Author's Note

This is going to be a chapter for the long haul so you might as well buckle up and save yourself a treat for this chapter, enjoy!

PS: expect a list of Ryan’s capabilities to be on display once he settles this glitch.

Chapter 4

Pov: Ryan Steele

I should be preparing for an earful right now. It felt like it was just a few hours ago when I met some wonderful people. And now that mood is killed, damn.

My new pals are stunned from Twilight’s aggression and even more so my silence from it all as I quietly made my way towards her.

I mindlessly picked at my ear using my pinky finger as I walked to give my casual greeting. “Hey Twi. Listen I was only-”

Twilight glares for me to shut my trap. “Not another peep. How could you leave without saying anything? It’s been nearly twelve hours!” Twilight pointed a finger at her younger brother. “Spike was nervous the entire time without you there with him!”

Spike crossed his arms and huffed. “She’s lying, I was completely fine the entire time without you. She made us search this entire town twice for you. I kept telling her that you were fine though.”

Twilight pinches the bridge between her nose. “Why are you defending him Spike?”

“Guy thing.” He shrugged, at least not everyone is against me.

“Jeez, did that Mare on the moon thing really get to her? All of those over paranoia. I should be a better older brother and cut her some slack.”

William had held some skepticism from my sibling's current overreaction, one that is very common may I remind myself. “So this is your sister I presume? Why is she yelling at you at such volume in public?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “And you all are?” She questioned, looking at my brand new friends.

“I’m Marax, he’s William, and she’s Vanishing. We were hanging out with Ryan. Who looks old enough to drink actually. So why don’t you get off their case.” Marax finished as he took a step forward.

I hold up a hand, I hate explaining a situation where someone’s defending me but I don’t like lying to people, intentionally or not. “Back up a moment. Twilight’s right I should’ve at least said something to her before dipping out. And sorry Spike for having to deal with Twi’s nagging. How’d it go anyways?”

Vanishing piped up right after I finished. Way too quickly actually, even an average trash talker would’ve been surprised.

“Where’s the princess at?” She interjected, which was the entire reason why we were out here in the first place.

Twilight rubbed the bottom of her chin with her fingers. “That is exactly what I was asking myself. Not to worry though, I have full faith that Princess Celestia should be arriving shortly. It’s uncharacteristic of her to be late.” That is the one good quality of Princess Celestia that I will admit, punctuality and being on time.

“Hey Spike, Twilight treated you fine without me there, right?” I inquired, I know how Twiggiles can get when I’m not around to keep her in check.

My little brother shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, nothing noteworthy neither.”

“So then regular freak outs, gotcha.” I slyly commented.

Twilight gave me a death glare, I didn’t bother whispering since Spike was standing right beside Twi anyways. “I do not freak out. I’m a fully grown mare and can take care of myself. Some of the things you do, however, worry me: like staying out in a town neither of us have been in for an equivalent of twelve hours.”

“Nuh-uh” I flicked my finger direction onto her muzzle; it only served to infuriate her further.

William Cobert was staring at our spectacle. “Do you two always argue like this? It seems too normal for my liking.”

I start snickering as I recall what I said earlier in Canterlot. “That’s exactly what I was talking to the little nerd about, ain’t that right Twiggiles?”

She doesn’t verbally respond but that’s fine with me. There’s a pregnant silence for a few moments.

Marax finally broke said silence with a question. “While we wait; what do the three of you actually do for a living?” One I had no problem answering.

Spike puts a claw inside his pocket. Funny thing is I used to call them hands because I couldn’t care any less about the difference. After a while though I noticed how much it’d bother him so now I call ‘em claws. “I’m Twilight’s number one assistant, I help her take notes, organize around the house, the usual.” Spike answered.

Twilight sheepishly smiled, losing her she-demon attitude in an instant. “I-it isn’t anything important. I’m Princess Celestia’s personal student and I learn from her. It’s actually why the three of us are here.” My little sister blushes while turning away for a moment.

“And most importantly I’m their guardian. I’m always behind them, I’ll always protect them. Especially here, in my heart.” I point at my chest with a smile, making Spike and Twilight blush, the latter even more. This is the only condition for me to stay at Canterlot and I’ll do it decently dammit.

“Wait, Canterlot, Camelot. There’s no way I’ve never realized that was a pun based on that kingdom.” That is so sad on so many levels. I’m left to dwell on those thoughts though as an amber furred lady walked up on stage with gray hair. She had a contrasting red bow tie, some reader’s glasses, and a black suit skirt and black suit to go with it which looked pretty neat.

“I’m really starting to notice the cultural difference between what the other races wear and what ponies wear because this is getting ridiculous.” If I hadn’t had to stand there to look pretty I think I might’ve slapped myself silly.

“Hello everypony out there. Thank you for coming down to this event and into our quaint little town.” Everytime I hear the words “everypony” or anything that excludes other races it always makes me wanna blow my damn brains out. Ignorance at its finest, thought I left that behind in my old world but it followed me like shit on stink lemme tell ya!

The hag up stage continued, much to my displeasure. “We are here to congratulate our very own princess in her endeavors as the Summer Solstice has finally arrived! Please give a round of applause for Princess Celestia, our sturdy and benevolent ruler.” Okay I’ve met Princess Celestia, you don’t have to jam her entire hoof down your throat because she ain’t all that.

I peeked over at William and the others. Which gives me the imagery that they all seemed to have been sucking on lemons because of how sour their expressions were.

“Jeez, how'd Princess Celestia hurt them so badly to the point where they act so aggressive at the mention of one of her celebrations… Did I really just ask that? Personally they may not have but Princess Celestia's actions against nobles could lead some to believe she does nothing about them which isn't too far off the case.” The mare on the stage pulled back the curtains when I was contemplating going on strike against Celestia. Which really surprised me, because unless Princess Celestia was feeling really quirky today then the person up stage who had a figure larger than the Alicorn is someone else.

