The King Of Nothing

Soon after encountering the two, Purple and Pinkie didn't waste time and separated them. "It's okay, Amon. It's okay. Marcus is not one of the monsters," Pinkie said, trying to calm Amon down.

"What?" Amon looks at her, confused by that statement, before looking at Marcus, who keeps looking at Amon in confusion.

"Yeah, I know he looks weird, but it's okay. He is something called a human from another world," Pinkie mentions, calming down and smiling before approaching and hugging Marcus with one arm. "Amon, let me introduce you to my coltfriend, Marcus, my honey muffin. Marcus, meet Amon, my new special friend."

"You're what now?" Amon asks in surprise at the statement as Marcus chuckles.

"Don't worry, dude, that is just Pinkie being herself, trust me. It is not what you think it is. Also, nice to meet you."

"Ah, same," Amon replies, looking at Marcus suspiciously but playing along for now as Marcus turns his attention to Pinkie. "So this is the special duper new friend Celestia asked you to talk to and try to make friends with along with Fluttershy."

"Yep," Pinkie nods rapidly.

"Speaking of which," Pulling out a flare gun, Pinkie shoots a signal into the air that explodes into confetti to alert Fluttershy and help her reunite with the group.

Barely able to react to cover his ear, Amon looked at Pinkie in a mix of irritation and surprise. "Did you always carry a flare gun on your mane?"

"Well, duh, don't you?" Pinkie asks, looking back at Amon with a raised eyebrow.

Before he could give her a proper reply, the pegasus in question was able to reach the group and didn't waste time in hugging Amon, involuntarily pressing her chest against his face. "Oh, Amon! I was so worried! Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Did you see who summoned them? Don't you dare hide any wounds; let me see. Maybe you didn't notice…"

"OK!" Amon yells and prays Fluttershy out of his face with a red face, the others unsure if that was anger or embarrassment from being smothered by Fluttershy's ample chest.

"First of all, what did I tell you about pressing your chest against my face?" Amon reminded her in annoyance as Fluttershy realized what she had done. She went stiff and red before looking down in embarrassment as Amon put her down.

"And second of all, can some… somepony PLEASE tell me what in Tartarus is going on?" Amon demands, crossing his arms.

"You mean they didn't attack you?" Purple asks in astonishment, "Amon, the shadow monsters came back."

"What?" Amon exclaimed in shock. "When? How?" Amon asks in quick succession.

"Just a couple of minutes ago," Pinkie replied.

"And they came from the maze," Fluttershy answered the other question, equally perplexed. "How come you miss them? Didn't they target you specifically?"

"You mean that those creatures and him are connected somehow?" Marcus mentions, getting confused, before raising an eyebrow at Amon, "It's kind of lucky that despite being so close, and with them being smart, they miss you completely."

"Yeah, you're right; that was their move," Amon replies and nods in realization.

"Their move?" Purple repeats.

"It's kind of obvious. The plan is to keep me miserable, and before it happens, I… kind of heard again the song." Amon decided to confess, looking at the group as they gasped.

"You heard it… and didn't come back to us?" Fluttershy accuses him in irritation.

"I know, I know, but you didn't hear it the first time, so I thought it really was my imagination. So I kept walking until I stopped hearing it. Before I knew it, I was on the other corner of the maze and on my way here when I found Marcus." Amon clarifies.

"Seems the bastards after me; switch decided a new tactic now."

"I think I'm starting to see; rather than follow you, they will start sending the monsters around you so everypony thinks you are summoning them."

"Exactly," Amon nods. "An obvious and cliche move, but it makes sense."

"Well, I wouldn't say cliche," Marcus mentions. "I mean, are you sure that is what they want? It seems like you are assuming things here, dude."

Amon remained quiet while looking at him before speaking after a pause, "No offense, but you are new, so you can't have an opinion here."

"Wait, Amon," Fluttershy stood in front of him. "Maybe Marcus could help; this is a great opportunity."

"It is?" Amon asks, confused.

"Yeah, I know my honey muffins don't look like your typical buff stallion, but he is solid and brilliant," Pinkie praised with a big smile before gasping. "You two could be best friends, too! That way, you can have a mare and MALE friends all day."

Pinkie exclaims in excitement as she hugs both Amon and Marcus. Both look a bit uncomfortable at the idea, but Amon quickly gets an idea of his own and nods slowly.

