The King Of Nothing

While the stallion was guided to his room by his companions, Vivi was having the time of her life, teasing poor Amon all the way there.

"Just be wary of the feathers, Amon. They are ticklish at the tip but sensitive at the base, so you may want to explore lightly."

For his part, Amon was utterly lost on what the heck Vivi was implying. Still, her giggles and how Fluttershy kept trying to hide her face behind her mane with a bright red face gave him a clue of the nature behind her 'advice,' which only served to confuse him even more about how that is even related to an act of the sexual kind.

"For the fifty times, Vivi, we weren't doing anything, especially whatever perverted bizarre fantasy that you are having in that head of yours."

"Right, right?" Vivi nods with a sarcastic tone and a smirk as she turns around. "It just so happens that your face found her cleavage while you were doing what? Hugging while lying on the ground? Totally incredible"

Amon remains quiet momentarily before replying, "We were standing when the hug happened, and she stumbles me onto the ground."

"Oh, so she just decided to hug you with her boobs then? Yeah, that makes way more sense. You are at least a head and a half taller than her, yet, for some reason, she just decided to fly up and give you a free motorboating out of the blue because?" Vivi questions, crossing her arms as she flies backward.

"Care to answer that, Fluttershy?" Amon questions, looking at her very silent companion.

"...I only wanted to show you how happy I was that you trust me."

"Yeah, I felt two hard molds that showed how happy you were with me then. Wait, I just heard myself. Vivi, don't you dare take that out of context?" Amon asked in alarm, but the maid was already smirking and laughing as she turned around.

"Don't worry, sir, there is no judgment here. One of these days, I too may want to show you how happy I am to see you, too."

Amon could only growl in frustration as Fluttershy kept her head down with her big blush.

I completely forgot all the mares in this world are thirsty 24/7. God, I'm living the dream of any pervert, and I hate it! I need to get out of here before I go full native!

Amon decided to change the subject before Viola could tease them even more. "So Fluttershy, the other mares, are they also looking for me?"

Fluttershy, in turn, shook her head. "There was another subject we needed to focus on, but I overheard Pinkie saying how she and Starlight would be looking for you, too, thinking you may do something drastic while blinded by rage."

"Define drastic?" Amon asks with a raised eyebrow.

"W-Well, this was mostly Pinkie suggesting it, but we thought you may leave the castle and try confronting your attackers yourself."

"Huh." That is all Amon says while looking at Fluttershy before looking ahead of him

"Y-You are not gonna do that, right Amon? R-Right?!" Fluttershy asks him in alarm when he goes silent.

"We will see," Amon replies, which only increases the concerns of both mares. Yet before any of them could say anything, their group stumbles into Pinkie and Starlight, who seem to be slightly out of breath and looking for them, for how they rush to them the moment they see Amon.

"Hi Amon, where were you? We got worried when you weren't in your room, and… why do you smell like liquor?" Pinkie asks with a happy smile and tune that slowly morphs into one of surprise and concern once she takes a sniff of the air surrounding the stallion.

"I went for a drink," Amon replied sarcastically.

"I thought you didn't drink," Pinkie mentions, blinking several times.

"I don't," Amon answered while glaring at Starlight, "But I needed one after what I heard, for all the good that it was." He sighed in frustration. "Alicorns can't get drunk, lucky me."

The comment doesn't help Starlight's self-esteem, as she keeps her head low and gathers her hands. With an exhausted sigh, Amon crosses his arms and stares at her.

"But enough with the pity party. I'm waiting, Ms. Jonestown."

"Ms. Jonestown?" Starlight is confused as she looks at Amon. "That is not my…"

"Long story, just know it's a bad thing, but Fluttershy convinced me to give an opportunity to earn back my trust, so I want to hear it; I want to hear exactly how you are gonna fix the mess you started."

That surprised Starlight greatly, and a smile started forming on her face. "Y-You are willing to give me a chance?"

"Please don't hug me!" Amon backs away, fearing what she may do. "I know how mares like to hug in Equestria."

"Huh?" Starlight looked at Amon confused and looked at Vivi, who was laughing behind her hand before shaking her head.

"So… your plan?" Amon repeats, waiting for her idea.

