Flame, Soul, Rage, and Draconis

by Vlarrion

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Tragedy, Human
Length: 21661

Bryan and friends are trnsported to Equestria to fight a Video game character of their own creation. They will fight evil, save lives, and just be all around party crazy sons of B*tches.

Bryan and his friends Evan, David, and Kyle live normal lives, have some other awesome friends, great families, and long leashes, which they respect. They all lived happpily and hung out often, never wanting anything different. But, their lives are changed when they are all transported to Equestria, taking on new forms with this. From there, they will work hard, learning to master their new bodies and protect the innocent peo-err, ponies of the land. Will they become the heroes that they are needed to be? Or will they fail altogether, and stand by as Equestria plunges into darkness? Only time, skill, will, and a whole lot of luck will tell if they can stand up to face the challenges ahead.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-16 01:11:23 UTC

Beginnings.

Chapter 1: The beginning.

It’s another Friday night, with the usual routine. My buddy Kyle and I heading to my house on foot, since the guy who drives my bus is strict. For some reason, I feel that the day was going to get worse, when it ended well. I busied myself with studying the clouds, yet in my mind searching for a reason as to why I feel this way. Just as unusual as the feeling, I find it unusual that I can’t find a reason as to why I have this feeling.

“Hello? Earth to Mic!” Upon hearing my buddy Kyle, and his nickname for me, I turned my gaze to him, smirking. Kyle was just as tall as I was. Caucasian, clear complexion, short brown hair, ROTC length to be exact, just like mine, his usual black and white striped polo shirt with a black, sleeveless jacket over it, black pants and similar black sneakers. To complete the look, he has his also black backpack slung over his right shoulder, him holding the small strap. “Sorry Scarecrow, just got a feeling, yknow? Some things up, and I don’t know what. It’s bugging me, badly.” Scarecrow was the nickname I gave him. I find it works for him.

Tilting his head at me, a puzzled expression plants itself firmly on his face. “Wait, you have that feeling too? Dude that’s just weird, seriously.” I chuckle at him, and his expression becomes its uaual, cheerful one. “Don’t worry broski, I’m sure today will be fine. Hey, you got your comp with you right?” Kyle grins at me, motioning with a flick of his head towards his backpack. “Hell yeah man. We gonna kill some noobs tonight!” His grin became contagious, and I soon followed suit, nodding my head at him.

After around thirty minutes of walking in silence in the mid-day Miami sun, Kyle speaks up suddenly. “Soooo…..When ya gonna change your wardrobe up a bit Mic?” Blinking at him, I looked myself over. I’m wearing a full black polo, light blue jeans, and a pair of gray running shoes. Chuckling, I readjust the straps holding my own black and blue backpack to my back, tightening them a bit. With the sun beating down on my own Caucasian skin, darker brown hair, and not so clear complexion of a face, I merely shrugged. “When I give a damn about fashion like you do Scarecrow?” As I anticipated from the comment, Kyle let forth a chuckle and shook his head. “Whatever man. Let’s hurry to your place so we can connect with the others.”

After a good hour and a half more of walking, we finally reached my home in Saga bay. Entering, I was greeted by a usual face and voice. “Yo, Bryan! How was school?” Upon hearing my own name, I look to see Steven on the couch. I flick him off casually, he just nods to Kyle. “It was great. So great, I NEVER WANT TO GO AGAIN.” Kyle smirked at me and rolled his eyes, pulling out his laptop before dropping his bag by the front door. “Oh come on Mic. Maybe you’ll like it someday.” Speaking simultaneously, Steven and I both answered in casual tones. “No.” Kyle just laughed and shrugged. “Suit yourselves!”

Dropping my bag next to his, I move into the game room, right next to the kitchen, chuckling as I spot Kyle linking his laptop to the Wifi. Moving quickly, I planted myself in my special chair at the game table, powering up my own laptop. Once it booted up, me and Kyle both got a call from our other broskis, Evan and David. I responded first, moving my wireless mouse on instinct and clicking the green button on screen. The sounds of a gun game already underway coming from Evan’s end bringing a smile to my face. A few seconds later, Kyle is in the call. I broke the silence this time. “Alright, gangs here, we’re six hundred miles from Chicago, got a full tank of gas, half pack of cigarettes, its dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.” From everyone I hear the good ol’ response. “Hit it!” We exchanged our greetings, and then got underway for the night.

Around two in the morning, everyone was starting to doze off. Nobody blames anybody there. We went for hours straight, playing Team Fortress 2 like tomorrow the world would end. Me sniping, David and Evan were firing their rockets, and Kyle running around as a Scout, grabbing the intelligence with our support. After one last game, we all signed off for the night, or, morning as it were. Powering down my laptop, I got up just as Kyle started to do the same. I waved wearily at him, heading into the living room, finding it and every other area of the house bare of anybody save me and Kyle. The usual routine.

Planting myself on the couch, I grabbed a nearby blanket, lazily pulling it over myself. Kyle came in a few minutes later and did the same. Grabbing the remote, I turned on the television. Finding nothing on the usual channels, I switched to Netflix. I was doing this all like I was a machine. I barely noticed that I hadn’t changed my clothes yet, or that my phone, Ipod, and headphones were still in my right pocket, but hell, I don’t care. Selecting VanDread, we lay there on opposite ends of the couch, watching the show till about halfway through the serious. Kyle had drifted off about an hour ago, and I was about to myself.

But for some reason, I had some feeling that I should stay awake, to not fall asleep. Whilst my feelings battled my thoughts of sleep, they could do nothing against my body’s needs. Yawning loudly, I turned onto my side, facing away from Kyle while trying to get comfortable. Little did I know, that this would be the last Friday I spent doing my usual routine, or that it was my last Friday on Earth itself…..

Flame awakened/Enemy revealed.

Chapter 1: Flame awakened, and the enemy revealed!?

Waking up never felt so….Good before. Groaning, I sit up and stretch my arms. Even with my eyes closed, I noticed several different things. One, I felt lighter. Two, my body feels weird. Three, I feel something on my back that feels natural for some reason. Four, I’m on grass, and I can hear leaves swaying in the breeze. And five, I CAN’T FEEL MY FUCKING TOES! Opening my eyes, I immediately look to see why. I don’t have toes. I don’t even have feet! ‘FUCKING HOOVES!? WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT!?’ That’s when I noticed my clothing. Olive colored Cargo pants, an Olive green long sleeved and hooded linen shirt, a leather vest and leather bracers. ‘My fucking Halloween costume? Wait a minute…Is this..?’ Plucking at my exposed hands, I find my answer. ‘Fur. I have blood red fur…..Why am I not freaking out about this? WHY DOES THIS FEEL NORMAL!?’ Just before I could voice my concerns, I took a look around me. I was in some sort of clearing in a forest. ‘But…There aren’t any forests in Miami…Hey, what the fuck is on my back anyways?’ Looking over my shoulder, I couldn’t help but gasp. Wings, the same color as my fur. ‘HOLY SHIT! WINGS!?.....Ok, now THAT is a plus.’ Chuckling, I take another look around, only to find something I didn’t notice before. Leaning against a tree at the edge of the clearing was a wooden Long bow. Hanging from a low branch was a quiver, medium sized by the looks of it, with around twenty to thirty arrows in it. Couldn’t exactly tell from the distance. And then there was something poking out of a hole in the tree. Trying to stand, I immediately fall on my ass, grunting. “Ow….Note to self. Learn to walk again.” It took me a good few minutes, but I managed to regain my ability to walk. Making my way over to the bow and other items, I inspected them thoroughly. The bow was sturdy, finely tuned as well. The quiver had twenty eight arrows in it, and a set of hooks to attach the bow to. And inside the tree was my father’s bayonet, sheathed of course, and a belt to attach it to. The blade is a total eleven inches of pure steel. Double-edged, regular front, and a saw tooth back. THis blade could rend through a body like scissors to paper.

Frowning at the blade, a sudden thought occurred to me. ‘Everything here feels so real. If this isn’t a dream….Will I ever see my family or friends again? Or Hunter for that matter?’ Sighing, I put on the belt, attaching the bayonet to it so it’s on my right side. I prefer drawing the blade swiftly. Attaching the bow to the quiver first, I sling it onto my back so the bow and arrows are coming over my left shoulder. “There….Now due to my appearance….Oh god if I’m where I think I am…Wait…What’s that?” Listening carefully, I locate the sound coming from my left. Grunting, I pull my hood over my head so its shadows cover my eyes. ‘I need a mirror. Gotta know what I am.’ Moving towards the sound causes me to exit the clearing and come upon a dirt road. The sound growing closer, coming from my left still. ‘Sounds like thunder….Or a mob…HAS to be the second option. No clouds.’ Hiding behind a tree, I peek out to see it isn’t a mob, but four bloody ponies running side by side. Two regular ones and two Unicorns. ‘I FUCKING KNEW IT! I’M GONNA KILL YOU EVAN! FUCKING EQUESTRIA! Wait. Does that mean I have one of those marks too?’ Looking all over my body silently, I don’t find one. ‘Meh. So be it.’ Watching as the ponies pass by, I catch their features and items. Gods above, thanks to Evan and the actually entertaining fanfics I read about them, I recognized them. The one on the left most side was a pure white Unicorn mare with a two-tone electric blue mane and tail, wearing purple shades and a bloody music note on her flank. ‘That one HAS to be Vinyl Scratch.’ The only thing odd about her was that she had a fucking cannon looking thing coming over her left shoulder, some sort of grip in front of her mouth,  and wires running down her back to something that looked like a cassette player, which then went to a large battery strapped to her right hind leg. The one on the middle left was a dark brown Earth Pony mare with a darker, well-kept mane and tail, brown eyes, and some sort of Musical note on her flank. ‘I think it’s a Crescendo or something like that?’ She wore a bowtie, and had a fucking short sword sheathed on her back so it came over her right shoulder. ‘I must be dreaming. Octavia with a sword!?’ The one in the middle right was a unicorn with a mint green coat, minty mane and tail, yellow eyes, and a bow and full quiver on her back. ‘Shit. Lyra. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!? She sees me she’ll go nuts!...If the fics are true. Why are these girls armed!?’ The right most one had a cream-colored coat, Dark blue mane and tail with a pink stripe going through them, and three candies on her flank, or so I could guess, since she had friggin’ satchels covering her flanks. ‘That HAS to be Bon bon. But what’re these four doing out here?.....Fuck it. Time to find out.’ Using the trees as cover, I started after them. Luckily, they didn’t hear me running, probably since all of their hooves combined were louder.

After a while, we came to a clearing, one Evan forced me to see once. ‘Of course. The bridge leading to the Old Castle. Why the hell not?’ Waiting at the edge of the clearing, I watched as they went across the bridge one at a time. Once they all crossed and were out of sight, I bolted across, resuming my stealthy pursuit. Once across, I went back into the cover of the trees, following the clearing till the castle was in sight. The four mares were standing next to the open front doors, two on each side, looking in. Shrugging, I made my way to the side and looked in through a shattered window. The first thought in my mind was simple. ‘What. The. FUCK!?’ Inside was the Mane 6 themselves, but five were on the ground bruised and beaten. Counting them and identifying them, I found that the ones downed were AppleJack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. What made me freak was that Twilight was being held by the throat, by one figure I NEVER expected to see. His body and clothes like that from a Medic from TF2, the only difference was his clothes were  pure black and blood splattered, a Bio-hazard symbol on each shoulder, a gaunt face with a goatee, wearing a red bandana under his swept back hair, was a game character I know well. ‘Khawl….Holy fucking shit…..’ Shaking my head, I lean forward to listen in.

“You and your friends are finished Twilight Sparkle. Your Princess won’t save you now!” Twilight coughed and spoke weakly. “You’ll…Never win Khawl….The power of Friendship…Will prevail…” Khawl shook his head and grinned. “That is where you are wrong my dear. Soon, I will have conquered your world.” As soon as the evil laughter started up from Khawl, I moved away from the window. “I gotta help. I ain’t from here, but Khawl was one of our characters...Help or walk, help or walk….Fuck me and my Good Guy personality.” Walking stealthily towards the front, I peek around the corner to see I’m behind Lyra and Bon bon. The four of them were arguing about how to get the Mane 6 away. Clearing my throat, I stepped out of cover. “You know, I may be able to help you out there.” Their response? A cannon, sword, and magically held Bow in my direction. Shooting my hands into the air, I grinned sheepishly. “Listen, no time to explain, but I may be able to get them out alive. Just trust me. Please.” It was Bon bon who spoke the one question I was expecting the most. “Why should we trust you? You look like a Human!” Grunting, I pulled back my hood, revealing my face which elicited several gasps. “’Cause I may be the only chance you got. I’ll try to trick him. If it goes bad, charge in. Please, let me try.” It seemed good enough for them, since Vinyl pointed to the open doors. “Fine, but get to it buddy. I’m watching you closely.” Nodding, I set my face to a neutral expression, pulled my hood back over my head, and pulled my bow out, holding it in my right hand. Walking inside, I see Khawl about to rant at Twilight again until he notices me walking towards him. What made me nervous the most, was his grin of pure joy. “Ah! My newest soldier arrives! The spell worked perfectly then! Tell me, do you know your purpose here?” It took all my strength to stow away ‘TO FUCK YOU UP!’ and say, “To serve you, my liege.” To perfect it, I gave a small bow, stopping in the middle of the room.