Doing my best to not succumb to my manly urges of going further into detail of such assets I go further into analysis to study her behavior. The mystery mare's fur was completely and utterly pitch black say for a small twinge of blue on her shoulder that had a crescent moon mark. Must be her cutie mark. She's got battle ready armor on and a blue helmet too that had a hole for her mane to naturally flow through. Matter of fact her “mane” had the appearance of an unpolluted night sky. But there’s only one pony I know who has a flowing mane, Princess Celestia.

This is sketchy as hell. Who Actually, the lady’s got more height on Celestia by a couple of feet now that I’ve got a better look at her. The rest of her armor is in the same blue color of the helmet. A relatively large chest plate covers her breast. It may be because of the entire outer space theme but it’s shaped like an upside crescent that trails down to protect her abdomen too. Those leggings the mystery mare wears are reminiscent of sun butt’s, still, they’re gnarly in design and look way cooler. Same thing for those arm greaves she wears.

She flares out those long wings of hers to both of her sides as she maniacally laughs- wait did thunder strike as soon as she did that? Whatever the intended effect was, it doesn't matter since it causes mass panic amongst the pony viewers who were at the stage.

Forget it, enough admiration of that mishap. I’m hungry to prove some people wrong and I won’t let some knock-off steal that from me.

“Oi! Giant lady, what happened to Princess Celestia?!” I half blurt and half shout. I meant to be direct, not that direct though. Guess I can gauge her personality this way as well.

William’s eyes widened as if I shot his puppy at point blank range. “Do you not know who that is? Mr. Steele! That is someone who is a part of an impeccable piece of Equestrian history. Even if you have read a single history book her description is akin to a trademark.”

The mare upstage claps her hands as her hooves clop with each step until the moon lady is now standing at the edge of the apron. “Tis nice to know that we are not forgotten in Equestria’s history by someponies.”

My little sister’s nerves start locking and seizing her to become as stiff as steel. “So then that must mean she really is…”

“Nightmare Moon!” The two of them yell at the same time. Speaking of the number two, that’s two for two with the amount of cartoon clichés that happened. This will be a headache in a half to deal with. On one hand I really want to just run and sprint away with my siblings to hall ass out but on the other hand I’m so morbidly curious. Guess I can hold off on that decision when I see how bad this gets.

“And I’ll never hear the end of this from Twilight, the one time I’m wrong. This is the moon with a mare.”

Ignoring how on the nose that name was. I think the actual police are gonna do something, there’s two pegasi dressed in the Solar Guard’s uniform that I’ve seen so often charge at Nightmare Moon who acts as if they aren’t there. "Now that thoust all realize who is in front of thou. Tis thy best course of action to pledge thy’s life to us- hold for but a moment.”

Nightmare Moon pauses and points at the incoming guards and three shadow balls of mass soar from the ceiling and strike them down, creating craters where they lay and continued as if nothing happened, sick. “As our plan is to subjugate the Joint Lands into a permanent night. An oath would be the easiest way to have thy’s life spared.”

This living Nightmare’s presence is a brick of force coming down on me. My legs ever so slightly shake in fear. Marax isn’t faring much better than me, that look in his eyes is a lot more determined than mine though.

I do my best to keep my composure and walk towards the two guards who got absolutely smacked. Not by choice, no, no, no, the reason is that I physically feel like I can’t go any faster and check their pulse. Still pulsating, great, I fucking hate pulses. I’ve got an aversion to them or something and I don’t know why.

Is it weird I’m thankful that her presence is shutting everyone up? Probably, it makes it easier for me to shout in cases like this. “Someone who’s a medical expert, get your ass over here to treat these two!” A snow white mare slightly jumped in place. She was wearing a button-up blue shirt with jeans on, clearly wasn’t expecting for anything of this manner to go down this new-dawn. I sure as fuck didn’t, wish I could have clairvoyance for cases like this. She rushes over, nearly tripping over her hooves twice until she crouches down on the ground next to me.

The pony inspects their bodies, her fingers trace over the unconscious bodies with trained professionalism throughout repeated action. She sighs out of relief, holding a hand over her chest. “T-thank you, I can take it from here if you help me get them to a safer place. And my name is Redheart.”

I consider her point for a bit, I can’t help but look around. Something tells me that I can’t, that small voice gets louder every time I look at my little brother and sister. “No can do, I’ve got a different number one priority. Look on the bright side though, you’re already here. Best I can do is stay right here.”

She huffs and narrows her eyes. “Are you completely- you know what, that’s fine. They’re most likely only suffering from a concussion at best, at worst however-”

“I promise you we’ll get them to the nearest hospital possible. Right now we need to wait though, that chick on stage is more unpredictable than a toddler with a shotgun.” The unnamed earth pony mare had something on her face that said ‘what the fuck are you talking about?’ Which is my reaction when I heard most of my friends speak. She did her best to think though until she ended up nodding her head, choosing to tend to the two fallen guards.

A loud, admittedly over the top, snarl comes out from Nightmare Moon’s muzzle. “Thou dares to interrupt thine’s princess? We swear, the youth have no respect for thy’s elder.”

One of those ponies Twilight was hanging out with earlier rises up from the ground, using her wings to propel herself upwards. She looks like a pegasus wearing black sport shorts, heh, sport shorts, funny thing to say. The rainbow headed mare had a matching black tank top on. “What the buck did you do to the Princess? Maybe if you answered that then that’d stop me from kicking your flank seven ways to sunday!”

“Our dear little pony did thou not hear what we had to say?” Nightmare Moon rhetorically said until she cackled. “No matter, thou will all learn to love us soon enough, we have much to do without pesky distraction.” She somehow turned into pure mist. Yes you heard me, turn into a blue starry mist and fly right past everyone, thankfully me and the

I think I heard somebody make an exaggerated gasp, a loud thump following soon afterwards. Drama queens nowadays, reminds me of those concerts people would go to just to faint when the artist would even breathe a certain way.

Vanishing Flow loudly echoed her voice throughout the building of still frightened ponies (and two Felinors) into a highly demanding tone. Not as good as William’s real effin brass, I can still dig it though. “Alright everybody, exit the town hall in an orderly fashion. Be sure not to trip or stumble over others as you leave and B-line for your homes and lock up for the night."I swear, crazy shit like this could only happen here." For unspecified reasons I was able to listen in on that last part underneath her breath.