"R-Right! Right, well, our first course of action is exploring the black market since that is the primary source of income of this new group calling themselves…"

"...The Gallileous, yeah, I'm aware of what those cultists call themselves," Amon interrupted with a nod. "Please continue."

"...right, it seems obvious you may know their name." Starlight cleared her throat before continuing, "Anyway, the idea is that we go there to find clues and, with any luck, a trace for us to follow back to their hideout, and then we'll go there and put an end to their activities and arrest them."

"Sounds like a good start," Amon mentions neutrally. "Okay, let's find those bastards. I want to be there when you make the arrest and make sure they do not just get a slap in the risk and stern wording," Amon demands as his eyes shine.

"I want to see them receive the punishment they deserve, and if Equestria doesn't do it, I will, and I swear, Ms. Jonestone, I'll make sure they will never eat solids again if it comes to that," Amon promises in a venomous, cold voice as he advances, making all the mares shiver as he moves through the hallway until Starlight stops him with both arms raised.

"A-And justice will be served accordingly! I can promise you that. Also, we appreciate your offering…"

"Why do I feel like there is a but coming up?" Amon asks with a raised eyebrow at Starlight's statement as she starts to sweat.

"Well, the thing is. The princesses thought that you and me…"

The castle hallways around the two heard Amon's echoing scream of discontent, alerting everyone, including Princess Celestia and Inkwell, as they both were going through some documents. This forced them to look at the main entrance door, where moments later, Amon burst through with a scold in his eyes as he advanced.

Surprised, the guards quickly step into action and rush toward him to block his advances. "You can NOT do this to me, Celestia!"

"Ah, Amon, I must admit, after you stormed away from the dining room, I wasn't expecting to see you so soon. In less than ideal moment either," Celestia mentions in a neutral tone, maintaining her regal face and calm demeanor to prevent the situation from escalating further.

On the other hand, Amon was far from done as he pointed at her. "You expect me just to sit back and do nothing while you send some random ponies to deal with the ones that make my life a living hell?!"

"No, I intend to impart justice to those who broke it and keep my kingdom safe while you remain here to continue to treat your physical and emotional wounds," Celestia fires back as she stands up and brings her hands behind her back. “Now, please, Amon, is there really no way for us to postpone this conversation? I'm more than willing to lend an ear if that is what you desire, just not now."

Amon tries to approach, but the guards don't let him advance. Soon, Pinkie, Vivi Starlight, and Fluttershy reach the room, too, and they don't waste time grabbing Amon by the arms.

"Amon, did you just lose your mind?! You can't just barge in the throne room. Specially! In the middle of the day court!" Vivi yells in alarm as she keeps pulling him away as he resists.

"Please excuse us, your highness! We have everything under control here, just a small hiccup." Starlight apologies, getting in front of them, and the guards with both arms raised a red face and a nervous smile.

"No, you don't! You can't just drop this bomb and expect me to do nothing! They took everything from me! I have the right to put an end to those bastards!" Amon yells.

"Amon, please!" Fluttershy pleads, grabbing his head. "I know you are furious right now, scared and hurt, but this is why we don't want you to rush. You… really want to become that thing again?"

The question of Fluttershy gives Amon pause as he finally relaxes and lowers his arms as he takes a deep breath. "This isn't over, Celestia," Amon promises before turning around and letting the mares take him away.

"I'm sure it isn't. Once I'm free from my duties, I will listen to anything you wish to share," Celestia responds calmly as she sits down.

"Your Highness, are you sure it's okay to let him go like that?" one of the guards asked the princess in surprise.

"I'm sure, as Fluttershy said, the poor stallion is confused and hurt. He needs time to reflect and breathe. So, it is fortunate that ponies are willing to assist. Inform Purple and his team of Amon's location; something tells me that Amon is finally ready to hear them out."

Rather than take him to his room to take out his rage, Vivi took Amon to an empty dance hall, where there was nothing he could break in a fit of rage.

Her idea seemed to work as Amon could only resort to mumbling angrily at himself as he paced back and forth, cursing the name of Celestia constantly for various minutes.