This just caused him to chuckle, then toss Twilight towards me. Again, all my will power to not catch her as she bounced and skidded across the floor till she was right in front of me, lying on her left side and staring at me in fright. “Good. Your first order is to kill that Unicorn, then her friends.” Looking into her eyes, I frown, pulling and arrow out of my sheathe and notching it into the bow. Pulling back the string till the arrow tip was about to pass the front of the bow, I aim at Twilight. While she whimpered, I did the one thing I was good at. I gave her some hope. Smirking, I gave her a wink and raised both brows twice. She just blinked. To finish it off, I astonished everyone. I shifted my aim to Khawl and let the arrow loose while yelling, “FUCK ALL BITCHES!” This caught him off guard, I could tell, since the speedily aimed shot managed to embed itself in his left shoulder. “Agh! How dare you!? YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO OBEY ME!” Grinning, I pulled back my hood with my left hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t even bother to take your orders into consideration. Especially since you’re a COLTCHASER!” The last word hit him like a missle, cause his face contorted into one of pure rage. “YOU!” “Me! Hahaha! How’s it hangin’ Khawl? Miss me!?” My idiotic grin remained plastered on my face as he pulled the arrow out of his shoulder. “I’m going to enjoy doing to you EXACTLY what you did to me, TRAITOR!” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Traitor!? Look who’s talking Jack ass! And besides, last time, you couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn! How can YOU, kill me!?” Truth be told, he probably could, but my mind was mushy at the moment.

The last outburst did it, because he pulled a long sword from somewhere and charged me. Sighing, I tossed me bow away and drew my Father’s bayonet back-handed, swinging it to the left, blocking his over-head strike. But god DAMN did it hurt! Once he backed away, the girls began to stir, each one turning to stare at me and him. Once he charged again, we merely became two bladed tornadoes. Blocking, dodging, parrying, attacking, and repeating the dance. Neither of us noticed Vinyl and the others coming in. That is, until we locked blades again and she whistled. “Hey boys! Guess what!?” We both looked at her to see her cannon aiming at us. “Let’s drop the bass!” ‘Oh FUCK NO!’ Leaping back, I just managed to get out of the way as she bot down on the grip in front of her mouth, firing the cannon. Once it fired, the entire castle shook with mutha fucking WUBS! A light blue beam fired from the cannon, hitting Khawl squarely in the chest and sending him flying into a wall. ‘Oh. My. God…..’ I looked at her and grinned. “Dude?” “Yeah?” “That was awesome. I want one.” “Ha ha ha, yeah no.” ‘D’aw….Oh well.’ Shrugging, I looked at Khawl, struggling to get out of the wall while the Mane 6 were recovering. Just as Khawl managed to get out, the Mane 6 had gotten up and from SOMEWHERE, my guess being Pinkie breaking the laws of physics, produced the Elements of Harmony and were preparing to fire. Khawl snarled and looked me dead in the eyes. “I will kill you for this. Slowly.” Then, with a snap of his fingers, he was gone. The girls powered down, and I went to retrieve my bow. Once I grabbed it, I heard hooves coming from behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I see it was all the ponies walking towards me. Chuckling, I sheathed my bayonet and attached my bow to my back, stood, pulled my hood back on, and faced them, my expression back to neutral. Twilight came up to me and smiled kindly. My facial expression did not budge, by in my mind, I felt like I might die from the levels of actual cuteness. ‘Why are these girls so damn cute!? GOD DAMN IT HAS EVAN INFECTED ME!? I’M A FURRY, a Good one who doesn’t like the sex thing, just to walk around in a fur suit BUT STILL! MOTHER FUCKER!’ She bowed her head, as did all the others.

“Thank you for saving us. For a moment, I thought you were with Khawl.” As soon as they raised their heads, Rainbow dash was in my face, glaring daggers. “YEAH! Why did you wait till the last moment!? You could’ve stepped in and saved her easily!” Before anypony else could react to this, I held up my hand for silence. “I had to wait until she was away from Khawl. Any other moment would have put your friend at a deadly risk. One must think, then strike.” If I wasn’t keeping neutral, I’d have sage-nodded. Instead, RD kept glaring at me while in my face, till AppleJack pulled her down by her tail. Spitting her tail out, she stepped forward. “Sorry partner, Rainbow can get suspicious. Ah’m AppleJack by the way. This here is Pinkie pie, Rarity, Vinyl Scratch, Lyra, Bon bon, Octavia, Fluttershy, and ya’ll already know Twilight and Rainbow Dash. What’s yer name feller? And…What are you, if ya don’t mind me askin’.” Blinking as everypony was introduced, what struck me were the questions. ‘Shit, think think think! AHA!’ Keeping my expression, I removed my hood once again and bowed. “I am Ignition, and I am an Anthromorph pegasus. Granted, I was not a Pegasus before, but I am not one to complain. And it was an honor to help.” Standing straight again, I noticed Lyra staring at me curiously, and the others smiling at me, except for Rarity. “What I’m wondering Darling, is how Khawl knows you, and you him.” This got everypony’s attention, and Rainbow Dash got in my face again. “Yeah! Spill pal!” Growling, I grab one of Rainbow’s forelegs and pull her to the ground, going face to face with her. “Get in my face like that again, and I WILL smack you. It is against my honor to hit those of the feminine sex, but gods above do I HATE anyone with an ego, so keep yours in check.” Letting go, I stand tall again to see mixed expressions, all staring at me still.

Sighing, I move over to a sturdy looking section of the wall and lean against it, the group following me. “Sorry. I have anger issues and prefer my personal space to be kept sacred unless necessary. As to how I know Khawl….We were teammates once. Friends…” They all gasped at me in shock, except Rainbow, who tried to get in my face again, but Applejack stopped her. Nodding in thanks, I looked to the ceiling, making up bits and pieces to make this sound as real as possible. “It was me, him, and two of our closest friends. We worked with several other teams, trying to keep out world in Harmony, spreading Justice throughout the land.” I would have continued until I heard Popcorn. ‘Has to be Pinkie.’ Clearing my throat, I continue again. “We worked together for a long while, but one day, we decided to transfer Khawl to another team to max that teams combat strength. He thought we were getting rid of him, so he retaliated, violently. He nearly leveled an entire city to get to us. Once he did, he caught us by surprised and knocked us down, as he did to you…Funny. Like I did here, one of our allies came in and saved us, disarming and beating Khawl till he retreated. We followed, me and the other two from our squad. We stopped him on a bridge when I threw a knife, hitting him between the shoulder blades. He pulled a detonator. He was about to blow the city sky high, kill thousands of innocents. What happened next shocked even me. Our squad leader pulled a gun, a hand cannon basically, and put a bullet in Khawls head. It saved the city, but with a heavy cost to our hearts. We buried him and moved on. Things started to quiet down, so the other teams resigned and we gained a new member. It was the four of us. Now, I guess I was transported here to be a soldier for Khawl. My guess, the spell was random, and as luck would have it, I was picked and brought here. Then…Well you all know the rest. Any questions?” Looking back down when I got received none, I was shocked. Most were crying. All but Vinyl and Rainbow. Rainbow just looked at me sadly, Vinyl….Shit I couldn’t see past her shades. What shocked me more was that they all came up and hugged me around the waist. “Oh darling, I’m terribly sorry that happened to you!” “Shoot sugarcube, that must’ve been tough on ya.” “Oh you poor thing.” “Don’t worry, we’ll be your friends!” “We’ll try to help you get home. I’m sure the Princesses can help!”

I couldn’t believe it. They believed me, and were trying to comfort me. Smiling, I knelt down and hugged them all back. “Thank you for your support, but it is water under the bridge. Now, I’m here, Khawl is the enemy, and there is a world to protect.” Standing, I made my way towards the door, forcing to stop when Octavia moved in front of me. “Where will you go?” Shrugging, I really hated the idea of torturing these gals with my presence. “Wherever my travels take me. This is a new world to me/ I have no home here/ ‘Tis the roads I must follow.” I can still use Haiku’s. YES. Trying to move past her, all the others get in my way. This time, Twilight speaks up. “You can come to Ponyville! I’m sure we could find you a place there!” AppleJack next. “Heck, you can stay in my barn until we find you a home!” My jaw dropped. Holy fuck, Evan and the fics were right. These gals like you, they consider you a friend and help you out. Sighing in defeat from the mere looks on their faces, I nod once. “So be it my newfound friends/ To your town we go/ I shall accept your offers.” Grinning at their puzzled looks, I just explain. “I like poetry. Is this a crime?” They blink and immediately shake their heads. Motioning them to lead on, we leave the old castle and start on our way through the forest. Twilight and the others were launching question after question at me, but I answered what I could. Most of it was personal, but I didn’t mind. For some strange reason, I continued to NOT freak the fuck out. I trusted these gals. But even with the comfort of newfound friends, my mind couldn’t turn away from the ones back on Earth, and my family.

Draconis: Three to One awakening.

Chapter 2: Draconis: Three to one awakening.

‘Why is it wet? Holy shit did I piss in my sleep!?’ Bolting upright, I look down at myself and where I lay, only to raise a brow and let my jaw drop. “What the fuck?! Where am I? What’s going on?!.....AND WHY AM I WEARING CARGO PANTS!?” Pulling at the midnight black cargo pants, I sigh, facepalming. Then I look at my hand. In the little amount of light there is, I see dark black fur covering it. “What. The. Fuck?” Looking down at my body, the first thing I notice is that I’m wearing a black t-shirt and my signature vest/hoodie. Not my style but still, sweet. Sighing, I stand and fall face first into the grass. “OW!....And why am I in a forest anyways!?....Why can’t I feel my feet!?” Looking around at the forest clearing first, I notice a claymore in a leather sheathe leaning against a tree. ‘Me gusta. ME gusta mucho.’ Looking down at my feet, I blink. ‘Hooves…I have HOOVES for FEET….Waaaaait a minuuuuute!’ Feeling my face, I confirm my thoughts. ‘A muzzle.’ Feeling my head and neck confirms my next theory. ‘A mane.’ And then at the base of my back. “A tail…..Horse Anthromorph. BULLSHIT! Couldn’t have made me a Husky!” The ONE THING I wasn’t expecting was someone to reply. “I think you mean ‘Pony Anthromorph.’ Still, close enough.” Perking up, I look around the clearing till my eyes rest on some sort of Black, starry mist floating next to the claymore. The voice was feminine, had authority to it….and loneliness. Going to my knees, I look right at the mist. “Who are you? And where am I?” It seems to think for a moment before replying. “Call me Dawn. As for where you are, you are in Equestria, on the planet of Equis. Oh, and quit complaining about your body. At least you have one.” Blinking, my mind goes to overdrive. ‘Equestria? As in MLP:FIM Equestria?....I must be dreaming.’ Shaking my head and then slapping myself a few times, I happen to deny that theory. “Ow. Ok, so this isn’t some dream….Wonderful…”

Then Dawn started to chuckle, no doubt at the little show I gave. Grunting, I try to get up, managing to shakily get to my feet-er, hooves. Looking to Dawn again, I ask the next question. “Why am I here?” Dawn stopped chuckling, and sighed. “I knew you’d ask that. To answer your question, there are two parties on planet currently fighting. The first initiated the fighting, wanting to supposedly unite Equestria and lead it against another world. This party and its allies summoned four random people from that world to serve as soldiers, their ‘Ace in the hole.’ I happened to find this out, and made myself present at the summoning ritual, unknown to the Party, and disrupted the Mind Control spell being weaved into the summoning spell. After I made sure they didn’t notice, I made myself scarce. Now, the Second Party, those who want the world to remain how it is, would happily unite this world, but to beat the first party back. These two parties have been waging this war for a month. One of the four of you has already made contact with the second party and joined with them. Least to say it, I’m surprised about his obvious experience in fighting, though his archery and blade skills were a bit sloppy. Now, before I found you, I found two others and had them come together in a nearby clearing. Once all three of you are together, I will let you all decide where to go from there. Stick together and join the first or second party, or split up and go your own ways. Take a few minutes to learn to walk first though, alright?” When she finished, my brows were raised, and my mouth slightly ajar. ‘This so called first party tried to use some form of Mind Control on me!? Dream or not, FUCK THAT DUDE.’

Grunting, I start to get a feel for my new body. I was slightly pissed. ‘No wings….I HAVE to be normal!’ Once I had a feel for it, I moved over to Dawn and the claymore. Smiling slightly at her, I pick up the claymore and strap it to my left hip. Big sword or not, it’s hard to draw it from behind! Weirder….It felt light as a feather. Looking back to Dawn, I raise a brow. “So. Where to?” Dawn just started moving through the forest without saying a word. Shrugging, I followed. No choice really. After a few minutes, we come to another clearing. In the middle of it were two other Pony Anthromorphs. The first one I noticed was a unicorn, due to the horn, and had a Navy Blue coat and brown mane and tail, wearing a light blue t-shirt and jeans. Also had rectangular shaped glasses, from behind which you could see Dark brown eyes. The other had a horn AND wings. ‘WHAT THE FUCK MAN!?’ His coat was light grey, his mane and tail two different colors. Half red, half brown. He was wearing a brown tuxedo with a white undershirt and brown pants, obviously cleaned and pressed. His eyes were a golden brown.