“Not this time Vanishing. I know we don’t talk much, however, this is something much more at stake. We need all hands on deck.” Wasn’t that Applejack? I swear that was her.

Marax started using a commanding tone to subjugate everyone who had yet to leave. Which to nobody’s surprise was all ponies, I swear its ponies, ponies everywhere. “And we’re saying as first responders that you all need to back out. Somebody should probably get a bigger force on the line if things go awry. Ryan, you’re with us.”

I throw a fist in the air. All my dreams are becoming a reality, to finally become a part of some grand adventure. “Bet! You can always count on me to swoop in, kickass, and chew gum. And luckily I still haven’t had gum here yet.”

Twiggles decided to present her very own articulate counter argument. “If Ryan is coming then I’m going too. Spike you need to stay behind though. Hold down the library and don’t answer the door for anypony.”

Spike huffs, he and I both knew he wasn’t coming along. “Good, I don’t want to get into whatever you’re gonna get into. Bro, make sure you protect Twilight.”

I do a two fingered salute. “You can count on me bro, I’m gonna watch over her like a helicopter parent.”

The only mare I was familiar with had actually spoken up from the relatively now smaller group. “If Twilight’s going then it wouldn’t be right of me to leave her. Those riddles that creepy mare was saying didn’t sit right with me.” Applejack punctuated by cracking her knuckles. At least someone knows how to act tough.

A blue hand lands on Applejack’s shoulder. “And where we come from, we don’t let other ponies go through trouble by themselves, it’s either all or nothing!” Applejack turned around to meet the mare who was behind her. They must’ve known each other since she didn’t flip her shit. She’s fairly athletic looking. As long as my eyes aren’t deceiving me under this lighting. The mare was wearing a black athletic crop top, fingerless gloves, and some black jogging shorts. The weather is actually that cold out. I’m warm all the time but ponies have fur coats which make me think it’s relatively the same either way.

“Uh, do you guys mind catching me up on who you all are? Especially you in the back. A breeze appears to be enough to blow your puny as- I mean your puny self away.” I gotta be gentle with gentle souls, so no unnecessary swearing, for now that is.

Applejack puts a hand to her hip. “You don’t know? That there is Fluttershy, she’s a real kind pony who’s Ponyville’s favorite. I thought you and Twilight went around to visit everypony who was helping prepare for the big ole event.”

“I knew it’d be a bad idea to ditch Twi so early on, uh, quick cue up nervous whistling!” I do my best to whistle as best as I can.

I never learnt how to whistle.

Instead a large sputter escapes from my mouth as a red tint of embarrassment imprints on my face.

A white unicorn wearing a beige skirt and black sweater. A real simple choice of clothes if I’m being honest, walks over and holds a hand up to her chin. “Come to think of it darling, I do not recall ever seeing your face. Especially one with such a personality.” The unicorn walks over and holds a hand up to her chin.

Twilight snorts as she rolls her eyes. “That’s because he ditched-” And now I have to subvert that topic with humor, great now I'll be seen as a fool who knows no better.

“Wait that’s not important right now! There’s two unconscious guards and a weird, debatably a danger to society, all black sorceress who’s planning to probably boil kids into pots. There’s bigger things at play right now. So lets meet back up later, good?! Okay good, toodles!” I bolt to the two guard ponies to avoid further questioning. Redheart gasps as I lift them up with one arm each. On a basic fundamental level, snatching them from her.

“To the nearest hospital, post haste!” I charge through the door leaving a bunch of confused people in my wake as the nurse known as Redheart struggles to catch up with me.

Nice to know that Ponyville’s one and only hospital isn’t in terrible condition. By terrible I mean 1600s level of technology. This is actually early 2000s technology which I can only thank the Summer Company for. If movies didn’t exist in this world then I may have cried when I first arrived here.

Redheart wasn’t very nice to me after I left the two guards there at first. They only suffered from mild concussions thanks to the armor they were wearing. I stood my ground on the matter that family comes before everything, everything.

“I hope to see you again at some point. Maybe under more normal circumstances when we’re not carrying in injured ponies.” Redhear- I’m sorry I mean Nurse Redheart was in the process of walking me out since she got quickly changed into a medical practitioner’s uniform. Despite being called a nurse she’s actually a doctor.

I rubbed the back of my head. “The morning is still very much young. I wouldn’t count out a few more hospitalizations happening. Stand by beautiful, because I just might injure myself to see that face of yours.” Nurse Redheart was confused by my sudden compliment as I put my hands into my pockets. That flirt was completely left field, which is how you leave a good impression on someone. I started walking out of the hospital’s main set of doors, confidence in each of my steps. Now I really do wish I was going to be staying in Ponyville, alas it is not meant to be.

The crisp and solid air of the early morning tickles my face. “Maybe I could go get a sandwich after this? Does this town even have a deli place? It better or I swear I’m gonna let that Nightmare Moon person kill everyone here- oh yeah, Nightmare Moon.”

I sigh and roll my neck, getting ready to dash off. “Wait, I don’t even know where the fuck she’s at. Actually, I don’t even know where I’m supposed to meet up with everyone, fuuuuuu-” I pause for a second, seeing three familiar faces who were all waiting for me outside.”

William Cobert shook his head and sighed. “We assumed that from the beginning. Regardless, I assumed it would take less time for you to have exited Ponyville’s Health Center.”

I was about to reply using a quip as I always do but I’ve gotta stay focused. “That doesn’t matter right now, where’s Twilight at?”

He sighs and shakes his head. “Does not matter? This might be another Great Celtor’s Drowning situation on a world wide scale. Or at least that’s what legends that were passed down. Of course this ultimately matters!” Celtor’s drowning? I actually can’t remember anything about that place.

“She’s waiting for us near the Everfree open typed-dungeon.” Vanishing responded as she twirls a dagger in her hand that wasn’t there before.

