Striving for Perfection

I woke up from the fact that someone pushed me in the side. Before I opened my eyes, I already felt that the limbs that were not covered with clothes were very cold. Sluggishly opening my eyes, I saw a Shining in front of me.

"Have we arrived yet?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"Almost. I woke you up so you wouldn't freeze completely."

"What are you talking about? Oh, yes," I said, realizing that at some point I fell asleep and did not return to the train.

"How did you even manage to fall asleep in the fresh air?"

"You know, it's better than sleeping surrounded by ugly faces."

Shining looked at me with an annoyed look: "Do you always need to be like this?"

"I'm just honest." I said, blowing a kiss to Shining.

He was very confused by this and asked with embarrassment in his voice. "What was that for?"

"For you to ask," I said calmly.

"Have you been told that you are very annoying?"

"Now I'm going to tell you something good. - "I put my hand on my heart"-Now I don't have the strength for full-fledged intellectual activity, so I can have some fun. By entertainment, I mean beautiful mockery of people like you."

"And what's good about it?"

"I spoke to you honestly. Honesty is good, right? So I didn't just say something nice, I'm always good. Note that I use the standard logic of "good and bad". In fact, I just analyze the social order of the modern world and draw conclusions that bring me a positive result in the form of self-affirmation."

"What?"

"Did I tell you that I like very long and confusing sentences?"

Shining sighed, shook his head, and returned to the train. I got to my feet and examined the platform outside the train. There is no map anywhere. I quickly opened the car door, almost breaking it, and frantically began to inspect the car with my eyes. Fortunately, the map and compass were on my shelf. I probably left them here yesterday without noticing it myself. Having calmed down, I sat down on my shelf and opened the map, which had remained folded before. Unfolding the map, the compass fell out of it, but I didn't pay much attention to it.

A village called Jungleville is marked on the map. Damn, what kind of idiot comes up with these names? In any case, about a mile from the city, if I correctly calculated the scale of the map, there is a red cross indicating the temple. There are no other designations on the map.

It may not be as easy as I thought. Who can actually kill a pony squad? Damn, it will be easier to answer who will not be able to kill the pony squad.

Shining on the other side of the train began to conduct some kind of briefing. I didn't pay much attention to him and began to look more closely at the map to find more information. Is this a direct road to the temple? Oh, no, it's just a piece of the map from which a piece of paint has come off. Apart from a few other settlements on the map, I didn't find anything else. Disappointed, I rolled up the map and put it next to the compass on the shelf. Due to the lack of classes, I decided to start meditation.

I took a comfortable position, closed my eyes and began to concentrate on the feeling of magic inside me.

Unfortunately, I was interrupted by Shining's voice coming from the end of the car, "Everyone get ready! The train is stopping!"

I got up from the shelf, taking a map in one hand and a compass in the other. There was an active movement in the car because of the soldiers putting on their equipment. It's amazing that they listen to him even though they don't respect him. As a result, the sound of the train stopping was heard and with it all the soldiers stood ready.

Towering over everyone on the train, without waiting, I began to bypass the soldiers and make my way to the exit of the train. Although I was moving fast, Shining still came out earlier, but for some reason the rest of the soldiers did not follow him. I didn't pay attention to it and got off the train.

In front of me was a city in many ways different from Ponyville. The most noticeable difference is the large, brightly decorated church in the city center. The second most noticeable difference is the use of pale brownish wood in most buildings and simpler architecture in contrast to Ponyville. I'm sure if study it more carefully, I can see a lot more differences, but I don't have time for that.

Shining, instead of turning towards the city, headed along a lonely, inconspicuous path leading into the jungle. I followed him and tried unsuccessfully to distract myself from the tension caused by the whole platoon of soldiers walking behind me. Although I can easily defeat half a dozen guards, but I'm afraid defeating an entire platoon will be an impossible task even for me. Fortunately, we quickly reached the entrance to the jungle.

Stopping at the entrance to the jungle, Shining turned to me and said: "You know why you're here. Go and better come back soon. And just so you know. All the nearby settlements are heavily fortified and have received an expansion of the garrison, so if I were you, I wouldn't try to escape. "

I walked past the Shining One and said goodbye: "If you were in my place, you'd be lying and crying into your pillow, so don't tell me what to do."