"You know what, Pinkie, you're right."

She gasped again and had stars in his eyes as everyone, minus Marcus looked at Amon with surprise but a little smile.

"You all been trying to help me out, and it seems my enemies are not wasting any time in trying to screw me over, so let's show them; I will not play anymore."

Pinkie squeaks and doesn't waste time hugging Amon's chest as hard as she can, her hands barely able to reach his back.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Pinkie, your boyfriend! He is right there! What did I tell you!?" Amon yells, feeling two orbs pressing hard on his chest.

"They are not on your face," Pinkie mentions in a sing-song, and everyone chuckles at her antics.

"And don't worry about another attack. With Princess Luna's guards patrolling, they will be on their trail in no time. Whoever is causing this, they will catch them," Purple promises as they all exit the maze.

Later on, in the commercial district of Canterlot,

The group explained everything to Marcus, minus the part about Amon being an alicorn and how they've been trying to help him and capture whoever was behind his misfortunes, to which he was more than happy to help.

Deciding to take a break, and trying to calm down from the emotions that was the attack, the group headed to one of Canterlot's finest coffee shops, which a friend of Pinkie called Rarity recommended. They left Marcus and Amon alone as the rest went to get in line and pick up the orders for everyone.

An opportunity that Amon didn't waste time exploiting: "So 'Marcus' now that we are alone. Care to explain what is going on?" Amon asks with a neutral tone.

"Okay, I understand and have the right to be mad, but you have to understand I'm kind of a victim here too," Marcus defended himself, which didn't seem to calm Amon down as he glared at Marcus.

"How so?" Amon asks, some venom dripping from his voice.

"Because that is supposed to be my body too; look, it complicates it, but I…" Marcus looked around to ensure nobody was listening before leaning in and placing her hand beside his mouth. "... I'm kind of a customer that got screwed over."

Amon remains quiet before crossing his arms. "Explain?"

"Back when I was a pony, I suffered from dwarfism. A condition in which…"

"Don't worry. I know what that is. The concept happens on earth as well." Amon stops himself from feeling a bit of empathy toward Marcus.

"And do you know how horrible it is? To have your entire world literally out of reach? And don't start with the bullshit speech of love your body and you are beautiful, and others can have a wonderful life as they are, and all that crap; I heard the speeches, I went to the seminars, and I got the idea. Good for them; they made it and are at peace with their bodies; I don't. I hate being small with a vengeance and will stop at nothing to fix that issue."

Marcus slams his fist on the table for emphasis. "No matter the price, and since normal methods became a waste of time and bits, I turn to more… exotic alternatives."

"You mean the black market?" Amon asks with a raised eyebrow.

Marcus shushes him in alarm before looking around and then whispers, "Not so loud! But yeah, first of all, I want to let you know. I had no idea what they did to you or the others; my only goal was getting taller. It took a while, but I stumbled into the shady ponies that made us like what we are today. They gave us this special cream and mana therapy sessions that would do the trick, and it worked."

Amon breathed through his nose and closed his eyes. "I'm familiar with that cream; they use our skin in making it!" Amon whispers harshly at the memory as Marcus raises his hands.

"I didn't know back then; I'm sorry, okay? That must be hell on Equus for you. Like I said, I was ignorant of their actions and only cared to stop being on the same side as an 8-year-old colt. But everything changed on the day of the explosion. I went for the final dose that would make me permanently tall. I went into the chamber as usual, but when the session started, alarms started to flare out, and the personnel tried to run away; next thing I knew, there was this huge explosion, and when I woke up, I was in the middle of Trottinham, naked, injured and… like this."

"And that must be why I woke up as a giant stallion then." Amon nods, looking at his hand. "You know, if this was your original goal, you were replacing one problem for another."

"I will be worth it," Marcus replied. "And back on the story, I couldn't tell the truth for obvious reasons, so I was forced to play along and see what would happen until Princess Twilight explained what I was and helped me be where I am today. You see now? I'm a victim here, too; I'm sorry for whatever happened to you. I, Celestia, didn't know they were using you in this experiment and thought only I survived. Believe me, if I could, I would switch bodies, no questions asked."

Marcus starts to admire Amon with a big smile. "Heck, nothing would make me happier than to do just that right now."

