His armor consisted mainly of a simple iron breastplate and what looked to be a studded leather battle kilt right beneath. The second was wearing an equally tar black hood that barely concealed the curved spiral of bone sticking from the center of his forehead. Everything else worn was nothing more than loose hanging cloth perfect for his kind…

…A Unicorn caster…

("Did you hear? Sounds like the boss is getting close to cracking the pest. Soon enough that loot will be good as ours eh…? I wonder if the boss will let us have a go at her before he finishes it…gotta admit, those Pegasus mares have a nice juicy ass~") The centurion-esk Earth pony chuckled. His little speech appeared over his helm like a cartoonish text bubble. The leathers were a bright gold in a rectangular cloud of blue to make his vile words pop out. The unicorn wandering by his side let out a throaty snort, like a grotesque gremlin trying its best to stifle a laugh.

(“Doubtful, that psychotic cat was never one to let others play with his prey…pretty gnarly stuff. After seeing what happened to that royal snoop that came sniffing around earlier, I doub’t she’ll be in any shape to buck around with unless you're into buckin corpses…”) The unicorn adjusted his serrated iron spear within his sickly green magic. The shaft of his weapon came to rest upon the padded brown shoulder strap while his cohort joined him in malicious laughter.

Jonathan felt his blood boil, his breath catching in his throat as a tidal wave of disdain began to race through his body. Just as he thought he’d rush the pair and tear them limb from bloody limb, the familiar aura of purple farie lights swam in the corners of his vision. In an instant his hatred was crushed beneath a wave of calm, with all his pent up anger being directed to his focus on the plan.

His purple eyes zeroed in on the pair while they walked past the tower, all while its occupants swept the landscape behind them with the green spot light. ‘5 paces…4…3…2…1…’ Each step was a mental countdown echoing in Jonathan’s mind, almost like the beat of a drum. When Earth pony took his final steps into the shadows between both watchtower’s blind spots…it was all over.

Jonathan kicked off the dirt, his feet leaving a small indent in the earth as he propulsed himself forward like a gunshot. His blurred movements gave neither guard time to notice him. With silent fury the man drew his first arrow that had been prepared within the war bow drawstring. Releasing caused a soft twang of the string, and a meaty SHUNK as the arrow embedded in the Earth pony’s thinly exposed neck. The stallion’s eyes widened from the surprise attack, his lips parting as if to let out a scream of alarm to his partner who hadn’t even noticed.

The guard’s fruitless attempts at communication only lead to soft gurgles masked by a mix of the noisy roughhousing of the camp, and the chirping of wildlife in the woods. The arrow had pierced flesh, muscle, and accurately punctured the larynx and slashed the vocal cords completely. The lethal blow further wreaked havoc on his target’s internals where the carotid artery would be. Jonathan’s arrow would finally come to a stop when the stone head of his projectile embedded in the barricade beside the stallion, pinning him to it..

It was only when the unicorn noticed less hoofsteps that he finally turned to check on his partner. His brain looked like it did a complete 180 the moment he laid eyes on Jonathan, his already big eyes growing larger in his skull. Before he could alert anypony, Jonathan kicked off the Earth pony’s side like a springboard.

This allowed the man to perform a cartwheel through the air with his fast hands drawing two more arrows, firing both simultaneously. The first met its mark, like the first stallion who got it in the throat. The second however plunged deep into his eye and out the back of his head. The soft gurgles of fresh blood were the last utterances that would ever leave this scum’s mouth before he would unceremoniously crumple to the earth. Jonathan landed in front of the dead unicorn and rolled to lessen the impact of his acrobatic feat.

Time was not on his side, because the second patrol of external guards was coming to his position quickly on schedule. Jonathan grasped the arrow ridden corpses, and with the strength of a herculean chucked them both past the furthermost wall beneath his starting point. He made sure to twist his body wide in order to utilize the momentum within the spin to send the corpses a great distance one at a time.

The thrill and shock at his own strength had lost its grip on Jonathan long, long ago by this point. While most people would froth at the mouth at how cool they were, in that moment he only saw his enhanced strength and agility as means to an end. Without it he wouldn’t have had any chance of hiding the bodies in time.

He made sure to cover the splotches of fresh blood with dirt kicked by his thick boots to hide the traces. Quickly after he crouched down low to make himself as small as possible in the darkness of the lunar shadows. His back pressed firmly into the splintered wood of angular spikes used as the second layer of this camp’s defenses, waiting quietly for his time to strike. When the second round of the external patrol came around, they too entered the blindspot between towers, therefore sealing their fate.

(“Oi Chip…you smell that? Smells like-”) The second patrol’s Unicorn guard started to speak, this one a mare with locks of sanguine red mane messily drooping past her emerald green eyes. Her sharp horn flexed its cherry red magic around a pair of rusty sickle blades. Her Earth pony partner sported a hefty looking sword fixed to his saddle that looked akin to an oversized cleaver. This was something Jonathan admittedly was curious about, trying to fit together how he would even use such a weapon.

(Bloo-?) The Earth Pony was about to finish her sentence when his words were promptly cut short…literally. The serrated blade of a chiseled stone knife was embedded into his throat, followed by another into his side beneath the breastplate. With the flick of his wrist Jonathan’s gnarled blades damn near took his head clean off, while also slitting his stomach open. The Unicorn mare was splashed in the face by a fountain of her partner’s blood, blinding her to their assultant .

Jonathan, who had been holding the stallion in place during the dastardly deed, dropped the deceased guard. This only prompted him to slip a third concealed knife from his inventory, to his clenching hand in a reverse grip. She could only let out a soft squeak before the blade pierced the right side of her frontal lobe. This effectively lobotomized the unicorn where she stood.

Her aura holding the blades faltered, as did the one around her spiked horn which had been pulsing with magic. Like the flickering remnants of a dying lightbulb it gradually dimmed to nothing. Then, with a soft thud, both her and her dual wielded sickles fell to the moist dirt. The swiftness and lethality of his stealthy ambush was beyond comprehension, taking less than two seconds to dispatch them both.

Both of their corpses were dragged up into the shadows while their rusty weapons were tossed into his inventory. At first he paid no mind to the cleaver sword and sickle, rusty weapons held no purpose other than to be broken down for scrap metal. This mentality gave way when his fingers caressed one of the unicorn’s discarded weapons. It was as if electricity had bounced from the weapon to his fingers, sending a charge through his entire body.

“Unique Item Discovered: Sanguine Conductors” [Broken]

The notification popped up in Jonathan’s eyes, causing him to halt while holding both small blades in opposing hands. ‘Unique Item…?’ The text shimmered a sickly red, far different than the white, green, blue, or even the purple rarities he had grown accustomed to. His excitement died in his throat when he read the weapon status beside its eerie title. ‘Shit…it's broken…?’

He rolled the blades around in his hands to look over its seemingly mundane designs despite being unique. On closer observations he could vaguely see serrations etched along the inside of the blade making it look like canine teeth. The vague outlines of patterns graced the curved and dull backside of the weapon, obscured by a sea of green and brown oxidized metal.

‘Maybe I can repair this at a later date…until then you're coming with me.’ Jonathan pocketed his score while making his way over between the slumped corpses pressed into the barricade. There was no need to be particularly stealthy hiding these corpses, at least…not for what would happen next.

The second phase of the humanoid ninja’s plan was…less than simple, it was a purely maddening scheme. Unfortunately it was also the most important task of all before things really kicked up a notch. Jonathan closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths through his nose, and out his mouth while slipping into a zen like state. Similar to when he had been practicing the cultivation of mana with Dezmond, he looked through the mental darkness for the sparks of mana. Rather than searching for his own spark, he felt around in the dark for the sparks emanating from the Wolfpack Munitions.

Each arrow was within sight and all it took was a little coaxing to grab ahold, dominating the familiar aura like pulling a dog by the leash. The final visual product was a glowing purple spiderweb connecting the magical arrows to his own mana spark. This formed a beautiful constellation within the black of his mind. With all of his shots synchronized at once he drew in another intake of air before unleashing it with his newly improved weapon skill.

Weapon Skill Activation: “Delayed Thermal Implosion Shot”

Deep from within Jonathan’s spark he felt a gentle heat, it coiled and danced along the purple strands binding him to the sparks of his arrows. The heat coiled and rocketed ahead, meeting their marks throughout the network of sparks, and causing the enchanted arrows to detonate on his command. The result was what could only be described as the biggest fireworks display EVER. Orbs of red and orange engulfed the towers that had been pricked by the arrows that seemed inconsequential from the start.

Matter sucked itself inward, supercharging the electrons in the air around the dilation of space, and causing a violent jolt of power to occur. Space around the arrows warped, distorted, and ripped apart in order to hypercharge the atoms around its spark, sending forth a controlled, concentrated explosion. It ripped apart any organic or inorganic matter within its 10 foot radius. The small explosions expanded, mana electrifying the air to the point Jonathan smelled copper until finally…

“VRRRRR-”

*KTHOOOOOOM*

Each arrow imploded, magnifying the overall blast yield each projectile made from its crescendo. This consequently created a crescent path of volatile destruction around the inner and outer perimeter of the camp. The guards and many of the carts behind the towers were either atomized on the spot or flung back, sending debris and chunks of pony spraying everywhere. The brilliant and jaw dropping display of power came at a cost, dropping the Overlord onto one knee. The simultaneous use of multiple rare skills at once had sapped a majority of his mana, leaving him cold and hollow to his core.