Upon seeing me and Dawn move into the clearing, they walked over to greet us, the one with a horn and wings holding out his hand. “Hey man, I’m Evan, this is David.” My jaw dropped. ‘It can’t be!....One way to find out. Use his Gmod name.’ “Ghost? That you?” The hand dropped, as did his jaw. Before he could respond, The blue one stepped forward. “Kyle!? Is that seriously you Scarecrow!?” ‘Oh yeah. SO them.’ Grinning like a maniac, I spread my arms wide. “Sup Bitches!?” They both grinned and grabbed me into a group Bro-hug. Hugging them back for a few moments, I break away, but no one stops grinning. “Good to see you two ass holes. Hey! You think Mic may be here!?” This got them to stop grinning and blink. Evan facepalmed. “If he is, I’m pretty sure he’d smack me for having him even—“ We stopped the conversation when Dawn cleared her non-existent throat. Looking at her misty form, we watch her move to the center of the clearing. “Time for your choices. Which party shall you help? The first one, or the second. The attackers, of the defenders?”

I looked at Evan David, then Dawn again. “The second party. That’s my decision.” Evan stepped forward, crossing his arms. “Same here. No way in hell am I helping someone attack innocents.” David stepped forward, grinning. “I’m sticking with these idiots. Besides, who’d crack the ‘your mother’ jokes!?” Evan facepalmed, HARD. I just laughed. Dawn chuckled, moving towards the edge of the clearing opposite of where we stood. “So be it. Follow me, and I will lead you to the path that leads through the Everfree forest. Once there, I shall take my leave, and you three shall wait. The fourth of your group is travelling with a party of ten ponies. Try not to piss him off. As I said, he obviously has experience.” And with that, she exited the clearing. We followed of course, having to catch up first. It felt like we were following for hours until we came upon the road. “Here is where I take my leave. Take care. Oh, and another thing. The fourth’s name is Ignition, but I’m sure that it isn’t his real name. In truth, I suspect I better if you all also used fake names, for now. Farewell.” And with that, she left us on that dirt path. Sighing, I looked to Evan and David. “She helped us this far, take her advice still or not? Cause, I’m for it. Call me Pendragon.” Pendragon, my OC that someone on DA made me one time. Evan nodded, while David looked to the sky. “I guess you’re right. Call me Spirit.” David chuckled before he answered. “Efyu. Definitely.” Nodding, I look down both ends of the path as far as we could see, then at the sun. “Seems to be at least mid-day. Might as well take a seat. Except for you Evan. YOU WEAR TUX, YOU LEAN AGAINST TREE!” I pointed a finger at him, giving him an evil expression. He sighed and hung his head. “It’s not like I chose this! I woke up with it!” Raising a brow at him, I look to David who shrugs.

“….Fine.” Rolling my eyes with a smirk, I move over to a tree and sit down, leaning against it. Evan stands and leans against it, while David paces. It seems to stay like this for hours, and for some reason, even under the sun, absolutely no sweating. Looking at David, I see him stop, about to say something, when we heard voices down the road, faint, but there, looking to my left, figuring the voices coming from that way, my guess is confirmed when a figure appears on the horizon, and then a bunch of others, walking our way. The first was taller than the others. Standing to get a better look, I found out why. The first was Bipedal, while the others were ponies. ‘Holy hell, Dawn was right!’ Looking at Evan, I see him getting off the tree, moving to the middle of the road. I move onto his left, David his right, and we wait. They were all laughing. After a while, we were able to hear them perfectly. The Anthromorph was speaking. “…And thats when he said, ‘That’s not just a house, that’s my wife!’” This caused a round of laughter from the ponies. Looking at the Anthromorph, the only thing I can really see due to his clothing covering his body, is, well, his clothing. What he wore was from what I could tell from the distance, a brown and dark green hoodie and dark green cargo pants. When one of the ponies, a white unicorn with some black box on her shoulder pointed us out, the laughter stopped, as did the group. The Anthromorph held out a hand, basically telling the ponies to stay silently before he continued walking towards us. We waited patiently, till he was ten feet away. From here, I could see the blade at his right hip and the bow on his back, also that he wasnt wearing a hoodie, but a long sleeved and hooded shirt with a vest. From what I could tell of his muzzle, his coat was a Blood red.

He regarded us carefully before smirking, reaching up with his left hand and pulling back his hood, revealing his face, and my assumption of his coat being once again, con-fucking-firmed. His mane was a fiery orange, and his eyes were a golden yellow. “Hey there…You guys friendly?” His voice made my jaw drop. Then I remembered that I had seen that outfit and blade somewhere before. ‘Holy shit, Bryan’s Halloween costume! It has to be him!’ Stepping forward, stare him straight in the eyes. “Mic? Is that you?” This time, his jaw dropped. “Only one person ever calls me Mic….. SCARECROW!?” Grinning like an idiot, I nod. What I didn’t expect was to get assaulted by a bear hug. “YOU MOTHER FUCKER! I THOUGHT I’D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!” Coughing, I pat his back before trying to push away. “Can’t…Breathe….” He chuckles, letting me go with a grin. Then David interrupts. “What’re me and Evan, chopped liver!?” Bryan looks to Evan and David before laughing. “I don’t fucking believe it! You guys too!?” When they nod, he pulls them into a group hug. “Sweet!” Once he releases them, I notice the wings on his back. “Ok, what the fuck!? He’s got wings, Evan has wings and a horn, and David has just a horn? I get nuthin’?” Bryan blinks before putting a hand over my mouth. Looking to the ponies who were walking over, he whispers. “Make up fake names right now, and call me Ignition.” Evan chuckled and told him for me. “We already did. Call me Spirit, David Efyu, and Kyle Pendragon.” Bryan smirks and nods, taking his hand from my mouth before waving the girls over. “Hey you bunch! Come meet my team!” Upon him saying Team, the ponies break into a gallop, covering the distance faster and surrounding us, sending out so many questions that I couldn’t keep track of them. Bryan held up his hand for silence and received it. “Calm down everypony. Time you met the team. This is Pendragon, but I call him Scarecrow to piss him off.” He chuckled patting my shoulder before moving to David. “This is Efyu. He’s the comedian of the group. Leave an opening for a joke of any kind, this fucker will use it.” David gave them all an evil grin, but even I could tell he was nervous. Then Bryan moved to Evan. “And this is Spirit, the team leader. Speaking of which, mind if I speak to my team for a second? We’ll be right back.” Not even waiting for a response, Bryan dragged Evan into the forest. David shrugged and followed, as did I. Once out of ear shot, Bryan smirked, looking at Evan. “Go ahead, have your fangasm.” Evan wasted no time. “HOLY SHIIIIT! THE MANE SIX, VINYL, OCTAVIA, LYRA, AND BON BON! And you fucking befriended them! How did you do it!? YOU’RE NOT EVEN A BRONY!” David walked up and smacked him, which shut him up. “Yeah yeah yeah. I befriended them after saving Twilight, no big deal, but what IS a big deal, is who I saved them from. Hold on to your socks boys, this will shock ya….Badly….” We all waited for him to tell us. When he did, Evan was shocked. “Khawl. He’s here, and he ain’t a happy camper.” Upon seeing Evan’s face, Bryan nodded. “Figured. But he isn’t unbeatable. Listen, Evan. Don’t blame yourself. You had no idea this would happen. No one would. But besides that, I know when we are. Apparently, from my knowledge of the MLP universe thank to Evan and the fanfics, we are in the season where soon, that Changeling wedding thing will happen.” ‘Leave it to Bryan to find out what’s going on, know how to fight due to his hours of practice, and befriend the locals.’ Evan visibly calmed down some and nodded. Bryan smirked and motioned us to follow, making our way back to the road and the ponies. After getting introduced to the ponies, we were on our way to Ponyville. We walked in silence for a while, till Rainbow Dash asked Bryan a question that made the whole situation akward. “So, how old are you guys anyways?” Bryan blinked, and then sighed. “Well….I’m the oldest, sixteen years old, Pendragon is a year younger than me, and Efyu and Spirit are both Fourteen.” All the Ponies’ jaws dropped. Next was AJ. “Y’all are that young and fightin’!? What, were ya forced to?” Bryan shrugged. “Nope.” Rarity fainted, but Twilight caught her in her magic and carried her along while AJ continued. “Now, I know yer not lying and all, but why fight when y’all are so young?” I couldn’t believe how Bryan kept a straight face when he replied. “Because we feel like it.” Rarity recovered soon after, and we continued the walk in silence till we neared a clearing in the endless trees. Vinyl whooped and pointed at it. “There’s the exit! Next stop, Ponyville!”

Rage: What the f*ck?

Rage: What the f*ck?

Rage: What the f*ck!?

‘

Finally! Granted, this place is beautiful, but spooky and I’m going insane from this place as it is! And what the fuck is up with Bryan telling them our ages like it’s nothing!? FUCK MAN!’ Grumbling to myself, I stay next to Evan, who’s next to Rarity. On my right, is Pinkie, who has the smirks that just screams: I has a plan. Behind us were Lyra, Bon bon, Octavia, and Kyle. Up front were the rest of the so called Mane 6, and Vinyl. I sent a glare at his back, then looked to the sky since we were about to get out of this damn forest. The sun was up, then all of a sudden, it just moved and the moon was in the sky. “What the fuck? The sun was just up and now it’s night time!? What time is it?” Everyone stopped and looked at me, but Pinkie answered, having pulled a watch from God knows where. “It’s six thirty, silly willy! OHMYGOSH! That means I’ll have to throw your party tomorrow!” She frowned slightly, then smiled and continued bouncing along the road. Everyone just shrugged and continued, then Rarity answered my earlier question. “So you know, Princess Celestia raises and lowers the sun at a specified time, and Princess Luna raises and lowers the moon at a specific time as well. ‘Well…Fuck. This world is fucking crazy.’ Shaking my head, I look forward at the clearing coming up. ‘Great. More Technicolor ponies.’ As soon as we exit the forest, we all just fucking stop and stare. Evan’s jaw dropped. Hell, so did mines, Kyle’s, and Bryan’s. There were ponies with stark white coats in golden armor everywhere at the edge of the town. Pegasi, Unicorns, and the regular dudes. Then, one of the bastards spotted our group.

They dropped whatever they were doing and lined up, single file. When they did this, I noticed there weren’t as many as I thought. Looking to Bryan, to see what his happy ass had to say about this, I swear to god I saw him counting, mouthing the numbers. His right hand was on the hilt of his bayonet, his left hand moving up and to the back of his neck, from which he pulled his hood over his eyes. Before he did, I swear I saw him STUDYING the dudes. Frowning at this, I look to Kyle, putting on my best serious face. “Dude. Get Ready. B-Shit, I mean, Ignition is expecting trouble.” I got a curious look from Aj, but rolled my eyes and adjusted my glasses, looking to the armored dudes again. One of them in golden AND purple armor came out of a building with a BIG ass pony. She was probably a head shorter than us, had a alabaster coat, a rainbow colored mane and tail that waved in some unknown wind, and a horn and wings to boot. When Twilight saw the pony in golden and purple armor, her eyes opened wide in shock, then it turned into a warm smile Upon seeing the big one, she grinned and bolted. Bryan Must’ve had a feeling, as he bolted with her, somehow keeping in step. Evan bolted too, probably to make sure Bryan didn’t do anything stupid. Didn’t stop the guards. As soon as they saw Evan and Bryan running with twilight, they drew a variety of melee weapons. Kyle bolted, I followed, as did the rest of the group. Watching Bryan draw his bayonet from its sheathe and holding it out in front of him in a back-handed style in defense, I couldn’t help but groan. I heard a ring of metal against metal and saw Kyle draw his claymore, holding it in a typical right handed stance, with the blade pointing skyward, right hand over left hand on the hilt. He then rushed forward, going back to back with Bryan, awaiting the first attack. It never came, due to Twilight and Evan getting between then and the guards. I joined them, and them the rest of the ponies from our little group joined.