Right before my attention deficient ass questioned how she did that I managed to keep focusing. “Alright lead the way- aw shit, hold on do any of you know any light spells?” I just noticed I’m the only one not wearing any actual armor which would be really helpful with some level 99 dark souls boss.

Marax nods his head. “If you’re afraid of the dark kiddo then that’s fine, yeah I know (Velo), that’s adventuring light sources 101 right there. Don’t you know it- oh yeah, the no magic thing sorry about that. What could you possibly need it for at a time like this?” A sense of urgency laps into his voice.

I hate it when people ask questions like this. My brows crinkle in annoyance. “I know I joke around a lot but I need you to cast it right now on the ground. Don’t worry about the why, just do it!”

“You’re being serious? This feels like a first, alright give me a second.” Marax brings a finger up to the point in front of him until he channels a small blue orb of light in front of himself. “I only know the (Velo) spell so this is the best you’re going to get.”

No longer needing to panic, I instantly sat down at the light source. And as I do, armor clamps around my body, replacing my previous clothing and switching it out for my Rogue’s outfit armor. A metallic shoulder guard covers my right shoulder guard, a crimson shirt envelopes my torso with belt straps wrapping around it, a sizable metal plate protrudes on my chest, traveling boots, and two gloves which didn’t cover my palms.

I leap up from the ground and simultaneously draw a bronze sword from my back, striking a pose in the process. “I’m good to go! Are we gonna get shit going now or are you all gonna keep looking at me funny?” The trio in front of me had their jaws drop, unmoving and almost unbreathing.

“Aw if you guys are gonna be like that then I’ll do this myself.” I playfully suggested, swinging the bronze sword to my side.

William’s jaw shuts as he takes a deep breath. “OH C’MON! NO MAGIC MY ASS, THAT TIME I GOT TO SEE IT!” Someone’s piss- did he just use a contraption? I swear he wasn’t doing that before, and now he’s walking towards me in a very threatening manner. Yeah he’s gonna try and fight me.

Both of my arms move to the side as I put on a shit eating grin. “Oh, you’re approaching me? Rather than running away you’re coming straight towards me?” And that definitely made him angrier. I need to stop being such a self-contradicting asshat, the reactions are what I live for though.

“Now’s not the time William, we’ve got to take care of business. People are counting on us for once.” Vanishing points out as Marax snickers in the background.

William takes a much needed breath of air as he finally cools his top. “You are right, Vanishing. And Marax quit laughing. I’ll take point, Vanishing you’re our rear and Ryan you get our sides.”

Damn, he took command really early on. I can see how he’s the leader of the group. I can easily see when talent like that is in front of me.

The starry skies glint and shine into my eyes. Now we can do this thing for real and I’m excited as I don’t know what. “You’ve got it boss. I’ll show you all how I’m not dead weight.” We all get into position. Marching through the empty town we all share a single goal. To take down some crazy woman who’s dead set on being evil.

We all reached the edge of the forest fairly quickly with zero troubles. I snuck a couple of glances in the forest and the atmosphere was completely different than what I was expecting. Everything was crooked, drained of hope, almost life-like though which should contradict the two other descriptions I gave yet I have a sneaking suspicion on why it’s like this.

Despite living in this new world for so long I can’t name any of these plants here. I was always more of a PvP player so I have no clue what any of the plants here are. Curly green ones that appear to be more vine-like than plants and others that showcased themselves like zig-zagged infused bushes. All of it is unnatural. And furthermore there was no sign of Twilight or her friends. So we moved further and further up.

“Fuck, I told that kid to wait here. I’d bet twelve bits that Rainbow Dash coaxed her into doing otherwise even though we’ve been walking for at least seventeen minutes now.”

“Why the specific number Marax?” William questioned as we all moved forward.

Marax shrugged as he held his spear forward. “Because that’s the amount of bits I have in my pocket right now.”

Vanishing moved past the low hanging greenery that threatened to slap her in the face. “We better find them soon. I hope to Gaia they didn’t bring Rarity’s pansy ass along, she’d faint at the sight of a dead spider. Or even worse, they could’ve brought Fluttershy. After the mimic animal incident

A small shiver rolls down my spine. Ooooh I hate spiders. When I was younger I had no problem with them, then my mom’s fear of them instilled into me. I swear if I see one giant spider I’m gonna flip my shit. “Ryan, you’ve got faith in your sister to lead, right? I don’t want to keep up a hike only to find that they went off the trail towards the Sister’s Betrayal dungeon.”

I stop moving for a second. “Wait, the what dungeon?” Vanishing scoffed as soon as I said that.

Marax bumps my shoulder, he’s the only other one that took to guarding the side, which is on the west. “She’s talking about the open-type dungeon. The one that people haven’t been able to fully clear yet because of the complexity that lives on inside it. Are you telling us you don’t do your research on places you go to?” I sheepishly smile, temporarily taking my hand and scratching my head. Something brushes against my arm as I do.

“Sorry but I leave that to my egghead of a sister. Twi’s always got a head buried deep into a book. Also can any of you check my back? It feels like there’s something huge stuck on it.” I calmly requested. No need to make a big scene about something that’s probably not there.

William stops in his tracks, being the only person to not have a weapon. He turns around and sighs. “Alright, Marax, you can guard the front while Vanishing Flow covers our backs. Ryan, turn around and show me your back. There’s a small chance there’s a parasite trying to bury through your armor.” My eyes bulge as soon as he says that.

“Please no fucking spiders.” I silently pray inside my head. I think my body is even shaking now, man I knew I should’ve invested more points into my willpower stat.

I hear a few ‘hmmms’ and grunts from William as he attempts to pull on my shirt, feeling only a bit of tension.

“Okay, do not panic, however a Deep Willow offspring is on your back. It’s generally a harmless arachnid despite their size at such a young age. Thankfully it has yet to move or take any actions against your person. I think everything should be fine if-”

I scream my head off and gripping my back to pull it off. And this is one hairy motherfucker on me. “FUCK NO, GET THIS SHIT OFF ME!” Why me? What did I do to deserve this? Did I jinx this shit or something?!