"How long has he been going?" Vivi asks Starlight as they both watch the stallion against the wall. The unicorn checks a clock before looking back at Amon.

"Around 15 minutes, all and all, I say he is taking things well. I feared he would be shooting magic or flying around by now."

"Ah yeah, about that… Amon can't do either of those," Vivi replies in concern, gaining the attention of Starlight.

"But I thought he could if he was angry," Pinkie asks, equally confused. "His hands do crazy things, and there was the time when those bad ponies tried to assault you, Vivi, yet he hasn't done anything yet. Why is that?"

"I also heard Mark accidentally removed some curse that prevented him from using magic. So there should at least be sparks from what you are saying," Starlight mentions as she starts to think, "Could it be that his magic is in some sort of stasis state?"

"You know I can still hear you, right?" Amon complained as he stood in front of them, staring at the mares, who jumped a little. "And for your information, maybe it is for the best if I can't use magic. I'm not interested, and perhaps my body finally decided to listen, so don't worry about that."

"Wh-What? You mean to tell me you are unconsciously suppressing… that is not how unicorn magic works"? Starlight complained, astonished. Yet before she could say anything else, Fluttershy walked into the room with a pack of dogs of various races, as well as Purple and his friends.

"Amon, wait before you do anything else. I have friends that want to meet you," Fluttershy mentions as she approaches the animals. Amon is slightly startled when the dogs don't waste time surrounding him.

"I told them you've been having a bad day, and I remember how…" Fluttershy shivers and closes her eyes before speaking. "Lupe wanted to cheer you up with her pups," she asks in a broken voice before clearing her throat and continuing to speak.

"So I thought my friends could help you out once more."

"And maybe get you less grumpy; what do you say, dude, ready to talk, or do you need more time to breathe?" Purple asks as Amon remains quiet and sigh

"You are lucky; I would never say no to petting a dog," Amon says as he kneels and starts interacting with the dogs. "Yeah, I can talk."

"Thank Celestia," Purple sighed in satisfaction while looking at the ceiling. "Because the pity act was starting to get old."

"Fluttershy still with us?" Blissy asked Fluttershy, snapping her fingers in front of her as the pegasus was staring directly at Amon, who was belly rubbing one of the female dogs, making one of her hind legs go while

"Y-Yeah, just thought it was a cute scene," Fluttershy replies after shaking her head, causing Blissy to look at her in confusion and slight surprise, before starting to smirk

"Right… cute. Let's go with that," Blissy nods before looking back at Amon.

"Okay, then, dude. Talk to us. What is getting you so down?" Purple asks.

"I've been trying to stay focused as to where my anger should be targeted since this morning when I found out how my attackers are still alive and on a mission to turn my life into a living hell."

He then turns to look at Starlight. "Then I found out how they were born, and to top it all off, my house arrest just got extended."

"Okay, there's plenty to unpack there," Purple nods several times. "Better start simply enough, your attackers. You should focus your rage on them. Tell us what you learned," Purple offers, gathering his hands and pointing at Amon with his index fingers.

Amon stays quiet for a moment before finally sighing and relenting: "They call themselves The Gallileous, an obscure reference to another world of a famous inventor and astronomer. They probably thought of the name because they were inventing something or another, I don't know. The bastards most likely just thought the name sounded cool."

He then points at Starlight, "And you can thank their creation to this lovely dumbass still fanning over her high school crush."

"Amon! You promise!" Fluttershy scolds him into Amon, interrupting her.

"Trust me, Fluttershy! I'd been nice right now, but I have a way harsher name in mind," he snapped back.

"Could you at least not make me look like I don't have a…"

"You made a cult because you miss your 'best friend' and blame magic because he didn't pay any attention to you, making it sound like you two were the only ponies in the world. Look me in the face and tell me THAT is not having a crush."

"It-It is not!" Starlight stutters with a blush, unable to maintain eye contact with Amon.

"Oh, sweet crist! You still have it?"

"N-No! No, I… we are… we were on you, and the dumbass mistake I made, I will own to my mistake! Continue your story!" Starlight asks him, pointing at the group of guards.

"I don't know, I kind of want to hear more about this crush of yours," Brick mentions, intrigued.