Then that pony in purple armor and the big ass pony stpped into the quickly formed circle of guards around us. The one in armor barked out an order to the other armored dudes in a sotic voice, kind yet filled with authority. “GUARDS! STAND DOWN!” As they put away their weapons, I looked back at Bryan and Kyle, seeing them do the same. Almost a whisper, Bryan states the number of armored fuckers. “Thirty four guards in total, possibly wearing plate armor of some kind….” Kyle looked at him and frowned. “Dude. Too much Skyrim is bad for you, ya know that right?” ‘Oh hell yes! FINALLY! AN OPENING!’ “That’s what she said.” It was small, but the grin on Bryan and Kyle’s faces, and Evan’s facepalm were worth it. Looking back to the two obviously in charge, I was surprised to see Twilight nuzzling the neck of the tall one. “It’s so good to see you Princess!” Before the *Princess* could respond, Twilight was doing the same to the Guard in Charge, who had his helmet of, revealing a coat like Vinyl’s, and a blue mane too. “Same for you Shiny. It’s been so long!” Shiny smiled and wrapped his forehooves around Twilight. “Good to see you too, Twily.” The *Princess looked at me, then Evan, of whom her gaze lasted awhile, and then Kyle and Bryan, who were still back to back, but returning the look. When she spoke, her tone was motherly, yet filled with an aura deserving respect, and was warm, with a slight hint of curiosity in it. “Twilight, who are these bipedal….friends of yours, who seem to be a mix between a Human, and one of my little ponies?” I growled at that. She said the word Human with a slight hint of disgust. I couldn’t hold my tongue. “We are humans bitch, or we were until we somehow ended up in this fucking place.” Evan looked at me with a shocked expression out of the corner of my eyes, and the guards took their weapons out again. The Shiny bastard and the Princess’s horns started glowing. Evan and Kyle stepped in, Evan taking the lead. “Wait! It’s true, we WERE human, but as my friend Efyu said, we were changed when we were somehow brought here, and from what I’ve heard from our friend Ignition here,” He pointed a finger at Bryan, who had his right hand on his bayonet hilt again, then continued. “We were brought by…..By Khawl to aid him here….But we were able to retaliate. Ignition there also happened to be the one to have saved Twilight Sparkle and her friends.” Kyle jumped in afterwards. “With the help of Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Lyra, and Bon bon, your majesty.” She blinked at the bit where we told her of Khawl trying to have us work for him, but her jaw dropped at the mention of Bryan rescuing Twilight, and proceeded to stare at him in shock. From under his hood, I couldn’t see, but I could feel him staring back, but in curiosity. One of the guards snorted. “Bah! That one with the hood? He looks easy to beat.” ‘Oh HELL no he didn’t! Come on Bryan, don’t take that!” He didn’t. Bryan’s stare wen to the guard in question, a unicorn with a spear. He reached up with his left hand and pulled back his hood. What I saw made MY jaw drop, for the second time today. His pupils had turned into vertical slits. When he spoke, his voice was dripping with anger. “You wanna try to prove that, ya bloody boggart?” Kyle grinned. “Oh shit. He means business now.” I looked to the Unicorn and grinned as well. “Dude. Your so fucked.” Evan looked to the princess. “Um…Mind if he does this as long as the guard who just insulted him isn’t killed?”

I couldn’t believe she agreed. The mane 6 and the other ponies, as well as myself, Kyle, and Evan, joined the guards, forming a circle around the unicorn and Bryan. First thing Bryan did was pull his bow and quiver off his back and tossing them at me. It fell short, but I reached out anyways, hoping to catch it. Imagine my astonishment when it was enveloped in a dark red aura and just floating inches above the ground, and a similar light above me and out of my field of vision. Kyle came up and clasped my shoulder. “Magic already? Couldn’t wait, could ya?” “That’s also what she said.” Course, this broke my concentration and both objects hit the soil with a clatter. Walking up, I picked up the bow and quiver, finding no arrows were missing, and made my way back to the circle’s edge. Bryan took care of the rules. “No killing, no maiming or purposely wounding of any kind. Three hits with any part of the weapons wins. Also, no magic outside your telekinesis. Deal?” The Unicorn snorted again and grinned. “You won’t make it past one hit.” Bryan drew his bayonet, back-handed as always, and stood there while the unicorn circled him. Once behind Bryan, he tried to stab at Bryan’s midsection, but somehow Bryan knew it was coming and dodged to the left, the spearhead missing by inches. He wasted no time and charged the Unicorn before a reaction was made. One the Unicorn did react, it was from the flat of Bryan’s blade tapping his nose lightly. “One.” The guard growled, and the spear sailed at Bryan again, going for his left. Jumping backwards, Bryan seemed to watch it sail by. ‘He seems so determined. Why is he so pissed off by one stupid ass guard questioning him? He seems….different.” Once the spear passed by fully, Bryan leapt forward, the flat end of his blade smacking into the guards cheek. “Two.” Then he leapt back again. The guard then grinned, his spear coming in low, going after Bryan’s left knee. Bryan looked over his shoulder, finding the spear in time and moved his knee swiftly. The sound of fabric tearing was heard as the spear passed, but from what I could see, no blood. As the spear sailed back around, aiming for his chest this time, Bryan charged it. Time seemed to slow down as his moved to it, and then at the last second, leapt forward, summersaulting under it. Popping to his feet, he leapt at the guard again, the flat of his blade smacking the back of the guards head, which was protected by his armor. “Three. You lose.”

Silence hung in the air as the guards and ponies all stared in shock. The guard who Bryan just beat let go of the magical grip on his spear, letting it clatter on the ground. Bryan removed his bayonet from the back of the guards head, twirled it, and then sheathed it. “Next time you fight something that isn’t afraid to fight back, don’t underestimate it.” And with that, he looked to me, Evan, and Kyle. His eyes flashed and returned to normal, which made me wince. “Shit. I wonder if that even hurts. How did he do that!?’ Bryan suddenly pulled his hood over his head and walked towards us. When he started walking, all the ponies except for the one in the middle, staring at the ground, were stomping their hooves in applause. The Mane 6, Shiny, the Princess, and the other ponies we traveled with came up as Bryan got to us, high fiving us with a smirk on his face. Rarity got to us first, her eyes sparkling. “Ignition my dear, that was amazing! I’ve never seen anything like that!” AJ came up smirking. “Hooooee. That sure was somethin’ pardner. Ah didn’t see much of yer fight with Khawl, but seeing that makes me wish Ah did more an’ more!” RD flew over next, grinning. “That was awesome! He tried you and you beat him without breaking a sweat!” Bryan seemed to shrink back a bit, biting his lip as he moved next to Kyle. ‘Oh, so now he’s nervous?....Meh. Stage fright probably.’ Then the other came up and said their congratulations. I know I heard Pinkie say something about making the party different tomorrow. ‘Oh god no.’ Then the Princess came over, smiling happily. “I do believe we need to be introduced. I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria. Might we go somewhere quiet so we can discuss your presences here?” ‘…….I have a BAAAAD feeling about this…..’

Soul: They want us to do WHAT!?

Soul: They want us, to do WHAT!?

‘I can’t believe he did it! That crazy mother fucker! And now Princess Celestia wants to talk with us!? GOD DAMN! This is supposed to be my field!’ Just before we headed off to wherever we were going, Shining Armor ordered all guards back to their posts and introduced himself. It only took us thirty seconds to get moving, making our way through Ponyville. It took all of my willpower not to go nuts. ‘Holy shit, there’s Sugarcube Corner! Oh, I think I see the Library! Fuck yeah!’ Turns out, that’s where we were going. Me and the guys waited until the ponies all got in before entering, each of us ducking through the doorway, only to come into the library and stand at full height. The roof looked to be six feet above our heads, and it didn’t help that we were all six feet to six feet, two inches in height. Looking around in awe, I looked to the guys, only to see Bryan with his hood off and a goofy grin on his face as he stared at all the books. ‘Oh god, Bookworm mode activated.’ David noticed and punched Bryan’s shoulder. “See any interesting titles man? I can tell you’d hole yourself up here in an apocalypse.” His two reactions were to A: Give David a one fingered salute, and B: Chuckle at the books. “Dude. Fuck. Yes. Books all around me now/ Tomes filled with intel of a world/ I may stay a while.” ‘Oh god. He said he was starting to do Haikus.’ When a female cleared her throat, we looked to the center of the room, on the left, in order, were Lyra, Bon bon, Vinyl, and Octavia. Next to Octavia were the Mane 6, RD, AJ, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Twilight in that order. Then came Celestia, and finally Shining, all in a semi-circle.

Bryan gulped and walked forward, throwing his hood back on. Kyle frowned at this, as did I. We walked forward with him, David trailing behind with his hands in his pockets. Once in the middle of the room, we lined up, Kyle on my left, Bryan on my right, and David on Bryan’s right. Celestia smiled at us and nodded. “Thank you for being so cooperative. As I said, my name is Princess Celestia, and you’ve met my Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor,” Shining saluted us crisply. “and you’ve also met the Elements of Harmony, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, AppleJack, Fluttershy, Pinkie pie, and Rarity. You’ve also befriended some of my other subjects, Lyra Heartstrings, Bon bon, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia.” They all beamed at us, except for Octavia, who merely smiled. I stepped forward and bowed, taking the lead. “Thank you for the warm welcome. I am Spirit. This is Pendragon and Efyu. You’ve already met Ignition, though if I may be so bold to point out, you seem to have him on edge.” I heard David chuckle and could tell Bryan was glaring daggers at my back from under his hood. Bowing again, I stepped back into line, only to get punched in my right side. ‘Figures.’ Celestia smiles kindly and actually bows to Bryan. “Forgive me for making you uneasy Ignition, it is not my intention. What is my intention is to know why you and your four friends are here, and why one of them resembles and Alicorn.” ‘Oh….So they all did notice.’ Bryan stepped forward with a sigh. “We are here to fight against Khawl, your majesty…As to why Spirit is an Alicorn Anthromorph….Well, one can merely guess. My money is on it being because he was and is the team’s leader.” ‘….Mother fucker….’ Before he could step back, Celestia eyed him curiously and asked another question. “And why do you fight Khawl?” ‘HAH! Score one for me!’ Bryan grumbles before giving in. “Because we faced him before and won, BUT, not without a high cost. Now it seems we are here to beat him again, and maybe not lose so much.” Celestia and Shining both let their jaws drop, eyes going wide in shock as Bryan stepped back. I elbowed him this time for signing our souls away completely, but we agreed to it with Dawn. No backing out now.

Celestia recovered again just as Shining Armor did and cleared her throat with a smile. “Well, that was rather to the point, and was your explanation for your friend. Twilight managed to explain to me your situation during your little demonstration on the outskirts of town. Least to say, I am impressed. Now, onto the next order of business. Where are you all from? And what are you exactly?” ‘Shit….’ Kyle took the helm. “Earth, same as Khawl. As Efyu said before, we WERE human, but due to our unbelievable transportation to this world, we became anthromorphs, half human, half Pony.” Once he backed up again, I stepped forward. “We were….Defenders, so to speak, of our world, granted, we are extremely young to do this….But we have experience.” Celestia smiled and nodded to me. Once I stepped back, she breathed deeply. “I thank you all for your help. With you on our side, I am sure we will be able to win, though I feel I must ask you four, Ignition especially, to help train our guards in Anti-human combat.” Bryan groaned. ‘Is this what he’s worried about?’ Bryan stepped forward again with a drawn out sigh. ‘Nothing to say, silver-tongued bastard? Hah! Should call him that. Though….He did gain us their trust. We need it if we want to even THINK about helping.’ I watched Bryan pull back his hood and rub the back of his neck. “I’m afraid not. Before you ask, let me continue. I was extremely lucky, having caught Khawl by surprise and already wounded him. I am a novice at sword fighting, but I do practice daily. Not enough knowledge would be gained from me.” Celestia and Shining looked crestfallen. “However,” This got their attention again. “I CAN give them a crash course on what to expect while fighting humans, and can show them the few techniques I mastered.” Bryan smiled kindly at this, pulling his hood back on. Celestia and Armor smiled back, both bowing their heads. “You have our thanks, Sir Ignition.” Bryan stiffened at the word Sir coming from Celestia’s mouth. “Um…Just Ignition, ma’am.” She giggled at him. “Then call me Celestia.” He chuckled and nodded.

Once he truly stepped back, David nudged him and mouthed, “Well played.” I swear I heard Bryan whisper, “Naturally” in a French accent. ‘They play Spy too much.’ Looking back to Celestia, I see her looking at Twilight, then nodding once before looking to us. “My student has also pointed out something to me. We know little about you and humans in general, and were hoping you could aid us in that manner as well.” Bryan gulped, barely audible. ‘Ah….Good thing to be scared of…’ I was about to step forward when Bryan grabbed my shoulder, then stepped pass me. He looked back and made a clicking noise at me, chuckling. ‘Did he just…? OH I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!’ Growling at his silent joke, I step back, crossing my arms. “Listen, we can try to help there….But we don’t contain much knowledge about our world. And understand, we WILL withhold a few things, as they are classified and unspeakable of.” Twilight pouted at this, but Bryan had already stepped back. “Did you get the joke?” My response to his trolling ass was a smack to the back of the head. David stepped forward with his hands in his pockets. “Listen, I’m glad we are all settled and whatever, but I think me and the guys are going to need somewhere to crash, or well, live, ya know?” He stepped back. ‘Smooth.’ Celestia seemed to ponder on this, then Rainbow grinned, bolting into the air. “Totally call Ignition living with me! He’s got wings, so he’s a Pegasus Anthro-whatever right? He can come to my cloud house!” David burst out laughing. We all just stared at him while he recomposed himself. “Hahahaha, sorry to burst your bubble, but Bryan can’t come up to your home for any of THAT kinda time, or any other time! For now atleast, he doesn’t know how to fly! Though, Spirit doesn’t either. Hehehehe.” “Yeah, and you can’t use magic properly either. I bet if you try, you’d blow yourself sky high.” “Fuck you man.” “Barn door don’t swing that way.” “MOTHER FU-“ “AHEM!” Bryan and David stopped arguing to look at Celestia glaring death at them. The straightened up immediately. Rainbow grinned, fly to Celestia’s side and whispering something in her ear. Celestia smiled and nodded towards us. “Go ask them then.” ‘Ask us? What…..?’ Before I could ask myself, Rainbow prepared to bolt at us. I closed my eyes and waited for a tackle, only to hear a sound of win being disturbed and a skid.