Vanishing snickers in the background, hey screw you too girl. Watch me flail about as if I’m an overgrown baby. “Or he could do that instead. Are we going to stop him?” The half-pegasus smugly asked. Yeah I’m definitely getting you back for this.

The Dinkerai of the group narrows his eyes at his companion. “Vanishing! If he attracts unwanted attention then this entire thing might be over. We need to get to a river or take off his gear- did he just leave?” Everyone turned to see that there was indeed a cloud shaped-me in the space I was occupying. That’s due to the fact I heard “river” and bolted for the nearest one I could hear.

By pure instinct I activated (Agility), my feet moving faster than I ever would’ve needed them to, were it any other situation. There’s a small tap on my back, a particularly hard yet still light tap.

“Did it just move…” As that thought resonates throughout my entire body I blink, hard. There’s an entire waterfall in front of me, in fact there’s also a broken bridge, a Twilight Sparkle, a yellow pegasus, and a group of ponies. All of them I’ve seen when Vanishing cleared out the Town hall. They were also completely on edge, the yellow pegasus in the back was cowering behind Twilight who had her horn blaring, intoxicated with magic, the same as the other unicorn who tagged along.

And the she-demon is here too. I should’ve known. Judging the way she’s staring at me I think she might attempt to take one of my organs. Definitely need to stay alert around her. The only relatively normal pony I know is Applejack and that was from seeing her interact with Twi. She was in a brawler’s combat stance and then dropped it, which reminds me of the lesson the holy oppressor taught me, that I should never fight an Earth pony in fist fights. At times like these I wish I could do things like observe others stats and names because I don’t know any of these people.

The entire scene calmed me down enough to remember that I have a damn sword, I’m gonna cut the bastard off of me. “If you all would give me a minute.” I turn around and attempt to plunge the weapon vertically through the spider.

“Wait! Please!” As the voice calls out I stop, probably inches away from the spider’s face. I move my head to face the direction where the voice came from. The yellow Pegasus from earlier was reaching out her hands towards my back as she came forward.

“Please, there’s no need to hurt an innocent little baby. Let me get them down for you.” I cannot believe my eyes right now. This girl is coaxing a fourteen inch, deep black, naturally armored plated body and abdomen, eight red eyed freak of nature, and spiked tips at the legs, honest to god spider. Successfully no less while cradling it too. If these are the friends my sister is going to be making then I’m afraid there’s no hope for her.

Twilight squints her eyes on me as if she’s thinking about something. “Hold on, Fluttershy how could you see a Deep Willow spawn on him through this thick fog?” Wait there’s been fog through this entire thing and I couldn’t see it? I didn’t know Castellans could see through fog but that’s pretty cool. Yeah that settles it. This is definitely a horror movie getup, we should GTFO and get a proper police force. Right, the only other guild hasn’t even responded. Maybe they’re on break or something during a potentially national problem. We’re in over our heads.

I’m not sure if I should be thankful or mortified. “Thank you, I think?”

The spider in the yellow pony’s arms starts to violently cough, hacking up spittle and other liquids that I’m not going to describe because I turned away. That is until the forest creature stopped.

When I turned back around I saw the spider holding a pure white ring decorated with a pair of wings. “Dear me, what were you doing to swallow a ring like this? It’s a miracle you didn’t choke on it.” The spider holder rubbed their new pets head fueled by concern. And said spider was holding out one of its long creepy legs towards me, the same one with the ring on it.

“Ryan I think the spider is trying to give you the peace offering, just look at how cute it is. You can’t possibly say no to that!” Said the great pink one, both of her hands held onto her face as if it actually were adorable in any way.

“H-h-hell no! It better get that shit out of my face.” I’m internally gagging from those dark red beady eyes it has. As if my situation couldn’t get any worse, it used both of its front legs to climb onto my che- I think I’m gonna blow myself up at this point. My body is completely frozen up. The Deep Willow spawn puts the ring directly onto my hand and quickly retreats back into its caretaker’s arms.

‘Alert! New accessory has been added to the inventory, designated “Konga Clutch Ring” from an outside source.’

“I’m going to need to bathe in holy water after this.” I make that quick little mental note until I do my best to retain what little dignity I have left. I pocket the ring for later in case I need something to remember this dementied place.

“I don’t believe I’ve formally introduced myself to you ladies. I am Ryan Steele, the coolest sibling of Twiggle Spiggle-” The pink one snickered after I said that. At least one of them has a sense of humor, even if they’re crazy. “And currently lost from the No Regrets guild. That being said I must ask, why are we waiting here?”

The girl who looks to be older than Twilight is the first to go. “It’s nice to meet you, Mister Steele. My name is Fluttershy, I take care of hurt animals and act as a veterinarian for wildlife and pets alike. We’re waiting for Rainbow Dash to tie the bridge back over here to get to the abandoned castle.”

“I never did like being called Mister, just call me Ryan or Steele. I couldn’t give two fuuuu- I mean two cares. You have my gratitude for filling me in Fluttershy.” Nice save me! I need to commit to being as cautious as can be.

Applejack mildly smirked as she tilted her stetson in my direction. “Howdy there partner. I remember seeing you with Twilight over here, and then you disappeared outta nowhere! I thought I was going crazy for a minute. I’m Applejack and help run my family farm in Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Nope! Because I remember seeing him earlier when my Pinkie sense was going haywire to search for new ponies and then I ended up finding you. I could tell you would not do well with ponies you never knew before so then I was all like ‘maybe I should watch from afar then, I know he’d definitely appreciate that.’ Then I saw the face you were making and I knew you wanted me to stop so I shuffled back and left!” I don’t think I’ve ever had my mouth gaped open this wide in my entire life. How could this… I can’t even begin to comprehend what the hell she just said to me.

I massage my temple. Maybe if I respond she’ll say something more sensible. “Uh-huh, and who in the four lands are you?”

“Right! I’m such a silly filly, I never even said my name. I’m Pinkie Pie, it’s really sweet to meet you Ryan. I’m Ponyville’s party planning extraordinaire! I specialize in all things that could make a pony smile. ” The eldritch beast I’ve now identified as Pinkie Pie said, a little too enthusiastically for my liking.