"There is no crush to discuss, and we are not discussing it! Amon continued what did they do? How they pervert my idea of an equalized world."

"Nothing of the sort; they only took the idea of rules as a suggestion," Amon clarified, "And that is what they did: explore ideas and experiment without any sense of morality in their bones. God knows how that led them to seek humans and use them as guinea pigs, but there you have it. And that is how I got the unfortunate luck of meeting them and participating in their sick games."

"Amon, if you don't want to, you don't need to tell us what they did to you," Pinkie reassured him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Pinkie, but this, as harsh as it may be, is a relief. It needs to be said; I need to tell you," Amon sighs as he keeps his gaze down. The dogs surround him, sensing his emotions.

"They start with tricking suckers like me with job opportunities, runaways, drug addicts, basically looking for people that nobody will notice or maybe even care if they disappear or become urban legends. It's… a common rumor of monsters kidnapping people, so they are never be heard of before."

They all gasp at that. "This can't be; how long have they been doing this?" Starlight asks in horror.

"It's… a complicated subject, and they are not the only ones. I turned out to be one of his victims, and once we crossed the portal, we were stripped, washed, and cataloged as cater. They didn't waste time telling us how doomed we were. If not angry or scared, it was like they wanted us always to feel negative emotions."

Amon clenches his fists together. "The mockery, the operations, the experiments. It was hell on earth. For the glimpses and explanations they gave us. These psychos were obsessed with 'the human nature,'" Amon tells them, making air quotes.

"Mostly the dark side of humanity. They wanted to break us and see how we reacted; they encouraged the worst of us while punishing any form of humanity, pitting against one another in some ways and slowly turning us into mindless monsters. I can still hear the screams of those that crack, reduced to any other beast that would attack anything they saw."

"This is a textbook, taboo magic," Starlight thinks out loud. "There are rules in magic practices about focus and controlling emotions as warnings of losing one mind if one lets rage or other negative emotions control you. Amon, for what you are saying, The Galileos were attempting to artificially recreate those emotions, except that doesn't make sense. Humans don't have magic… unless."

Amon could only nod. "I imagine as much." He pressed his palm to the side of his torso. "Besides taking, they also enjoyed putting pieces in us, too—enchanted organs and whatnot, as they were called."

He shivers, and his face turns green. "They didn't… they didn't care much about… our bodies." Amon almost barfed more than once. "...It was messy, gross, and painful just to watch as… many ended up inflating like balloons with gangrenous lumps, and other reactions before we… we…" He pantomimes with his hands and shivers. "Pop… those… were the lucky ones."

The room had grown quiet, and everyone present had turned pale; Fluttershy was about to pass out, and Brick and Purple were edged from vomiting, yet Starlight kept her gaze hard and focused on every word Amon said.

"So what happened to the ones that didn't reject the implants right away?" She asks in determination with a mix of anger and intrigue.

"For most of us, we started to cry blood as we could feel our eyes boiling, our eyes started to shine green, and our pupils became red and started fuming some weird purple fog," Amon replied without skipping a bit.

"The Sombra gaze!" Pinkie and Fluttershy exclaim in whisper and horror, recognizing that description.

"Then it was as we developed the most horrible case of lepers, pieces of our body crystallized with these black and red diamonds and replaced the ones that fell off, mutating our forms as we could barely recognize ourselves as human. During that time, they showed us projections of different creatures to see if our mutation reflected that change that happened; by then, I had already lost an eye, my right hand, my right leg, and two of my left fingers, replaced with claws and sharpened limps."

"Adverse mutation to taboo practice," Starlight mentions as she seems to be in educational/ detective mode. "No doubt they were planning on harvesting the results, but to what end? Even from a curious standpoint, this was suicidal. All of them were creating monsters, and besides the result on a nonmagical creature, this was already cataloged in the Canterlot archives."

"Ask them if you are interested. As far as I know, they wanted an army; how they constantly put us in the warehouse for us to fight, and we were down to 10 or less, they immobilized us so they could continue their experiments… the rest gets foggy for me. Still, I remember being transferred to Project Ascend and whatnot. I was shocked when I recovered consciousness, and my body was back to normal, like my nightmare was the most hideous case of chicken pots."