Opening my eyes, I was surprised to see Rainbow bowing before Bryan. “Ignition, would you accept me as your teacher for flight training?” Bryan’s jaw dropped, but a shake of his head and it turned into a grin. In response, he bowed back, right hand curled into a fist in the open palm of his left hand out in front of him as he did. “I accept you as my flight teacher, Rainbow Dash. Shall we meet tomorrow at say, two in the afternoon?” “Done deal.” ‘WHAT IN ALL THAT IS FUCKING HOLY AND SHIT!?’ Bryan and Rainbow shook on it to truly seal the deal. “Thank you for respecting my personal space this time Rainbow Dash, and for accepting how I prefer to be approached when an offer is given, or a favor is asked of me.” “No problem, and call me RD.” “Well bargained and done.” They let go, then Rainbow looked to me, my hands went into the air. “Hey, that’s him only! I’m all for it.” She chuckled, flying back over to her spot, but not before Bryan clasped my shoulder with an evil grin. “Ah ah ah! You and Efyu are going to be doing magic training bucko.” Celestia smiled and nodded. “It would be a good idea. Twilight, would you teach Spirit and Efyu?” Twilight beamed and nodded. Now, I would’ve killed Bryan….But this is too awesome. ‘ I IS GOING TO LEARNS ZE MAGICS!’ Bryan then looked to Kyle, whose head was hung. “Hm…Hey AJ, you own a farm, right?” I watched Applejack beam with pride. “Eeyup! Best apple farm in all of Equestria!” Bryan looked to Kyle. “Hey, Pendragon, why don’t you work on the farm with AJ, get ahead of us all on some strength training?” Kyle smirked at him and nodded. “Sure. Gives me something to do, though…I would like to get us all some new clothes…” Rarity perked up. “Darling, you just said the magic words! I’d be honored to make your clothing.” “There ya go Pendragon. Have fun. Hehehehe.” Kyle whooped at this. I intervened again. “Still, where will we stay?” Vinyl jumped up. “Yo! Ignition, you can crash at me and Tavi’s place till you can fly! Hope ya don’t mind the couch though.” “Sounds awesome, long as I get to wake up to dem wubs.” The response was Vinyl on her hind legs with his for legs in the air. “OH YEAH!” ‘LUCKY FUCKER!’ Kyle and David’s faces said they agreed with me. Then Twilight spoke next. “Spirit could stay with me, since he is going to be getting magic training. Hope you don’t mind the basement for now though. I nodded happily. ‘Ok, now I’M lucky.’ Pinkie bounced in place in front of David. “Ooh! Ooh! Efyu, you should stay with me! It’ll be great!” David shrugged. “Sure. Can we do some party stuff?” Pinkie defied the laws of physics by putting her fore hooves on his shoulders and staring him in the eyes while the rest of her stayed in midair. “YES! Oh my gosh this is going to so spectacurlarly positively absolutely amazing!” David grinned at her as she obeyed the laws of physics again, landing on her hooves and bouncing back to her spot in the semi-circle. Applejack stepped up to Kyle. “Well pardner, y’all can stay in my barn, hope ya don’t mind hay for now though.” Kyle chuckled. “I get to live where I work. Sounds fun.” Celestia chuckles. “Seems like this has been resolved. I’m afraid me and the guards must return to Canterlot. Spirit, I will send a chariot for you and your team in a week, learn swiftly.” In a flash of light, she was gone, as was Shining Armor. Several moments later, a plethora of flashes went off outside the window, signaling the guards teleporting and being teleported away. With that, everyone left to their respective homes, and I found myself with a blanket and pillow in Twilight’s basement, surrounded by her machines. It took me awhile to get comfortable, but it wasn’t long before I drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

Flame: Hope and sanity

Flame: Rekindling hope….and some sanity.

Everything was a blur after I passed out. I remember regaining consciousness several times. There was always yelling, so I ended up with a massive headache and more pain than what I was already in. The whole time, one thought was playing over in my head, as well as the shock that I tried to really strike down another living being.

‘How was he able to get back up? I ran him clean through with a foot long fucking bayonet. The saw tooth edge should’ve ripped his insides to shreds, as well as the fact that I fucked his gut six ways to Sunday!’ It went on and on like that, me asking myself that question over and over again. With the thought in the back of my mind that I cut his hand off made it worse for me. ‘He probably bled out from that, which means I killed him…God damn I fucking killed someone!’

I was on the verge of wanting to commit suicide. Bad guy or not, I took a life, and it made me feel like a monster. The same one that children were afraid would jump out of their closets. Suddenly, the endless black of unconsciousness changed. I was in a forest, and even more, I was human again, wearing my old black polo and jeans. I gave myself a once over, reaching behind me, I felt my back. No wings. Looking at my arms, I found a lack of the blood red fur that has been there since the fucked up and bull shit adventure started. Looking down at my feet, I was greeted with ten, human toes. I smiled and checked the rest of my body. No tail, no mane, no muzzle, and no huge ass anime eyes.

“I’m…Human again!....But where am I?” Looking around, I saw trees in every direction, but familiar ones. “Wait. Is this the Everfree forest?” Being so distracted with the trees, I didn’t notice the clearing nearby. That is, until I heard a loud thud and my own voice. “OW! Note to self, learn how to walk again.” I turn and stare into the clearing. I saw myself, as a Pegasus anthromorph. ‘Ok, what the fuck? Am I watching my own memories or some bull shit like that?’

No response, as expected. Sighing in defeat, I watch myself try to learn how to walk, chuckling at my clumsiness. I then went ahead and watched everything I did when I woke after learning to walk again. Arming myself, reminiscing, and of course, talking to myself. Then I watched myself perk up and listen to something before sprinting off. I shrugged and followed him, or, I was more so dragged along to see. I watched myself stalk Lyra, Bon bon, Vinyl, and Octavia, and follow them to the castle. ‘Heh. I now know how creepy I was when I stalked them. Too much sneaking out at night….Meh.’

Then came watching the fight with Khawl, and my half real, no, PART real explanation to the others. Still don’t see why they thought it sad. All of a sudden, I was dragged off to a new clearing. I watched David basically doing the same thing I did, except Dawn came out of the shadows. ‘Wait. I’m following Dawn here? Does that mean I’m watching her memories, not mine?’ The theory was sound as I watched her convince David to stay put, before getting dragged off to a new clearing, and then watching her do the same to Evan and Scarecrow, except she lead them to David, and then to the road. ‘So I am watching Dawn’s memories!’ From there, I watched her stalk me and the others after I caught up with them, all the way till we reached the edge of the Everfree forest, where the memory suddenly stopped and vanished, leaving me in an infinite field of white.

“I thought you’d like to see I was telling the truth.” I spun around, more shocked than surprised, even though I kinda expected it. But that wasn’t it, it was what, no, WHOM I say that shocked me most. A pitch black Alicorn, wearing sparkling blue armor consisting of: a helmet with her foot long horn protruding from the base of her head, a breastplate with a crescent moon on it, and armored (Horse?) shoes that went up to mid leg each. Her mane and tail looked as if they were made of the night sky itself, and billowed in an invisible wind just like Celestia’s, and she was gazing at me through half-lidded teal eyes. What made me shocked was that I knew who she was. “Dawn…You’re really….Nightmare Moon...” She smiled sadly at me. “Yes….but how do you know?” I blink before facepalming myself. “Listen, in my world, we had this thing called Telelvision…..It basically let us see into other dimensions, but not interact with them…Everything that’s happened wasn’t supposed to happen….So I guess we accidently made a rift and Khawl got through or whatever….I don’t wanna talk about it.”

She gave me one of those Holy Shit looks but nodded. “Well…Even with my previous identity, I AM trying to help…But I want one thing in return you see. Nothing bad that is!” I give her my best poker face and cross my arms. “Go on.” “…..I want somepony to kill me….” Fuck the poker face, my jaw dropped. “Kill…?” Then my thoughts from before returned, and I felt my eyes glaze over. “…” Dawn saw this, and walked up to me. “First time you took a life?” I nodded solemnly in response. “I see…Well, if it’s worth anything, I’m sure Khawl is still alive….Ok that’s kinda not a good thing but still. I’ve seen him impaled by a spear to the heart and get back up. Cutting off his hand won’t do anything.” I perked up at that. ‘Still alive? So I didn’t kill him….But I had the intention….Aw fuck it, he deserves it.’

Shaking my head, I look to her. “Why do you want someone to kill you?” She hangs her head and sighs. “Because I did such terrible things before the Elements of Harmony separated and purified me from Luna…I deserve it…Besides, even if I tried to move into society, everypony would fear me, and what’s the point of living if I go through life being shunned and having no friends?” I frowned at her response. Of course, a stupid idea popped into my head. Grinning from ear to ear, I gave my own response. “Oh really? No friends? Then what are Spirit, Efyu, Pendragon and I? Swiss cheese?” Her reaction was priceless. It went from shocked to curious and then crying tears of joy.

Course, I should’ve seen from that last reaction phase the tackle hug, consisting of her standing on her hind hooves, her fore hooves wrapped around my neck. To finish it off, her head was resting on my right shoulder, tears starting to drench my shirt. “Thank you Ignition, thank you oh so much….” I couldn’t help but smile and wrap my arms around her. We were like that for a while, just holding each other until she finally ran out of tears. When she released me, she gave me a good once over, then an adorable sniffle. ‘Ah shit! Diabeetus!’ “So, this is what you looked like before?” I smirk and shrug. “Yeah. Nothing much right?” she chuckled at me. “Nope. Gives you the humble look. I like it.” I just roll my eyes at her and grin. “Don’t let Pendragon catch you hearing that or else he’ll—“ I never finished. Dawn was suddenly screaming in pain before everything vanished and came to light again. I was staring at some sort of white ceiling, and there were several sounds, including shouting from somewhere to my left, but above all, Dawn’s screams of agony were still going on as her misty form flew to the far side of the room.

I felt my old, protective self-come back, and the familiar rage come back fresh and in full force. Looking to my left, I see that cause of Dawn’s pain. A Unicorn royal guard in full armor, with a black glow about his horn, shooting spell after spell into Dawn’s form. “OH FUCK NO!” He stopped and stared at me as I leapt out of some sort of bed at him. “MOTHER FUCKER! I’LL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!” I tackled him to the ground, causing his concentration to break, and a nurse I didn’t notice sprint out of the room, calling for help. Fuck that. My eyesight went orange again as I started to pound away at the guards face with my right hand, left holding him down by his neck. “MOTHER. FUCKING. BASTARD! NO ONE HURTS MY FRIENDS!” I kept pounding away at his face, blood starting to pour from where I landed multiple blows. Nothing else mattered right now except putting this douche in his place.

While I pounded away, I heard Dawn yelling for me to stop, but the rage had taken my actions over. This fucker had to die. It wasn’t until I heard more hoofsteps did I stop. His face was so messed up it was barely recognizable, and for once, I was out of breath. “Don’t….You EVER….Hurt Dawn again…..Got it…?” He merely whimpered. Standing shakily, I look to the doorway Evan and Celestia were staring at the display before them in shock. I flicked them both off and turned towards Dawn, who was still in a corner. Walking over to her, I hold my left hand out to her, since my right was covered in blood. “It’s ok Dawn. It’s over. You’re ok.” She started to calm down, but when I heard hoofsteps, I snapped again and spun to face whoever moved. Celestia and a few guards entered, but stopped at my glare. “ANY of you come an INCH closer, and I’ll torch you. I fucking swear it.” It was a promise. I felt the rage ready to burst again, but I was holding it in check, barely. I watched a unicorn mare wearing a nurse outfit dash in and start using her magic to heal the guard. I didn’t give a damn right now, I was staring off against Celestia and five Royal guards, armed with spears.

Celestia had a look of rage on her face when staring off against me, before looking behind me and shifting her expression to one of curiosity. I took a step forward and clenched my fists. “Don’t even think about hurting her.” She looked at me with confusion before sighing. “Perhaps you should explain whom you are protecting, and why you saw fit to nearly kill one of my guards, Ignition.” It was more of a demand than a statement. I growled before responding. “I am protecting Dawn, a good friend of mine, who I was speaking with before your guard came in and blasted her. That’s why I beat the shit out of him.”

Her shock at my forwardness was evident on her face. The sound of more hoofsteps caught everyone’s attention. It turned out to be Kyle and David, who took one look at the scene before turning to me. When they spoke at the same time, I thought it slightly humorous. “What happened!?”

I just stepped aside ever so slightly so they could see Dawn’s misty forms past the guard. Kyle let his eyes widen as he looked from Celestia, the guards, Dawn, and then me. He repeated this process three times before settling on me. “Protection reflex?” “Oh now someone fucking gets it.” Kyle sighed and walked inside the already cramped room. “Celestia, if he really beat the shit out of one of your guards, the reason is real, especially since he was protecting Dawn. She saved us back in the forest."

I was surprised when David walked past Evan and into the room himself. “Yeah, a no fucking brainer there. I suggest getting your soldier boys the fuck out before a fight starts.” Celestia looked at David with a  rather deadpan look before sighing in defeat. “Very well, but I want to speak with all of you later. A group of guards will remain in case Khawl returns.” With a bow of her head, she and her guards left the room, one of them levitating the downed unicorn guard, with the nurse in tow. I turned to Dawn again, smiling sadly. “You ok?”

Her response was to shift to her normal body, minus the armor, and smile at me. “Yes Ignition, thank you.” I heard someone gasp and turned to see Evan with his jaw hanging loose. David grinned and nudged him. “Might as well close them lips boy. No dicks for you today! BWAHAHAHA!” Kyle facepalmed while grinning stupidly at David’s joke. I just chuckled and looked back to Dawn, who was smirking. Evan started bitching at him, so I tuned him out. “Hey, Dawn. Since we basically know who you are, can I ask a question?” She shrugged and me and nodded. I reached up and pointed at my head with my left hand. “Mind jumping in my head? For travel of course. Just so no one freaks out.”