Shining shouted something to me for the last time, but I didn't hear him. I opened the map and, guided by the compass, began to move towards the temple. On the way to the temple, I began to think about what was waiting for me.

Let's figure out what I need to do. 1. Come to the temple. 2. Pick up the sickle. 3. Exit the temple. It sounds simple, but judging by the fact that the expeditions did not return, there must be something dangerous there. What could be dangerous about an abandoned church in the jungle? The only thing that comes to my mind is a group of ultra radical fanatics who are hiding in a secretive place. If this is indeed the case, then this will be a very simple exam.

During the time I was thinking about the possible danger in the temple, I managed to get to the part where the path was already overgrown and almost invisible. Continuing my movement along an increasingly overgrown path and dodging tree branches, I reached the temple.

In front of me was a half-overgrown temple made of unknown black material and a crescent symbol on top. Unlike my expectations, the temple does not look like a huge pyramid, but rather like the entrance to a mine. Great I have to go somewhere underground. I went to the nearest tree and broke off a branch from it. With a quick movement of my hand, I split one end of the branch. After that, I looked around and after a couple of minutes of searching, I was able to find a few needles. I put these needles into the split end of the branch, thus creating a kind of torch. Tearing off two more branches and rubbing them against each other, I got a fire that I threw an improvised torch. As a result, it caught fire and now I'm ready to move into the temple.

I started entering the temple with a torch in my left hand. Immediately at the entrance to the temple, I saw a staircase leading down. Having no other choice, I began to descend it into the depths of the temple. Descending into the depths of the temple, I began to inspect its condition. Surprisingly, the temple looks as if it is being taken care of and not allowed to fall apart. Not a single plant sprouted through the black stone, not a single broken stone and perfect cleanliness. All this makes me very tense and makes me constantly look around in search of danger. I finished descending the stairs into the depths of the temple, and a fork appeared in front of me. The right turn, which is perfectly groomed, and the left turn, which is terribly overgrown, and which will be difficult to pass through.

I am sure that my theory about the fanatics in this temple is true, so they can attack me at any moment. Turning right looks so well-groomed to lure someone into a trap. I'm sure of it. What if these fanatics believe that no one should get to the sickle and therefore decided that natural barriers will protect it? Far from the most logical, but I have too little information. I'll go left.

I decided to turn left and I already had a problem. If I try to get through the thickets, there is a high probability of setting them on fire. Considering that the thickets go to an unknown distance in case of arson, I risk being in a fire. After a little thought, I decided to use the rune that Luna showed me during training. I concentrated on breathing to saturate the blood with oxygen. After preparing, I began to slowly create a rune to prevent mistakes. A spiked outer circle, a central circle with irregularities similar to fire, and finally a ball symbol. As a result, a ball comparable in size to a basketball appeared in my hand. I endured his high temperature and pulled my arm back for a throw. Getting ready, I threw the ball into the thicket and it pierced through them, setting them on fire. After a while, I heard the sound of the ball hitting the floor and felt it disappear. What did you think he would fly as it is customary? Me too, but it turned out that the classic fireball here looks exactly like this.

After a while, most of the thickets burned down and cleared my way further. I moved on through the dying thickets, continuing to hold the torch in my left hand. Moving through the thickets, I got to the part where the plants had not yet had time to grow. A lot of time-scarred stones and several traces of landslides are clearly visible. Continuing to walk and examining the surroundings, I noticed that some passages were blocked and now inaccessible. Going even further, I saw the place where the door should have been. Interested, I turned in the direction where the door should have been and entered a small room.

When I entered the room, I saw places where there must have been furniture, but now there is nothing left. In the corner of the room, I saw a sheet of papyrus that miraculously survived. Coming closer and carefully taking it, I was surprised that it was written in a language I understood. Deciding to take advantage of the opportunity, I began to read despite the words that were erased by the action of time.

The first entry.

The traitor decided to finally assert her tyranny over the world and banished her. . . Judging by that. . . continues to move the traitor stretched out her rotten hooves even before him. We cannot allow such blasphemy to exist together, therefore. . . made a decision. We have to for the time being. . . trying to get back. . . For this. . . These records are necessary in order not to miss more than one detail. Tomorrow I,. . . and. . . will begin work.