“Okay?” I need to stay away from her. “Is she always acting like this or did she get really far into that special sugar today?” That apparently wasn’t the correct thing to say in such a trying time. Applejack shakes her head at me as if I got caught with my pants down, Twilight is on the verge of ripping out her hair, Fluttershy is shuffling her way back while she pets that australian looking monstrosity that’s called a Deep Willow, Pinkie Pie was giggling to herself, probably thinking what I said was a joke, and the unicorn who had a blue aura glistening around her horn gasps.

Said white unicorn flicks her tail in my direction and huffs. “Why, I would never! That was extremely inappropriate and uncalled for to say such a thing. Especially when our dear friend hasn’t said anything like that to you.”

Who the hell is she again? Actually I don’t think she even introduced herself. “Aren’t you Rarity?” I take a shot in the dark based on the name that Vanishing Flow mentioned earlier.

“If you must know, yes I am Rarity, Rarity Belle. And since everypony else has given their occupation then I will as well, I’m the owner of Carousel Boutique, Ponyville’s number one fashionista. So far it hasn't been the most pleasurable experience to meet you Ryan Steele. Yet I must commend your bravery to come out here for ponies you do not even know.”

I shrug my shoulders, a small tingle runs down my entire back as I do. “Yeah well, the things we do for family. I’m sure you’d understand if you had a little sibling you needed to protect.” Maybe it’s the environment that’s throwing me off but something’s definitely happening, and I don’t mean the pink demon. Seriously I can’t hit home any harder how much that chick freaks me the fuck out.

Rarity held up a finger. “Actually I do. I’m currently taking care of her and keeping my dear Sweetie Belle at home for safety reasons.”

“If everyone could hold on for a moment.” I turn around and equip a dagger in my hand, activating (Dagger Throw) and tossing it through the tree line from above. Immediately a sixteen inch spider falls out of it, gurgling on some green liquid that melted the ground beside it. The spider turns up on its back and dies on the spot.

Fluttershy gasps and looks down at the still twitching nightmare fuel. “Oh no! Why was that Diamond Backed spider trying to spit acid at us? We aren’t inside any territories being so close to the bridge. And how is Rainbow Dash taking so long to get here?”

Someone behind me starts ‘whooping’ in the background and I can’t even turn around to accept the praise. The tingling sensation is only growing stronger inside my entire body. “Woah! Nice shot Ryan, you might wanna do it again because my Pinkie Sense is telling me that we’re gonna have a bunch of company here.” Pinkie declares, and it takes every fiber of my being to ignore the fact I heard something metal hit the forest’s floor.

I take a few steps closer to the trees in front of us. “She’s right, I still feel something is here. Everyone who can fight then get yourselves prepared, everyone who cannot? Get ready anyways.”

“Be careful Ryan, we don’t know if that was an animal attack or something to do with Nightmare Moon.” Twilight called out behind me. As soon as she does, a silver saber comes vertically, slicing through the air above me. Giving me nearly zero time to roll out of the way.

“What in the four lands?!” I shouted the first thing that came to mind as I tightly gripped onto my sword. This idiot’s get up was as sketchy as anything I’ve ever seen. A female Pegasus pony judging by the fact they’ve got a snout instead of a more human face. Also hooves, hooves on the floor are a dead giveaway. She’s wearing some type of goggles that reflect yellow light in the night. The jumpsuit she’s wearing has a blue torso with a yellow lightning pattern cutting it off from her wrists, ankles, and neck. That’s when the outfit stays to a pitch black.

“Is that a Shadowbolt? They’re supposed to be a disbanded group. How is there one right here no less?” My sister’s confusion is shared between the two of us because I didn’t even know who the heck this could’ve been.

I wave my sword at the mute jerk who almost took my face off. “Well don’t just come from the sky and try to lob my head off with a saber, say something dammit!” She only brandishes her sword in response, getting closer to me.

And in that short standstill I hear a cannon go off and something whizzed right behind me and impacting a large body that comes crashing down.

I quickly glance behind me to see someone lying on the floor, completely blasted in confetti and other decorations. They were yet another pegasus in the same suit!

“I’m getting real tired of seeing the color black in fantasy outfits.” I shake my head and activate (Agility). That hastening power flows through me again, my body no worser for wear. “Whoever did that for me then remind me to buy you a drink before I leave.”

“I’ll be sure to hold it to you then.” Dammit of course it was the party one- wait focus! What has that pony been doing Galebreathe? The pegasus is channeling green winds around their curved blade. A sharp breeze passes through my body when they dash forward, that same wind carrying their body towards me. I nearly fall on my back when I take a step to the side, thank goodness for the (Agility) skill.

“Should I try and use it? I hate how this makes me feel but I guess I’ve got no choice then. Just in character for me to go up against a speed blitzier and to have them use one of the fastest possible attunements.”

I directly punch my chest, a white ring surrounds it. My adrenaline levels skyrocket. This is my trump card, stacking (Agility) and (Adrenaline Surge). “You won’t talk? That’s fine then, I’ll just make you.” I half whispered. Running white mana through my legs I sprint full speed towards the Pegasus, reeling my sword to my side until the pommel is at the same area as my head and (Pommel Strike) the Pegasus in the muzzle before they could react, hearing a loud ‘crunch,’ instantly blurring their vision and knocking them to the ground.

“No blood on the ground? That’s strange, but all night has been strange.” I think to myself.

And although I did that, I got no grunt in reward. No sounds of pain or anything of the sort. I lean down and heave them up by the scruff of their neck and put them face to face with me. When I accomplish my goal however, they start fading away! No way I’m gonna let them escape.

Switching into my inventory I pull out a wooden sword and strike directly into the Pegasus’ back. The end result? It fades right through them in a wispy dark smoke until they vanish.

‘Alert! Player: (Ryan Steele) has recovered some player information after fulfilling a requirement!’