The look was one of those Are you serious looks, but she smiled and turned to mist again, it was cool, watching her body dissolve into mist, and in ten seconds no less. “Don’t breath.” It was all I could do to hold my breath as she entered my head through my nose. When she finished, I coughed several times, getting used to the scent of flesh fresh in my nose. I turned back to the guys to see them all gawking at me. “What? What the fuck are you ass holes staring at?” Evan walked forward and crossed his arms. I noticed his left sleeve showed signs of being torn and then fixed. ‘Not to self, ask that later.’ ‘Just let me clarify that now. He got bit, badly mind you, by the timberwolf he and Efyu were fighting, while Efyu caved its skull in with a rock.’ My ears immediately perked up, so did my brows. My mind wen’t into overload, making me miss out on Evan’s question. Course, then it settled on Dawn being the one who spoke. A sudden calling of my name brought me from my thoughts. “Huh? Repeat that?” “I said, smart ass, why the sudden cautioness, and did you notice your cutie mark on your arms?”

‘Cutie mark?’ Looking to my right arm, I saw it. Right under the beginning of my arms, just like a tattoo, was my mark. A double helix made of fire, minus the bonds, spun three times, with a long sword going through the middle. ‘Impressive. Means you’re a born fighter…And a pyromaniac.’ My stupid grin was my response. Then of course, I finally looked at my torso, which was surprisingly lean, and also, bare of any shirt, or wound from where I was stabbed. I looked to the guys in confusion. “One, I don't want another incident. Two, the fuck happened to my shirt? And why am I not fucking wounded?” David grinned. “Rarity jacked your shirt when they removed it, and some pony named Nurse Redheart and a bunch of others used magic to seal up yo shit. So be happy.” “Rarity has my shirt?.....If I get it back with Diamonds in it, SHIRT OR NOT, I. AM. Burning it.”

Kyle walked up to me all suave like before putting his right arm around my shoulders. “Oh come on now man. Dem diamonds would look good on you, especially since you can make em shine now. Give it a try.” I just smacked him upside the head. “How about no, ya fashion loving traitor? That goes for all you ass holes! I haven’t forgotten the stunt you all pulled.” I pushed Kyle off of me and crossed my arms at them. They all hung their heads in shame. Looking around the room, I saw it was a typical hospital room with a single bed inside of it. ‘I can tell your mad at them and what not, but you have to admit, it was a great strategy, seeing as your obviously the best fighter.’ ‘Oh shut up. Not my fault I….Ok so it is my fault I took an interest in swordplay but that’s beside the point.’ ‘Right. Let’s go with that.’

A grunt was my response. Looking back to the guys, I saw them staring at me sadly. “….If you’re trying to give me an overload of anime looks, forget it…..But I DO forgive you sorry assholes.” They smiled at my forgiveness. Grunting, I felt my pants over and noticed a distinct lack of two things, no, three now.

My belt, my bayonet, and my sword. “Ok….Who is the STUPID mother fucker….Who took my shit….?” Kyle sighed before motioning to the door with a jerk of his head. “Applejack is holding them for now…” I didn’t move a muscle. I did tilt my head at him. “You thought this a good idea with Applebloom being her sister?” Evan and Kyle both gave me the OH SHIT looks before bolting. David just stood there confused. “What?” “Sister tries everything, and I mean EVERYTHING for a cutie mark.” David groaned loudly before stomping out. I casually walked out of the room and followed David all the way to the receptionist desk, where I signed myself out. When I heard my medical bill paid….I shrugged and walked outside, breathing in the fresh air. I took a look around. Not far from Ponyville, just on the outskirts.

With a sigh, I set off towards Ponyville, specifically, Twilight’s library. My shit was in the hands of someone, no, somepony, who has a little sis, that from what I know, does really stupid shit, and is so adorable while doing it. Right now, my only comfort besides having Dawn in my head, was going to be books. Lots and lots of fucking books baby.

Spirit: Royal Break

Spirit: A royal break

‘Oh crap oh crap oh crap!’ I bolted through town with Kyle right behind me, every pony we pass stopping to gawk at us. ‘I can’t believe I forgot about Applebloom when we let AJ hold Bryan’s stuff! FUCKING GREAT!’ We passed building after building, Kyle taking the lead as we head in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. As soon as we’re able to see the first of the apple trees, Kyle looks over his shoulder at me. “We gotta find AJ and fast, grab Bryan’s stuff and get it to him. If her sister got ahold of those weapons, shit is going to go down!” “No shit! Keep running!”

Despite our new bodies and obvious new limits for endurance and agility, I could feel my breath getting more ragged, and my hooves heavier as we neared the barn. When we got within 50 yards of the bright red barn, I slowed down and ultimately stopped, panting. “Wow….I need to get out more…” As if the day couldn’t get worse, I heard a masculine voice with a heavy southern accent. “Well well. I was wondering when ya’d get back, Pendragon.” Kyle and I looked to the barn to see a tall and muscular earth pony stallion with a blond mane, green eyes, and a crimson coat smiling at us. He was wearing a yoke around his neck and had a piece of, hay I think, in his mouth. His cutie mark was half of a green apple. ‘Ho-o-o-ly shit. Big Macintosh.’ Kyle grinned and nodded once to him. “Yeah….I’m back again.” Kyle caught his breath before approaching Big Mac. “Hey Mac, remember those weapons AJ brought in early this morning?” Big Mac nodded, his face neutral now. “Eeyup.” ‘Ah! The famous one-liner!’ Kyle puts his hands on his hips. “Yeah, well our friend, the owner, just woke up and got released from the hospital. I want to surprise AJ with that note, but he kinda freaked when he noticed his family weapons missing. Know where AJ put them?”

Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup. Wait here, I’ll go get them from the loft.” We waited a few moments as Big Mac went back inside the barn. It wasn’t long though until we heard the line we hoped to NOT hear. “What in the-!? The weapons are missin’!” Big Mac came out a surprised look on his face. “But AJ didn’t move em, she’s been buckin’ apples all day! Where could they-Ah horse apples…” Big Mac looked at us with a straight face. “Ah think mah little sister and her friends got their hooves on em….” ‘No FUCKING breaks huh?’? I sighed and stepped forward.  Mac started eyeing me immediately. “Mister Macintosh, we need to get those weapons fast. I can’t imagine what your sister wants with those items.” Mac waved his right forehoof at me. “Don’t you start with that mister stuff. Just Big Mac or Macintosh, ya hear?” I smiled and nodded. ‘I thought he was only a one word pony…Meh. I shouldn’t complain. Other bronies would KILL to be here.’

              Mac sighed before looking around. “Ah haven’t seen hide nor tail of those Crusaders all day.  Ya’ll follow me, we’ll check their clubhouse.” I nodded and watched Kyle move up to keep in step with Mac, hands stuffed into his back pockets. With a heavy sigh, I jogged up to them, staying at the rear. It was a silent walk for about five minutes until we hit a clubhouse in a tree, painted a variety of colors and in great looking condition, with a ramp leading up to it. The one distinctive thing was the undeniable ring of Bryan’s bayonet being torn from its sheathe. Kyle heard it to. “AH SHIT! Mac, we gotta get in there FASTER!” Mac blinked, obviously having heard the sound as well. “What? Why? What was that sound jus’ now?” Kyle and I both looked at him with glares. “Our friends deadliest weapon being pulled out…” Big Mac’s reaction was immediate, him charging up the ramp with us tailing behind, the ramp groaning under our weight. When we go to the door, I looked in the window, seeing what I feared. Applebloom had Bryan’s bayonet in her mouth, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle staring at the deadly weapon with awe.

That is, until Big Mac bucked the door, shattering it. “GIRLS! WHAT IN THE HAY ARE YOU DOIN’!?” ‘Holy shit he is PISSED!’ I watched the Crusaders jump with fright, Applebloom letting go of the bayonet, which wen tip first into the floorboards and stayed there. I looked to the door. It was so small I was pretty sure I would never fit in it. Looking back into the window, I watched the girls respond. “We’re gonna use these here weapons to be….CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS EVIL SLAYERS!!!” Kyle and I covered our ears. Groaning, I looked back inside to see Big Mac unfazed. “The hay ya’ll are! Ya don’t have training, ya have no idea how to use yer weapons, AN’ they ain’t even yours! The stallion who owns these happens to be out of the hospital now, an’ his friends are here for him to get his stuff! Now grab anything ya’ll took and bring ‘em outside!”

The Crusaders mumbled their agreement, and Mac bit down carefully on the handle of the bayonet before yanking out and walking towards the door. I walked down the ramp while Kyle jumped down, landing in a crouch, his claymore hilt banging against the ground. He came over and joined me at the base of the ramp just as Big Mac walked out of the clubhouse, gently carrying Bryan’s favorite weapon. Trotting down towards us, I outstretched my left hand slowly. When he got close enough, he dropped the weapon into the palm of my hand with the utmost care. With a nod, I grabbed the slightly slippery handle with my right hand and held it at my side, pointing at the ground. Big mac went to the right of the ramp as the Crusaders came out and gasped, with the acception of Applebloom, at the sight of Kyle and I. Course, with Big Mac clearing his throat and nodding to us, they got some encouragement. When they hit the base of the ramp, Kyle took Bryan’s Longbow and quiver of arrows from Sweetie Belle and I took the sheathe to the bayonet from AB, sliding the weapon into it quickly, before carefully taking the unsheathed Katana from Scootaloo.

With that all done, they stared at us, me mainly, in awe. “Woah….Big Mac….Are they ponies…Or Humans? I mean, they’re standing like that Khawl guy.” I frowned at the name, but Kyle chuckled. “Silly filly! We’re Anthromorphs! We fight Khawl!” He giddily added, causing Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to widen their eyes to unbelievable widths. ‘Smart.’ Looking to Mac, I nod before turning in the barn’s direction. “Come on. Let’s go find Ignition and Efyu.” HE nodded before waving goodbye before walking with me. As we left, we heard the sounds of Big Mac lecturing the CMC. Chuckling, I picked up the pace, turning it into a jog, Kyle naturally following suit. It wasn’t long before we got to the barn, David waiting in front of it with crossed arms. “There you assholes are! Did you get his shit?” I responded by holding up the sheathed bayonet. He grunted at me and nodded to Kyle. We stopped in front of him. With a grin I jabbed his shoulder. “What’s got your panties in a bunch?”

His response was to glare daggers at me. “We are in a world of colorful, talking fucking horses with no idea how to get home, and an obvious homicidal maniac after us! We could have died this morning, and you ass holes are just being giddy bitches!” ‘Ouch. That hurts.’ I frowned at him. Kyle sighed and walked forward. “I know man. We all miss home. We WILL get back somehow. I’m sure the Princesses will know how. As for dying…..Well we didn’t do so bad.” David got in his face. “ONLY BECAUSE BRYAN WAS THERE, AND HE GOT FUCKING STABBED!” Kyle sighed and pushed him away. “Yeah, I know. That’s why WE are going to train. We need to be able to REALLY help Bryan when he needs it. Agreed?” I nodded at Kyle. “Yes.” David sighed and threw his hands up in the air. “Fine!”

It was an awkward five minutes until we all burst out laughing at the seriousness of the situation. “Hahaha! I know I’m the third wheel now, and the brony here, but even I have to admit, this entire thing is kinda ridiculous!” Well. Happy times stopped when we heard a familiar explosion, and voice amplified beyond belief.

BOOM!

“NIGHTMARE FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE!”

Several minutes earlier…

Walking up to the library door, I politely knocked several times. Within seconds, I heard the clacking of claws growing louder from the other side of the door. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal a small, bipedal reptile. ‘Heh. Spike. What are the odds?’ He stared at me in shock before crying out in fright and slamming the door in my face. ‘Well, he sure is pleasant.’ ‘Spike. Baby dragon. Age unknown, Twilight’s assistant.’ ‘Oh your good.’ ‘I’m a professional. By the way, look through my memories, I’ll make sure to show you shit that will make you wish you didn’t.’ ‘Fiesty bastard aren’t you?’ I didn’t respond. That whole conversation took mere seconds. Soon I heard, “TWILIGHT! THERE IS SOME SORT OF PONY MONSTER THING WITH RED FUR AT THE DOOR!” “RED FUR!?” There was a flash of light, and then it burst open to show Twilight standing there. She. Was. Furious. ‘Fuck.’ I was suddenly levitated inside, with the door shutting behind me. “IGNITION! WHY DID YOU ATTACK ONE OF CELESTIA’S GUARDS!?”