Before the mana deprivation could kick in Jonathan clasped at the air, retrieving his medicinal aid from the bottom of his inventory. Clutched between two fingers was a clay flask sealed by a stone cap. Using his thumb he removed the barrier between him and his prize, downing the neon pink liquid preserved within.

Item Consumed: Tonfa Fruit Extract

Tonfa Fruit on its own was a moderate means of regaining mana over time, as Pwinx so helpfully pointed out after Jonathan’s stomach churning reaction to the Mana Shrooms. However the effects could further be amplified if the fruit itself was pulverized, and its juices were finely extracted without pulp. The end product was a miracle tonic that took Jonathan over 3 hours to make. He was only able to craft a small batch of 5 clay vials of this juicy extract, successfully anyways.

His mana replenishing felt like cool water running down his neck and throughout his stiffened body. This refresher allowed Jonathan to regain his bearings, because he knew that now was not the time to falter. With the terrified and or enraged alien dialect of the guards ringing into the night, phase three of the multi-step plan had been engaged.

With a soaring leap, Jonathan was able to bound atop the diagonally slanted spikes of the barricade. Each hop from spike to spike with his spiked cleats, embedded the boots into the flat length of a spike near the tips.

With each leap from a spikey part of the barriers he would build up inhumane levels of momentum, catapulting through the side of an intact tower opposing its burned cousin. In a 180 spin Jonathan was able to equip two chiseled stone knives from the confines of his inventory. The unfortunate guards still in shock from the explosion had little time to prepare before the sharpened rock blades pierced their windpipes through arching stabs. One violent twist of the blade severed the delicate nerves, cutting through their spines.

One twist was all it took for the stone blades to snap at the base, leaving the handles in its owner’s hands. Without pause Jonathan leapt through the netting of the tower while tossing the broken blades, landing and kicking off the nearest spike in the barrier wall. From there he would just continue the repetitive process again and again, mindless, numb to their screams. It was like the most beautifully horrific scenes of an action movie, all packed into a garish play by play of death, pain, and sadistic pleasure. Every life that was snuffed was met with a wider and wider smile beneath the mask, scum…scum, and more scum, filth that needed to be purged.

…Rapists, murderers, thieves, shameless plunderers of innocence…

It all melded into a red blur matched with the missing time that had fully escaped Jonathan’s thoughts. The blood of Onyx horn bandits splashed across his clothes, becoming soaked up within the leathers like a gore sponge. When his vision became clear he stood over the trembling form of the last tower’s unicorn sentry.

The blue unicorn looked up with such big, innocent looking, puppy dog eyes, the yellow irises dilating with the pupils to pinpricks. The patches of a scraggly mustard beard poked from beneath his muzzle to compliment his equally yellowed mane. In that brief moment he hesitated, taking in the fact that he was going to snuff the life of a cartoon pony who was so terrified. He was staring down the eyes of his victim for the first time as judge, jury, and executioner.

The faint sound of liquid dripping flooded the cramp booth, with the stale scent of piss soon following. Sure enough the bandit had unceremoniously wet himself, leaving a warm puddle of urine beneath his hind hooves. Clutched in his magic was a small crossbow, the string knocked back with a copper head arrow pointed directly at Jonathan’s head.

Both stared each other down, like a lion to a cornered mouse staring into its maw. The bandit snapped first, letting out a terrified scream before the blue magic aura applied pressure to the triggering mechanism, sending the bolt zipping through the air. It was an archaic weapon that looked more like it was made from scraps, a cheap knock off to the ones used during the human crusades.

Jonathan had simply tilted his head to the side, causing the panicked shot to whiz past him and strike the beam behind his head with a harmless THUNK. The closer Jonathan looked, the more details he had begun to recognize. It was him…that same pony who had been walking alongside the red Earth pony, the stallion with raven black hair and a silver steak. He remembered every detail three days ago, the smug look on his face when he helped his despicable comrade drag that young filly away. The way he robbed her of her innocence, leaving her older sister ill and without care.

Jonathan’s fists balled up with his knuckles popping one by one in a menacing display, all while the piss soaked bandit backed himself further into a corner. His aura fumbled with the bolt when he tried to reload, causing his ammo to clatter to the wooden floor. Before he could focus on picking it up a black blur streaked through the air, grasping the unicorn by his horn. In an instant the concentration on his weapon was broken, sending the crude projectile shooter spinning across the cool floorboards.

(“Celestia, oh Celestia please no! I-I don’t wanna die, P-Please! PLEASE! I-I’ll give you anything, ANYTHING! B-Buck! Please DO-”)

Jonathan silenced his pitiful begging by promptly smashing his face into the tower ledge looking overlooking the forest. The unicorn’s teeth were crushed into powder and his snout gushed blood, some teeth were even sticking into the wood like gory nails. His blood curdling wails rang out like a siren, but to Jonathan they were muffled by the loud ringing in his ears.

Another vicious slam into the same ledge caused his jaw to shatter completely as if made of glass. The flesh, muscle, and tendons keeping both halves of his muzzle together split like wet tissue paper. When he pulled his head back by the mane the pony’s muzzle had unhinged unnaturally, letting him spew a sickly gurgle of blood and bile.

His wiggling tongue flopped weakly while his bloodshot eyes rolled dazed in their sockets. Even now the unicorn was still conscious and lucid during it all, with the stallion’s hooves twitching weakly at his sides. Reeling his head back one last time, Jonathan brought it down onto the ledge with all the rage of a vengeful demon.

*Kr-SPLAT*

The last thing the stallion would ever see was the glowing purple eyes burning like hot stars behind the plates of a smiling skull mask. It was all he would see before his head was split like a ripe watermelon. Brains and the comically oversized organs that were his eyes rolled across the ledge, coming to a stop next to the tower’s searchlight. Jonathan looked up at the ceiling, letting loose a shaky breath of humid air before turning to the tower’s solitary door.

Jonathan had thought that the noise outside would mask it all, that his deed would go unheard, but the reality came smacking him in the face the moment his piss soaked boots stepped outside. He saw the small platoon of bandits rallied outside with spears, axes, knives, and cleavers drawn. When his lumbering form emerged, in their eyes they saw the bloodied form of a bipedal monster.

To them he looked like a gorilla smeared in a mixture of blood and brain, decked out with knives, arrows, and black leather armor. His smiling skull mask gazed back, with both eye holes burning like twin stars in the night sky. Even as twinkling embers tinted the air around them orange, the light from his eyes made the night sky turn twilight.

“Sir! Our camp has been breached, half of the sentry wall has been obliterated by some strange magic! We aren’t sure how many of them there are, but we have suffered heavy material and pony casualties. Our food carriage, mobile smithy, and trade goods have been completely destroyed, your orders boss?!” The tall, buff, lumbering form of a red Earth pony came stumbling through the tent. The slender body of a certain feline kicked back with his paw boots resting on the desk casually. The stallion’s breaths were heavy, eyes wide in alarm, and soot caked in his raven dark mane.

The feline hummed softly, lifting a small glass of wine in his fuzzy digits to look at his underling’s disheveled reflection. “So he has come at last…The Gluttonous One…how interestin, so very interestin indeed. Captain Spade, you have full authority to use “IT” to rough up our guest of honor a little, yea? I heard reports that you put “IT” to good use while protecting our lovely package here…” The cat purred.

Almost on cue a weak cough punctuated the air, causing the ‘captain’ to briefly direct his attention to the battered and bruised Pegasus mare strung up to a wooden post. Her wings were strewn out with feathers painfully ripped from the appendages to create a pile of bloody feathers beneath her. Cuts and gashes of all shapes and sizes danced along her thighs, stopping just outside her nether regions.

The biggest of gashes were sewn shut and what looked to be salt crystals were packed into the festered wounds in a horrid form of sizzling torture. Her bubble cutiemarks were smeared red with the sticky nectar of her blood, all topped off with a swollen, bruised, and battered muzzle to boot. Ditzy’s labored and strained breaths were wet from an array of internal damage, likely due to a cracked rib or two. The captain shrugged the Boss’s plaything off, directing his sadistic and now manic grin to his commander.

“On it boss…this should be bloody good fun~”

Author's Note

Hey ya'll, this is my first graphic fight scene, for those who made it to the end I hope you enjoyed the mess! There is more to come, however I plan to put warnings before hand to those who are squeamish to that sort of thing. Thanks again to all those who are staying around to read, I just want to say that I appreciate the support! :derpytongue2:

Still looking for an editor, so pm for details to those interested! (exclusive perks included)

Never Underestimate The Nerds |Act 2 Start|

If you asked me if I was capable of killing someone a couple of weeks ago I would have said something to the effect of, “Hell no!” and would have likely called the cops. Now here I am, whisked away like some isekai protagonist from a shitty shounen anime. Now I am more or less stuck in a world inhabited by; pastel colored ponies, dangerous hounds made of wood, giant fuzzy manticores that looked as if they hopped from a Percy Jackson novel. Lets not forget the fact that I have a less than amusing pixie guide giving me the occasional tips, along with an ancient god killer getting cozy in my mind palace.