"Most likely, that was the result of your body finally accepting the enchanted implants, a miracle or a desired outcome, maybe," Starlight hums and nods. "Then the accident happened when you became like this, I gather."

Amon nods, "Yeah, they were congratulating each other as I saw them once everything was over. They were probably thinking I was braindead or something. But I was fully aware; I remember everything, and I was more than happy to show them how enraged I was," Amon says with a low, cold voice as he clenches his fist.

The group got worried at his rising anger, yet his magic remained sealed for some reason, not as he even cared as Amon finished his tale. "You know the rest by now, the life of a homeless cursed pony, hiding from a world he barely understood, broken and alone."

"Until you meet us! And everything will be alright moving forward," Pinkie says as she hugs Amon.

Her words help a little, yet he sighs and looks at the guards. "You see why I need to be present? Do you see why I need to put a stop? If those monsters are still there, what stops them from repeating the experiment? To do what they did to me, on to others?"

"You," Starlight's reply confused everyone. "As long as you remain, they are stuck. You are the key. I still don't understand much, but your body and what you become give me an idea of one of the goals. They want to become alicorns by passing the ritual of ascension and brute-force a path to power."

"Can that even be possible?" Fluttershy asks in shock as Starlight nods.

"Taboo magic is forbidden for a lot of reasons, one of them is that it erodes one's mind, it slowly turns whoever it used into a violent zombie, and then attacks the body until it breaks apart and the subject dies. But it also is a sure and fast way to boost one magic; with enough uses and focus, one could even match the force of an Alicorn briefly before their horn well… pop."

Judging by her shivering and how Purple was horrified and holding his own horn, Amon could only assume the idea of their horn exploding was less than pleasant, maybe even lethal.

"The harvest, the operations, the inhumane conditions. I understand now that they were using you to harvest magic itself; they wanted the boost in their trials to create enough refined power and inject it into themselves artificially. You must have been the final test subject."

"I gather as much. Can we come back to that of harvest magic itself? From what I see, magic is like light; how do you collect that?" Amon asks with a confused tone.

"Think of it as electricity, the crystals you mention? They are charged with the magic they want. The attempts of altering your bodies are probably so there would be more to collect; from there on out, it will be a matter of grinding the crystal into dust and using it as an ingredient to boost one magic."

"How do you know all of that?" Purple asks Starlight with a raised eyebrow.

"I know because I learned it on a trip to the badlands, dark market. It is another taboo practice Diamond Dogs used during an old war, so they temporarily gain unicorn magic but use a unicorn horn, not crystallized malice. This is the first time I have heard of using such a horrible method in this way."

"Yeah, I can see the picture now," Blissy nods in rage. "Nothing is off the table for those bastards. They look around the catalog of unforgiving taboo magic and say, "Let's try them all. Why not?"

"You mention something about Amon being the key that prevents them from repeating the experiment." Brick brings the conversation back to Starlight. "How exactly is he the key?"

"Because he burned their base of operation and killed most of the ones involved," Starlight replied. "Even if some of the data was saved, something this daring needs pinpoint precision, or they will end up like Mark or even worse, maybe they already are," Starlight explained.

"Without a blueprint, they would need to start all over again, meaning they need a huge base that is fully equipped and a ridiculous amount of defense to protect themselves from the monsters they are creating. Not to mention, from what you are saying, they never write down how your attempt worked or even if it was successful since it ends up killing them."

"So what are you saying? They can't make another alicorn until they get me to tie a loose end again?"

"More like they need the data; your body IS the blueprint for the body they want. The secret of becoming an alicorn is that from there, they will only need to think about how to remove the mind and soul and place their own."

"That is why the princesses need you to stay here! Purple exclaimed, "It's more than just keeping you safe; it's to keep us safe, too. Nothing stops them from mass-producing uber-powerful bad alicorns if they get their hands on you."

"Do you see now, Amon?" Fluttershy asks. "The princess only wanted to help you and us. They were thinking about the best course of action."

"Yeah, yeah, I got the hint; I'll say sorry to Celestia when I see her," Amon sighed in frustration. "I still need to go there. Those bastards have much to answer for, and I have to ensure that happens."