As soon as I was dropped, I turned to her and put my hands on my hips. “Because he was attacking a friend of mine for no reason?” “I OUGHT TO—Wait, he was?” I sighed. “Yes, now can you stop yelling? I came here to ask if I could read a book. AND I’LL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS LATER.” She ignored my last statement, focusing only on the word ‘Book.’ “A book? You read?” I smirked. “Yup. Problem?” She just giggled. “No. I just never thought—“ “I’LL SAVE YOU TWILIGHT!” ‘Oh ho ho. Assistant is back.’ ‘Mhm.’ I was suddenly assaulted by a ton of flying books, which were magicked into a pile nearby. Twilight casted another spell, which levitated the baby dragon over to us. “SPIKE! Stop that! He’s a friend!” Spike looked between me and her, confused. As soon as Twilight dropped him, I held out my right hand. “Ignition. Pleasure to meet you Spike. You’re a dragon, right?” Spike’s reaction was priceless. He smiled at me and shook my hand. “Same here! Finally, somepony who doesn’t call me a lizard!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his antics, pulling my hand back. “So, where were we? As yes! Book! I was hoping to see about researching Equestria’s history?” Twilight immediately scanned the library with a spell, pulling out an old tome titled, ‘Equestrian history.’ Levitating it infront of me, I grabbed it out of the air and smiled. “Thanks. You got a balcony upstairs. I saw it on my way here. Mind if I read there?” She smiled and nodded to the stairs. With a bow of my head, I headed up and ducked through the doorway, shutting the door behind me before going to the balcony, sitting cross-legged with the book in my lap. As soon as I opened it though, I was interrupted.

‘Somepony teleported into the downstairs library. I recognize the magic residue, it’s Princess Luna. I’m tuning your hearing, alright?’ I blinked and nodded. In an instant, I was able to hear the downstairs conversation.

“Princess Luna! What a pleasure to—“

“No time Twilight Sparkle. We and our guards are here to apprehend the one called Ignition!”

‘Well that’s great. I’m a criminal now. What else can go wrong?’ ‘SH! Listen!’

“Apprehend? What did he do Princess?”

“We know he is working with the Nightmare. He defended the foul creature from one of our sister’s guards, and so we believe either the Nightmare is controlling him, or he is working with the creature willingly.”

‘….Are you mind controlling me?’ ‘WHAT!? NO!’ ‘Ok ok. Sheesh, can’t take a joke.’

“I….That would make sense then. He’s upstairs, on the balcony reading.”

“Thank thee. We will be quick. GUARDS! Apprehend him now!”

‘SHIT!’ I jumped to my feet, the book falling from my lap and clattering onto the floor. ‘What do we do? We’re trapped and I’m not armed!’ ‘Give me a moment!’ My right arm moved on its own, pointing at the door and enveloping it in a midnight blue glow. ‘There! It’s locked! NOW JUMP!’ My arm returned to my control when she finished. ‘Don’t need to tell me twice!’ I ran to the end of the balcony and leaped as the guards started pounding on the door. When the ground got too close for comfort, I leaned forward with my left shoulder, managing a sloppy shoulder roll landing, ending up flat on my back. Looking to the balcony, I saw the guards pointing and yelling at me. I jumped to my feet and ran in the one direction I knew by heart. The Forest. While running for my life, I let my hatred start to ‘charge up.’ Dawn took notice. ‘So this is the source of your fire….it’s overwhelming….’ ‘Yup. And for some reason, I love it. Takes too long to get to the max point though.’ ‘Well…Let me help. Trust me?’ ‘Trust ya. I still owe ya for saving the guys. Now do it!’ As I ran, the guards gaining on my tail, literally, I felt Dawn pooling some of her magic into my growing hate, causing it to rise at a startling rate. It made me feel weird, and the usual orange around my vision became pitch black. That’s not what bothered me. What did was the fact that as soon as I did, ten royal guards in a darker form of the Royal Armor appeared in front of me, glaring daggers at me. Another flash went off behind me. I turned to see Luna and thirteen more guards surrounding me in a complete circle of twenty-four. At this point, I was ready to burst. And boy, burst I did. ‘Cover your ears.’ With a primal roar, the fight REALLY started.

BOOM!

“NIGHTMARE FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE!”

We all turned to the sound and saw a black pillar of fire at the edge of the Everfree forest. I was shocked. “Nightmare Flare? What the fuck is going on!? Gah! If he’s in trouble, we won’t be able to help him! We won’t get there in time!” I kicked the dirt angrily. Then David cleared his throat. “Actually, we can.” Kyle and I turned on him in an instant. He was staring at me. “Evan, Vinyl came by Sugarcube corner earlier when I went back there while you guys were still in the hospital. I asked her how magic works. She told me by using teleporting as an example. All you gotta do is THINK of the place you wanna go, and imagine yourself there. Go to Twilight’s library. I’ll be there.” And with that, David’s horn glowed red briefly before engulfing him in a flash of light. Wasting no time, I grabbed Kyle’s arm and thought about the front door to the library, imagining me and Kyle there. There was a flash of brown, and then we were there with David. Kyle was heaving, poor bastard.

Wasting no more time, we ran to the sound of fighting. What we came upon was shocking. Bryan was fighting against several royal guards with midnight blue coats, manes, and tails in darker blue armor while covered in black fire, and Princess Luna watching. Next thing I know, Bryan’s weapons were snatched out of my hands my David, who bolted into the fray, dodging several guards. When close enough, he threw the katana and bayonet at Bryan. “BRYAN! CATCH!” The reaction was instant. Bryan threw a guard, turning to the weapons. Outstretching both hands, they flew to his hands, Katana in his left, Bayonet in his right. The sheathe on the bayonet was torn off by an invisible force and attached to his side. I was shocked. Bryan was using magic. Kyle and David were shocked too. So shocked, we didn’t notice the three guards, one each, who tackled and restrained us while Bryan kept fighting, dual wielding the blades in a deadly dance, but never harming the guards. Just knocking them out or disarming them. It was like he was dancing, leaving a scorching patch of earth wherever he stepped. In the end, eleven guards were knocked out or disarmed until Luna intervened, blasting him with a large beam of pure magic. The result was him being launched towards a nearby tree and then vanishing.

Luna grunted in frustration, scanning the area of which he disappeared in with another beam, before turning to us. “You three have just aided a fugitive in escaping custody, and are such his-“ She blinked when she got a good look at us. Regaining her composure, she glared at us. “Helping him or not, you are all with him, and therefore under arrest!” I let my jaw drop. “What!? What did we do!? What did our friend do!? ANSWER ME DAMN IT!” She casually trotted up to me and spoke with pure hatred in her words. “You all aided Nightmare Moon.”

I struggle to keep my poker face up as I glared back. It worked, cause she soon turned away. “Take them to Twilight Sparkle’s abode, lock them up in her basement with chains. We will go after Ignition.” And with that, she vanished, and we were just dragged away. ‘I hope Bryan can fix this….’

Flame: Forced confessions...

Flame: Forced Confessions....

“BRYAN! CATCH!!!” ‘DAVID!?’ I turned in the nick of time to see, yes, David of all people, throwing me my bayonet and the sword I stole from Khawl. Grinning like a madman behind the pitch black flames, I reached out my hands, frowning when I saw that the throws would fall short. ‘I got this! Which blade which hand?!’ ‘Big left, small right!’ Dawn jumped into action, taking control of my arms again, and sending her telekinetic grip to my weapons. I smirked as she pulled them into my hands, and even yanked off the bayonet’s sheathe before strapping it to my right hip! When I regained control of my arms, I went into action, parrying, dodging, and striking. I didn’t count how many guards I downed until Luna blasted me. It was extremely painful, so much that I nearly blacked out as I was sent flying.

Just before I landed, I felt my entire body go numb before darkness engulfed my vision, but for a mere second as I found myself in a familiar ruin. The abandoned castle, in the heart of the Everfree Forest. I groaned as I sat up, feeling returning to my body. ‘Are you alright!? Anything broken?’ I glanced around, noticing my weapons were a few feet away. ‘Sore all over, but intact.  What happened?’ ‘Right before we landed, I teleported us to the abandoned castle. We don’t have much time till we’re followed,’ she explained as I got up. Frowning, I limped over to my weapons, grabbing my bayonet and shoving it into my sheathe, switching the katana to my right hand. Looking around some more, I noticed I was in the middle of the first floor of the castle. Then of course, I noticed a flash outside the door. Groaning, I started limping to the only way to go, the stairs.

As I ascended, I heard and felt Luna yelling as her Royal Voice shook the ruins. “Come out criminal and surrender peacefully before we are forced to take thy life!” ‘Oh well she is fucking charming. How’d ya put up with her for a thousand years?’ ‘I was insane.’ ‘NO-ho-ho comment!’ I grumbled and continued up the time eroded staircase, coming into the second floor. Inside was much like the first floor, except, of course, there was no monument to the elements at the back of it. All that was there, were stone fragments….And bits of armor. ‘MY ARMOR! Ignition, or Bryan, whatever your name is! If that armor is destroyed, so am I!’

I blinked and stared at the armor fragments with more interest now. I didn’t even think back to her, so astonished was I. “So…You still want me to kill you…?” Her reaction was immediate. ‘What!? No! I have friends now, thanks to you, and I am NOT giving that up with a fight! Listen, I can BIND the armor to you in a certain form. There is enough for a gauntlet considering you size. Maybe even a belt and a few other things. I just need a design.’ ‘An extra design huh? Lemme think a moment….’ Designs were not my thing, but Video games were.

So, I went through my memories of playing World of Warcraft, Dragon Age, and Skyrim as fast as possible, before settling on the Ancient Nordic Gauntlets design, letting dawn get a good look at it. Good timing too, as I heard and felt the door downstairs explode, no doubt by Luna's hoof, and the sound of hoosteps from the staircase. The gauntlets had iron on the top of the arm and the bottom, leather on the sides, and finger-less wraps for hand guards. ‘Think you can make that, except all of the arm and the top of the hand is plate mail, and the finger wraps are chain-mail over cloth? And also line cloth up on the rest of the inside?’

She didn’t respond. She instead, took over my body and swiftly limped towards the armor fragments as we heard Luna break the doors open. Once there, she knelt down, switched the katana to my left hand, and then held out my right arm. The armor shook for a moment before turning into liquid metal that crawled up my arm before taking form of the gauntlet design, but modified to my specifications, minus the cloth I asked for. The finished gauntlet shimmered as it hardened, making me ogle at the sight in the back of my own head. Dawn turned my arm this way and that slowly so I could look at it. The entire gauntlet looked like silver, with a light coloring of teal, like Dawn’s eyes. On the piece covering the top of my hand was her, and Luna’s, cutie mark. A crescent moon, shown by the indentation and more silver-like coloring in that area. “Use it well,” I heard myself say before I was given back control.

Finally able to feel right again, I was shocked. The armor felt like it was a part of my arm completely. Like I wasn’t even wearing it! Knocking on it with my left hand, I confirmed it to be real. “It’s…Amazing.” “Yes, yes. A fine trinket….For a criminal like thee!” ‘FUCK.’ Me and Dawn thought the same thing, at the same time. Standing, I turned to the stairs to see Luna, glaring at me with malice. “…Princess….” She glared daggers at my greets. “Criminal.” ‘…Wise men said something once ya know…’ ‘Oh yeah? What?’ ‘Prolong a beating as long as possible.’ ‘Good plan.’ I smiled sadly at her. “You call me a criminal, and yet you have what proof to it? What crimes have I committed? All I have done is defending your citizens.”

Luna looked taken aback before strengthening her resolve and the intensity of her stare, taking a step forward with every 4 words. “You were seen with Nightmare Moon in the hospital by my sister and beat up a royal guard! The proof and the crimes! Attacking a royal guard, and aiding an enemy of Equestria!” When she finished, she was halfway across the room, her horn glowing a pure shade of blue when she stopped. I was still where I was, wincing with every word. I looked at her sadly. “I did attack that guard, but only because I was defended Dawn, who you call Nightmare Moon. Yes, I am aware of her past, but she is reformed! I’m telling you!” Luna just growled before smirking evilly.

“Very well then. If what thou say is true, then why did thee run? Hmm?” I opened my mouth and closed it several times. I didn’t want to tell her I ran in fear they’d take Dawn. Though the truth, I didn’t want it misinterpreted, and used against me. ‘Just do it. We’ll hope for the best…..’ ‘You sure?’ ‘Yes.’ “Well? We haven’t all day, criminal!” I looked from the floor to her, then sighed heavily. “The truth, your Highness?” She nodded once. I shook my head and smiled sadly at her, dropping the sword and falling to my knees. “My name isn’t really Ignition, it’s Bryan. I work with Evan, who is known as Spirit, David, who is known as Efyu, and Kyle, who is known as Pendragon. Kyle came later, but first it was me, Evan, and David. We  rarely had to fight, and we are the best of friends…Not only did we fight Khawl…But we created him…” I looked up at Luna, who was staring at me in shock. Dawn was utterly silent.

“We created him, yes. He wasn’t always this way you see. Before, he was an amazing person, a true friend. Through a misinterpretation, he became violent and attacked. We slew him as a result, never knowing he’d end up here. We went on with our lives. For some reason, and somehow, Khawl came here and started to fight your people, summoning four warriors to aid him. He got four of his worst enemies instead.” For some reason, tears began to stream from my eyes. I ignored them, looked away from Luna to the floor, and continued.

“When I awoke, I was disoriented, but I managed to right myself. I watched Octavia, Vinyl, Lyra, and Bon bon run past, so I followed. Then I learned of Khawl, and aided the fight against him. Little did I know that someone was looking out for me and my friends the whole while. That someone, was Dawn. She gathered up my friends and led them to me, and so we were reunited, with her to thank. She warned us of Khawl’s second attack, which we repelled. Then the guard attacked her while she showed me this in a memory. I was enraged. My first, real friend here, being tortured before my eyes….I lost it. So I defended her, and smuggled her away, to Twilight’s, where you found us. I ran…because I was afraid to lose a friend. One that I also owe a debt, that I may never repay….” I reached over to my Katana, picking it up while I shakily stood, my body racked by sobs. ‘Ignition….Bryan….’