In this world it has shown me quite clearly that it's kill or be killed, and frankly…I prefer living long enough to crash on something that isn’t a shitty bedroll splayed upon the cold, hard ground. Now here I am, staring down an entire camp of the most vile, despicable, and underhanded band of shitheads I’d have ever seen. Through the eyes of my mask I didn’t see cartoon ponies, I saw irredeemable monsters willing to treat their own kind like playthings .Their sickening grins, their taunting laughs as they preformed acts no different than the human scum of earth.

They were the Onyx Horns, a band of mad max wannabees swinging around rusty blades, medieval crossbows, and unicorn magic to boot. My fingers tightly coiled around the stone knives within my white knuckled grasp. I could feel my thumbs wearing into the leafy grip that the tome system fabricated around these disposable blades. They weren’t made of metal, sure…but they got the job done all the same.

My time spent preparing for this gave me plenty to spare, and even if I ran out…with these sick pricks, my bare hands would suffice. The ponies who had assembled around him raised their weapons, bearing expressions of vicious battle lust. It was a tense standoff with both sides facing each other down while the camp’s shoddy defenses burned around them. One of the unicorns, a stallion with a dirty pink coat, yellow mane, and spiked leather armor scoffed while training a small crossbow towards my chest.

(What the hell are you all waiting for! Kill the motherbucker, It's just one freak!”) His alien language was confusing aloud, only to be clarified swiftly by whatever magic this nifty tome had to offer. Each word that escaped his scarred lips was translated by a transparent text box, the words burning a bright shade of blue whilst overlapping a lighter blue box.

I didn’t give him a chance to continue his ‘motivational’ pep talk, rather I carried out my rampage…starting with HIM. With my leather boots kicking off the tower’s stairs enough force had reduced the planks to splinters, giving me just enough momentum to lurch forward. My shadow cast over him and despite his attempts to realign his weapon’s sights to fire, I came crashing down like an anvil from above.

Both of my heels smashed into his head, toppling him to the dirt. My weight, combined with the overwhelming momentum crushed his skull flat. His head practically exploded like a rotten tomato, splattering his gore onto the hooves of his fellow scumbags. Their brief moments of stunned shock were all I needed to get in close.

The stone blades slashed in wide strokes, cutting through vital points with deadly precision, almost as if he had done this his entire life. The two earth ponies standing on either side of the unicorn were met by the cold stone slashing across their throats, forcing them to drop the rusty machete’s clutched between their teeth. Pivoting on my left heel, I spun quickly in time to plant my heel into the face of a purple and orange unicorn mare that looked as if she were charging some kind of spell.

For a moment, it was almost as if his perception of time had begun to slow down, his senses heightened to a new degree. This magic…it left an odor hanging in the air, it left the taste of copper in his mouth, like sucking on a penny. The longer she charged it, the more magic began to coil around her horn in a translucent hue of sunset orange. This aura…it appeared to stretch out and twist, forming something akin to electricity. That vital detail cemented the idea that she was preparing something to harm him, something she would never get the satisfaction of doing.

My closed palm strike connected with her chest, sending her sliding backwards and into one of the burning carts. The spell that the unicorn had been charging went off in the air, a yellow ball of crackling energy that lobbed like a grenade. Her arcane projectile had misfired completely, soaring a few feet short in an arch. This ball of electrical magic landed square into the back of a Pegasus about to take flight, exploding into a vicious series of electrical shocks. His screams were loud, almost louder than the roaring of chaotic flames consuming the camp’s borders.

His crippling pain ended when my massive frame barreled through the crude blockade of copper shields erected by some of the bandits. The impact sent them flying off on the sides as if they were nothing more than ragdolls at my mercy. Both my arms swung down with both knives twisted in a reverse grip for maximum force. The result was me promptly plunging them into the ears of the tortured Pegasus.

His once dirty white coat of fur, and shortly cut locks of green mane had been reduced to nothing more than charred flesh and exposed bone, showing the true lethality of magic in this world. The stone blade’s snapped to the base, leaving them jutting from the crispy Pegasus pony’s skull.

Item(s)- Chiseled Stone Knife [2] has been destroyed

From there it was almost as if I was walking on air, my body, my muscles, my senses, flowing so naturally like I was born to do this, pure instinct...fueled by a burning desire to KILL. Unfortunately those senses failed to warn me of the impending danger from behind as a bolt whistled through the air towards my exposed back. Hunting crossbows from the late medieval and renaissance period tended to be in the ballpark of 450 - 600 pounds of weight behind each bolt.

War crossbows held a weight range from around 700-1300 pounds of force per shot. That was why it came as quite the surprise when the steel bolt didn’t even seem to pierce my skin as much as I had expected. The broadhead arrow ripped through my armor, sending a series of messages dictating that my equipment had taken significant damage. It was stuck in me alright, but the arrowhead seemed to only dip a few centimeters in, making the spot itch like a hornet sting.

It might not have hurt or pierced my muscle tissue, but it sure as hell knocked me off my balance allowing my face to not so gracefully meet the floor. The others descended on me like a flock of vultures, pummeling and swinging their weapons. Blades, clubs, even a few pokes with barbed spears, a dogpile of pain…or at least that's what it should have been. Every strike connected, hacking away at my armor, leaving behind various marks on my gear, yet no pain or significant injuries occurred.

…Like paper cuts…

‘Either these guys are really weak, or I'm built like a kryptonian…’ I thought to myself whilst gritting my teeth. I strained to get back up on my feet but their combined weight and constant blows kept me pinned down, for a moment I swore that I saw a veil of unicorn magic enveloping my back legs. One of the grunts bucked their hind legs into my face, rattling my brain in my skull like pinball in an arcade.

‘Okay, that one sucked a little bit…’

With my mind devoid of solutions, it was a pleasant surprise when I felt a strong gust of wind blow over me. This was immediately followed by a chorus of screams as something attacked the mob from behind. (“Buck’n ell mate! Is that supposed to be a fox?!-”) That was all one of them managed to say before his torso was cleanly severed from belly to shoulder in a single strike. It was only when I heard the familiar sound of loud barking that a grin formed across my strained face.

Aelita had leapt onto the descending back of one the shield bearers, her claws piercing their armor and into flesh like cleats. Her muzzle opened, and from it the air around her seemed to swirl at gale force speeds, manifesting a small orb of condensed wind. When the fox barked, that air was sent down in the faintest shape of a crescent blade which swiftly cleaved through three more ponies focusing on wacking me with their maces. Whomever the blade touched was cut clean through like a hot knife through butter, armor or no armor.

“Atta girl Aelita!” Despite the seriousness of the situation, there was a part of me deep down that swelled with pride. This adorable red fox pup that had been a trembling mess not too long ago was now a formidable beast, seemingly having evolved as much as I had. Her fur was bleached a ghostly white, a large tuft of fur near the tip of her tail having turned a bioluminescent green. Both eyes shimmered a vibrant lime color, a byproduct of her fluctuating mana that swirled within her like a raging tornado.

‘Seems like giving her that “Core of The Birch Hound Prince'' was a good idea after all…’ With Aelita providing me an opening, I twisted my body around on the floor, sweeping the hind legs out from under one of the Earth ponies who had been poking my ass with her spear. When she collapsed onto her stomach, the weapon she had been balancing between her forehooves rolled away from her and into my open hand.

Item: Barbed Polearm added

With a new weapon in hand, I’d roll backwards a few inches before springing back onto my feet. Polearm fighting eluded me, but beggars can’t be choosers when you are fighting a whole camp of bloodthirsty bandits. The weapon was far from rusty, the silvery blade glinting in the orange light cast by the roaring flames.

It was easily a 7 foot long spear, with the heart shaped head lined with downward angled barbs. Needless to say if this thing had actually managed to pierce my flesh deep enough, it would have been VERY painful. Out of curiosity I gave the weapon an experimental twirl, feeling the shaft glide clumsily between my fingers. Pointing it in front of me, I gave myself a running start before promptly thrusting the weapon into the side of the thrashing Earth pony that Aelita had been using as a springboard. The gnarly blade plunged right between the gaps of his ribs, granting minimal resistance. Judging from the spray of blood that ejected from between his lips, it was probable that I hit his lungs.

My grip tightened around the leather straps while both my boots firmly dug into the dirt for support, and with the good ole heave ho, I lifted both pony and fox into the air. “Aelita, go for the unicorn!” nodded back towards the unfortunate mare who had previously fried her fellow bandit during her misfired spell. The fox kit nodded her head in response, retracting her claws to leap from her still breathing springboard. She corrected this by using her hind paws to kick him down, fully impaling him on the weapon.