. . .

I put the papyrus back in its place and left the room. Due to the fact that a lot of information was erased, I received only new questions from this document. Who is a traitor? What keeps moving? What kind of work are we talking about? All this remains a mystery to me and I'm afraid that I won't get a clear answer.

Disappointed, I wandered down the corridor. A few more rooms were available, but I didn't find anything there at all. At some point I reached a dead end. Damn. Before I could turn around, I heard a rustle behind the wall. Interested, I put my ear to the wall and heard a lot of hooves randomly moving in one particular direction.

Looks like they already know I'm here. I have to hurry. It won't be considered a retreat if I don't join the fight.

I turned around and ran down the corridor despite the risk of putting out the torch. Due to the high-speed pace, I quickly got to the fork and moved where I had not gone before. Rushing down the corridor, I saw some crumpled armor. Stopping, I picked up one of the armor from the ground and examined it. It looks like a whole crowd ran over them. The strangest thing is that the armor is dented, but there are no signs that someone put them on. A small stop to review the armor helped me calm down a little and I was able to think normally.

What can a crowd of fanatics do to me? I can stay in continuous combat for several hours and can kill a pony in less than a second with one simple spell. I overestimated the situation. A crowd of ponies who lives in the temple will act against me. At the same time, I am in fact already a trained soldier and a strong fighter in my own right. They don't have a single chance to win.

Having gained confidence and calmness, I moved with a calm step along the corridor. After walking a long way down the corridor, I came out into a brightly decorated room. There are a lot of stone benches in the room, suggesting that there will be a lot of people here. But the most important thing in the room is a fresco on the wall where Luna is depicted behind which there is a rising moon.

So Luna also created a religion and put herself in charge? Although why am I surprised? Luna is far from the stupidest creature I've seen. It would be strange if she didn't.

Looking closer, I saw that instead of the horn of Luna, a sickle comes out of the fresco. Bingo. I got closer to the mural and jumped up to get to the sickle. Having caught on the sickle, I tried to pull it out, but nothing happened. I braced my feet against the wall and made even more efforts to pull the sickle out of the wall, but this also did not give any result. Having stopped and examined the sickle in more detail, I noticed its difference from the standard sickle. Firstly, in its shape it looks more like a very strange sword. Secondly, the sickle has an ephesus, which makes it even more akin to a sword. Clinging to the ephesus with both hands, I pulled with all my might. Suddenly something hit me, throwing me to the other end of the room and slamming into the wall.

I cleared my throat from the dust caused by the half-broken wall and noticed what pushed me. What I saw made me numb. At the place where the mural once was, there was a terrible creature. The creature stands on many hooves like a centipede. Instead of one head, the creature has many different heads. The heads of unicorns, Pegasus, earth ponies, children, and even a couple of griffin heads. The topmost head has on its head the very sickle that I just tried to pull out. Surprisingly, instead of attacking me, the creature began to talk only not to me, but some heads to others.

The conversation was started by the lowest heads "Why should we suffer?"

Then the conversation was continued by the heads located high enough "You are not successful enough. You need to become successful."

The heads to the right of the topmost one entered into an argument with the successful heads: "You rejected the holy rules and now you are suffering. It will be the same with everyone who does not follow the rules. "

The heads to the left of the uppermost one joined the dispute: "You are suffering because the lady of the night needs strength. You need to be patient. It's for the common good. "

The heads continued to argue among themselves until at one point everyone turned to me and asked, "But we are all acting for the benefit of the Lady of the night. Are you acting for the benefit of the Lady of the night?"

I couldn't form an answer in time and the topmost head beat me to it. "Enemy!"

Suddenly, all the heads seemed to have lost their identity and everyone was divided into two groups. The lower heads began to look as if they were being drained dry. The upper heads began to look healthier and each said the same theses that the lower ones should continue and endure. Only now I noticed that my torch was lying right in front of the monster and he was preparing to put it out with his hooves. Before I could take any action, the monster had already extinguished the torch, depriving me of a view. The sound of a thousand hooves moving a huge body was heard. Focusing on the sound, I gathered my strength and jumped to the left. But something hit me in the right side, knocking my balance and forcing me to lean against the wall. While I was trying to orient myself in complete darkness, I heard the sound of hitting the wall and the creaking of hooves on the floor, as if the creature was trying to slow down. While the creature was somewhere unknown, I began to think over further actions.