(Player: Ryan Steele)

Power: 13
Born: 11/21/03
Race: E̠̜̟̩͑̿̎̇r̦̩͚͛́̈r̭͒̐͜o͚̾r̡̹̙̼̉͆̎̚͢͠ ̨͊4̠͙̘͔̊̊͆̚0̮̎4̬̱̦̐̇̔̕͢
Age: 28
Time: 8:02 AM

Strength:I̙̱̭͂̎̓ṋ̍ţ̛̝̥́͠e̛̜̦͓̞͒̕͠r̦͂f̯̖̖̮̟̉̓̔̔͡e̖̮̣͊͑͟͡͝ṟ̨̻̜̬́̌́́̚e̠̲̬̎̀͞n̨̬̞̋̂͆c̠͙͐͝è͖
Fortitude: I̟̰̪͗̋̄̕͜r̡̬͒́r͖͔͂͂ȩ̤͎̎͌͂̿ͅĺ̡̧̰̲͚͑̋̾̍ȅ̩̭͈͂̅v̹̾á̯͍̖̇͗ṅ̜̜̆ṯ̏
Agility: N̞̝̜̯̒͛̄̈́ọ̯̌̃t̨̛̛̤ ̜̚f̡̱̠͆͘͞ȁ̘̱̀st ̡̠̽̋͐ͅȇ͖̲̀n͉̳͚̭̣̉̐̂̌̆o͕̯͗͒ǘ͖̲̖̪̌́͝g͚̝̥̹̀̌̔͒h̡̳̜͖̀̓̓̄
Intelligence: M͕̘͙̮͑̒͘̕ạ̢̚͞n̤͆ŭ̗ḟ̹̼̣͇̞̎͂̅̾a̻͐c̩͍̀͛t̖̝̔̂ư̙̜̝̂̕ṙ͕̱̕͟͠ȅ̳͕̞͓͌̋͂d̮̹͛̉ ̨̹̄̄
Willpower: H͈̠͆̽o̧̱̦̿̔͞ŕ̻ȑ͇̖̬̗̓̂̾î̯̦̠͆̓̃ͅf̛͇̥̑i̺̠̝̿̏́ed̨̪̩̀̀͊
Charisma: N̩͕̬͋̍͠ò̤̳̄t̛͈̲̝̃͑̅͟h̡̨̛̤͖̃̊͘i͐͟ǹ̖͕͔͗̆́͟g̙̯̭͂͗͝ǹ̦̦̼͔͂̂́͢͠ě̞͚̱̀͞ss̘͕̩̅̋͝
Attunement(s):I̫̱͛̑ņ̟̹̗͐̋͒͘co̢̹̹̥̍̎́͞m̡̛̺̭̈́͂̐͜p̋ͅa̯̠͓̼͗̏̓̈͟͠ẗ̨͎̪͗̿ȋ̺̞͗ḃ̗̘̕l̦̆ḛ̦͕̯̗̄̈́̓̂͘ ̺̦͖͗̓͠

Investment Points: N̛̮̘̩͒̚u̻̣̰͉̪̿̔̈̈́̄ĺ̰̙̳̍́̐̕͟͟l̜̑

Heavy Weapon: Er͎̞̻̞͑͂̃̈r̫͡o̰̊ṙ̨͚̻̜̮̐̎͘͞ ̤͉̦̊̓̈́̓͜4̛̮̫̦͞͠0̖͎̈́̉4̆͜
Medium Weapon: Er͎̞̻̞͑͂̃̈r̫͡o̰̊ṙ̨͚̻̜̮̐̎͘͞ ̤͉̦̊̓̈́̓͜4̛̮̫̦͞͠0̖͎̈́̉4̆͜
Light Weapon: Er͎̞̻̞͑͂̃̈r̫͡o̰̊ṙ̨͚̻̜̮̐̎͘͞ ̤͉̦̊̓̈́̓͜4̛̮̫̦͞͠0̖͎̈́̉4̆͜

“What kind of Ferryman bull- Ooooo the surge wore off.” As my pounding heart comes to a more bearable pace I stare at my status screen. What type of requirement could I have possibly fulfilled? I Only killed a summon- ah that’s what I needed to do, time to go on a rampage and grind for kills! I scout my surroundings for any of those Shadowbolts. There’s about seven more copies of that same Shadowbolt fighting my sister and her friends. Only having slight differences in hair and body color.

“Girls ignore the fact that these appear to be ponies! Somehow I think Nightmare Moon has created long ranged summons which explains why they’re so weak.” That much is starting to become obvious to me.

On the plus side, my little sister is very capable in self-defense. She’s blasting most of them with pure kinetic force, mixing in some flavor by adding some flames too. Pinkie Pie is making use of some decorative cannon that’s shooting out high powered decorations, I doubt I can get anymore surprised by her shenanigans. And Fluttershy’s newest pet is spewing acid on them all, making them all evaporate without a trace.

Rarity is… Wow that is some vicious activity she’s doing with two flying scissors. If these things could bleed then she’d be soaked in blood right about now.

Out of seemingly nowhere a blobbed mass of dark tentacles forms from shadow through the ground. Its slime-like movements send a shudder down my spine. “Okay you ugly bastard of a summon, show me you won’t die in one hit.” One of the dark slimy tendrils lash out at me at a seemingly random interval. My legs pivot into the firm dirt below me, a small flash of white only visible to me surrounds my body. Intercepting the attack with my bronze blade the use of (Counter) in order to strike the tendril as I parry it.

The slime summon recoils in pain, letting out a loud gurgled shriek in the process. If there was a time for me to go in for the kill? It’d definitely be now. A strange changing force of air wraps around the area closest to my shoulders and chest, releasing a devastating critical strike into the vicious blob’s center. What I wasn’t expecting to see was a spear driving past it at the same time I struck it.

Nightmare Moon’s summon slowly disappears, turning into a dark miasma that gets sent into the air. I moved my head to the side to get a better look at who kill stole from me, and the thieving bastard was Marax of all people! “Surprised we caught up with you all in time? Vanishing flew above the tree line with (Agility) to keep up with you. We kept it to a light jog in case we were gonna run into trouble. And wouldn’t you know it, we did.” Marax explained, then without warning he frowned and executed a thrust next to my neck.