In turn, I slammed him into the dirt on his side while he coughed another fountain of blood. It only took a sharp twist and a powerful tug to rip the spear out, the barbs irreversibly damaging the vital organs within. Something about this, all this carnage, the chaos, the adrenaline pumping through my veins, it was so…exhilarating. “Come on fuckers! Let's dance!”

It was a no holds barred battle, both me and Aelita more or less going back to back to face our respective targets. I myself broke in the new spear with rapid flurries of thrusts, while Aelita flexed her new wind magic by cutting ponies into meaty chunks with what I now dubbed her “Wind Blades”. The bodies hit the floor, soaking the dry earth with fresh blood and viscera a plenty. Those who were smart booked it further into the center of camp, with a small squad of unicorns covering them in what looked to be magical bubble shields.

When either myself or Aelita attempted to strike those who had been shielded by the neon colored bubbles, it was like trying to pop a balloon made of lead. ‘Okay, noted…physical attacks aren’t as effective against bubble shields…damn it! We need to get those casters.’ This little rule seemed to work both ways however, with none of the ponies attempting to shoot bolts or swing from the safety of their protection spells. I whistled sharply causing Aelita to slither up my body, resting her front paws onto my shoulders.

Her slender frame effortlessly zipped up, launching off me to fling herself over the bandit’s heads. Twisting mid flight, she’d open her maw and unleash a series of wind blades towards the backline that had been providing support. The mana infused blades of air pressure cut them down one by one, causing the shields protecting the frontliners to burst with a crackling POP.

“Good girl! Now it’s my turn!” I praised, grinning wide under the cold wood of my skeletal mask. Planting one foot forward, I dug deep…so much so that the ground caved into a small crater beneath my boot. With a burst of speed I catapulted myself towards the faltering formation, slamming shoulder first into the first tower shield in my way.

My weight combined with my rapid acceleration momentum caused the pony to topple over like a domino. The shield he had so desperately held onto dropped in front of me, and like the greedy loot goblin I was, it became the latest addition to my arsenal. ‘Come to think of it…how can ponies even use shields?’

My internal inquiry was answered the moment I flipped the copper disk over to observe the inner lining. Thick straps had been tightly secured along the inside, perfect for one of their forelegs, or perhaps even my own arm. Distractions, they can prove lethal when on the field of battle, and if it weren't for my acute senses directing my actions, I’d have never seen the attack coming. It was that strong scent of magic, followed by my hair practically standing on end. Without even realizing it I had whipped the copper shield over my head to guard against the coming strike.

Item: Sturdy Rondache Shield Equipped

(Item Synergy Detected)

(Polearm + Shield)

Synergy Skill Created: Rookie Sentry’s Bulwark

There was a loud crack, followed by an intense explosion, one that rattled my teeth and perforated my eardrums. Yellow and purple lights danced overhead, an irresistible force colliding with an immovable object. The shield in of itself was perfect for me, having tightly fastened itself around my forearm like it had a mind of its own…all the way to the elbow. What looked to be a shimmering pane of purple glass floated four inches from the copper shield; one composed primarily of small hexagons tightly knit together. The simmering field of mana stretched longways across the circular shield, creating a magical canopy that blocked a devastating bolt of lightning.

‘Oh master, what would you do without me…!~ Thankfully I was able to fabricate a defensive ability for your item synergy right on time, or else you’d probably be toast right about now.’ Pwinx’s voice chimed from the back of my mind.

“Rookie Sentry’s Bulwark…?” I mentally commanded the information on the skill to emerge, a pop up in the corner of my vision. Simultaneously I focused on the one that brought the lightning down on my head. It was one of the nerdy bunch that had made their home in that cushy tent, a brown unicorn with locks of scarlet mane. The both of us just…stared at one another, her crimson eyes burning with a mixture of fear…and hatred.

Item Synergy Skill: Rookie Sentry’s Bulwark

This skill is born from the item synergy of spear and shield, granting the user a powerful skill derived from the Sentinel skillset.

When activated, mana is drawn from the user’s reserves in order to project a durable outward projecting barrier.

Physical attacks striking the barrier drain a moderate amount of mana. Magical attacks drain a minimal amount of mana.

Users are able to expand the length and height of Sentry’s Bulwark at will to a maximum of 6x6 ft of space, Users are able to retract the length and height of Sentry’s Bulwark to a minimum of 3x3 ft of space.

PLEASE NOTE, if the user is unable to provide sufficient mana for this Synergy skill, the barrier will dissipate.

Current Synergy Proficiency: 0.5%

‘Proficiency? Does that mean this skill can get even stronger the more I use it…?’ My lips curled into a satisfied grin beneath the mask. I concentrated on the mana barrier, picturing it shrinking down to the smallest size that it could go, and sure enough the mana fluctuated in a way that caused a majority of the octagonal patterns to fall away around the edges. With the magic resistant barrier shrouding my shield, this arrogant taunt seemed to do the trick of baiting out another attack from the more adept mare.

She was a mare of average height, or at least average from the majority of those in the camp. On top of her luscious brown coat was a rather posh looking cloak, red with glittering yellow gemstones interwoven with silver threads. These stones, or rather crystals hummed with immense power, so much so that I could feel it with my sense for mana.

The mare swung her head and neck in front of her, something akin to winding up a throw, something that had me immediately on guard. When her shot was lined up, she hurled a helix shaped spiral of lightning from the tip of her crackling horn. Rather than a straight forward blast like I had been expecting, the dancing bolts curved right, a baseball style curveball.

One of the bolts struck my shoulder, sending a surge of hot pain from head to toe, damn near knocking me to one knee. Thankfully I had just enough of my bearings to bring my shield up to block the second. The harming bolt sank into the angular barrier, seemingly absorbing into its glowing surface in a flash of yellow and purple light. I felt hot, like my insides had become the tea in a kettle, on the mere brink of boiling.

Critical damage detected: No skills within tome recent history relating to cellular regrowth found… adjusting parameters for self sustainment of the user…

…Would the user like to provide a (moderate) amount of mana to fabricate a new skill?...

Y or N

Even through this unbearable pain, my mind was starting to swim from the sudden pop up of a new tome notification, this time flashing a translucent red in urgency. There was a general rule of thumb that when a shock is at or above 2,700 volts, it often results in death or severe injury. Over 11,000 volts, the victim will usually pass away, and lightning…? Lightning itself carried over 300 million volts of electricity, so the very fact that I could even stand, much less live…goes to show how far my body truly evolved.

They say lightning doesn't strike twice, but in this world things like human expressions might as well jump out a window. That along with any laws of physics that I might have been flimsily clutching onto. Judging from the mare already winding up for another shot at him, it was probable that I was potentially in for three strikes.

The odds of my mana pool being capable of shielding another blow like that again was minimal at best, and I was already running low on the replenishing brews to keep myself topped up. When my gaze searched the battlefield for Aelita, it was plain to see that she herself had her paws full with these ominous casters. Like the mare they too have been launching volleys of electricity towards the clever fox. But with how agile and flexible she had become she weaved through them seamlessly.

‘Pwinx, do I have enough mana to block this shot and accept the tome’s request to fabricate a skill?!’ I mentally called out, keeping my eyes trained on the caster mare standing before me. My feet dug in, then kicked off in a dead sprint to keep mobile while closing the distance. Pwinx was humming frantically, seemingly taking his time with something before responding.

“You're cutting it close Jonathan, you’ll have one chance to block both bolts of lightning. To put it plainly after reviewing your status, if another shock like that lands, you…well, lets just say it won't be pretty.” Pwinx grunted. My teeth clenched, and my body which had been screaming at me for a reprieve. There was no time for a break, if my body could survive one of these attacks, if not only barely…then what would happen if a young pup like Aelita were hit?

I leapt up just as the mage finished winding up her spell, when the lightning helix flew…I knew this was my do or die moment. From all around I could see them, the ghostly apparitions of myself being felled in this very battle. Some seemed to collapse with charred flesh flaking from bone; others buckled clutching their exploding hearts, and even a few were seen stumbling back with their very eyes burst from the sockets. Apart of me knew this fight was going too smoothly, I got cocky thinking that my skills were enough to clear this camp.

How many times have I done this- no…how many times have WE done this conflict, dying over and over again. I am in the body of my greatest creation, as were all those damned souls across potentially infinite dimensions. They would never see their loved ones again, nor feel the sweet normalcy of their homes back on Earth. On the outside these ponies seemed harmless, pathetic even, but now…staring down at the face of ACTUAL danger?

…My expectations were once again crushed by this cruel new reality…

Author's Muse and a Lunar Festival

________________

Twilight smiled wide as she applied the finishing touches to her machine, with all the crystal projectors tuned in, the arcane spell matrix running smoothly, and the scrying cloud layers were focused onto her machine, everything appeared to be set up. “Almost there…aaaaand DONE!” With a flick of her telekinesis the final adjustments of the focusing crystal were made. The Lunar Festival was upon the small town of Ponyville, a marvelous, wonderful, and as Pinkie might put it “Super duper, ooper, looper all night, mega party!”