I can't rely on reaction. Besides, I can't dodge to the side because of the size of this thing. Wait, I'm in a square room right now, that means. . . I have an idea!

I got to my feet as fast as I could and started creating bouncing arrows as fast as I could. Soon, a solid curtain of arrows bouncing off the walls and ceiling formed in the room. Barely keeping up, I manage to dodge all my own arrows. The monster ran into the room again on its innumerable hooves and many heads roared after a bunch of arrows hit the general body. To my shock, the horns of many heads and even the sickle of the top one began to glow and form a shield. The shield completely covered entire body and caused all my arrows to bounce off it. Over time, the arrows began to lose their energy and disintegrate one by one. When all the arrows disintegrated, the monster lowered his shield, plunging the room into darkness.

I heard a hundred hooves running up again, but this time I decided to jump up. I felt like I was hooked on something similar to a beak and began to slide off. Quickly reacting, I began to climb by touch on various ledges, but the monster did not wait long and his heads began to fire at me. Constantly jumping from one head to another, I was able to avoid most of the shots, but some still managed to hit my hands and feet. With a hiss, I continued to climb over the heads until I saw a sickle flash in the dark. I accelerated and quickly, avoiding shots got to the head to which the sickle was attached. Knowing that the sickle can't just be pulled out, I started hitting the head. Soon the head turned into a bloody mess and I was able to calmly take the sickle. Grabbing the sickle, I jumped away from the monster and collided with the wall, but quickly got my bearings and jumped away from the wall.

Once on the other side of the room, I again lost any chance of finding a monster not by sound. Instead of the sound of a hundred hooves, a strange click was heard, followed by horns lit up. Suddenly I felt a huge force trying to pull the sickle out of my grip. As a result, the sickle broke out of my grip and flew at great speed towards the monster. The sickle crashed into one of the monster's heads and began to connect with it. After the sickle finally connected with the head, it began to move to the place of the old one. As a result, the new head took the place of the old one and everything became as before.

Shit. To get this sickle I need to destroy all the heads. Leaving no one behind.

I rushed at the monster from the spot. The monster's heads tried to shoot at me, but I made a tackle right under the general body. Of course, the monster did not leave such an action unanswered and began actively trying to trample me. Thanks to Luna's lessons, I was able to dodge every hoof or shift the kick to the side. Once behind the monster, I jumped to the wall and pushed off from it, thus landing on his back. Due to the size of the creature and the lack of visibility, I could not determine where its pain point is, so I started kicking and jumping from place to place. The monster did not tolerate this for a long time and began to kick. I tried to hold on, but the monster threw me high into the air. It felt like I flew up dozens of feet, but still didn't crash into the ceiling. The room was lit up by a multitude of simultaneously lit horns ready for a shot.

Fuck. Fuck! FUCK! I created this rune only once. I thought it wouldn't be useful to me. It turns out that now I just need it. This is my only chance.

I spread my arms out to the sides, stretching as far as possible from each other, and with both hands I began to create a large rune. An outer circle with spikes inside, a central circle without a pattern and a mark in the form of a shield. As a result, a thick shell formed around me, woven from my magic. At first, the monster's arrows started bouncing off the shield, but soon began to get stuck in the shell. The shell finally fell apart, and the remaining arrows rushed towards me. I tried to defend myself by folding my arms in a defensive pose, but still a lot of shells hit me. I landed very badly on the stone floor. Gathering my strength, I was able to get to my feet. Rising to my feet, despite my wounds, I stood in a fighting stance, ready for battle.

Judging by the sound, the monster started moving towards me. I hit towards the sound and felt my fist hit something. In less than a second, I got up on one leg and started throwing a lot of punches. Following the blows, the cries of various monster heads could be heard. As soon as I got tired of hitting, I jumped up and successfully hooked on one of the heads. I set the explosive rune on several heads and jumped away from the monster as far as possible. A couple of seconds later, a series of small explosions occurred that tore apart several heads and set them on fire.