I involuntarily jerked to the side to be further away from the dangerous weapon. “Jesus what the heck Marax?!” My eyes traveled up the weapon when I saw an impaled spider that was ready to leap on me.

Pausing for a moment in the improvised battlefield I get to thinking. “I didn’t get an alert for that kill? Maybe I need a few more in order to satisfy requirements. This leveling system is such a guess and check, that’s what I get for having the leveling system of a no hand holding game that can’t tell ya jack shit.”

And now the feeling of humility, oh how I hate it so. “Huh, thanks for the save.” Marax nods in my direction and runs past William who was using bare knuckles in order to fight side by side with Marax. The duo’s synchronization made my own fighting style, which was more or else a process of trial and error until I found a weak point, seem like complete garbage. William’s punches are so precise, his punches seemed to strike in two places at once.

I’m completely out of my own element in this life or death situation. I have to keep going though. If an eternal night can lead to a world ending threat or whatever it was called, then this is something worth selfishly fighting for. Only because of my newest family. I need to focus on my soul, body, and mind, to make sure nothing goes awry.

“Doggone it, every time we destroy one of these guys another comes back. When is Rainbow gonna get here?!” Applejack’s complaint goes unnoticed by everyone except for Rarity.

“She should have arrived back when Ryan got here. What could have possibly happened on her side?” I faintly hear Fluttershy in the midst of battle.

A huge gust of wind covers our area of the forest originating from the cliffside towards the bridge. There lies two ponies, or I should say Rainbow Dash and Vanishing Flow both holding two sides of a bridge and tying them together.

Pinkie Pie breathes a sigh of relief and blasts another load of confetti onto an unsuspecting victim that was sneaking behind Fluttershy. “It’s about time you girls got here. What kept you both so long? You had every pony getting antsy.”

Rainbow Dash puffed up her chest and smiled. “It was the usual thing, some giant hunk of rock that kept trying to swing at me. You know, nothing I couldn’t handle. Vanishing helped too, making the process about twenty percent faster.”

I cusp both edges of my mouth to amplify my voice. “About damn time, everyone get across the bridge. We’ve got a castle to crash!” Everyone rushes for the bridge, making me smile. Everyone’s got common sense here.

Ponyville’s fashionista practically gallops across the bridge but slows herself down in order to make it a more ‘elegant’ stride. No surprise that she was the first one there with Applejack soon following afterwards. I feel like that’s a word she’d use to describe it. “Finally it’s over with! These scissors are ruined.” Rarity tosses her scissors over the edge and shrugs. “I’m glad I always carry backups.”

Eventually the entire group got onto the bridge except for me. I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Either nobody has noticed that the summons have stopped, well summoning or they chose to ignore it. That coupled with the constant chilling and tingling down my spine growing even worse every passing moment has made me think something is going to happen.

“Right, I got lost in thought for a moment.” My mouth runs dry. I silently walk behind everyone else as we travel across the bridge in a matter of moments and approach the ruined castle. Most of the trudging we do is in silence, how could it not be when anything can jump out at you.

Systematically everyone stops in front of the broken down entrance, our intent becoming clear. “Here we are sugarcube, you sure that those elements are up in there?” Still don’t know what those are, and I guess I’ll see them when I see them.

William opens his palms until he quickly clutches them again. “People, be prepared for anything that is to happen here. If those artifacts still lay to rest there then this is without a doubt, some form of trap.” The whole party gives their own form of an agreement or source of understanding.

My palms begin to sweat and my head starts spinning, worst of all it feels like my chest is about to explode. “Why is my heart drumming in my fucking chest now of all times?!”

Someone taps me on the shoulder. Twilight who looks, worried for me. “Ryan, are you……” I tuned her out, now I know some shit is off. I was taught from a young age to never ignore what your body was telling you to do. I draw a second bronze sword from my inventory, if anyone is reactant towards the feat I couldn’t hear them.

Four strange wooden wolves come from each side of the castle, each with green glowing eyes piercing through the night and what I can only assume fog as well, the same fog I cannot see, lucky me huh?

Pinkie Pie pulled an actual cannon from her hair and set it down. “Timberwolves? They appear now of all times, exactly when we’re about to get to the McGuffin too, amazing timing.” Timberwolves huh? These can’t be what were giving me that terrible chill down my spine.

William rolls his shoulders in preparation. “They are so large, Nightmare Moon must have used some sort of enhancement spell on them.”

Vanishing takes initiative first, throwing a silver dagger at one of them. Four dark clouds of smoke appear at that very moment which misdirects the course of the projectile. They all form into very wolf-like appearances. All gray and large manes, on all fours and five purple glowing eyes simulating a half circle on the tops of their muzzles.

“Are those Howlers? Can this day get any wor-”

I put up a hand to stop Rainbow Dash from continuing. “Don’t you dare ever finish that sentence. Matter of fact, everyone go up ahead and get whatever magical device is in there that’s gonna kick Nightmare Moon’s ass. Then come back for me. You all shouldn’t be tired when you get to the main event.”

Twiggles is in utter disbelief, and I don’t blame her. “Ryan, are you crazy?! They have a clear numbers advantage over you and will maul you to death before we reach even five steps in.”

A flat stare gets sent my way as Applejack watches me move forward. “That made just as much sense as a turtle living in the arctic, you sure you didn’t injure your head on the way here, sugarcube?”

Marax rests his spear on the ground and looks onto the open area of the cleared room. “I think he might be onto something, monsters like these only attack two at a time while the rest circle around. If he kills enough of them then the rest will flee.”

“This is definitely a nuts plan dude. I can respect a fellow who’s willing to do something so dangerous.” Rainbow Dash’s wings flap in the air. “Alright everyone you heard the man, lets save Equestria tonight!” She does her best to hurry everyone through as she gives me a thumbs up which I return, still not turning my back to the Howlers and the Timberwolves.

My vision narrows to the task in front of me, terminate some damn monsters and joke about it later, one step closer to freedom.