This relatively new celebration occurs every year, heralding the beginning of summer time. Said festival was to celebrate the night in all its beauty, with their one and only princess Luna making a special guest appearance. With her celestial powers she plans to showcase a marvelous meteor shower, followed up with a gorgeous constellation lightshow where she would make them dance for all of Equestria to see.

“About time Egghead! Didn’t you say that thing was ready? You've already tinkered with that dang thing like…a billion times!” Rainbow Dash floated over Twilight’s head, laying back on air while her cyan wings flapped effortlessly to keep herself airborne. She was never one for all these techno bobble thingies unless they had to do with a PON3-Phone. Twilight rolled her eyes at her friend’s whining, scratching a few check marks off on her maintenance list.

“It never hurts to be thorough Dash, it's the big night and the show is about to start in 5 minutes! Remember the Spring Festival incident with that half flanked fireworks machine?” Twilight’s brow furrowed and Rainbow Dash winced at the painful memory. Said memory was the time when the Flim and Flam brothers tried to set up a fireworks display for that evening rather than Twilight who had been out sick.

Thanks to a lack of safety measures combined with sloppy maintenance on their machine it went rogue, causing thousands of bits worth of damage to the marketing district. Needless to say that festival was filled with sheepish apologies from the bashful twins, and a REALLY frustrated purple Alicorn who had to do all the paperwork while sick in bed.

“Fair enough…uh…on a TOTALLY unrelated note that thing isn't gonna explode right?” RD laughed nervously, a bead of sweat trickling down her forehead. She could still remember that day, mainly because she had her flank literally roasted by one of those stray fireworks. Subconsciously she would run a hoof across her flank, shuddering hard before landing on all fours. Twilight again rolled her eyes before shaking her head, finishing the last of her thorough 34 maintenance check on her projector. Letting out a sigh of relief the rainbow bolt would give her princess and friend a salute. “Good, gonna get some cider with Flutters now, BYE!-”

With a loud whoosh of air the Pegasus launched herself like a rocket to Applejack’s cider bar much to Twilight's sha-grin, which by this point was now overflowing with patrons eager to get drunk off their flanks for the show. With all preparations made and triple checks finalized Twilight would give one of the many Lunar guards flying overhead a wave with her wing, signaling them to inform princess Luna to begin her great speech before the show.

The festival was taking place just outside town in a grassy field teetering on the border of the dark and dangerous Everfree, which thankfully was well guarded with magical barriers and guards. Strangely enough the mysterious forest was peaking in activity, Timberwolf sightings on the border, animals becoming a lot more fearful from what Fluttershy noted during her daily check ins with all her woodland friends, and more than a few increases in poison joke growth. Thankfully for thr citizens of Ponyville their resident Zebra friend took it upon herself to keep the nasty plants trimmed.

None of the more aggressive fauna were making moves on the town, the natural barrier keeping them at bay holding strong which was good. Amidst the sea of food carts, game booths, lantern lighting circles, and cider vendors, a sea of ponies began gathering before a massive stage with various blue and white lights shining down on starry blue curtains, causing them to glitter like the night sky that shined so brightly overhead. The mass murmuring, chatter, and chorus of playful foals running with sparklers was promptly broken by the magical speakers coming to life, with the announcer speaking in a cheerful tone.

“ALRIGHT EVERYPONY! Put your hooves together for the guest star of the hour no pun intended…our one and only Princess of the Night, the Maker of Stars, and The Constellational Artist, PRINCESS LUUUUUNA!” The crowd cheered, clapping and stomping their hooves into the earth in excitement. The curtains parted, revealing the sleek and angelic form of the Alicorn princess that had come so far from Canterlot to meet them all. Since her reformation from the dark times as Nightmare Moon, she had grown a lot. What was once a shy, socially awkward, and old minded princess had blossomed like a lotus beneath a hearth of friendship.

She stood tall, with confidence, and a smile on her face, greeting the crowd with jovial waves. Her horn flared up with magic, causing the various pyrotechnics to shoot showers of harmless colored sparks into the air on either side of the stage. Luna was garbed in a beautiful dress that hugged her tall and curvy form. The blue silk dress ran elegantly down her ample flank past her inky cutiemarks, with various sapphire gems dangling from the hem of her lavish attire as glittering tassels.

They complimented the bright white ribbon that snuggly tied around her waist, buffing up the navy blue fluff of her chest. Her mane blew in a non-existent breeze, blanketing the air around it in a nebula of realistic stars. Wrapped snugly around her neck and perched upon her fuzzy chest floof shined only the most prized jewel of Canterlot, the Moon Tear Diamond amulet.

With the opening of her massive wings the princess spoke in a loud, booming voice, one that had once imbued many ponies with fear. She didn't need a microphone to make her voice heard, using as it was more commonly known back in the day as her ‘Royal Canterlot Voice’. Her cheerful smile never left as she spoke, making sure all could hear.

“My little ponies, it brings me great joy to see so many of you here to celebrate this wondrous night, I must thank the weatherponies whom worked so hard to make this clear night possible, and to all the hard working ponies whom erected this gorgeous festival." The princess gestured to the colorful alleyways of booths around the stage.

"As many of you may have known in the beginning I was but a misguided soul consumed by malice and anger, I projected that upon you all in a disgraceful act that threatened to harm you all. However it is thanks to the Elements of Harmony that I was able to see the light and rejoin you all not as Nightmare Moon, but as Princess Luna.” The princess’s smile was warm, recalling the sweet embrace of her sister, and the kind, gentle, loving friendship that had changed her so much for the better.

“Therefore I request that you all give a round of applause to our elements! Applejack of Honesty, Fluttershy of Kindness, Pinkamena Pie of Laughter, Rarity of Generosity, Rainbow Dash of Loyalty and lastly Princess Twilight Sparkle of Magic!” Luna announced, causing the various spotlights on stage to shine in the center of the massive crowd, revealing all 6 elements in their heroic glory whom were wearing their respective gem necklaces, and the crown.

They waved to the crowd which had gotten into a jovial cheer, with Pinkie bouncing about, Applejack tipping her Stetson bashfully, Rarity fluffing her bedazzled mane for the flashing cameras, Fluttershy hiding behind her mane sheepishly, Rainbow dash zipping around signing autographs, and Twilight giving polite waves. The 6 were rightfully the stars of the show in that moment, savior's to not just their princesses, but the world itself time and time again.

“Now, for what you’ve all been waiting for, let the lunar sky dance show BEGIN!”

Off stage another light would beam down upon the festival's second surprise guest, a white unicorn mare with electric blue hair, slick hot pink shades, and a pair of bulky headphones. Her hooves rested on a flashing turntable that played its sick beats, riling up the crowd of excited ponies for what was to come. When the beat dropped Luna stomped a silver hoofshoe onto the wooden stage causing a burst of magical power to erupt from her glittering amulet.

Twilight, who at this point teleported to her station behind the crystal projector, began pressing various buttons. These began the process of sending down two massive crystal diamonds on either side of Luna. Both clear cut gems hummed with arcane power before projecting a clear image of the constellations to the crowd for those who couldn't see it so close to the stage.

Various iconic constellations miraculously moved about in the sky, bending to the Lunar princess’s will. Her horn served as the conductor for her power, and her astral beauty in the form of a breathtaking display of her abilities. Star ponies danced to the beat of the music, waltzing, twirling, jumping, and frolicking in the dark blue sky, with Luna swaying her brightly glowing horn left and right to command them all. Everypony present enjoyed the show, a concert and celebration to remember.

Ponies from Ponyville weren't the only ones enjoying the show, with the projector transmitting its magical signal to crystal balls across the entirety of Equestria for everypony to enjoy. It was going so well, the show went on for a good 30 minutes of songs, dances, even a few requests in the crowd. From constellational reenactments of Sombra’s defeat in the crystal empire, to the most recent events such as the great petrification of Cozy Glow as well as the other iconic villains the mane 6 defeated. This grand display would unfortunately be cut short in a major way that halted Luna in her tracks. Her horn had stopped glowing, her eyes glued to the sky with a mix of surprise and concern. Twilight was the first to see the princess’s face change, her amethyst eyes following Luna’s gaze upward.

Luna wasn’t performing anymore…yet the night sky was still moving.

(5 Minutes Prior)

(GORE WARNING)

The battle was long and hard, as the god drew his final breaths his smoldering gaze looked upon his killer with sheer hatred. Zeus, king of the gods, slayer of titans, lord of storms and lightning itself. His broken body laid slumped against the cracked marble of his throne, blood pooling from the mortal wounds that stretched across his god flesh. Standing before him with his hands clasped behind themselves in an authoritative stance was a man, no…a monster. With his busted lips the god spoke, blood and saliva splattering onto his slayer’s leather boots.

“You…mad fool…your lust for power, your desire to consume all, its sheer madness…you think killing me will be the end? There will be others, others who will…ngg…stand and fight, push back against your tyrannical rule…hhn…GLK…” Zeus clutched his gaping wounds, the deep gashes along his midsection were held together by the tattered remains of his armor and clothes. The application of pressure and cloth served as the only defense keeping his steaming innards within his ruined body. His labored breaths were wheezy from the ruptured lungs thanks to his shattered rib cage that had been roughly caved inward.