I didn't have time to enjoy my tactical success because the monster immediately moved towards me, but thanks to the light, I easily dodged the attack and kicked him in the side with a U-turn. While the monster was unwrapping it massive carcass, I started looking for something that could help me. The place I came from, a few rocks in the corners and another exit?

Where does this exit come from? Could it be that there was a huge corridor behind the mural? Judging by where the monster attacked me from, it looks quite logical.

My train of thought was interrupted by another hundred hoof beats.

Fuck it all! I have an idea.

I dodged the monster towards the other exit. During my run down the corridor, I constantly looked around so as not to lose sight of the monster. With a sound like thunder, the monster started running after me, constantly colliding with the walls. As the monster slowly approached me and the light from the burning heads became more insignificant, I began to execute my plan.

Why have I always created magic tentacles thick? What if I create a tentacle thinner than a fishing line and stretch it to the limit? Due to the tension, this kind of fishing line should have an excellent cutting property.

I stopped and focused on my breathing. I started to release incredibly thin tentacles and attach them to the bricks. The monster did not wait for my tricks, ran up, threw me at the ceiling and lit a lot of horns. Surprisingly, instead of firing a thousand projectiles at me, he grabbed himself with his own magic and took off. He went to the air ram and punched me through miles of stones. Even though I have constantly created shields for my protection, I still feel hellish pain. After what seemed like an eternity, the stream of blows to my back ended and I found myself in the fresh air. Despite the pain in my back, I gathered my strength and jumped away from the monster. Nearby I saw a city with a church proudly towering over it. Due to the fact that I was distracted by the city, I did not have time to orient myself and fell on my back.

It feels like my whole nervous system has broken down. I see, but don't understand the picture. I can hear, but I can't describe the music. I feel, but I can't realize.

I have to get up. Now. Right this second!

Overcoming the pain, I got up from the ground with a blow of my elbows and examined my surroundings. A lot of fallen trees and an infinite number of hoof prints leading to the city. Fuck.

Despite the pain, I limped along the hoof prints. Gradually, as I approached the city, I began to hear sounds of panic. There were words that seemed to come from the mouth of a new head with a sickle.

"The enemy! The enemy! We are surrounded by enemies! We need to unite in a single mechanism against enemies!"

Rage began to gain momentum in me.

This stuff got to me. It dared to resist me. Me! I am a symbol of perfection! At first it was purely a task, but now. It's personal now. A being whose power consists of collective unification into one gray mass is a direct insult to me. At first I thought total annihilation was too wild, but now. THIS IS A GREAT PERSPECTIVE!

I forgot about any pain and on pure adrenaline mixed with the desire to satisfy my sadism moved at great speed to the sound of destruction. Approaching the monster, I saw several guards trying to scare him with their spears. Of course unsuccessfully.

I ran past the guards and growled at them, "Do something useful and clear my territory!"

Without waiting for an answer, I got even closer to the monster and kicked in the air. Only now I noticed that my leg was enveloped in black flames.

I don't care about that! The main thing is to destroy the enemy.

The monster staggered back a couple of feet from my blow, but quickly got his bearings and turned in the direction where I was. But faster than anyone could react, I struck a lot of blows to each head. The withered lower heads could not withstand my pressure, but the upper ones resisted. The remaining heads lit their horns and created a shield, forcing me to retreat. I started circling around looking for a new opportunity to attack.

While I was looking for a new opportunity to attack, the head with the sickle shouted "The main enemy has appeared. All our problems come from the main enemy and his servants!"

Only now I noticed that some miraculously surviving lower heads fall off from the main body when they dry up completely. While I was trying to find an opportunity to attack, the monster removed its shield and started firing at me. But I was able to dodge without any problems thanks to the constant movement. Only now I began to feel the pain of past wounds again. This needs to be finished as soon as possible.

Despite the shelling, I moved straight to the monster. As soon as I got to the general body, I jumped on the topmost head and quickly destroyed it by pulling out a sickle along the way. And again, as soon as I moved away from the monster, he began to try to return the sickle with his magic. Instead of resisting, I grabbed the sickle tighter and pressed my legs to my chest. As a result, I flew with the sickle to the monster. As soon as I was close enough, I regrouped and hit the nearest heads with a sickle. Thanks to the power invested in each blow, the sickle was able to calmly cut each head. After what seemed like an eternity, the last head was cut in half and the monster fell. I dropped the sickle and fell to one knee.