Amon snap him back to reality by snapping your fingers. "Focus, Marcus, focus, bigger issues here."

"What do you mean?" Marcus asks in alarm.

"Look, as much as I would like my face back, too. It looks like whatever monsters are there, they are still not done with me, and I imagine neither with you if what Pinkie told me was true."

Marcus shrugs. "Maybe, I mean, from time to time, I end up in a dangerous situation and was forced to learn how to fight outside the box because of how weak and pathetic this body…"

Marcus stopped when Amon started to growl, and sparks were fuming from his horn.

"T-To defend myself, and my point is that at first I though it was just normal Equestria occurrence, crazy things like that happen in Ponyville all the time. But you may be on to something, if someone wants us death, we need to deal with it, and unfortunately neither can't exactly ask for help without revealing our involvement or true intentions, right? That is why I meant it when I said I would help, I swear," Marcus claimed with raised arms, trying to calm Amon.

Taking a deep breath, Amon closed his eyes and nodded. "Good, then we have a deal here: we keep this a secret from the rest, track down whoever did this to us, beat them to a pulp, switch bodies, and put this behind us."

"Even better, I can also put on a good word with Princess Twilight, too; she can even send you home once everything is over," Marcus replies, yet Amon retracts and grabs his hands as he looks down.

"Home… how I wish I still had one."

"Dude?" Marcus asks, but the group returns with their coffee before he can say anything else.

"We're back!" Pinkie exclaimed and passed around a round of muffins and coffee to everyone, with the exception of herself and Amon, for whom she brought two medium-sized birthday cakes, one for her and the other for Amon.

"Ah, Pinkie, I didn't ask for this… much cake." Amon tried to complain, but Pinkie only giggled. "I know, but I had the feeling you might like it. Princess Celestia told me how much you enjoy cakes, especially with frosting, and how much you would love to have one just for yourself. Don't be afraid, Amony. Sammy here." Pinkie cheered with a big smile as she pointed at herself and then Amon repeatedly.

"So instead of just buying one for myself, I wanted to treat you to something sweet. Who knew we both have the same sweet tooth, right?"

That lousy rainbow mane… big mouth, little… Celestia! You…!

Amon clenches his fist in anger as he pictures the princess herself with a cheeky smile plastered on her face.

…why the hell did you tell her that?! Everyone would start thinking I’m some kind of sweet glutton.

The rumble on his stomach makes him stop and sigh in defeat before looking at Pinkie. "Thanks, Pinkie, that is sweet of you."

"Don't mention it; that is what friends are for." She dismissed him with a have before pouring hot sauce on her cake and started eating without issue. "Sorry for the wait, too; the line was big."

"Ah, Pinkie, that is…" Amon slowly points at the bottle, yet Purple interrupts him, causing him to feel a sense of deja vu.

"So, what were you talking about while waiting for us?" Purple asks the two.

"Oh, Marcus was telling me about how he awoke in Equestria one day," Amon mentioned, deciding to let go of Pinkie and enjoy his treat. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that the cake was filled with cream inside and started to eat it with gusto, finding that he was already halfway down with it.

"Oh yeah, it was quite the surprise that day, the poor dear; it still breaks my heart hearing how somehow you were yanked out of your world and trust into the type of situation you end up in," Fluttershy mentions with pity toward Marcus.

“It was some hard times indeed” Marcus nods before sighing and then smile “But I manage to turn everything around soon after that, thanks to all of you”

"I say, a respectable inventor, a millionaire, and even dating half the mane six! Those are some accomplishments." Purple lists with a chuckle, surprising Amon as he looks at Marcus again.

"Dating half of what now?" Amon asks in surprise and internal horror at the realization that Marcus might have used his body to mess around with horny mares or, even worse, manage to produce offspring. HIS unknowing offspring.

"Oh, it's nothing. That kind of thing happens," Marcus admits with a nervous chuckle as Pinkie hugs him and nuzzles his cheek. "Yep, my honey muffin, woe all and every single one of us," Pinkie mentions in pride, showering Marcus with kisses until she finds his mouth and shares one long kiss on the lips.

Amon feels shivers when he sees himself kissing Pinkie. It doesn't help that she clearly has hot sauce lips at the moment, judging by the small tears in Marcus' eyes.

Oh dear god, the worst thing is that I’m not even sure why I feel creeped out by that image.