The fact that the old god was alive at all was a sick miracle that surpassed the divine itself. In the pools of blood the reflection of his assailant was clear as if looking into a mirror. He wore a crisp black cloak with various badges running along a silver sash. With onyx gloves he crouched to reach out, the humanoid helmet shining an amethyst light on the beaten god’s face. Had he any strength or intact limbs he would have tried anything to remove the filthy man’s advancing hands.

With one hand grasping Zeus’s bloodsoaked toga, and the other grasping its pin, he would remove the golden champion pin with the lord’s bolt engraved upon its golden surface. The glittering memento, a seemingly insignificant relic that held no power took the man’s interest, not the godly bolt discarded 50 feet away, not the riches that overflowed in the Olympian treasury, not even the weapons of the other gods whom he slaughtered just as barbarically as the king himself.

“Yea, hate to break it to you buddy, but no-one else is coming to stop me, not gonna lie…I wish you could have put up more of a fight if I at least pretended that coming here was a challenge. In the end your armies just couldn't handle the might of a few basic bitch artillery bombardments huh?" The man clicked his tounge in an almost disappointed manner.

"Not gonna lie…the first Zeus put up way more of a challenge than you ever could have hoped to reach…hell, you weren't even worth 0.10% of my real strength. It only took a few smacks to knock you off your high horse~” The man reached up with his free hand and pressed a button just above the temple causing the metal plates to shift and open, revealing the smug face of a young lad beneath.

His snow white hair was a messy clump, swaying from the rush of decompressing air escaping his armored suit. Removing his sash the dark warrior would reveal each and every individual pin he had collected, each one engraved with the symbols of a divine pantheon. The Egyptians, The Norse, The Mayans, The Chinese, The Catholics, and even…the Greeks? There was no mistaking it, Zeus was seeing an exact replica of his pantheon pin, a relic no other god or mortal could ever forge, a token of their existence in the universe. Zeus could even sense the lingering power of Olympus radiating from the pin already set upon his sash.

The fearsome warrior that was presented before the fallen god could only smirk as the puzzle pieces began to click in the old Olympian’s mind. “I-Impossible…how many…? How many times have you-GLK!” There was a wet and meaty SHLICK followed by a series of wet gurgles as Zeus’s throat was slit open ear to ear in gruesome fashion via a very sharp, hot, mechanical tail that moved faster than the superhuman eye could see. The god’s body went limp, his blue eyes slowly losing their godly glow, and in his final moments of existence could be depicted in his killer’s taunting voice.

“You? I've done this song and dance so many times that I’ve lost track…time is a fickle thing when it no longer has meaning for a being such as myself. Call me arrogant all you want but...you never really stood a chance in the beginning. I've taken your power so many times consumed, weaponized, adapted, MEMORIZED it to the point that I have more control and dominion over it than even you." To emphasize he held out his hand, letting arcs of amethyst electricity arc between his fingers.

"Remember these final moments Zeus as you slip into oblivion…remember my name, Dezmond…the new overlord of your reality.” Dezmond stood tall, his tail flicking to the side to splatter Olympian blood across cracked marble pillars. Armored boots clicked across the crumbling floor, passing the butchered corpses of these so called GODS. Without them in the way his rule was absolute. The countless worlds, the countless stars in the sky, the countless deaths all amounting to this very moment.

Earth was simply the last domino to fall in this universe’s inevitable conquest. With the pin resting between two fingers he would flick it into the air. Rather than clattering to the floor the Olympian pin would seemingly magnetize to the sash, fusing to the pin already in place. Yet another fine addition to the many others within his grim collection.

Dezmond descend the steps of Olympus, his helmet sliding back into place to let his visor shine on the destruction of this once mighty realm in the skies. He took a seat at the top of the steps and simply watched as the realm burned around him. Soldiers marched in the streets, those who resisted were lined up and subsequently executed in a barrage of gunfire.

“Sir…Harbinger reports across designated dimensional zones are in the green, infiltrator units have culled the masses, mortals have completely grown subservient to your rule. Dimension C-147-00045 is officially yours, shall I add this report to the archives?” The soft voice of a woman echoing within his helm, an artificial intelligence, his guide through thick and thin.

“No need Pwinx…just another day another reality…hnnn just ready my fragment to be inserted in my stead. There isn't any point in remaining here any longer. Ready the Dimensional gate for transport, recall all harbingers, its onto the next dimension I suppose, though I think first…I could go for a Big Mac-”

Jonathan clicked delete on the text file, folding his hands together before bringing one up to rub the bridge of his nose. Letting loose an exacerbated sigh he would follow it up with a lengthy moan of discontent. “My god, I can't believe I used to write this shit…the teenage, Mary sue, overpowered protagonist's angst is practically DRIPPING from this crap.” He scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest while looking at his recycling bin.

Jonathan had always been a writer, many of the people who commented on his work during his youth called it cool, when in THIS reality, it was anything but cool. Present day the man was 25, physically at his prime, and absolutely loaded with cash. He was no scrooge with his money however, making a great deal of investments that only boosted his wealth drastically later on.

Being a professional writer who sold many a series had its perks for lavish living. Looking back at his childish projects on Wattpad or Fanfiction.net made him cringe something fierce. Lord Dezmond, The Overlord, The God Devourer, The Slayer of Cosmic and Eldritch beings alike, the conqueror of countless universes, and absolute horny playboy, was Jonathan’s favorite and most cringe protagonist character during his youth. Originally it was going to be the tale of an emo and edgy demon prince, however as he wrote on, and as the likes, comments, and favorites came in, he became something so much more.

He gained more power than any protagonist ever should have in the palm of his gloved hand. It was only when a poll deciding later along the lines what ability he should gain that things escalated, with the people deciding that Dezmond should gain the Rick and Morty bullshit ability to leap through dimensions becoming what one negative commenter would dub him as “Anime Space Hitler”. To an extent he was correct, with this now near omnipotent being shifting more to a chaotic neutral anti hero, more than a simple protagonist hero that many come to know.

His design could only be described as a shabby One Punch Man oc that could do anything. With it becoming so wild and crazy with new fan submitted OCs getting involved as his hare- I mean harbingers, Jonathan had to write in a failsafe to at least give his character some form of a challenge.

His gaze trailed down the many files, giving each story a nostalgic fueled smile, one last once over. Overlord vs The Immortal Realms, Dezmond and The Rise of Cthulhu, Dezmond Slays the Marvel Universe, Dezmond Fresh From Hell, Angel Eater, Overlord in Equestria, Overlord and The Paradox King- wait. Jonathan’s eyes dragged up to the second to last title with an arched brow. “Overlord in Equestria…? When did I write this one…? Equestria...why dose that sound so familiar?”

For a moment Jonathan thought of opening the file to gaze at its contents. The story had no comments, no likes, not even a dislike. ‘Maybe I forgot to post it…?’ Before Jonathan could even think about opening the story the sound of knocking filled his rather cozy apartment home. Looking up from his computer it took a moment for his brain to process whom it might be before his eyes would shoot open in realization.

“Pizza for Mr. Jonathan Diez!”

Jonathan stood up from his seat, making his moves to begin walking from his living room computer, to the door. “I'm coming just a sec-FUCK!” Jonathan was sharply halted by the loose carpet beneath his chair causing him to suddenly slip back. With one flailing arm trying to balance and brace himself he incidentally spilled his open and lukewarm coffee all over his computer. His other hand grasped the keyboard, accidentally mashing a few buttons in the process…one of them being the ENTER key. What happened next was a blur, one minute he was trying to prevent himself from falling over, and the next he was falling in a sea of inky darkness.

Above him a vortex of crackling purple energy was visible, and through it was his apartment, drifting further and further away during his freefall descent. His fall into the sea of infinite nothingness was not a painless one, his entire body feeling as if it were engulfed in unquenchable flames. Jonathan tried to scream but no sound escaped his lips, the pain, the pain was unbearable, all that came out was garbled fits of jittered words that held no congruent meaning. Every muscle twitches, every bone felt like it was shattering, his organs being pulled around and reorganized while still being on the inside.

The more he fell, the faster his descent became, the darkness around him fading to that of prismatic pillars of rainbow light, reality breaking apart around him, forcing him through its cracks like a child being birthed into the world. Jonathan could see faces, some he knew, others he didn’t, he saw worlds burning, new ones being created, stars imploding, and others being made. Through the pain and torment he could hear it, a voice, one that echoed in his skull, bouncing, reverberating, speaking in an impossible language that Jonathan somehow could understand as it gradually searing into his brain.

“Go forth…the world is your playground…I summon you human as my vessel, my sword, and my champion, wield your power, mend the tethers, and stop the collapse, or all things will cease to be…”

*SNAP*

With a large snap and a crackling BOOM the world went white around Jonathan, relieving him of the agonizing pain, and allowing him the sweet release embrace of unconsciousness. Even so the last moments of dwindling consciousness was the view of an oh so beautiful night sky…and the cold whipping of air around him as he continued his rapid plummeting towards his new life..