When I stood at fully, I took a combat stance, sword pointed at Luna, who was looking at me utterly shocked. “So if you want to arrest me, or even kill me for that….THEN GO AHEAD! At least I’ll die knowing I made my friends and family proud! By doing the right thing! WHAT SAY YOU!?” My face contorted into one of anger, despite the tears being shed, awaiting a retaliation of some sort. Instead, she let her magic vanish and calmly walked forward until she was right in front of the tip of the blade in my shaking hands.

“You know she was created by my hate and jealousy, don’t you?” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. I couldn’t take it anymore; I dropped the sword and fell onto my ass, bringing my knees to my chin. “Yes, but what YOU don’t know is that she was reformed by the Elements of Harmony, making her the great friend she is…Do you know, what she asked me, before that guard attacked, and she finished showing me her memories?” She tilted her head at me, a sad expression in her eyes. “….She asked me to kill her….”  Luna let her jaw drop a second time, and I looked away. “That’s when I first told her that she was a friend, and that I wouldn’t do it…Hell, I CAN’T do it….Luna, none of have killed before, and Evan didn’t mean to that first time…”I looked at the floor, away from her gaze, bawling my eyes out. I jumped as a wing was wrapped around me, and Luna embraced me like a kid. “It is….Ok…We misunderstood thou’s situation…But please understand, we can’t just take thy word, unless thee would like us to read thy mind.” I looked to my left and up at her before nodding. “One second please….”

I looked to the floor again, my facial expression becoming neutral. ‘Dawn?’ ‘…..That’s all true, Bryan? Everything you said?’ ‘Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.’ ‘….Good enough, let her in….’ I nodded and looked up at her. “I’ll show you my memories….But some parts will be left out for safety reasons….Mind you, it’s crowded in there as well.” Luna merely smiled and nodded, her horn lighting up as she touched my forehead with it. Next thing you know, I was in a giant, white expanse again, with Dawn and Luna, Dawn looked to Luna with a sad expression before bowing her head, but Luna replied with a scowl, looking to me and nodding. I sighed, closed my eyes, and let all my memories flow, holding back anything concerning MLP or more personal issues, such as inspecting my body parts when I was a kid. Opening my eyes, I saw my memories play in super-fast forward before their eyes, gauging their reactions that would go from shocked, laughing, and sad. What seemed to shock them the most, was all the fights I’ve been in during my life time, and the one event which changed my life.

When I was a kid, before my father became a firefighter, my dad was taking me and my sister home from elementary school, when we stumbled across a motorcycle accident. One man was unharmed, on a silver motorcycle, while the other cyclist wasn’t. He had a green motorcycle, which was in pieces, and he was sprawled out on the ground, blood pouring from a wound on his head. When I saw this, I froze, unable to move from pure shock. My dad screamed for me to call an ambulance, but instead it was my sister who called them. No one blamed me because it was my first time seeing something like this. I have never forgiving myself. I became reserved, more violent, and ALWAYS. ANGRY. Anger was in everything I do, and it still is to this day, right here, right now, watching Dawn and Luna watch my memories. It was a speck, but still there. When it finished, they could only stare at me in shock. I frowned and looked away. “If you want to lock me up for Khawl being here, go ahead. But leave Dawn alone. She’s good now…and besides, considering she was made off of your emotions….” I looked back to them and shrugged. “Doesn’t that….Kind of make her your daughter, Luna?”

There was no reaction to this. Instead, the spell dropped, returning me to my body, which resulted in Luna passing out. “….Whoops?”

Flame: Back into the fire...

Flame: Back into the fire….

My sleep was dreamless, but no less refreshing, especially on the comfy ass couch. That was all shattered by a female voice saying “Wake up.” ‘Guess it’s morning. Time actually flies in dreamland. ZE SANDMAN LIED TO ME!’ Opening my eyes, it was too late to realize how stupid that was. I was immediately blinded. Shutting my eyes in response, I grunted, waiting for the splotches to vanish. Once they did, I sat up, opening my eyes slowly, getting accustomed to the light in the room. Rubbing my eyes with my palms, I looked around to find a Black mist hovering inches from my face. Before I could yell in surprise, it pressed itself to my mouth. It felt like a hoof was against my lips. The voice was definitely female, and spoke in a whisper. “Shh! Get up, you and your friends got trouble. My name is Dawn, and I helped your friends find you. I know this is sudden, but you need to trust me. Can you do that?” I nodded once in response, watching the mist vanish, as did the pressure. Standing up, I stretched as Dawn disappeared into the kitchen, coming back with my bayonet somehow. Also, somehow tossed it at me. Catching it, I immediately attached it to my belt, but didn’t bother with my hood. “Ignition, thank you. Who’s the enemy?” “Khawl.” ‘Already!? FUCK!’ “Are the others up?” “I’m going now. Wait in front of the library.” I bolted out the door in response, closing it when I exited, and making my way straight to the library. The moon was still out, so it was either morning or around midnight. Once I got to the library, I took a seat and waited. After a while, Kyle came running, hay falling off him in small clumps. I helped clean him off as we waited. David arrived just as we did, Dawn in tow. Once he was with us, she flew into the library through the cracks in the door. Not even five minutes later, Evan came out silently, closing the door behind him. He was obviously nervous. We all were. Dawn let us know where he was coming from. The entrance to the Everfree forest. ‘FUCK.’ She also told me to come find her later at the abandoned castle I fought Khawl the first time. ‘This better not be a trap….’

We wasted no time, bolting straight to the forest entrance. It took us awhile, and the sun had replaced the moon as soon as we got there. When we did get there, none of us were winded or sweating. It was so weird. ‘Oh well…New world, new land, new rules, PINKIE, and physics. Just fucking physics.’ Just as I finished my thought, five wolves stepped out of the forest with glowing yellow eyes. As they started moving towards us, I could see that they were made of twigs and branches. “Timber wolves. Completely wood, but their teeth are still dangerous. Watch it.”  The guys nodded. Right after the five wolves cleared the forest, Khawl came out with a claymore in his right hand, and another blade sheathed at his left hip. I took a step forward when a saw him. Kyle did the same. When I saw him, the edges of my vision turned orange everywhere. A familiar feeling from last night emerged. Pure hate. I had felt it while fighting that guard. Putting a damper on it, I watched as the wolves stopped somewhat sixty feet from us, Khawl continuing on. When he was around thirty feet, I drew my father’s bayonet, back-handed. Kyle drew his claymore as well, and Khawl stopped, actually smiling. With a single twirl, her transferred  his grip on the claymore from a normal hold to a back-handed one, before stabbing the blade into the ground past the tip. I looked to Kyle, only to see his eyes having turned green, his pupils vertical slits with tinges of purple appearing around the edges. ‘Wish I had a camera. Looks badass…’ My thought ended when Khawl spoke. “Friends! It is good to see you are alright! It is not good however, to see you safe in this one’s company!” with that, he pointed at me with his outstretched right hand. I responded by pulling my hood over my head with my left hand. He continued. “Know this. He is an imposter! He and the kind he has had you meet are frauds, who want nothing more than to destroy all humans!” My grip tightened. ‘Excuse me mother fucker, I believe you are cashing illegitimate checks.’ “Join with me! We can save the human race from these monsters, destroy them at every turn! Make your choice now, choose justice, or turn against your race, led by the illusions of this bastard!” I looked around , noticing that David, Evan, and Kyle were all talking about it. ‘What…? They think he’s….Telling the truth…?’ My fears were confirmed when they all nodded and walked passed me. Khawl smiled sadistically. “You lose, imposter.” “Guys…?” I couldn’t believe it. I let the hate go, let it flow through my body and start to warm it up. It was comforting, like the touch of an old friend. What happened next astonished Khawl, the wolves, and me. Mainly Khawl and the wolves. The guys all charged past Khawl, letting forth battle cries! (In order, Kyle, David, and Evan.) “FOR NARNIA!” “FOR TIMMY BITCHES!” “FOR EQUESTRIA!” A shadow burst forth from the forest. Dawn! Her mist entered an unsuspecting wolf, taking it over. Its eyes turned dark as night, and spikes pointing to its rear appeared from its back. With a feral snarl, the Dawn-wolf tackled another, going into a tumble with it. Kyle killed another by slicing its head in half with his claymore, sending tree sap all over the ground. David and Evan jumped a wolf together while Kyle went after the last one. I couldn’t help but laugh. Khawl scowled as he pulled his blade out of the ground. “What is this!?” I stopped laughing and grinned under my hood. “The return of TEAM GHOST MOTHER FUCKER!” With that, we charged each other, blades locking almost instantly. “Team Ghost? But that would mean…” “Yup! I’ll let you guess who is who. No hints.” We both broke away from each other, beginning that deadly dance we never finished last time. It seemed like ages of attacking, blocking, dodging, and parrying. After a while, a sudden pressure came from my chest, adding to my already extremely heated body. Breaking away, I gasped, suddenly feeling the need to let forth a primal roar. I didn’t block it. I let forth said roar skyward, only to be dwarfed by a large explosion, but to aftershock. Looking back at Khawl, I see him, the guys, and the Dawn-wolf, whom had just finished off the timber wolves, all staring at me in complete shock.

I looked over myself and new why. I was on fire, but I wasn’t burning. Lifting my left hoof, I saw that where I stood, the grass was burnt and smoking. “…..” I looked at Khawl and grinned, then at the guys. “No idea what’s going on, but I think I’m going to name this guys!” I looked back to Khawl and pulled back my hood. "IGNITION FLARE!" Not the best name, but better than FLAME ON! I can’t just up and steal that!’ Looking at my father’s bayonet, I was surprised to see it unfazed, except for, of course, the blade glowing white hot from the heat. Go figure. Looking back at Khawl, I only laughed as I charged him. “And this….” As soon as I got close enough, he swung overhead again, intent of cutting me down. I swung my blade at his in an attempt to parry. Instead, my blade cut right through his near the guard, sending most of the blade flying over my shoulder. I had an opening. Bringing the blade in with a backwards swing, I plunged it into his stomach, eliciting a gasp from him. “IGNITION STRIKE!” I then noticed the blade at his left hip. Grinning, I gripped its hilt with my left hand, putting myself in a cross hold. From up close, I could see the black leather grip, which was also unfazed by my fire. Planting my right foot under my father’s bayonet, I kicked Khawl off, freeing both blades. While Khawl stumbled back, I expected him to fall. Looking to the blade I claimed from him, I found it to be a single edged sword, the blade completely midnight black, straight, with a circular golden guard. When I heard Kyle scream my name, I looked just in time to receive the rest of Khawl’s claymore to my gut, causing the flames to go out, the orange about my eye sight to disappear, and the hate to vanish, all at once as he pulled it out. I fell back in shock, staring up at him and his malicious grin. “It ends now, Vlarrion.” ‘Heh. So that’s what he knows me as. My steam profile.’ When he was about to strike me down, I found just enough strength to strike out with the blade I took from him. The result was blood everywhere, the rest of his blade and his right hand from the wrist up to fall on my chest. Khawls cries filled the air as he stumbled back. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! My hand! Argh, you win again, you little runt! AAAH, I will get you for this!” With a snap of his fingers, he was gone. I sat up, finding strength from him running even though pain became fresh in my mind, but I didn’t care. I didn’t even notice his hand and the rest of his blade fall from my stomach and into the grass. I didn’t notice myself dropping the new sword and my father’s blade either. I just stared at the spot where Khawl just was, now a small puddle of blood.

The guys came running over while the Dawn-wolf ran into the forest again. The guys shook me, yelling my name. I look at them slowly, one at a time. “I did it…..We did it….We sent him running! We…” I never got to finish when the dizziness hit me, causing me to fall back again. One of the guys caught me and laid me down slowly. I found it was David, him and the guys crowding my vision, worried expressions on all their faces. “Bryan!? DUDE! Keep awake man, come on! Just don’t shut your eyes!” ‘David yelling at me to keep awake? Why? He afraid I won’t wake up to kick his and the other’s asses for the stunt they pulled. “IGNITION! OH shit, someone get Nurse Redheart!” The guys moved from my vision, and eight familiar ponies entered my vision, all looking at me and the blood on me. Vinyl, Octavia, and the Mane six. Twilight got closer to my face. “Ignition!? Are you okay!? What happened!? Vinyl, and the girls found you and the others gone, then were heard an explosion and saw a pillar of flame and….Oh sweet Celestia your bleeding badly!” I grinned up at her weakly, shakily brought my right arm and made a two fingered pistol with it, my voice quivering. “We saw Khawl….We fought him and a….small pack of timber wolves…..And then…”I pressed down my thumb against my index finger, like a hammer striking the bullet in a pistol. “…We kicked his ass back to wherever….He’s hiding….See that hand…?....Yeah, that’s his…Ima go night night now…..I’m tired as fuck….” I let my arm fall to my side, the guys entering my vision, towering over the girls, all of them yelling “Ignition! Don’t fall asleep!” Just before the darkness sped up, I saw Lyra and a pony in a nurses outfit cloud my vision. To let ‘em know I would be fine, I said one last Haiku before it all went dark. “To battle we went today/ Came back with a prize and pride/ Time for me to rest….” And then, darkness took over everything.