After the fight, I felt my every injury. My back hurts as if I was carrying a whole mountain on it. After my last outburst, I stopped feeling my legs and arms. The main thing is that I won.

One step closer to perfection.

I heard the sound of hooves pounding behind me. I quickly turned my head back, preparing for the worst. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that it was Shining and just turned back to the lifeless body of the monster.

Shining stopped next to me and tried to formulate a thought for a long time, but in the end he was able to say, "I think I can forget about a restful sleep."

"Wow, you said something smart. Why can't you always say something like that?"

I noticed out of the corner of my eye how he turned to me, "Even at such a moment, do you find the strength and time for such a thing?"

I just nodded approvingly at his question. He snorted, but still decided to continue the dialogue "What is this thing?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"He came out of the forest you went into."

"Listen, the main thing for me is that this shit is dead. If you want, you can sit here and think for three hours about the innermost meaning that the creators put into this thing."

I didn't even pay attention to Shining's words and instead began to slowly get to my feet. Despite staggering, I got up and walked over to the monster's body, simultaneously picking up a sickle. I bent down to the lifeless body and tried to cut off a piece, but unfortunately the sickle turned out to be too blunt.

Shining came up behind me and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Instead of a stupid question, it's better to give me some kind of knife." I replied, stretching one hand back.

Surprisingly Shining took a knife from somewhere and gave it to me. Looking at the knife, I noticed that it looks like the most ordinary one only with a belt for taking hooves. I didn't pay attention to the belt and took the knife in a normal way. Despite the fact that the knife was badly sharpened, I was still able to chop off a decent piece of meat from the body.

I turned to Shining, who, judging by the look, wanted to ask something, but I beat him to "Where is the camp?"

"Camp? We settled down at the nearest hotel."

"Well, to hell with it," I said, before quickly and casually cutting off a piece of meat that had wool on it. From the remaining piece of meat, I bit off as much as my jaw could allow me, and closed my eyes. After chewing and swallowing, I opened my eyes and saw Shining in front of me, who could throw up at any second.

Despite his reaction, I still said, before laughing and throwing the meat aside, "I have good news for you, Shining. Ponies are bad food."

Shining couldn't stand my words and ran into the nearest bushes. I grinned at his reaction and stuck the knife in the ground so Shining could find it. Deciding that I could only wait for the train, I limped to the station.

While I was limping to the station, a timid clatter of hooves was heard from behind. I turned back in a panic, assuming a threat, but fortunately it was just a blue Pegasus with a chestnut mane. When she saw me turn around abruptly, she stood up.

I calmed down and said, "What do you need?"

She calmed down and began to speak in a friendly voice, "Hello, I'm sorry to bother you, but I have two requests for you."

I sighed and replied, "Okay, just hurry up."

With her wings, she handed me a piece of paper and a pencil. When I took them, she said.

"My brother is really a fan of you. I would appreciate it if you would give me an autograph so that I could give it to my brother."

"Why is your brother so interested in me?"

"Funny situation. My brother works as a repairman in Ponyville and there's a mare named Rainbow Dash. According to his stories from her unsuccessful tricks, he is forced to work overtime and at the same time for free. From his point of view, you are the real karma for this mare."

I handed her an autographed piece of paper and continued walking to the train station.

She whispered softly from behind, "What a strange handwriting."

She changed her tone to a loud one and said, "Thank you so much. If it's not difficult for you, you can also say something about what happened in the city. "

"Why? "

"You see, I'm a reporter. I was supposed to start writing a article today about Southeast Equestria. And I thought that what happened today might interest the public."

I was silent for a while and came up with an answer: "There is a temple a mile from the city. Based on the information I have received and some personal assumptions, I can make a statement that this creature was created artificially. But this creature was destroyed by me, so it's not dangerous now."

I heard her actively recording my words. She wrote everything down and said with gratitude, "It's not much, but I can work with it. Thank you very much."

I waved my hand listlessly and continued walking to the train station. "No problem. Don't contact me anymore."

I got to the train station and sat down on the nearest bench that was on the street after putting a sickle next to it. I sighed, letting myself relax. After a while, I fell asleep on the bench without noticing it.