Things are about to get interesting….I certainly know how to make an entrance

So stay tuned readers……

A Quest for Pants & The Annoying Tome

Jonathan sat up feeling queasy and unwell, the book resting in his lap and shimmering in all its mystical, mysterious, glory. He could feel the recesses of his mind itching, memories that weren’t his gnawing at his thought, flickering In and out of his immediate attention. “Well that book is here, so that couldn’t have possibly been a dream. That asshole sent me here because some stupid character I made as a teen is running amuck, causing fiction and non fiction to merge? This is stupid…so bullcrap…” He grumbled, clutching The Author’s gift in both hands.

Jonathan really debated on throwing the thing, he really did, but if this thing held the answers he would need to survive, then he was goanna have to suck it up. ‘Well, better now than never…’ Bracing himself he would open the book to the first page and…blank. He raised a brow inquisitively, flipping through more pages. Each one was blank, completely and totally blank, and with each page the human’s patience grew more and more lacking. With a frustrated growl he reached the final page, getting ready to chuck it in the lake, but something made him pause.

With squinted eyes he leaned in close, taking note of the two words in the bottom corner of the page. “Pwinx…start?” He murmured. Without warning the book’s pages blasted Jona in the eyes with vibrant rays of blue light, forcing him to drop the book with a loud scream. “JESUS FUCK! MY EYES!” He stood up, backing away from his book that had pretty much flash banged him point blank. The pain was immense, searing hot daggers of pain resonating through his eye nerves, traveling straight into his brain.

Tears ran down his cheeks while both hands rubbed at his now bloodshot eyes. When his vision cleared and everything came into focus…the book was gone…but something, or more specifically some-ONE had taken its place. Floating inches from his face was a glowing pink…imp? It had the curves of a woman, yet had a few masculine features around it'd draconic face, and muscles, along with long pink tail with stripes. Sprouted from its head was a head of messy white hair. Its yellow eyes with blue pupils stared back into Jonathan’s watery gaze. From the creature's back a pair of triangular wings floated detached from its form, yet somehow it continued to float.

“Howdy ho Jonathan, or should I say Overlord Dezmond~ It is I, your noble companion, conscious, and guide Pwinx Neferio! I was the tome of knowledge, but I’ve decided that this form would be much more…thematic, considering the circumstances. Hmm~” Pwinx looks himself over, raising a brow before snapping his fingers causing a tiny full body mirror to appear floating in front of him. “Damn, I look good, I never knew you had a thing for femboy's big guy~”

Jonathan’s expression cycled through waves of emotions, from pain, to dumbstruck, back to pain, and finally settling on good old fashioned ANNOYANCE. “Was the fucking flashbang to my face really nessisary?! What the hell do you mean you "were The Tome of Knowledge
...? He used his palms to wipe the last of the dampness from under his eyes, much to the impish amusement of his new travel partner.

“Hmmnn, how can I put this in a way your human brain can comprehend without it melting…well…you see Dezzy baby, The Tome of Knowledge is a powerful relic, one that was sought after by many scholars and magic users across the multiverse. This book’s potential scales to that of its owner, allowing them to bend the rules of reality to their will, and achieve their wildest dreams through the guidance of the book's very pages...” Pwinx snapped his fingers causing the manifestation of the mirror to turn into a folding chair and umbrella.

Sitting back on it he would snap his fingers again, this time with a tiny martini clutched in his pink claws. “For you I had to get a full analysis of your mind, your hopes, your memories old and new, your dreams, and your darkest, most personal desires~ Gotta say, you have some pretty kinky shit in that brain of yours, I mean…seriously dude, you could probably start and run your own pornhub account-”

“AHEM…” Jonathan glared daggers at the tiny imp creature who gave a sheepish giggle, blushing as he sipped away at his martini. Pwinx clearly enjoyed toying with Jonathan, spinning around his head like a gravitating moon.

“Anyways, back on track, that flash you witnessed was me getting all the data I needed to adjust the book’s functionality to your liking. Apparently you had a thing for fat assed femboys, pretty gay bro-” Dezmond swatted the imp however his hand seemed to faze through the being as if it were made of air, much to the entity’s sha-grin.

“My existence isn’t material unfortunately, however I am able to give you your own special form of guidance…I call it…’Eyes of The Seeker’ think of it as the hud for a videogame, Cliché I know. You now have the innate ability to analyze materials you either touch or have prolonged eye contact with, and I display its properties to you, which are immediately memorized and cataloged. Try it out with that pile of blue flowers over there!”

Pwinx who had by this point conjured a blue floral shirt and khaki pants pointed over to the plants in question, causing Jonathan to direct his fiery gaze towards them. His gaze softened when he noticed the glowing purple and blue shapes manifesting in the form of various displays before his very eyes. The "loading circle" for analyzing his target finished, finely listing the plant and its properties.

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Poison joke

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The plant has large leaves with a bulb with several petals sticking out of the center, each bulb sporting a few stamen. The entire plant is blue, including leaves and stalks, with dark streaks running over it in a design.

Like its namesake, Poison Joke, it affects the individuals after they merely come into contact with it, but as described by Zebrican shaman Kalek Patoi, the plant does not poison its victims; rather, it plays practical jokes, which manifest as physical afflictions. Jokes magically appear according to the personality traits of an individual, with no two cases ever being the same.

Note: poison joke effects can be deliberately triggered in a controlled manner by the use of a potion using the blossoms as an ingredient, therefore it is hypothetical to replicate certain jokes in the form of alchemical hexes. These alchemical means of cursing have been used by Zebrican shaman as a deterrent trap for intruders.

Level of Lethality:This herbal plant categorizes under a MEDIUM threat lethality due to its unpredictable nature and extent the jokes will go. It is recommended that those afflicted should seek treatment as soon as possible .

Cure: The cure for poison Joke was discovered by Zebrican shaman Kalek Patoi as a herbal bath which requires the dilution of poison joke essence through various alchemical herbs. Herbs required consist of; Frostvine shavings, Mint Herbs, Jumping Lillypads, and sprinkles of mana mushrooms.

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Jonathan rested his thumb on his chin, thinking while reading the informative text over with curious eyes. Along with the information on Poison Joke came various formulas using the Poison Joke blossoms as a base component. Such formulas came up as: Vial of Joke Juice Poison, Herbal Joke Cure, and Killing Joke Juice Poison.

“This is incredible…but what about these formulas that keep appearing in my vision? Do I just collect them and craft them…? Just like that? No effort?” He asked Pwinx, looking up towards the Imp creature who was now wearing a pair of...incredibly...tight jean shorts and a snug crop top, chugging away at a small can of beer.

“Well you can do that, it's called the “Author’s Arcane Crafting” It allows the user to pour their flow of magic into the materials collected and morph them into the desired item without the use of a crafting station or forge. However such actions can be heavily taxing on one’s mana reserves. The more complex the item, the more mana is taken up to craft it, so don't go trying to make any gundam mecha yet. Oh, and the more materials you have, the less your mana will have to fill in for the lack of components.” He winked, poking his tongue out playfully causing Jonathan to roll his eyes.

“But what if I decide to craft the item by hand…? Could you provide detailed instructions on how to make it?” Jonathan asked inquisitively, looking over the collected formula he had acquired from observing the plant. It was just like a videogame, only now it was made reality to him. Pwinx yawned and crushed the can against his head before tossing it into the air. Giving it the finger guns caused a pink bolt of energy to shoot out and vaporized the can in an instant.

“You betcha…this book has all kinds of neat tricks. No matter what the item you're trying to make is, as long as you have observed and cataloged proper materials in this book, a recipe can be fabricated. The more times you use magical crafting on a particular formula or schematic, you gain innate familiarity with crafting that formula, reducing the initial mana cost for making it. Other methods of reducing mana consumption include splitting the work down the middle, working on a portion of the item by hand, then the rest by magic.” Pwink explained while cheekily mock crafting himself a straw brimmed hat seemingly from nothing.

“Hmm…” Jonathan rubbed his chin, looking down at the ground while deep in thought...this power was strong, the possibilities limitless if he can just simply obtain more information about the world, and all the potential fantasy elements it has to offer. His thinking was cut short by Pwinx who called out with a taunting smirk.

“As much as I enjoy watching that BWC swinging around, I think it's about time you crafted yourself some pants yea?” Pwinx looked over at Jonathan with a predatory gaze, licking his lips hungrily while tilting down his newly fabricated sunglasses. Jonathan jumped, crossing his legs together with his face glowing a beat red. This caused Pwinx to let out a giggle, snapping his fingers in order to conjure a screen in his charge’s face.

“Thanks…” He muttered, looking over the recipe with a low grumble, checking the component list while trying to avoid the uncomfortable gaze Pwinx was giving him. His fingers enlarged the box, touching and pulling out a model of the pants before his very eyes. It wasn't anything fancy, far from it in fact, they were nothing more than pants made from plant fiber.

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Humanoid Fiber Pants

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Fiber pants, a simplistic design made from the collected fibers of stripped plant materials, intricately woven together in order to formulate garments for common use when typical manufacturing tools are unavailable.