Purple sighed and shook his head. "Amon, I understand your feelings, and I hate having to use this, but I have to play my royal guard card here."

Once he is done, he stares at Amon, dead serious. "If you want them to face justice by the books, you NEED to stand back as a civilian and a victim directly connected to their crimes. Or in your world, the law allows the victims to arrest their attackers?"

"...No," Amon begrudgingly replies.

"So you see how by chasing, you will be breaking the laws and viewing them as options, just as they do. To a lesser degree, yeah, but it still the same principle, which would turn you in…"

"...a hypocrite"

"There you are.So would you let us do our job and catch the evil ponies. Or interfere, make things harder, and potentially allow them to escape or succeed on their sadistic goals?"

Amon clenched his fist and inhaled hard with his eyes clenched shut in anger before replying.

"I will stay," He replied with clenched teeth.

"There you go and look at it this way. Don't see it as house arrest; see it more like a vacation trip into a luxurious hotel with deserts… and pretty mares," Purple said, mumbling the last part.

"What was the last thing?"

"All the deserts! You want, AND if you are happy, they lose, so you are ruining their day by not letting them bother you. I promise the second they are in custody, and if you promise to behave, we will let you gloat a little and see all of them in chains."

"...can I at least break the face of one?"

"You mean punch them in the face, right?" Brick asks.

"...yeah, punch them in the face… yeah, let's go with that."

"That is still breaking the law, Amon, but tell you what: If they resist arrest or attempt to escape, you can't be held responsible for self-defense. Sounds good?" Blissy compromised.

"...ok, I suppose, but Purple, I swear, they BETTER face the proper justice, or I will take it with my own hands."

"Duly noted." Purple nods. "And now that you have told us about it, do you feel better?"

"Yeah, a little. It's insane, but talking about it really does help. But these puppies also do the trick," Amon chuckles as he plays with the ears of a husky. The group presses their bodies against him while he plays and belly rubs another dog.

"Sweet Celestia, have mercy," Fluttershy mumbles before looking away. Blissy takes notice and approaches her.

"It is mesmerizing, isn't it?" She asks with a sly smirk on her face.

"Yeah, but it is not the time or place. Seriously, what is wrong with me?! Am I that lonely?" Fluttershy asks in a whisper, not thinking before realizing what she just said.

"Relax! We are all mares here. Sure, this is the first I heard a mare get the hots from stallion like this, and it's cute, but hey, no judging. And to tell you the truth, maybe this could work," Blissy patted her back. He can move on and be more receptive to our suggestions if he has his mind occupied with something else if you know what I mean."

"Wha-I-oh no, I wouldn't dare do anything when he is that vulnerable." Fluttershy stumbles into her words with a big blush.

"Relax. I'm just saying it could be good for him to have the distraction; just think about it," Blissy comments.

"You know all of this could be very useful," Pinkie thinks out loud. "We should tell Twilight everything you just told us. What do you say?"

"If by we you mean you while I go look for a book or something else to keep my mind busy, then sure," Amon shrugs before thinking of something. "Maybe you can tell me something too, like something to help me be happier?" Amon hints, hoping Pinkie will recall the promise she made to him.

"I love that idea!" Vivi suddenly intervened. "Starlight and I can take care of that, and the rest can go tell the rest what you told us, so you don't have to revive it," The maid suggested with a big smile.

"Wha, but I…" Amon tried to say anything, but Vivi was already pulling him away.

"Come on, I will show you where the maids hide the gala pastries. Plus, you did promise to give Starlight a chance, right?" Vivi insisted, and the group seemed to agree but took different paths. He and Fluttershy looked back in slight disappointment, although for various reasons, a plan seemed to be formed.

"Sounds good." Amon finally relents and sighs before looking at Starlight. "I don't suppose you know anything about portals and other worlds, do you?"

"Do I know?" Starlight replies in surprise, "Amon, the stories I can tell you."

"Oh?" Amon's curiosity recapped again as they advanced and left the room.

"Don't worry honey, next time," Blissy pat Fluttershy back. "Maybe it's for the best; the guy is still grumpy anyway."

Fluttershy nods, follows her group, and gathers the dogs to take them back to the garden.