Material Requirements: Fiber Bundles (x8), Vine Rope (x2), Everfree Palms (x2)

Familiarity: 1 / 10

Mana Requirements: Low

Track Materials: Inactive

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Jonathan looked over the materials before slowly reaching out to the “Track Materials” option that appeared as a small box towards the right side of the word “Inactive”. Upon doing so a wide rippling wave of blue light shot from where he stood, like a sonar ping the waves rippled out, returning to him in quick succession. In his eyes he could see a directional arrow overhead, pointing towards the lake. When his eyes scanned the waters he could see various fish coming up in his sight, each one cataloged and filed away in his mind like a desktop folder.

What really caught his attention however was the flowing, lengthy, hairlike growths of “Lake Weed” coming up to about 15 inches long. Taking cautious steps into the cool water gradually boosted his confidence, allowing him to dive down with eyes open to begin picking handfuls of the weeds. Oddly enough the materials once grasped in his hands began to vanish, disappearing in flashes of blue or purple depending on the palms he grasped with.

For a second Jonathan considered the possibility that Pwinx was messing with him again, only to have that shot down by the sudden notifications that popped up in his vision. Despite the water appearing blurry the text boxes were clear as day. The first was showing his progress on the material collection, depicting that he had collected enough water weeds to consider them as 6 bundles of plant fiber. The second showed that his time under water was progressing into something called the “Aqua Gaze skill”. The longer he remained under water the more the small bar beneath the skill boosted.

Unfortunately his time underwater was limited, as could be told through the hot pain in his lungs from holding his breath so long. Kicking his feet he would surface from the lake, having completed the acquisition of the required fibers. Kicking and swimming back to shore he climbed out, wiping water from his face. Pwinx was waiting for him, this time with a folding chair, a bikini, and a half opened coconut as a drink.

“Huh, thought you had drowned yourself for a minute there, stud.” He said casually while taking a long, obnoxious slurp of his drink. Jonathan gave Pwinx an irate frown, raising a brow while crossing his arms.

“Is that outfit REALLY necessary…ugh, can you tell me what progressing into “Skills” means for me? More specifically this “Aqua Gaze”...skill?” The human asked while marching into the forest to find these Everfree Palms. The arrow over his head worked wonders, pointing to what appeared to be oversized Monstera leaves. He would see in the forests on TV, it was rather surreal to see something so normal be named something like Everfree Palms.

“Simple, the more you do certain passive activities, the more you put familiarity progress into them. “Aqua Gaze” is a skill that allows the user to passively clear the murky fog, and adapt your eyes to see clearly when under water without all that blur.” Pwinx said smoothly while floating on his chair over Jonathan’s shoulder. The small creature watched in boredom as his charge plucked the needed materials from the bush, sucking them up into either palm.

“And what about the-” Jonathan was about to speak before he was rudely interrupted by the knowledgeable entity, who responded swiftly.

“Items you collect are stored within the tome’s inventory, the amount varies, but it directly ties to your strength as you are. Currently that beefcake of a body has enough strength to carry up to 1010 pounds before the weight of your tome inventory starts to spill onto your physical body. It is a good way to boost your strength while exercising I must admit, though I can't stress enough how bad it would be if you were to become over encumbered during a fight.” Pwinx picked at his teeth with a claw while watching his capable ward climb a tree to tug down some vine ropes.
When Jonathan attempted to dislodge the plant rope, it caused a rather large cluster of what looked to be pastel colored cotton balls, with tiny insect wings to come flying out in his face. Reasonably he let out a shriek of terror before falling down a good 20 feet onto the forest floor with a comically loud TWUMP. Pwinx tried to stifle his laughter only for it to come out in high pitched giggles, with him rolling out of his chair belly laughing while floating a few feet from Jonathan’s prone form.

“Mmmnnn…rather than laughing like a lunatic…could you maybe tell me what the hell that was…?” He wheezed, slowly picking himself back up to brush the dirt off his body. Jonathan had managed to get a good look at the cluster of creatures before they got away after swarming him. Pwinx snapped his fingers in between gasps of air, his face oddly glowing blue as the strange Imp creature’s blood rushed to his cheeks.

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Parasprites

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Parasprites are insect-like creatures that primarily appear in swarms from 20-1000. The name "Parasprite" is a portmanteau of parasite and sprite, a mythical forest creature from folklore. Their voracious appetites and rapid multiplication turn them from pets to pests, making them rather dangerous if left unchecked.

Due to their low lifespan they developed a biological quirk that allows them to reproduce asexually through rapid cellular division. Despite their appearance these creatures do not contain organs or even stomachs, which rumors that their mouth is a portal to an extra dimensional space where they store their pilfered food.

Note: It has been documented that these parasitic pests have a low tolerance to mental based attacks, single mindedly following and being attracted to things such as catchy music, or low grade manipulation magic.

Level of Lethality: In low numbers the Parasprites are considered non lethal, however in swarms they upgrade their lethality to high levels, with their uncontrollable numbers being able to decimate towns or cities by the rapid consumption of organic materials, excluding living entities. Even in large numbers however, these insectoid creatures do not have the physical capabilities to harm sentient creatures.

Known Weaknesses: ???

Habitat: Parasprites are commonly known to dwell in the Everfree forest due to the environment’s abnormal growth rate of edible materials.

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“Woof…that sounds like an annoying pest problem to deal with, I’d hate to be the unfortunate shmuck to be the one bringing those into town…” Jonathan snorted, looking over the information collected.

Far, far, far away in the town of Ponyville, Fluttershy who had at this point made it home to feed her animals felt a sudden urge leading her to sneeze. “Oh dear…somepony must be talking about me…”

Back with Jonathan he double, then triple checked his materials list, noting the various checked boxes indicating that he had acquired all materials. Hovering inches from the image of his jungle themed pants a big red button labeled “Fabricate” was lit up, begging him to push it. ‘Pants and common decency…here I come!’ The naked man pressed the fabricate button and almost instantly the numbers for the materials shot down to zero all across the board. Deep down Jonathan felt a pang of exhaustion, presumably his 'mana' being drawn from his body to fabricate his item.

Space before him rippled as a circle of vibrant blue light formed before its creator, arcane runes circling its insides. Flipping horizontally the spell circles would split apart slowly, with a pair of Fiber Pants being intricately woven before Jonathan’s very eyes. This was the first time Jonathan was seeing magic, it was beautiful, it was exciting, and made his heart pound like a jackhammer in his chest.

These pants, despite their simplicity and seemingly mundaneness, these leafy slacks were his first steps to a potentially limitless source of creative freedom. It was in the form of crafting through this powerful, if not slightly annoying tome. The process was steady yet quick, with his pants floating in between the two spell circles.

You Have Crafted

Humanoid Fiber Pants

+3 Crafting Familiarity Gained

“You know…maybe this won’t be as bad if I have you to help me Pwinx…” Jonathan smiled softly, reaching out to take his long awaited pants as if they were the holy grail. Before Jonathan could grasp them, a cluster of multicolored, pastel, and big eyed insects swarmed around him and his newly crafted pants. The unbearable buzzing of their wings echoed in his mind, their fuzzy bodies brushing up against his bare skin.

Before the man could have a chance to scream out…it happened.

Item Humanoid Fiber Pants has been destroyed.

Pwinx slowly floated on his folding chair beside Jonathan, whose mouth was still locked into a smile of excitement. His fingers were still outstretched reaching for his now non existent pants. Pwinx could see the human’s eye twitching, pupils dilated to pin pricks, and for a moment he thought he saw a tear roll down one of the man’s cheeks. Pwinx flew closer and closer, stopping inches from Jonathan’s ear with the biggest, shit eating grin imaginable plastered on his face while whispering.

“Did I forget to mention that Parasprites LOVE Everfree palms?~”

…….

Jonathan’s voice echoed through the forest, his voice coming out in an echoing roar loud enough to shake the birds from trees, and into the blue skies.

I JUST WANTED SOME FUCKING PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANTS!!!

Author's Note

Hey everypony, sorry this chapter doesn't have any new art! To make up for it the next chapter will contain both an image of our NEW character Pwinx, as well as the regularly scheduled chapter picture! Im so glad you all managed to raise the likes to over 50 so quickly! I can't tell you enough how happy and inspired it makes me to see so many who enjoy this work I'm doing!

On 100 likes I plan to, just like before do an OC insert or cameo! Feel free to shoot me DMS of a detailed writing of your OC! More detailed the better!

Anyways, have a good morning or evening, and as always STAY TUNED for the next chapter of My Little Overlord X3 (Cringe I know lol)

|Update|

Greetings fillies and gentlecolts,I figured it was time I gave you all an update on the story! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten! Various things popped up in my life, seriously impacting my ability to write with a positive mindspace. ^^; No worries though, just know that I haven't forgotten you, and all the others who support this project.

You'll be seeing new, violent, and badass chapters soon enough! The Overlord will rise again and stomp out the rising threats closing in on Equestria on all sides! That's a Pinkie Pie promise!

Lots of love, cupcakes, and of course MUFFINS to all my fellow Derpy lovers out there! :derpytongue2: just remember to stay tuned!~